I need to get something off my chest. · 3:15am Sep 13th, 2019
I must preface this with the fact that I am not ungrateful for the fanbase I have. I am still shocked that enough people care about my stories for me to get a few comments each time I post a chapter. Your existence as people who care about my work has been one of the reasons I haven't felt suicidal very often over the last 4.69 years. I did not expect to succeed at all when I posted my first story. This was a pleasant surprise. An indication I had skill in something I loved doing.
Unfortunately, as of late, my level of success is also a problem for me emotionally. Again, I am not ungrateful for what I do have, I just believe the amount of work I do should have produced more success by now. I hope that dosn't come across as greedy, because this is a very emotion-free observation on my part. I write these stories full time. I have no job. I have no RL friends. I write, I plan stories, I do world building. These stories and the mountains of work behind them you never see are my life. Their creation is my primary function.
I have spent 4.69 years working ~46 hours a week actively writing and editing stories for people, with another 2-5 each week spent on planning and playing out ideas to see if I like them before I write. In all, I have spent ~11,950 hours writing pony based stories alone over my time spent on this website. That's just writing and planning. I also spend time programming utilities to help me with my writing, like "mode of speech" converters to help me keep accents consistent. I have spent easily 200 hours on custom software creation. I also spent some time helping with a program another person was making which was intended to help the community improve their writing by allowing you to create custom lists of words to "tag" in a manuscript and present a string of text for each instance of that word to you. Weather this would be to tell you "this term often is redundant" words, offer advice for replacing common descriptors with something more punchy, or just informing you "Using very dark isn't a good idea because it's not a very exciting way to describe this, why not use umberal, dank, or dim?", that was all up to you. How you created the lists it used or what lists you used others had made.
Through all of this time, save the last few months, I pushed myself as hard as possible to get 1-2 chapters out every single week. The bottleneck was mostly my editor, to be frank, but I still pushed myself hard to do my absolute best on a consistent and regular basis, for nearly 5 years now. No breaks. No vacations. At least, only 2, and even then only for a week and that time I became seriously ill (am slightly ill).
I have spent money on my work as well. I have purchased ~$345 dollars worth of books and ~$80 worth of software to help me make this stuff better. I am glad to have spent it, I do not see it as a waste. But when I did this it was before I was on disability. At a time in my life when I often raided the dumpster behind Safeway for dinner, I was spending what little money I had on books like Story Structure Architect, A Writer's Guide to Characterization, and How to Write Dazzling Dialogue. That may seem insane to you, but please remember I am not neurotypical. To me, contributing to a community in a meaningful way and improving my ability to be of value to that community is worth more than fresh food by several orders of magnitude. In fact, I would go without food for several days if my rations were required by another community member.
I understand you guys are not like me in that respect and value autonomy more, I hope I dont come across as judgmental for saying this. I only mean to highlight a personal need of mine which is a much higher priority to me than even my own basic survival needs. To contribute. To present a tangible and significant amount to a community I value. I value this community. Of all the groups I have tried to be a part of for 30 years, this is the one that accepted me into it. This is my home. You allowed me in. Thus, I deserve to serve you to the best of my abilities.
Which is why my success has me feeling undervalued. I don't blame the community for that. You guys read what you like. You tell each other about good stories. My success here is directly governed by my skill, and community awareness of my work's existence. Awareness of my work is accomplished two ways, site advertisement on the front page and through searches, and also via word of mouth. We all know this site SUCKS at making it easy to find stories you like, this means that the stories which succeed are almost always found due to the feature box or the new update box, and from there word of mouth is what allows a story to thrive.
This means a story's success is directly dependent on the author having sufficient skill to keep an audience interested and captivate them enough for them to share it with their friends.
Let's briefly examine my 3 most successful stories, and my current story. The stories selected occur across the entirety of my time here. Fan dropoff isn't a factor, as some of my most well read stories is very recent. People leaving the fandom is therefore not a significant factor in these calculations.
We will use the currently active community as determined by unique logins of this website yesterday as the number of people in this community. 1,620,713 people. We will take my story data from as it is at the time of this blog. I will provide links so you can check my math if you wish.
- So you Wanna be a Princess, a story I wrote on commission using someone else's ideas as best I could given how little they told me of they desired. Its first chapter was viewed 4,242 times over its lifetime (currently 1 year), its last chapter, 1,250 times. Only 29.46% of readers finished the story. In total, 0.26% of the community started the story, and 0.077% of the community finished it.
- Across the Sea of Time, a story I wrote to have fun making fun of HiE fics when I was notably not back into writing shape (I stopped writing for a long time after College). Its first chapter was viewed 4,538 times across nearly 4 years. It's last chapter has been viewed 1,217 times. Only 26.81% of readers finished the story. In total, 0.28% of the community started the story, and 0.075% finished.
- The Queen is Dead, a story I did because the idea just popped into my brain, and I almost totally winged it plot outline wise. Some of my most beloved characters come from it. Its first chapter was viewed 3,681 times over 3 years. Its last, 1,778 times. Only 39.18% of readers finished the story. In total, 0.22% of the community started the story, and 0.109% finished.
- Fallout Equestria: Operation Star Drop, a story I am writing to thank kkat since her work snapped me out of my suicidal state back in 2011, taught me important life lessons, and let me feel happiness for the first time in 6 years, and gave me a world and place to love, while also showing me that Bronies liked fanfics that were more than just "the show's unaired episodes" and thereby brought me here to write for all of you. A story I personally see everything else I have written as practice for. This is the big fight I was getting back into shape to tackle. Its first chapter has currently been viewed 670 times and its last has currently been viewed 128 times. Only 19.10% of readers have chosen to keep up with the story. In total 0.041% of the community has started the story, and 0.0078% of the community has finished currently existing portion of the story.
My stories' retention rates average to 28.63%. Just barely over a quarter of people who pick up my stories will finish them. My stories' audience reach averages to 0.2% of the existing potential audience. At least, they do when I only include my current story and the 3 best preforming stories I have. If you do this properly, and use all of my stories... Those averages plummet.
What about how I stack to other authors on this site? Let's check the top 3 stories of all time.
- My Little Dashie by ROBCakeran53, has been viewed 529,000 times, and 528,955 finished the story, giving it a retention rate of 99.991%, which may be 100% if the site is rounding up views for the counter on the story's cover page but accurately showing it on the chapter's page. It has reached 32.63% of the community. (It annilates me on all metrics by distressingly high factors. As expected of the most popular thing in a community.)
- Thunder Struck by MerlosTheMad, has been viewed 270,000 times, and has been finished by 8,364 people, giving it a retention rate of 3.09% (Hey, something I average better against. Neat!). It has reached 16.65% of the community (Here it blows me out of the water by a factor of 83.25 times...)
- Past Sins by Pen Stroke, has been viewed 162,000 times, and has been finished by 107,682 people, giving it a retention rate of
sobbing changeling noises, I mean 66.47%. It has reached 9.995% of the community. (Blowing me out of the water by a factor of 49.975.)
Okay, what about the adverage story? Those guys are the best. Well, fetching the data on this was kinda hard but...
The adverage story on fimfic has 15,000 views on th efirst chapter, is finished by 68.95% of those who read it, and reaches 0.92% of the community. It retains 2.27 times more people than my stories do, and reaches 4.6 times more people.
I cannot reach anything near the highest of the greats amongst us. Nor even those of the adverage amongst us. In spite of me spending over 11,000 hours of my life and dedicating myself full time to telling stories about pastell ponies. Due to this, I must conclude that I am terrible at the one thing I can do to be of service to my community. I am sorry for having failed you all.
may time be with you and good days too
You are not terrible at what you do, and you have not failed us.
I'm pretty sure you won't agree with me seeing how much you thought this through, but that is my feelings on the matter.
Hell no. You have nothing to be sorry about. I've noticed way to many writers on fimfiction going on like this. Look, you have people who read your fics and continue reading your fics. Even if it's a small amount of people who read your fics, remember this; you have affected them in some way, brought entertainment, joy and plenty of laughs. Don't let cold calculations bring you down. It's a bitter path to go down.
yes. I've been transitioning out of reading fanfiction. The only ones I've been reading have been ones I've already started.
Sorry I can't really be interested in your stories, Meep.
Is that the number of *users* reading the chapter, or the number of *pageloads* of the chapter? If the latter, it could just be people going back to refresh certain details if there's a bit of time between updates, making it *look* like it's losing a lot of readers across chapters when really it isn't?
brutal honestly here
i think your issue is your portfolio is perhaps too diverse, mayhaps if you narrowed your focus to one genre, one world, one story and dedicated yourself to makeing that singular world as real and fleshed out as posible you may get a greater, though less varried, audience
Meep, for myself, I adore your work. And while I haven't read the recent stuff, rest assured that it's not due to lack of interest but more lack of time. I've got a crap-flood of stuff that needs doing, and then my scant free moments are thrown at catching up (futilely) on everything else that catches my interest and is somewhere in my "when I have a moment" pile. And as big as that pile already is, I really try to avoid adding new stuff to it--don't always succeed, but I try--and that means your new stuff as well.
5120337
That is not the point. Of course some people will. My point is this: Half a decade of full time work by someone who's heart is 100% in their work should have pushed them into at least arms reach of the greats in a field as limited in scope as fanfiction. This is not Particle Physics, it dosn't take a lifetime to contribute something important/meaningful/useful that is popular/well-liked-by-a-significent-percentage-of-people. I do not believe I should be the best, I am not that good and that's okay. But I thought I was at least okay. Instead, I am significantly below average. I do not matter. I cannot provide a community with something worthwhile. It is pointless for me to try. All of my heart and all of my skill and all of my time could not do it.
5120338 I am uncertain of your meaning. Sorry.
5120339 I understand your feelings. Howeaver, half a decade of full time work by someone who's heart is 100% in their work should have pushed them into at least arms reach of the greats in a field as limited in scope as fanfiction.
5120342 I value data more than emotions. I like my accomplishments to BE real, not simply FEEL real. I want to be someone of genuine significance within a community. I'm certain you understand.
5120353 Number of unique views per login / per IP if no login data.
5120357
You mean like how the majority of my works are a single universe progressing forwards through time by the actions of many across decades?
5120361 I am not upset at you. I am not angry at you. I am dissapointed in my self. Half a decade of full time work by someone who's heart is 100% in their work should have pushed them into at least arms reach of the greats in a field as limited in scope as fanfiction. This is not Particle Physics, it dosn't take a lifetime to contribute something important/meaningful/useful that is popular/well-liked-by-a-significent-percentage-of-people. I do not believe I should be the best, I am not that good and that's okay. But I thought I was at least okay. Instead, I am significantly below average. I do not matter. I cannot provide a community with something worthwhile. It is pointless for me to try. All of my heart and all of my skill and all of my time could not do it.
I really enjoyed "So you wanna be a princess" but the last chapter nearly killed it for me.For me the whole story felt like a joke after that and left me dissatisfied so I stopped reading.It was a bit like the ME 3 Ending for me :PBut "The Queen is dead" is still one of my favorite stories.Thats not what you were asking for so....
I think your position is a bit like Twilights during Season 4
Regarding the three 'best' stories....they are most definitely not.
I tried reading both Past Sins and My Little Dashie due to the reputation that they have.
Past Sins is well-written, but at the same time is so formulaic and predictable that I quit reading it. While technically well written, it was not particularly engaging, though I suppose it may be more entertaining to someone who couldn't predict where it was going chapters ahead of time.
My Little Dashie....bleh. It's a deliberate ploy to use cutesy stuff to try to forge an emotional bond between the readers and the slice of life of the story. I didn't finish it either. Also, it's short so it doesn't require an investment of time.
Thunder Struck is better, as Merlos has created an intriguing set-up between all of his stories and that's just one of them, even if he does often boil down to slice of life boredom between moments of interest....though at the same time I don't expect the series to ever be finished. At this point he's put out a total of about six chapters between all of the stories in the series over the last four years...
There is also one metric for all three of these stories that you aren't looking at Meep. Those three stories were all created when this fandom was quite young. That is one of the big reasons they're seen as cornerstone stuff, regardless of actual quality. The fandom is much larger than it was in 2011-13. Those stories became as popular as they did because there weren't many other even passingly good stories to compete. And whether we like it or not, a lot of people only want to read junk that requires no thought. That's why the feature box is usually so full of pap and/or unworthy fetish crap.
Your work is excellent, Meep. And unlike too many other stories, it actually goes somewhere and does something instead of standing around watching paint dry.
will i am feel sad or upset i listen to this song;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsF05B8TFWg
please feel better and have fun doing what you love
5120367
basekly I hope you have a good day and year and good time ahead and good forchan
I love your work the reason I stopped reading was my dislike of Fallout but I'm waiting patiently for your next work which I will enjoy.
Meep,
there is no reason to feel bad. I have been following Star Drop now for a while, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how I found it. I'm glad I did, because I find it not only wonderful, but full of wonder.
As for my own output here on fimfiction, I suggest you check my numbers out. My 'most popular' stories are all tied in with Goldfur's world building, with a heap of help from Starscribe. My own efforts... meh. I write because I like to.
What makes me proud is that Goldfur put two chapters I wrote into his novel, Cosmic Lotus. It was up for an Ursa Major award. It didn't win, but I feel honored one like Goldfur would consider my work worthy of reading.
Will I ever be a rampaging success? Probably not. I count success a different way. Do you like what I write? If the answer is 'yes', then I'm a success. I like what you write. Ergo, you're successful.
Always available on Discord if you ever want to chat privately. I do giva dam. If I was Dutch, I would also Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and when I go to Vegas, I see Boulder Dam and Hoover Dam. Why? I think you're worth it.
Shutting up now. *with a warm hug*
I believe in you.
5120368
That is genuinly not my fault... But I am sorry nonetheless. I wrote what I did because the guy paying me asked for that thing.
No. I am not searching for a purpose. I have one. My posision is that the amount of work I put in vs what I get out of it is nowhere near what I expected. 5% audience reach, 51% retention. That's been my goal since the beginning. I'm 5 year in... nowhere close. I dont even have 1% of the potential audience.
5120376 I'm not sure I can feel better. I am terrible at the only thing I have left in life that I want to do.
5120383 I wasnt asking for a why, I appreciate you caring enough to try and explain. I am accusing no one but myself. It is I who have failed. Not you.
5120389 I write because I like too, and because I hope that enough others migh tlike my work for me to leave a significent impact on this world before I die.
I meant the parts of the song about recognition and contribution.
And you don't have to be sorry.
Every person has other thoughts we would appologize all the time when we wanted to make everyone happy.
There's a factor here I'm not certain you've considered when it comes to at the very least My Little Dashie, and that is its size-- it's a pathetically small 12K words long, and has been around for eight years, give or take, at this point. Simpler stories like that are bound to have a much higher retention rate, and given the... well, self-insert... nature of the story, it's easy for people who are lonely and looking for something to relate to to get.
Past Sins, I'll admit, is one that does have you outdone in popularity, but if I'm honest, having read it and a majority of your stories, I'm more capable of remembering details from one of your stories than from it, which doesn't do it many favors in the long run. Just because the site doesn't lend itself to discovering talent, doesn't mean the talent isn't there.
And yeah, most stories have a low retention rate. That's true of most stories, not just on this site. Looking on Amazon Kindle, as you progress through any novel of significant enough length, you'll find that the percentage of readers who have finished the story drops significantly over the course of the book. Add to that the difference of those stories having been released all at once, as opposed to the chapter update method, and there's probably a reason that being able to binge a book will get better results.
Your writing isn't bad, in fact I'd say it's as good as mine and in many ways far, far better (both in consistency of work on it and variety of themes) and is something at times I'm honestly quite envious of. Just because others who are well-established from having been around longer have higher numbers in an arbitrary setting doesn't mean they're better than you.
Well, of course you're going to find your own work wanting if you're comparing yourself to people who wrote the right story at the right time in the show's and fandom's progression. Timeliness and being the first to do something the fandom finds interesting or insightful are very important. Fallout Equestria, Past Sins, My Little Dashie -- they were not just timely stories, but important moments in the fandom that cannot be repeated. Clinging to the coattails of recent trendy things is also somewhat successful.
Right now is just a different moment, waiting for a different story, for moments as wildly successful as that anyway. Good writing will be recognized in its own right, stories just have to be very well timed to become actually horse famous.
5120398
I do. Anything less than my best is unacceptable.
5120399
It, by definishion, does, when trying to understand my place in this community and how much people give a fuck about me.
What everyone else dosnt seem to understand is that I feel, that because I have made my writing my full time job, the thing I do to matter as a person, to contribute back to society, the amount of work I have put in, is GROSSLY out of proportion than what I have made with that work.
You probablyhave a job, friends, things to do and people to care for by which you make your mark on this world. This is all I have.
5120401
I did my own thing for years. It's not succeessful either. and it' snot about being horse famious. I dont want fame. I want a fair ammount of recognishion in the community based on how much work I do for it :c
the fandom is decaying
5120420 Irrelevant. I accounted for that. My current stories are no more or less successful with my older stories. That indicates time is not a factor with them. Also that "the fandom is decaying" story has been around since 2013.
5120421
As they say, it's different now. Bronycon shut down. Traffic dropped off on this site, the admin barely maintains it and is apathetic to its welfare...I'm not parroting the Fandom Dead line but I believe we're transitioning to a smaller role.
5120421
Also, I think you should file the pony serial numbers off your work and try going pro. Worked for me.
-hugs you tight- I love your stories, they are very well written and you are in the top 3 I usually suggest for people to check out, that being said don't burn yourself out just to please us, if you need a break take one and relax.
If your looking for a wider audience may I suggest posting on some of the furry sites, it's more accepted now that pony and fur are in the same family. You may also have some luck with live streaming, people do like watching\ listening to chill streams even if it's only you giving alittle commentary on your writing process.
My favourite stories from you are, The Adventures of Flesh and Bone, Exile’s Journey, and Lifegiver. As well as the ones listed above.
I just lost my train of thought... So I will end it here, in conclusion I love your stories and writing style. I hope you can find a good work life balance and that things improve for you. If you are ever desperate for recorded or material I'm sure the community will help. Especially with the responded above.
5120422 All true. But my current stories are as popular and viewed as my stories from 5 years ago. My reach and impact is so small here than the shrinking hasn't effected me. Yet, at least.
5120424 I dont think I'd get any reads for original fiction :/ I can barely succede here. It doesn't matter how cool a scifi-idea I have in my brain if there's no audience for it or a platform to give it to that audience. (Also I feel WEIRD gatekeeping stories with money.)
That said, good for you! I am glad you have gone professional.
5120426
Its not a matter of burnout. It's a matter of feeling unappreciated. The work I put in to do what I do gets me a tiny scattering of comments and an amount of views I honestly think is below what anyone with a half-decent idea for a story would get regardless of skill level. I don't need to write things down to have fun with a story. I can imagine it instead... I'm finding it harder and harder to be willing to share stories with others because... Well... it dosn't feel like others care.
I personally have drawn fanart for a story called Legasy. I'm not the only one who did. I've seen that for dozens of other stories too. On a shelf in front of me right now are leather bound copies of Fallout Equestria and Stardust, made by people who loved those stories not for money but just so people could have print copies. I've seen countless fanfics of fanfics too...
I dont have anyone doing anything like that for my stories. It dosn't seem like it's unusual or uncommon within this fandom for good workes to just, well, explode outwards into cultural touchstones. I dont expect any of my stuff to have that happen to them, but it owuld be nice if just once someone PMed me "Hey, I drew Azur Lily being cute with Scoots." or something. Some sign that I've inspired others, or, just... matter. YOu know?
I could. I dont think people go to FA to read though. I haven't been in touch with the furry community for so long all of the sites I used are gone :c No idea where a good place would be.
Absolutely not! I cannot write with people watching me. LItteraly can't. Full mental lockup. #autisticgirlproblems Even if I could do that, I'm not willing to talk while I write and be distracted in any way shape or form. Nothing less than 100% of my attention and effort can go into any of my stories. You guys deserve at least that much.
I'm glad you enjoy them. Could you summarize what you like about them for me?
I suspect the issue with the current story is that there's probably a fairly small audience for Fallout Equestria fics. If this one hadn't been by you I likely wouldn't have bothered with it as it's not generally a sub-genre I go looking for. I'm enjoying it and want to see a conclusion, but it's outside of my usual fare.
Out of curiosity, for those stats on story completion rates, did you include single chapter stories? Excessively short multi-chapter stories might also be skewing the numbers a bit.
5120397
Time is my problem at the moment so I can't read as much as I want but I will get around.
5120441 Its not jsut this one, DJ. It's everything I do. The data is just... I dont do well v.v
5120449
I have three stories in mind that I want to write but I'm not confident enough to write them
5120456 That's a shame. If I can get a bit of success, enough to want more, you should be able to make something great and loved by many people :3 You never know unless you try!
5120460
Much appreciated, amigo.
Bullshit.
Complete and utter fuck trumpetry of the highest order. This is stinking thinking at its foulest and I'm having none of it, you hear me meeps!
YOU ARE A SUPERB WRITER.
Never mind the fact that the works are exemplary, the fact that you are willing to put so much time, energy, and resources into them, and them being fanfiction of all things, shows a dedication and resolve rarely seen in any endeavor.
You must also remember that popularity does not equal good. Fandoms are a fickle herd animal. Hell, people adore Lovecraft, and he was a racist wuss afraid of colors. No, like literally. Not ethnic people, although he was afraid of them, he was literally afraid of differences in the light spectrum.
You have written excellent stories. THEY ARE GOOD STORIES MEEP'S. Which is all any writer or reader can expect or want. You have reached the pinnacle and can only go up from here.
You have failed nothing and no one. You have done nothing less then not only succeeded, but excelled in your endeavor.
So about the part on reader retention rate I am going to assume these are stats pulled from this site. For me personally I hate reading on this website. What I mean by that is, i don't like having to load every chapter from the website so what I do is read 1-3 chapters online the n if I like it I just download the epub to my device and finish it offline.
5120830 That is a fair point... eink is much nicer to read on. Do you know if this practice is especially common? That would differently skew the statistics a lot... We need a story downloads tracking system :/
5120837
I can tell you that I am doing the same.
I have a feeling the average story views are far smaller, with the popular stories massively skewing the curve.
5121129 I ignored the top and bottom 10% of results to get a better average by removing the outliers :/
I going to say something and i hope it resonates with you as it did with me, they are not my words "writing is not a zero sum game every time you produce something you change the world, just try and leave the world better than you got it thats all you can do" i think youve achieved something here so i hope you continue
Hey sorry it took so long to get back to you, for me personally it's how you write your characters, they feel more real and thought out. Plus I always see it as a positive when they are consistent. I enjoyed several of them enough to ask for sequels, which I'm still hoping for.
Soo livestreaming is definitely not the thing for you, I'd still try posting some on things like furaffinity, inkbunny, etc. I'd definitely try sofurry as they are more written work based.
I don't know about everyone else but I often share your stories on both Facebook and discord groups I'm in. They seem to be a bit when I do.
5121168 I agree that I have done so... Which is why it distresses me that I cannot have a larger impact. According to many, I have made their world a better place for them. This world has a lot of problems in spite of the many many good things it has going for it. If I can make life better for people, I must do so for as many as possible. It's a moral and ethical obligation. Those who can, should.
5121177
No problem. I understand people get buisy and I dont want anyone to just drop everything because I'm having a series of autistic meltdowns over my inability to help more people feel better.
I may do sequils at some point. I am glad you appreciate the detail I put in. I have a worksheet I made a decade ago. Once done, each character has a 23 page long bio.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
5121201
If i may rebute if u disappeared tommorrw u will have done more good in your life than most people underestimate the power of the written word i can understand to an extent your distress but i have never personally understood measuring yourself against some unreachable goal the fact that you can make at least a small amount of money at this means that you have achieved something that i probably never will i love stories and i have probably read more of them than most reading has always been a refuge for me but i have never been able to write and enjoy it later so i envy those that can while enjoying others efforts thanks for your reply and dont sweat the details
5121256 If I may be frank, you can write. Anyone can write. No one's first story is good. No one just knows how to do good worldbuilding. Writing is like everything else, some people have a talent that helps them with one small aspect of it, but it's the practice, education, and willingness to try that let them get anywhere.
You can write. What's the problem? Not imaginative enough? Imagination is a skill. Just sit down and pretend, have little fantasies, very them. Let your mind latch onto anything that seems fun or cool and focus on those things, anyone can be clever, anyone can be imaginative. It's a STILL not an inherent power some have in greater abundance.
Do you have problems with coming up with the technical stuff, like narrative structure? No problem. You can get that hammered out by taking the same Creative Writing Class I did, just at your own pace, anywhere you like, and for a mere 20 bucks. Have book!
Motivation issues? Can't help you there. I have those too, but the trick for me is to just punch my brain and scream "JUST DO IT!" till I actualy start writing.
Think your stories just suck ass? I also think my stories suck for the most part. You'll always be your own worst critic. Post stuff somewhere, even if it's amaturish. Keep posting and making. Eventualy, someone, somewhere, will be like 'Hey I like this. Thanks!" and then you've started to arrive.
Anyone can do this. The only hard part is doing it well. But unlike most creative endeavors, i think literally everyone could do this well if they really wanted too.
5121260
After that I feel motivated plus I have made time to read more of your stories and continuing others
First of all, let me apologize for not keeping up with your work. I had just over 600 unread feed notifications when I decided to clear that out today. I took way too much of a break from this site. I feel bad about that. This place is a repository of some of the best literature I've read. The usual internet junk, sure, but also diamonds. And you are easily in the Top 5 authors. And by that, I mean anywhere, not just this site. Your work consistently stokes my imagination and someday writing something that so much as dimly reflects its quality is my biggest goal in writing. I know that your outlook is based on logic and numbers. I understand that because I'm much the same way. But something I've gleaned from the content creators I follow is this: Don't look at the stats. They don't matter and they'll only drag you down. You could have a million people following you, but if they aren't affected by you and your work, does it really matter? You might have a small following, but your work affects people. Not everyone has the mindset to enjoy the kind of story you write. In fact, it seems rather rare. I can't describe the difference between your work and literally all others. But it's there and it's special. They're long and occasionally dry, but the worldbuilding is of the absolute highest caliber and the characterization is top-notch. I can't tell you why your work hasn't reached a wider audience, it doesn't make sense to me. I like stories that have plot, that have meaning and yours do. A lot of us don't seem to be here for those. I'm genuinely sorry your work hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves, especially with the amount of time you've put into it. At the very least, however, know that, on my bookshelf, your work is shelved with the greats. I sorry I can't get you the audience you deserve. Because you do. I hope you keep up the great work. But more importantly, please take care of yourself.
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:c I didn't intend this as a guilt trip. I intended it as an apology for my best not being good enough.
I'm at 12,988... I have this thing where I hate to read unfinished stories so I tend to wait. I know that's a bit hypocritical of me, but like, I've had stories that have been done for 5 years with very low views and retnetion ratings. I'm not complaining about time, just... the other stuff.
Can I please print this and put it on my bulletin board? I need more reminders of people caring about my work.
Could you explain what you mean by dry? Mabey I can study, adapt, and improve.
Uh, those print copies you have are unathorized, and did not exist to my knoladge untill now. Please show me where you got them. I'm not mad... Infact, I'm delihted and want a copy of my stuff in print. I've been trying to find a way to get print copies made of The Queen is Dead for years now.
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No no! No guilt trip taken. I was away for part of the time and distracted for the rest. I've only recently really gotten back on the site. Heck, I'd be writing too, if not for significant distraction by way of video games.
Chapters in Tracking or feed tally? Because, honestly, it's impressive either way.
Fair enough. I really can't say much else to that.
Please do!
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At exactly the moment where I might be able to provide helpful constructive criticism, my memory fails me. I need re-read your Equisverse series, I really do. (And Ready Player One, but that's another matter.) For a bit of context, I mean your work can be dry in the same manner that British humor can be dry when compared to American humor. It's subtler, slower sometimes, but has more depth, more nuance. You have to think about it to actually get it sometimes. Assuming my memory isn't misleading me, the Equisverse stories had... Loredumps might not be the correct term here, but I think it might begin to get the point across. Large amounts of setting data given to the reader in a relatively short space. While that sort of thing is my metaphorical bread and butter, I know other people who have trouble parsing or even outright dislike such condensed information. Fair warning, I can't tell you if that was actually constructive criticism or not. It might be my brain's effort to restore the compressed files causing some corruption to the memory of the story's flow. Hence why I should reread.
Ah, my mistake, I should've been more specific. That's a metaphorical bookshelf. I do, however, have most of the Equisverse downloaded in eBook format and saved across multiple storage mediums and possibly the cloud so unless everything I own spontaneously combusts, there will always be at least the one copy of your work. On the other hoof, if you do find a way to get print copies of The Queen is Dead made, I will literally give you all my money for one. And still think I got the better deal, for that matter. I'm a sucker for really good stories. Especially in print. Worth more than gold.
On that note, after consulting the mighty wizard Google, I found that with a bit of conversion and formatting hassle, as well as some cash, printing a story into a book seems rather feasible. This person even went and tested some services out for us Internet denizens. https://medium.com/@mwichary/my-experiences-printing-a-small-batch-of-books-c04141b63dfe If you don't have the fluid assets to just get one for yourself, I'm fairly certain there's enough of us fans of yours to fund a small Kickstarter to get print copies. Could probably find someone to assist in the formatting process too. Heck, I'll help out myself if I can, near-complete lack of formatting knowledge notwithstanding.
5122318 Oh, so dry as in stylisticly, not "without content". Okay. I'm happy with that :3
And thanks for the pointers with print projects. I know they can be done. I am holding a copy of Fallout Equestria and a copy of Stardust right now. It's been done. I just need to know how.
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Happy to help!