http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ Web Fiction Guide Forums » Forum: General Chat - Recent Topics en Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:36:32 +0000 http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/the-great-site-redesign-of-2012#post-7693 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:33:30 +0000 ubersoft 7693@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>The tags on this post represent the tiny voice in my brain screaming that no good will come from this, but I have to do something.</p> <p>My current site management strategy is a mess. I have three separate websites (eviscerati.net, ubersoft.net, unexploredhorizons.net) that are managed from a single interface. Which is better than having to manage three sites separately, but lately trying to sort the information between sites has become really difficult. So I've decided the only thing to do is to combine them into one large mixed-media content site.</p> <p>I'm not sure how good this is from a marketing perspective. Generally my webcomic readers aren't interested in my fiction, and... I don't have enough fiction readers to actually know if it works the other way or not. So they might be turned off by suddenly having everything right there. Which is why I've worked out a way to a) consolidate everything into one site while b) still allowing people to use the "old" domain names to filter out everything but the content they want to see, more or less.</p> <p>From a management perspective it will be a huge relief. From a reader perspective... well, I don't know. That's the part that has the DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER DANGER klaxon alarm set on repeat.</p> <p>It does, however, give me another chance at trying to design a web interface Chris hates less. ;-) (In all seriousness, though, the redesign *will* have the advantage of removing at least one of the layers of branding on each site, and probably two, which I remember was one of Chris' critiques of my current design.)</p> <p>Wish me luck! Or, you know, try to talk me down. I need one or the other. :D </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/creative-monetization#post-7714 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:55:37 +0000 Tim Sevenhuysen 7714@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>What kinds of interesting experiments have you tried in terms of ways to monetize your web fiction?</p> <p>I've seen some ideas floated out there, especially regarding serials. I know people have tried requiring a set donation amount before the next chapter gets posted, or using donations to accelerate the posting schedule, and things like that... What's worked for you, and what hasn't?</p> <p>This week I ran a couple of experiments with selling the right to name/create characters for me, and it's been successful so far. I seem to be very lucky, because I don't necessarily have a huge audience, but they appear quite willing to invest in me, which is awesome.</p> <p>I sold the right to create a character, including name + special ability, for <a href="http://specialpeople.timsevenhuysen.com">Special People</a>, for $5, and it got snapped up in under 10 minutes.</p> <p>Then I put out a novelette yesterday, with special offers to buy the right to name a minor or major character in the novel I'm working on set in the same world as the novelette. I made three minor characters available for $4.99 each, and one major character for $19.99. So far one minor character and the major character have sold. (When they bought the rights they also got a copy of the novelette.)</p> <p>So I guess this thread is a partial triumph story, and a partial call for sharing your experiences. What kinds of special ways have you monetized your web fiction or online fiction sales? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/the-monkey-it-is-off-my-back#post-7670 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:50:45 +0000 ubersoft 7670@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Finally! December was a logistically tricky month. I had to:</p> <p> - put a beloved dog to sleep<br /> - buy a new car after my wife got into an accident and totaled my old one<br /> - get freaking Smashwords to respond to my hand signals in order to make an ebook of <em>Pay Me, Bug!</em> available on iTunes (this was a disaster by the way)<br /> - Do Christmas Things<br /> - go to my Day Job</p> <p>These five things made it nearly impossible to write -- even when I had the time, I didn't have the focus. And so <em>The Points Between</em> languished in semi-neglect, quietly gathering dust, occasionally clearing its throat and shooting accusing glances in my direction. But this week changed all that as I was finally able to post Chapter 12 today.</p> <p>It's a short chapter. Only 1900 words! ;-)</p> <p>Thank God that monkey is finally off my back. Now I can --</p> <p>...</p> <p>... what's that? <em>Every</em> week?</p> <p>...</p> <p>... stupid monkey. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/spots-now-available-on-kindle-bookstore#post-7636 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:07:37 +0000 M.C.A. Hogarth 7636@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>For those of you who started reading Spots the Space Marine and lost track of it after a while, I've put together a compiled and edited version--including a rewrite of the first 15 or so episodes to bring it up to the standards of the rest of the story--and complete with the graphic novel pages, on the Amazon store:</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spots-Space-Marine-Defense-ebook/dp/B006MGJYOE/" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Spots-Space-Marine-Defense-ebook/dp/B006MGJYOE/</a></p> <p>The Smashwords version is forthcoming, but my Amazon version is DRM-free so you could probably use Calibre to change it over to anything you want.</p> <p>Three of the reviews from Webfiction Guide got quoted in the beginning of the book! So thank you for those. :) </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/print-rights-sold-for-flight-of-the-godkin-griffin#post-7594 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:57:24 +0000 M.C.A. Hogarth 7594@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I just signed a contract with a small press for the print rights to my first serial, Flight of the Godkin Griffin. Flight was my first go at crowdfunding back in 2004, back when putting an entire novel up for tips was considered bad business. I'm glad I put it up now!</p> <p>You can read the details here: <a href="http://haikujaguar.livejournal.com/1022826.html" rel="nofollow">http://haikujaguar.livejournal.com/1022826.html</a></p> <p>Just remember... just because you're not being paid now doesn't mean you won't be later! :) </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/in-a-quandry-ebook-pricing#post-7606 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:49:13 +0000 Erin Klitzke 7606@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Since this is a community I've come to trust (even though I've been sadly absent lately), I thought I'd come here and float this question. It's a business question, and we've got some very smart folks floating around, so picking your brains seems like a good idea to me.</p> <p>I've released several ebooks over the past few months--a novelette (c. 17k words, currently free), a novella (20k words, $0.99), and a novel (80k, $1.99). My quandry surrounds the pricing of my novel, <em>Epsilon: Broken Stars</em>. Recent bloggings from other indie writers seem to be indicating that the $1.99/$2.99 price point leaves some consumers assuming that a book at that price point is indie crap and that it's not worth their time. I'm not thinking about going to $4.99 or something, but I'm thinking of maybe bumping my work up a couple dollars.</p> <p>Any thoughts? I suppose this is as much about pricing my first novel-length ebook as it is about my future pricing strategies. <em>Broken Stars</em> is the first book in a larger series, later books will be priced about $1 or so higher than the intial book. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/research-questions-about-wfg#post-7530 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:21:47 +0000 BrokenOwlProductions 7530@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Hello, my name is Armand. I am a college student studying Mass Communication, and I am researching online communities, particularly those involving web fiction. I would like to ask few questions about the community of WFG. If I can get as many users as possible to answer by Tuesday, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.</p> <p>1. Your Age:</p> <p>2. Your Gender:</p> <p>3. Do you read, write, or read and write web serials?</p> <p>4. Why did you join Web Fiction Guide as a member rather than simply use it as a listing service?</p> <p>5. Would you consider yourself a light, moderate or heavy site user?</p> <p>6. How often do you login to Web Fiction Guide on average per week?</p> <p>7. What role does peer editing play in the community of WFG?</p> <p>8. What type of social media do you use to keep updated on web serials or to update fans (Twitter, Facebook, RSS, etc)? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/special-extrasin-betweens#post-7358 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:40:49 +0000 Erin Klitzke 7358@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>For about the past week, I've been following some advice that I've seen in various places: I've been assessing different projects and figuring out which ones are viable and worth hanging on to, which are salvageable, and which should be given the heave-ho. This has resulted in considering the broader "universe" of <em>Awakenings</em>. I have a novelette that I'd considered developing into a larger work, though I've since decided that I probably will never get around to it. However...there is significant promise for this work as part of the <em>Awakenings</em> universe.</p> <p>My question to folks is thus: I'm within a few chapters of the end of Book One of <em>Awakenings</em>, and I was wondering what everyone does when they come to the end of one major story arc. Do you just launch into the next one, or do you divide it up by adding extras and "filler episodes"?</p> <p>If you do special extras, where and when do you post them?</p> <p>I look forward to thoughts and such! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/nanowrimo-post-mortem#post-7563 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:59:07 +0000 ubersoft 7563@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I managed to eke out a victory one hour before deadline with around 50470 words. It was a brutal, brutal month. My plate was unbelievably full (new job, publishing comics, putting Pay Me Bug! up at the stores, publishing chapters of the Points Between, 3 year old daughter, etc.) but somehow I managed to dig in and get it done.</p> <p>Feels good now. Didn't feel so good two or three days ago when it wasn't certain I would succeed.</p> <p>But now that makes 5 wins, 4 losses in all. This was the tie breaker!</p> <p>Thank God I decided not to post it though. It might actually be an interesting story some day. But not in its current form, no no no no no no no no no... </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/do-you-plan#post-7145 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:43:37 +0000 Aderyn 7145@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I entered into a discussion about planning on another forum, and it turned out to be more controversial than I had thought. So, to what extent do you plan your writing? And, how important do you think planning is? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/weblit-as-gifting-culture#post-7274 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:24:09 +0000 M.E.Traylor 7274@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I wrote a <a href="http://cheapassfiction.com/2011/08/25/an-overconcentration-of-wealth-weblit-as-gifting-culture-m-e-traylor/#comment-587">guest post</a> over at Cheap Ass Fiction about weblit as gifting culture that people here might be interested in. Here's an excerpt: </p> <p>"When I first started reading weblit other than fanfiction, it kind of knocked my paradigm of publishing on its ass. Not because it was on the internet. The internet was just a flexible, fluid, far-reaching medium. What hit me was that so many authors were giving their stories away, for free. Because they loved it. Because they would rather give, with no expectation of reciprocation, than keep it to themselves and maybe get a contract some day.</p> <p>There’s a saying where I live, “Giving is receiving.”" </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/rosary-now-complete#post-7534 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:26:55 +0000 M.C.A. Hogarth 7534@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Just a note: I've finished up posting A Rosary of Stones and Thorns! So if you want to read it from beginning to end, you can check it out on the website:</p> <p><a href="http://stardancer.org/project/rosary" rel="nofollow">http://stardancer.org/project/rosary</a></p> <p>Or if you prefer reading on an e-book reader, you can get it on Amazon (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosary-Stones-Thorns-ebook/dp/B005PR6C6E/" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Rosary-Stones-Thorns-ebook/dp/B005PR6C6E/</a>) or Smashwords (<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92371)" rel="nofollow">https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92371)</a>. The e-book version has pretty little feather graphics and stuff, it's very fancy. &gt;.&gt;</p> <p>I've sent in an update here so that it can also be listed as complete on the webfiction guide page (<a href="http://webfictionguide.com/listings/a-rosary-of-stones-and-thorns/)" rel="nofollow">http://webfictionguide.com/listings/a-rosary-of-stones-and-thorns/)</a>. :)</p> <p>And now... I shall rest. -_- Where resting = "going back to posting only one serial a week instead of two" and maybe possibly "considering what trunked novel next to resurrect as a serial for grocery money." &gt;.&gt; </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/hi-from-a-newbee#post-7512 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:46:06 +0000 bensen.daniel 7512@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I'm new to Web Fiction Guide. I just got my web-novel (<a href="http://www.thekingdomsofevil.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.thekingdomsofevil.com/</a>) on the site, and got a very nice review from Chris Poirier. Thanks, Chris!<br /> So...what do I do now? I'd love to exchange comments, critiques, or reviews with another author, if anyone is interested. I'd also like to start reading some other people's web fiction. Do you guys have any recommendations?</p> <p>Dan </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/are-any-of-you-doing-nanowrimo#post-7434 Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:58:00 +0000 ubersoft 7434@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I've done NaNoWriMo every year since 2003. I've actually hit 50,000 words about half the time (4 wins, 4 losses). I'm doing it again this year in the hopes of moving my average up to 5 wins over 4 losses -- even though that means it may interfere with pushing more chapters of The Points Between out the door. I know it's crazy. I do. I really do know it.</p> <p>Anyway, I was toying with trying to do something ridiculous this year, like posting it on my site as I go -- sort of an extreme sports version of NaNoWriMo-driven webfiction -- but putting up 1667 words a day, every day... quality concerns, you know? NaNoWriMo isn't about editing, you do that after. Thre woul db etypo s. We'll see.</p> <p>Anyway... any of you jumping in? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/a-definition-of-success#post-7368 Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:28:06 +0000 M.C.A. Hogarth 7368@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Since this has come up a few times in the past few weeks, I thought I'd offer a link to my post about definitions of success:</p> <p><a href="http://haikujaguar.livejournal.com/989051.html" rel="nofollow">http://haikujaguar.livejournal.com/989051.html</a></p> <p>If you are too busy to read the whole thing, the takeaway is probably the last line: Because if you have ever made a single thing that touched another person, you too, have succeeded. </p>