Trying to clarify or further explain
Hello again everyone ...
It seems that many of you think that I write just to receive reviews. I apologize if that is what my last post made it sound like. That is not what I meant.
I used the example of how many reviews that were received to what are received now, as a way of showing that the interest in my pieces has dropped. Thank you to Rae for pointing out that in the beginning people do like to encourage the new authors. So, what I received right off the bat isn't a reflection of the overall. That being said ... even as things tapered to a consistent level, I am still no longer at that level.
I do not write solely to receive reviews. They are an encouragement though. Reviews did help to define the direction of certain chapters of my fiction. Now, some of you might think it is wrong for that to happen, but I don't. If I'm solid on an idea, I don't waver, but I'm pretty open to the ideas of others. If someone has an idea, I try to see what I can do to fit it in.
Look at Revenge. I satisfied the death to Xander people as well as those that hoped for redemption. Those of you that have read that completed story know what I mean by that. I wouldn't have done both, without the input from others. You have to have a feel for your audience, which you are able to do with reviews or tags.
Sometimes a writer gets stuck in a rut. Sometimes we're in a funk. At both times, the thoughts of our reviewers can help to bring us out of that.
Sometimes it is in the form of a little nice job that you get on a day when your down. This has happened from many of you, and I thank you for it.
Othertimes it might be a hey what if Dawn isn't really the key in this one but she comes into their lives in a different way. {winks to Kevin} It got me thinking about all the different ways that it would be possible, and he gave me a couple thoughts on some of the ideas he thought about.
Sometimes it is in the form of a friend/reviewer who responds and gives their impressions and places where they think things will go. {Smiles to Dana} Her fire spurned quite a few new ideas. We'd chat about possibilities. Sometimes she was right on the money for where I was going. Sometimes I'd say nope, not really. Other times I was like cool ... I can do that too. {chuckles}
I am also not saying that I am better than others and that I should receive the reviews either. I know of many fabulous authors like Megan, Tam, and others who I do not think receive as many reviews as their pieces of work should get. I don't care if it is one month inbetween stories or updates, or one day, their works deserve it.
I also wasn't trying to say oh boo hoo nobody loves me because I haven't received a ton of reviews. I was only trying to explain why I was down and not feeling as inspired because I felt that the interest really wasn't there any more for my work.
I write a lot of things that I keep to myself because I think that it is either too silly, improbable or just a pipe dream. I put a lot of effort into the stories that I do post and flesh out to make them seem believable and workable within fanon. Yes, that is fanon not canon. If I wanted complete canon, I'd go watch a DVD. LOL.
As I stated in another reply I put at least 4 months into Revenge and 11 into Not Beneath Me before they were completed. If you look at how many chapters they had, or how many words, you'd see that a lot went into both of them.
I don't usually write a short story. Sometimes I wish I could because then I could get all these other ideas out there. I have a thick book of just ideas, snippets of dialogue I've come up with and little scenes that I've written for future stories. Most of those will never see the light of day, but I still write them down because I like the idea, and I don't want to lose it. Most people will never see or hear those ideas either. That's fine by me. Heck, some of them I've made into the little stories in my mind and computer to never be seen just because I wanted to see what I could do with it. So, yeah, I don't write just for reviews.
If someone has their books published. The first one sells 1 million. The second one sells 2 million. The third one then sells 200 thousand. Guess what ... that publisher and that writer is going to seriously wonder what is wrong. They are going to look over their work and wonder what they did wrong that time to make it go down like that. They are going to wonder what was wrong with their writing. They might even think that perhaps there is no longer an interest in their writing if a fellow writer is writing on the same subject and still gets 1 million sold to their 200 thousand.
It isn't just the reviews that have gone down on my stories. It is the views as well. (For those of you that pointed out that a lot of people read but don't review.) There aren't as many people viewing the stories either from the checks that I've done. So, unless all the people that used to watch at the BSV or my site have switched to the SR (which is doubtful), then people just aren't checking the stories out either. So that again leads me to believe that there is no longer an interest in my stories.
Does that make a little more sense to explain what I mean? I hope it does.
Sincerely,
~*~Tasha~*~
It seems that many of you think that I write just to receive reviews. I apologize if that is what my last post made it sound like. That is not what I meant.
I used the example of how many reviews that were received to what are received now, as a way of showing that the interest in my pieces has dropped. Thank you to Rae for pointing out that in the beginning people do like to encourage the new authors. So, what I received right off the bat isn't a reflection of the overall. That being said ... even as things tapered to a consistent level, I am still no longer at that level.
I do not write solely to receive reviews. They are an encouragement though. Reviews did help to define the direction of certain chapters of my fiction. Now, some of you might think it is wrong for that to happen, but I don't. If I'm solid on an idea, I don't waver, but I'm pretty open to the ideas of others. If someone has an idea, I try to see what I can do to fit it in.
Look at Revenge. I satisfied the death to Xander people as well as those that hoped for redemption. Those of you that have read that completed story know what I mean by that. I wouldn't have done both, without the input from others. You have to have a feel for your audience, which you are able to do with reviews or tags.
Sometimes a writer gets stuck in a rut. Sometimes we're in a funk. At both times, the thoughts of our reviewers can help to bring us out of that.
Sometimes it is in the form of a little nice job that you get on a day when your down. This has happened from many of you, and I thank you for it.
Othertimes it might be a hey what if Dawn isn't really the key in this one but she comes into their lives in a different way. {winks to Kevin} It got me thinking about all the different ways that it would be possible, and he gave me a couple thoughts on some of the ideas he thought about.
Sometimes it is in the form of a friend/reviewer who responds and gives their impressions and places where they think things will go. {Smiles to Dana} Her fire spurned quite a few new ideas. We'd chat about possibilities. Sometimes she was right on the money for where I was going. Sometimes I'd say nope, not really. Other times I was like cool ... I can do that too. {chuckles}
I am also not saying that I am better than others and that I should receive the reviews either. I know of many fabulous authors like Megan, Tam, and others who I do not think receive as many reviews as their pieces of work should get. I don't care if it is one month inbetween stories or updates, or one day, their works deserve it.
I also wasn't trying to say oh boo hoo nobody loves me because I haven't received a ton of reviews. I was only trying to explain why I was down and not feeling as inspired because I felt that the interest really wasn't there any more for my work.
I write a lot of things that I keep to myself because I think that it is either too silly, improbable or just a pipe dream. I put a lot of effort into the stories that I do post and flesh out to make them seem believable and workable within fanon. Yes, that is fanon not canon. If I wanted complete canon, I'd go watch a DVD. LOL.
As I stated in another reply I put at least 4 months into Revenge and 11 into Not Beneath Me before they were completed. If you look at how many chapters they had, or how many words, you'd see that a lot went into both of them.
I don't usually write a short story. Sometimes I wish I could because then I could get all these other ideas out there. I have a thick book of just ideas, snippets of dialogue I've come up with and little scenes that I've written for future stories. Most of those will never see the light of day, but I still write them down because I like the idea, and I don't want to lose it. Most people will never see or hear those ideas either. That's fine by me. Heck, some of them I've made into the little stories in my mind and computer to never be seen just because I wanted to see what I could do with it. So, yeah, I don't write just for reviews.
If someone has their books published. The first one sells 1 million. The second one sells 2 million. The third one then sells 200 thousand. Guess what ... that publisher and that writer is going to seriously wonder what is wrong. They are going to look over their work and wonder what they did wrong that time to make it go down like that. They are going to wonder what was wrong with their writing. They might even think that perhaps there is no longer an interest in their writing if a fellow writer is writing on the same subject and still gets 1 million sold to their 200 thousand.
It isn't just the reviews that have gone down on my stories. It is the views as well. (For those of you that pointed out that a lot of people read but don't review.) There aren't as many people viewing the stories either from the checks that I've done. So, unless all the people that used to watch at the BSV or my site have switched to the SR (which is doubtful), then people just aren't checking the stories out either. So that again leads me to believe that there is no longer an interest in my stories.
Does that make a little more sense to explain what I mean? I hope it does.
Sincerely,
~*~Tasha~*~