2013 Year-End Numbers and Open Thread

[ladysisyphus]

We did this last year to see how the year shaped out in terms of readership, especially in terms of readership -- we here on the back end of things have access to statistics like these, but they're not immediately visible to anyone else. So here's to visibility!

Comments

[ladysisyphus]

Speaking personally (and look, I even took off my 'official' SSBB icon), the reason I write things changes from thing to thing. I've been one of the SSBB diehards since before I even took over editorial duties, but at the time when I started writing for it, if I hadn't gotten any positive feedback, I would've given up pretty quick -- especially since at that time, I was writing fanfic that was getting a not-insignificant amount of buzz. That encouragement was really important to me in the shift away from fanfic to original fiction, because they are two entirely different beasts, and knowing how to do one well doesn't guarantee you'll know how to do the other at all. And I was a pretty shitty original fiction writer when I made the switch! (Oh, do I ever cringe at a lot of my old work.) But now, almost eight years later, I'm glad I persevered and learned how, and there's no way I would've done it without knowing at the time that someone out there was cheering me on -- someone who wasn't one of my friends (and therefore obligated to pat me on the head), but strangers who'd approached my work for what it was, not because they felt like being nice to me.

(Tangent, but: That's part of why I like the SSBB-specific-pseudonym tradition. I was outed as being shukyou a long time ago, and I make no secret of it these days, but there was a while there where I wanted to see if my stories could stand on their own without my trading on my fandom reputation. Some of them did, some of them didn't (and some of them shouldn't have), but that was enough to convince me I should keep going.)

And now I will put my editor hat back on: Come write for us! Come do it! Email us if you've got any questions or concerns, and we'll be thrilled to help out and encourage on as much as we can.

[kiarajinzan]

omg I actually remembered my LJ password!

So I'm totally batting around ideas now...coming down off a sewing rush, so it's all a matter of figuring out how to tie ideas into the theme and also gauging time :)

[ladysisyphus]

Hooray! And remember, the theme's only there for inspiration: disregard it at will!

[kiarajinzan]

I shall take that to heart! But I was definitely inspired by the theme and there is a loose tie to airwaves/radio, so you know, I'm gonna run with it as far as I can!

Thank you for being so responsive! I find it really encouraging when someone in a "position of authority" (because what else is it, if not authority in some respect??) is willing to engage everyone and answer even questions other people might consider silly.

If life gets away from me and I don't complete this particular story in time for this issue, is it something I can submit at a later time for a different issue? I see December is "theme-free", but December is a very long way away! :)

[beeblebabe]

Other editor comin' in 'cuz she's awake:

You can submit your story for any issue you please! December is an awfully long time away, agreed, so we'd be happy to have it as soon as it's ready! Themes aren't mandatory, and we'll find a place where it fits with the flow of the issue (because my dearest ladysisyphus does fuss and bother over the stories being in a certain order in the issue!)