03-18-05 @ 10:06 am EST

Bit of warning violet

If you're going to compliment me on my writing and tell me that I am good enough to be published, then PLEASE be prepared to back that statement up...by actually returning to read more of my work.

I am sorry to sound so pissy. I do not look a nice review in the mouth--I need every one I can get. But WHY is it that all the people who rave at me that I am SO good that I could easily be published...are never the people who return to read more?

And people who say I am good enough to be published wonder why I do not believe them? It's fine to tell me I'm good and then move on. But to tell me I'm THAT good, and to never come back...? A compliment is only as good as the sincerity behind it. Wouldn't you find it a little hard to believe if somebody told you you are good enough to be published, but for some reason, you're NOT good enough for them to come back and read more?

If my writing can't hold an average reader's attention for more than one story or chapter, what makes these people think I would be able to hold the interest of some overworked, underpaid, harried and hassled editor? (Because I could never afford or attract an agent, as if I knew how, and I do not have the money to self-publish! Not that I want to, anyway...)

Like I said...I appreciate all helpful and honest comments. But come on, at least be truthful and DON'T try to flatter me by saying I'm good enough for publication. If I am not holding YOUR interest for more than one story, then there's no way I'm holding enough interest to get a book printed and put on the shelf.

While I am at it, here is another related rant...

I am tired of people telling me I am such a good writer, but when I let them know the fact that I have barely any readers at all, they then commence blaming ME for this by saying: "Your items are too long. People don't like to read long things."

STOP BLAMING THE WRITER! Stop blaming the writer for the readers' lack of attention or interest. At least be truthful, and say that you do not like reading something long ONLINE, or you do not like reading THIS particular item, or my writing just sucks, or whatever. But do not tell me I am so terribly great, only to then go and tell me, my stuff is too long for people to want to read it!

If I were SO good at writing, the length of the thing would not matter! NOVELS still sell, don't they...?? And don't people read them??

If the eyestrain is too great, I've never restricted people from printing out my works. If that's too inconvenient, well, I'm sorry, but I have no other solutions; if it's really so bad that you cannot read a long item of mine online, then my item was not that interesting to you personally. And I can live with that. I've had to long face the fact that MOST of my writing is not to most people's interest. Because that makes a lot more sense than saying it's too long! Nobody who likes such authors picks up a Stephen King or a JK Rowling (sic?) book and says, "Eh, that's too long," do they? Why then is it any different if it's something I wrote? (Cripes, that did not sound right; by no means am I comparing my stuff to King's or Rowling's! Ugh. You get the picture.)

The plain fact is this: If something is interesting or good enough to you, YOU WILL FIND A WAY TO READ IT. Whether it's on a glaring neon pink screen with pale blue text, or a thousand pages long--if it's GOOD enough, you will read it. So if for whatever reason it is NOT good enough to entice you into reading it by some means...online, offline, printed, whatever...please, do NOT go and blame the writer for writing too much. That's what we do. I would never blame some reader for reading too much. I am however getting ready to blame them for reading too little! At least, if they keep insisting I write too much! It can cut both ways, you know. Do you see how pissy I would sound if I told readers they don't read enough? Well, now do you know how it feels to be told I write too much? It's very rude. I know my items are long. I do not have to be told so, and I do not need people blaming their lack of interest on me.

So as I said--if you like an item of mine, please tell me so, and I will appreciate it. If you want to read only ONE item of mine and tell me it's good and you're not interested in returning, that is perfectly fine too, though somewhat disappointing; I do not mind. (Just please tell me what you liked.) But please do not blame your lack of interest in returning on the fact that I write long things. Just admit the truth: You were not interested enough to read it. By now, I am used to people who are not interested in my stuff. Which is like just about everybody out there!

And PLEASE, already, just stop telling me I am so great I should be published, if you do not think I am so great that you should come back and read more. If I cannot hold the reader's attention, why should I believe them when they say I would hold the attention of a publisher? I'm only being realistic here.

I hope the person this was in response to does not see it. He likely will not, but it still worries me. I greatly did appreciate his review--HE is a published author--and it made me feel better, at least, until I replied to it and he replied to that. I told him I was not good enough for publication as I have barely any free readers as it is. (Come now, seriously--if people will not read for free why would they PAY to read it? Blech.) His reply, as I should have (and rather did) expected, was that my items are too long. (For the record--breaking my long items into smaller pieces would not only take up the few remaining spaces in my port, but--it's still just the same long story--in smaller pieces! It's not any shorter! People aren't more inclined to visit my shorter-yet-multiparted novels than they are to visit my longer, one-part novellas. That didn't come out right either. You get the picture.)

And this is when my good mood deflated. *sigh* I have heard this line a hundred times from OTHER people who claimed I was good enough to be published. If I were so damn good, there would BE no complaint that I write things too long. If anything--if I were that good, people would be clamoring for even LONGER things! Wouldn't they?

I just refuse to believe that the length of my writing is the SOLE or MAIN reason why so few people will read it. Oh, it's a BIG reason, I'm sure. It is the reason why people stop themselves from reading before they've even begun. That's why I need people to comment because otherwise I assume all those hits are from people who clicked, saw the kilobyte count, freaked out, and never came back. The length of items scares people away from reading my writing in the first place.

But how is the length of my items to account for the people who DO stop to read...and like it...and still do not come back for more? I can fully understand all the people who read one story and liked it, and that's it, bye-bye. Again, disappointing, but understandable.

But they should not tell me I'm publishable if I can't even hold THEIR interest! Which is what this person did. I let him know that even my SHORT stories do not get attention anymore. (Which is true--two stories in my MI short stories folder have been in there a year now, about fifty hits each, no ratings. That's just one small example. My older short stories, by now I am surprised when they even get a hit now and then.) Meanwhile I have one reviewer each for my two long serials. How does this theory of the problem of story length explain that? If the theory were true, I should have all kinds of readers for my -30kb items, and NONE for my serials. ?...

Anyway, I have not gotten a reply to my last e-mail, not that I expected one. I assume he saw my honesty as whining, rolled his eyes, wondered why he bothered with me in the first place, and moved on. Also the moment the "Your stories are too long" comment came out, I knew this was one person who, despite what he said about how good and publishable I am, will most likely never read a word of any of my stories again.

And that would not have bothered me so much, if he had not claimed I was so very good in the first place. It's frustrating to have somebody compliment you, and then disprove their compliment by never coming back. :/

(This entry is not aimed at the people who actually do come back to read me more than once, BTW. Just the people who say I'm so fantastic as to be published and then say I write things too long, and never come back. I do not understand that.)

You know, I did have other less bitchy things to blather about, but I guess that's enough for one entry. Do not want it to be too long. I am not in a bad mood, just frustrated by this. Can anyone really blame me for being so skeptical of being told that my writing is THAT good when at the moment I have all of two commenting readers? I can't really go on blind faith alone, and like I said, a compliment only works so long as the person giving it can back it up. On the one hand I have somebody telling me I should seek publication. On the other I have that same person telling me they are not interested enough to read more of my stuff because it's long. What would you think?

Rhetorical question, since I already know what I think. Good news, I *did* add like 13kb alone to TAC:41 yesterday, though RTMI has me stuck again. >_< Did you know that come this April, I will have been working on the TAC rewrite for two years now? *groan*

Voyageurs have sexy outfits. Buckskin and cute little floppy tasseled caps...mrrowrrr. (Yes, it's that OTHER time of the month, and Francois is stuck in my head for some reason. o_o; Go away. He has a cute cap.)