http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ Web Fiction Guide Forums » Recent Posts en Sun, 21 Mar 2010 03:12:05 +0000 http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/that-sudden-spots-the-space-marine-thing#post-4714 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:07:08 +0000 mcahogarth 4714@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I just wanted to wave hello and explain the sudden appearance of Spots the Space Marine, since I saw a couple of questions about it on Twitter; I feel a bit sheepish!</p> <p>I've been writing Spots twice a week for about a year now on Livejournal, which I like because it makes threaded conversations easy for brain-dead new moms with no sleep (that would be me). I never had the chance to list it here or on Muse's Success because its website linked to the LJ entries and didn't have proper interior navigation. But a couple of weeks ago my web-admin and I got together and did a one-day transfer of 73+ episodes, plus illustrations so we could put together proper navigation. I submitted the serial to both sites and told my readers... that's how it showed up so abruptly on the Top Web Fiction site and on Twitter's WebFicWed tag.</p> <p>The serial's my current crowdfunded endeavor. Some of the episodes are illustrated, either with directly embedded pictures or with links to exterior sketches, both by me. It's about half-finished, and I donate some of my profit to a couple of charities that benefit active duty and wounded soldiers.</p> <p>I'm hoping the new (proper!) navigation will help new readers get into it!</p> <p>--Maggie </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/to-comm-or-not-to-comm#post-4713 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:30:51 +0000 intergal 4713@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>@capriox: thanks, I've taken your advice about setting up the comm, and I'll try to think of a few questions for tomorrow, maybe keep a list of them for each update.</p> <p>@Dary: thanks for the suggestion of comment questions - my next update is tomorrow, so I'll try and think of a few by then!</p> <p>@RiP: I don't think I explained myself very well - I wasn't asking for the easy route to get more people reading. I'm aware that I already have several regular readers who do f-list me in order to watch for updates, and I know there's no magic totem that's going to make me an overnight sensation. I'm aware that I'm doing pretty well given I've started doing this only fairly recently and what not. The point of this thread was whether or not it was worth setting up a comm/forum for those readers I already have, and maybe work from there.</p> <p>I have already read the 'Reading Out To New Readers' thread, but thanks for suggesting it. I'm not in a position at the moment to be spending money on things like Project Wonderful, but I'll try to look into it when I have some steady income. Like I say, I wasn't fishing for some deus ex machina, just an opinion as to whether it would be worth my while or not. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/to-comm-or-not-to-comm#post-4712 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:14:43 +0000 Rhapsody In Prose 4712@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>While I understand your desire (to get more comments), I just don't think it's achievable. Even if you spent a lot of time and money, the odds are so unfavorable that it'd be better to study up on your blackjack strategy and hit Vegas. </p> <p>See this thread as to why: </p> <p><a href="http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers" rel="nofollow">http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers</a> </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/to-comm-or-not-to-comm#post-4711 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:13:36 +0000 Dary 4711@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>The average is:<br /> One in every ten readers will leave you a solitary comment at some point.<br /> One in every hundred will comment with regularity.</p> <p>This is just the way of the internet.</p> <p>Another thing to consider is that a lot of readers might not be reading every update as it's released, and people are most likely to comment on the last page/update they reach.</p> <p>To inspire them to comment you also need to have something for them to discuss. The above mentioned method of raising questions at the end of a chapter has worked well for me, but you also need to have a story that can raise and answer these sorts of questions on a regular basis (and this is one of the areas where I find serials have a big, big advantage over novels).</p> <p>And a LOT more people will answer the poll I put at the end of each chapter than comment directly (and even then, the majority will just ignore the polls!).</p> <p>Whatever the case, stick to that one-in-a-hundred figure. It'll keep things realistic. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/to-comm-or-not-to-comm#post-4710 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:55:07 +0000 capriox 4710@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>First off, others have talked about how commentors are a small percentage of readers, so really the best way to get more comments is to increase overall readership.</p> <p>One thing I have seen on someone's weblit site was a comment prompt at the bottom of the chapter (clearly separate and subordinate to the story text above). It was usually in the form a question or two related to the current chapter that people could respond to in a commenting section immediately below. If you wanted to drive a community on a separate LJ group account, you might try linking the prompt directly to that community where people could respond, if you decided to go that route. </p> <p>Is it going to hurt you in any way to setup the lj community now? If not, then I don't see why you can't go ahead and do so.</p> <p>As for alternatives, well, you could always migrate to a different site that integrates story posting with a forum instead of maintaining to different locations. I'm thinking of the Drupal-built sites a number of weblit folks use. </p> <p>I don't know which of those ideas would work best with your current situation, but those are a few things to think about. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4709 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:06:30 +0000 Miladysa 4709@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I'm Miladysa</p> <p>I've been writing <a href="http://roydss.blogspot.com">Refuge of Delayed Souls</a> for a few years now. Volumes One and Two are complete and I think there will be a Volume Three - if I can concentrate long enough to finish it!</p> <p>I too can remember introducing myself quite late on in the thread Jim and Tahjir mentioned - it seems like only yesterday :)</p> <p>You can find me on twitter @Miladysa</p> <p>I'm looking forward to the day Refuge of Delayed Souls is mentioned on TV Tropes - I've heard it is all uphill from there :) </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4708 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:40:12 +0000 krtbuni 4708@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hihi!</p> <p>My name is Kristina Tracer, and I have the misfortune of that not only being my real name as well as my pen name, but also the name under which I opted to write almost everything I've put online. This has the benefit and the curse of people being able to easily find my work when I introduce myself, since I'm the only person with that name in Google at present.</p> <p>I've been writing and storytelling for ages, but when I opted to give up a desired degree in Creative Writing to pursue monetary self-sufficiency, I ended up having to take a long hiatus, and My first novel, "Child of Man", is complete and available online at my website. My second, "Beautiful World", is done and presently being edited into nothingness. *grin* The third, "Bonds of Silver, Bonds of Gold", is quite honestly pure fetish material, but from the feedback I've gotten elsewhere, it's quite good fetish material. The fourth, "De Magia," is mostly plotted and the first chapter is underway.</p> <p>As far as inspirations, I'll take it where I can find it. I don't do nearly as much reading these days as I should, but I grew up on William Mark Gardener, Robert and Lynn Aspirin, Craig Shaw Gardener, Alan Dean Foster, Robert Anton Wilson, Mercedes Lackey... yeah, that's about the list. Later I got into Greg Egan and just enough Bob Heinlein to know better. =n.n= </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/to-comm-or-not-to-comm#post-4707 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:10:23 +0000 intergal 4707@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Okay, so innuendos aside, I have a question and would appreciate advice and feedback.</p> <p>Currently, I'm updating my novel on LiveJournal at my writing account. I'm aware that I have a few regular readers, but not many commentors, and I would like to increase the traffic. I've got a twitter set up, and I post there whenever I update my novel, but I was wondering... </p> <p>Is it worth setting up an LJ community in tandem to the novel pre-emptively? Should I wait until I have regular commentors and more readers? Or does anyone have an alternative suggestion? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4706 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:47:21 +0000 H-M Brown 4706@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Welcome!</p> <p>My name is H-M Brown. (That is my real name)</p> <p>I currently write in Fictionaut. My works posted there are the following: Poem 'Days of Fate and Destiny', Short Stories 'The First Run' and 'Arcana Magi Zero', and my Web Serial Novel 'Arcana Magi'. I joined Fictionaut late last year and I am still new to posting my stories on the internet. Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Horror are my writing genres and my influences include H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Ken Akamatsu, and CLAMP. </p> <p>My overall goal: To train hard in the art of writing and tell everyone a good story. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4705 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:42:44 +0000 Dash 4705@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hi, I'm Dash - musician, writer...</p> <p>Spent a few years writing gig reviews and blogging about work - until work found out and made me stop! I still had the urge to write so I decided to turn my ideas into proper stories. </p> <p>I too am a big sci-fi (and RPG) fan, mostly Iain M Banks, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson - 'hard' sci fi if you will... </p> <p>Still finding my feet with the writing, my current story is really a novel that I'm serialising as I write it, which has it's pros and cons I guess. </p> <p>Don't spend as much time getting involved in forums as I probably should to build up the readership, but it's early days (and I have a mini-me on the way so there's a deadline!)... </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4704 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:34:03 +0000 Tahjir 4704@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Oooh, I can still remember the last intro thread. Ages and ages ago...</p> <p>Anyway, my pen-name is Tahjir, and I write a mixture of sci-fi, urban fantasy, and... uh, experimental fiction, I guess.<br /> I don't post here very often, but I usually read the threads.</p> <p>My main series is One Last Autumn (sci-fi/experimental) <a href="http://tahjir.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://tahjir.blogspot.com</a> which has been written and re-written about 30 times now.</p> <p>I do reviews (on occasion), usually on whatever catches my eye, mainly epic fantasy and that sort of thing. I like stuff that takes advantage of the online medium, or any sort of experimental writing. And, like quite a few people on here, I haven't been writing for that long, maybe two years, so I'm no professional. Not yet, anyway. &gt;.&gt; </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4703 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:53:05 +0000 Murazrai 4703@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Looks like we have another writer here. My pseudonym is Murazrai and I'm currently authoring a fantasy series named Chaos Fighters. On its third book, it chronicles the adventure of eight chosen warriors in their task given by god. They have to get their holy weapons through the tests given by the gods before sent down to the realm of satan to fight against a demon lord.</p> <p>I also write another to the series, named Chaos Fighters: Cyber Assault-The Secret Programs. It is about the struggles of a governmental research group which trying to create sentient digital being called guardians, which behaves completely like human from the law reinforcement people's point of view.</p> <p>Being about one year and an half in writing, I feel that I having improvements over my writing, despite still having room for improvement. Hopefully you'll be able to write as you wish. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4702 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:24:08 +0000 Shutsumon 4702@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I'm Becka,</p> <p>I'm new at all this too. I'm writing a young adult fantasy serial called <a href="http://firebird-fiction.com/">Dragon Wars</a> (yeah, I know the title is boring) wherein a group of British teens struggle to end a war that started 10000 years ago.</p> <p>How long have I been writing? I don't remember exactly but I recall writing stories before my age hit double figures so around 30 years I guess. No, I've never been published - never really tried.</p> <p>I also post a review of a piece of web fiction on here and on my blog every Wednesday as part of #webficwed on Twitter.</p> <p>Becky </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4701 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:22:12 +0000 Hashmalum 4701@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Interesting discussion there, RIP. I've been pondering getting some of my own writing online so I could get comments, and the apparent struggles people face is a real eye opener for me.</p> <p>I suppose it kind of takes away from the significance of any research if comments on web fiction are so rare, but I'm kind of interested to see if anything turns up. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4700 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:20:49 +0000 Dary 4700@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Nah, they do comment. It's just one-in-a-hundred that do - at least regularly. And anything that gets a mention on TV Tropes must get a fairly decent number of readers! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4699 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:18:52 +0000 Rhapsody In Prose 4699@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I don't mean to rain on your parade, but the consensus around here seems to be that just about nobody comments on stories. See this thread: <a href="http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers" rel="nofollow">http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers</a> </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4698 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:10:47 +0000 Rhapsody In Prose 4698@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hi, I'm Rhapsody In Prose, or if you prefer abbreviations, R.I.P. Hah! As far as the community goes, I'm the resident cynic. </p> <p>I've been writing a while; I've always felt that it's in my blood. Though I've been published in various forms, I'm writing serial fiction now because I don't want to go through the comprises you have to go through in order to get published. Why screw with that junk when you have your own printing press? </p> <p>Anyhow, I'm working on three projects -- Summer Ends in August (modern-day coming-of-age), The Department of Minor Incompetence Correction (satire/high school/superhero), and Lonely Planets (gothic SF), pretty much monthly.</p> <p>I write, play music, rollerblade, do web design, and write interactive fiction -- all at about the same level of incompetence! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4697 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:54:43 +0000 allantmichaels 4697@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I'm Allan T Michaels and I just realized I've been doing the online writing thing for just over two years (although there were some regrettable gaps). I write mainly high or urban fantasy, although I'm planning to branch out into Sci Fi. My main, on-going work, is An Empire of Law, and I have two complete novellas of my urban fantasy Superstition. Both can be found at <a href="http://allantmichaels.digitalnovelists.com" rel="nofollow">http://allantmichaels.digitalnovelists.com</a>.</p> <p>If you want to reach me, you can e-mail me at allantmichaels [at] gmail or on Twitter - @allantmichaels</p> <p>Aside from writing, my main hobby is photography. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4696 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:46:05 +0000 capriox 4696@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>@Jim, I did a quick scan of the archives, and I couldn't find it either. All well!</p> <p>Hullo, all, I'm capriox bovidae. I'm a farmer (meat goats, dairy cows, assorted crops) who also happens to read a lot of scifi/fantasy. As long as I can remember, I've also been coming up with my own stories, and I finally started sharing some of them this year as weblit serials. My first story is sword &amp; sorcery type of tale called "Strong Heart". The story is currently located at <a href="http://bovidae.livejournal.com" rel="nofollow">http://bovidae.livejournal.com</a>. The quickest way to contact me is through twitter @caprioxbovidae, but almost as quick and a bit more reliable is emailing bovidae.at.play -at- gmail -dot- com.</p> <p>Um, some of you may have noticed that I go through fits &amp; spurts of writing reviews on WFG. FYI, I usually focus on newly listed stories and/or ones that haven't been reviewed by readers yet. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4695 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:37:49 +0000 Hashmalum 4695@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Many thanks, Jim. I'll try that. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4694 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:57:50 +0000 Jim Zoetewey 4694@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>It's kind of funny. A long time ago, there was an introduction thread. I guess it's lost in the mist of time (roughly two years ago).</p> <p>Anyway, personally, I'm Jim Zoetewey, a web developer/sysadmin/small business owner who's currently writing a web serial called "The Legion of Nothing." It's superheroic fiction in prose. Basically a comic book without all the pictures. I chose that particular genre because I had characters and a story, but knew that there's not a lot of that sort of thing published. As such, it's unlikely that it would have much of a chance with traditional publishers.</p> <p>I'm working on a novel intended for traditional publication as well.</p> <p>One of these days I hope to have time to do things like play bass guitar, regular running, or martial arts again, but for the moment I spend a lot of time working on computers. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4693 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:49:52 +0000 Jim Zoetewey 4693@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>You might check out requirecookie.com. It used to update regularly, but at this point, I've no idea when it updates. I just follow the RSS feed and know that it's inconsistent. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4692 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:39:02 +0000 intergal 4692@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hello! I tend to go by intergal, or my writing LiveJournal log in name, which is Akatsuki_2007. I wish I had come up with a clever nom de plume, but alas I have not gotten around to that yet (I just prefer not to band around my given name at the moment).</p> <p>I write 'Cold Ghost' and 'My Last Wilderness', the first being a crime story with a bit of romance, and the second being a post-apocalyptic adventure. I am also working on a novel which I considered putting up on my writing journal, but I've since taken it down so I can get to working on it properly. I would like to be published and intend to work hard towards that goal. At the moment, I'm trying to get 'Cold Ghost' up and running, and encourage new readers; I hope if any of you decide to take a look, that you will enjoy it too!</p> <p>Apart from reading and writing, I like films (especially Japanese and Chinese cinema), karaoke, soundtrack music, giant chocolate buttons and photography, and other things that I can't think of right now. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4691 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:24:53 +0000 Sarratum 4691@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hi, I'm T.L. Whiteman, author of The Antithesis. </p> <p>Except for one short story published in a (now out-of-business) horror quarter-annual magazine six years ago, I'm a free-lance sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer who somehow finds the time to write in between my busy schedule. </p> <p>I've only actually written one novel thus far, which began as just a sort of stress relief a year and a half ago during my near-mental breakdown while obtaining a pre-medical bachelors in biology and chemistry, while subsequently trying to prepare for admission to medical school. </p> <p>I probably will never be published, and I will admit I've never actually tried save for winning a short story contest during high school (which my teacher submitted to the magazine I had mentioned earlier). I just enjoy writing and being read. </p> <p>In any case, welcome to the forums and hope to see you around! :) </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/working-with-a-published-author-the-fool#post-4690 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:05:54 +0000 Dash 4690@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Congrats! Lord Likely gets even more crazy! Love it! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4689 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:25:51 +0000 Tamyrlin Ink 4689@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I will, though I doubt you could call me a regular poster, though I do usually come here most days just to see what's postin'. I suppose this might be a nice way to reintroduce myself since the last time I posted as well. </p> <p>Name's Tamyrlin Ink, least that's what I call myself for the purpose of writing my serial novel 'The Grimmery' (found at <a href="http://thegrimmerynovel.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://thegrimmerynovel.blogspot.com/</a> ). I haven't actually submitted it to the Guide yet, but when I do I hope some of you kind folk will look at it and review it. Perhaps even like it. </p> <p>I write fantasy, first and foremost, but to say I 'write fantasy' implies some level of professionalism, which I do not have. I write in my spare time, and maybe one day I could be a real author, but for now I'll content myself with writing (and juggling) my stories for myself when I can. 'The Grimmery' is really the first thing I've shared on the Internet, or shared with anyone. I started it around December last year, and updates have been... sporadic, at best. I've been writing stories for longer than that, but this is the first thing to see the light of day. If you could call it's current state 'the light of day'. </p> <p>And, like a lot of us, I'm having trouble pulling readers and getting the word out, with the added problem of having no money to put into advertising. Not knowing the people that do go there, no comments on the site and little time to write, learn all I need to learn about site management, and all the other stuff that makes a web novel successful... It's tough, is all I'll say. </p> <p>If you really want to try and contact me, your best bet is the.terminian.annals(at)gmail(dot)com, although I probably check my emails once a week at most, so don't get your hopes up. </p> <p>I guess we're in the same boat. A similar boat, at least. Perhaps my boat is a little behind your boat... </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/working-with-a-published-author-the-fool#post-4688 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:30:46 +0000 Fanton 4688@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Thank you very much :) </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hello-and-introductions#post-4687 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:21:23 +0000 Khelden Iituem 4687@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>So I've lurked around the Guide for a while and noticed there are a lot of fairly regular faces at the core of the community. I'd like to be more active, but it can be a little intimidating getting into a new community off the bat.</p> <p>So I'd like to know a little more about the people who frequent these boards! Please post a little something about yourselves, what you like, how to best contact you and (importantly!) what you write, if you are a writer.</p> <p>Starting this off, then:</p> <p>I use the pen name Khelden Iituem (which is a pain, I know, but it's a longstanding web alias), but I also tend to go by Jack or Roberts. Any of those is fine. I like storytelling (duh?), as well as acting, listening/reading other people's storytelling, learning the fundamentals of programming and cooking. I am a motorcyclist!</p> <p>The best way to contact me is by MSN or email (iituem-at-hotmail-dot-com), but somewhere or other I have a dusty old twitter account under @iituem.</p> <p>I write a fantasy serial called The Goatskin Usgar ( <a href="http://violetwaterbeast.digitalnovelists.com/usgar" rel="nofollow">http://violetwaterbeast.digitalnovelists.com/usgar</a> ), following the adventurers of a young man searching for his mother in a very different world to our own. I enjoy writing fantasy, though I want to write in more genres as I develop skill. I am still relatively new to this (having only been seriously working at it for a year).</p> <p>Would anyone else care to introduce themselves, please? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-recommendation-for-linguistic-study#post-4686 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:30:20 +0000 Hashmalum 4686@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I'm currently taking a class in the Analysis of Written Language, and I'm considering doing a linguistic analysis and comparison of two web serials for a major project.</p> <p>My focus is not so much on the story itself as on the dynamic of the web serial and the community. More to the point, focusing on the readership (those who post comments) and how they are influenced or affected by an unreliable updater as opposed to a reliable one. When a writer fails to stick to a schedule, do the commenters start talking about other stories? Do they form a more cohesive community or fall apart? Do they start theorizing more on the potential outcomes of the story to compensate for what the author is failing to provide? Is there more criticism and/or praise to the author?</p> <p>To answer these questions, I'm planning to break down comments into categories, then examine the trends in how much a given category pops up. I'm also looking at incidences of intertextuality (ie. do the comments refer to other stories? Do they refer to past, present or future events in the story they're commenting about)? If I have time (and I admit I'm rather swamped this semester), I also intend to look at the number of comments per update &amp; repeat visitors/commenters. Once I've got the data I'll take a stab at doing an analysis.</p> <p>To start with, I'm thinking of using Legion of Nothing for my 'reliable updater'. There's a fairly manageable number of comments per update (5-15) and it's fairly well recognized as a sample of solid web fiction. Jim sticks regularly to his schedule of updating every Wednesday and Saturday night.</p> <p>Now, the problem I'm coming to you guys for help with - My original thought was to use Tales of MU as my 'unreliable updater' source. It's listed as updating five days a week but currently sits at an average of .8 updates a week. Trouble is, Tales of MU just updated to a new look and it appears the comments have been wiped for everything previous to last week. I'm looking for recommendations of web fiction that has enough regular comments to do an analysis with, but has a recognizably poor schedule or 'reliability'.</p> <p>Of course, if you guys are interested, I'd share my results when I'm done. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers/page/3#post-4685 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:42:31 +0000 irk 4685@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Haha yeah, I didn't know you didn't know it's pretty much a lion's den. Full of popular culture devourers and fans who actively do fanwork, though, and I'm a veteran channer, so I'm fine with braving the boards. Ads can be targeted to specific boards too, in the event I ever get a huge enough lump of cash. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers/page/3#post-4684 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:16:42 +0000 H-M Brown 4684@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>After checking around 4chan, I think it would be a good idea to not talk about Arcana Magi in there. I'll let my readers talk about Arcana Magi on 4chan, IF there are any 4chan visitors reading my story. That's a scary place. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/review-request-the-antithesis#post-4683 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:50:55 +0000 Sarratum 4683@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Yes I saw that! </p> <p>I just finished your last chapter, and the "I NEED TO GO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING" scene just about made me spit my soda everywhere. Lol. </p> <p>I finished your review, but am saving it on a word document to edit and correct typos before posting it. It'll be up the same day as The Antithesis 4th installment.</p> <p>I would have written your review much sooner but alas, a pre-med university senior barely even has time to sleep :P </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/review-request-the-antithesis#post-4682 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:04:29 +0000 intergal 4682@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Thank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Just to let you know that I cross-posted my review to Muse Success as well. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers/page/3#post-4681 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:07 +0000 capriox 4681@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Dary, thanks for the PW micromanagement post! Yeah, it's a lot of nitty gritty, but for us rank advertising newbies, it's helpful! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/reaching-out-to-new-readers/page/2#post-4680 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:34:02 +0000 Dary 4680@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Now look what you've gone and done. You've sent an innocent to 4chan!</p> <p>Though you could always post a link on their new /lit board</p> <p>Eh, though who knows what might happen to you or your site if you do...</p> <p>If you're going to use PW, I'd recommend you be signed to something like Google Analytics too. PW will tell you how many people are visiting your site through the ads you've put up, but they won't tell you how many of those people are <em>reading</em>. Set up a few basic parameters on GA, though, and you can get a good idea. Sometimes the sites that give you the most impressions aren't the ones giving you the most returning readers.</p> <p>And make sure to cater to the right demographics. Don't put an ad on a site just because it's popular. Currently I'm in need of fresh sites to mine, which is also one of the issues with PW: past a certain threshold you won't find many comics outside the comedic, geeks-on-the-sofa type (or which appeal to that demographic). MSPaint Adventures may have a six-figure daily page-view count, but don't expect a very big click-through rate! Long-running, popular serial stories are a much rarer commodity.</p> <p>As for what you should pay, the rule-of-thumb is 1 cent per 100 pageviews, so a site that averages 2k pageviews ought to have adspace going around 20c. This will differ, and some sites will sell for a lot more. Though you should watch out for the big media campaigns on skyscraper ads, usually from anime/manga companies - these <em>will</em> drive up prices across the board and there is no point fighting against them. They'll last for a few days and if you rely primarily on skyscraper ads (like I do) then you'll see a noticeable hit in your pageviews.</p> <p>Oh, and a clickthrough cost of less than 3 cents is recommended. Any higher than that and you should only stick with it if you know for a fact you get a high conversion rate.</p> <p>Make sure you have at least one ad of each shape - more would be better - and don't stick with the same design too long. I try not to stay with an ad design for more than a month myself, although I'm bogged down with stuff and have been using my current one almost two now.</p> <p>Also don't cancel ads unless they're underperforming. With those that do well just lower the bid until you've been outbid. The system gives priority to ads who have held a bid on a space longest, so when you want to run the ad again you won't have to compete with newer ads. I've also found sometimes that you can lower a bid and <em>not</em> be outbid, which can help cut costs. And sometimes if you lower your bid and are outbid, that person may lower theirs in turn, driving prices down.</p> <p>In conclusion: DEAR GOD THAT'S A LOT OF MICROMANAGEMENT D: </p>