Crossroads · 8:13pm Feb 1st, 2012
So, chapter 2 of "Price of Grace" has gone up. And now I'm facing a decision.
Quite frankly, the amount of indifference towards this fic is staggering. It's barely got twenty comments on here, thirty ratings, and on Equestria Daily not even enough ratings to be tagged with a star count. That's okay, I guess this fic isn't very engaging then.
But 15,000 word chapters don't pop into existence all by themselves, without my connivance. It's actually hard work, especially if you're trying to follow some sort of plot. I spend a lot of time on my writing, going over the entire chapter time and time again until I'm sick and tired of it. That might just be my inner perfectionist at work, but I don't want to put anything subpar out there. I hope I succeed in that regard, even though I can't be sure of that. Joining me in my perfectionist obsession is my awesome pre-reader Cadmium, who spends a lot of time on this fic, too. Thank you, mate, it means a lot to me.
Well, in short, no matter how much they say "write for yourself", "write what you want to read", it simply is a lot easier finding the energy and time to write when you've got fifty comments on a chapter than when you've got five. There's eighty people tracking this story now, but only the smallest part of them takes the time to click a star rating or write a comment.
To all that did so: I want to say thank you. And to everyone who truly enjoys this story and hasn't just casually put it on track to never look at it again: it means the world to me that my story speaks to you. So, thank you, readers who truly care.
So, to cut a long story short. I'm just trying to gauge if anyone cares. If people don't care enough to react, if they don't find the energy to rate or click a star rating, then quite frankly, I don't know if I find the energy to keep writing this. Don't take this the wrong way, I know there's tons of other fics that want to be read, and that are surely more deserving of your attention. This isn't a reproach, just a question. I'm just trying to see whether it makes sense for me to keep going.
Should I continue writing "The Price of Grace"?
I really don't understand why the fiction is so underrated. I can imagine the situation you are in whereas you spend an excruciating amount of time and effort into a fiction all to see about 6 or 7 comments and not even 50 ratings. (Not directly relating, but in a position where I create an in-depth thread on a forum just to see if go to the next page.)
Personally, I think it's the complex writing or just the enormous amount of words that people don't want to take the time to actually read. I have a lot of patience, and I really am satisfied with your story, and I would love if it you continued the story. However, this is reasons only for me and your limited amount of fans, and if you do feel so disheartened towards the lacking amount of appreciation. I can manage an incomplete fiction, besides, from what I've read, this is already better than a quantity of the fictions I read daily.
It's your decision. I honestly don't know what would be required to attract more attention to your fiction, it's one of those fictions that doesn't have any entertainment initially, but progressively.
I am guilty of tracking without reading so far, simply because I haven't had the time to sit down and immerse myself in your story yet. However, I promise to do so at the weekend!
I have to say I am also astonished at the indifference towards this fic.
I personally find it absolutely amazing! I haven't had a story resonate with me as much as yours in a long time.
Your perfectionism is quite evident; I can tell a lot of time went into each chapter, and it is absolutely perfect.
I think it would be a shame if you don't continue. However I do understand that it can be hard to right, especially if you don't have much response to it.
I have a suggestion that might help.
Shorter Chapters.
Personally, I love the long chapters, with ideas that weave throughout them. But a lot of people are dissuaded when they see a 15,000 word chapter. People find it easier to follow, and will be a lot more involved, if there are many small updates, with smaller chapters, rather than a single, large chapter once every week or 2.
The large chapters may also account for the lack of comments. People find commenting on large chapters intimidating, and especially when there is so much within that chapter to comment on, often they don;t comment at all because of it.
But it would be a shame to lose the effect of long, great chapters. Maybe find a compromise? A way to write smaller chapters but keep them connected to form longer ones?
Perhaps take (for example) Truth in our Hearts and instead have it as 3 shorter chapters that are connected through a common word in the title. Perhaps "The Truth we know " "The Truth in our fears" "The Truth in our hearts" as parts 1, 2, and 3 (OK, now I'm just giving suggestions hoping to inspire you to some solution because I REALLY don't want to see this fic end.)
Continuing this fic is up to you. I would LOVE to see it continued, but I know praise from a single fan doesn't add up to hours in front of a computer typing out chapters. So I'm trying to help break the indifference that seems to have surmounted so that it can turn into a dedicated following of many fans!
Hope I was helpful and not just rambling.
For what it counts, you've got me hooked on every word!
My friend, I strongly encourage to keep going with this fic! You have the beginnings of something truly epic here and it would be a terrible shame to see that go to waste.
While the rating count may be slightly disappointing, remember, your view count is still a lot higher than the vast majority of fics that are on this site. That means that people are reading it, and don't discount the large number of passive readers on EqD who don't have accounts and thus cannot rate or comment here.
I am thoroughly enjoying The Price of Grace and it would be a terrible shame to see it cancelled. Keep up the great work!