Where is everyone????

Gideon020 wrote: I mostly have problems figuring out how to submit a story here myself.

As I said before, if there is any problem or question about the library and submission system you can contact me via PM or email.

Gideon020 wrote: I keep forgetting that unfortunately, haha. ^.^;

No problem

TO do the pay to read/view I've two options, one is to set up a virtual store and offer a payment system, that way has the lowest cost what I would need to do is set up the store, and offer a payment option of say PayPal or Credit cards, I would then need to pay the author the percentage of what we take in on a story by story basis. costs would be under $200. the other option would be a subscription model, that is the easiest thing to set up as all the payment gateways are included but the costs are huge over $500.


Let me get the site sorted and then we can look at the options, but remember that once to go down the subscription or purchase options there is no going back, we need to get people to interact more on the site that should be our priority rather than the financial side of things.

Fats

Money at a scale this site could provide without dramatically changing it's characters doesn't seem likely to alter my level of motivation to create ubergirl fiction. I mostly do it for the applause and sometimes the feedback on the various elements I'm experimenting with in any given story. As I mentioned in my notebook once, to a reader who took the time to post that they wanted to see more of a story I was working on, "The best way to get a Muse to hang around is to ask her to." Their expression of interest was a very palpable boost for my continuing to work the project. A lot of the contributors here feel similarly, I think.

I do have some concerns about our feedback mechanisms here on the site. For the most part, they're confined to comments hooked to the library entry itself (down at the bottom) and the comments thread in the stories tracker. However, both of them require the highest level of effort for readers to use: they have to write something and they have to do it while they have the story open in front of them - if they even see the reply panel at all. The authors among us here shouldn't underestimate how daunting that is for a lot of our audience. Both technically and because doing so strips away a layer on anonymity many of the site's readers prefer/enjoy. Most stories end up getting almost no comments in either venue beyond the regular efforts of our librarian, who's required to read every piece as part of the submission and publishing process. I've seen a case just recently where a story went up, several people commented on it at the bottom of the library entry, and the author only discovered they'd gotten responses only by chance. Hearing the applause for your stories should never be left to chance!

At the other end of the spectrum of effort, I've experimented with keeping a notebook thread here on the boards. It gets less exposure than full library entries, but presents readers with a one-click way of acknowledging a piece. Believe me: I pour over those 'thank yous' very closely. In my experience if a piece is really clicking for people, it'll get about 6 thank yous. Interestingly the list of people who do click thank you often rotates and shifts, and I'm very aware of when a new name appears for the first time. I always enjoy getting more elaborate feedback in thread, but those easy-peasy thank yous do a LOT to keep my enthusiasm up . They also give me some interesting data when comparing the in-notebook responses to feedback once I've moved finished tales to the library. I've often wondered if most site-users even know the notebook is there. My sense is most of the ones who write out responses do know - because once something goes to the library, there's virtually no further response or commentary at all. I try not to take the sound of crickets personally .

I feel like there's some space between full text responses and single click responses that could be explored. Some sort of one-to-five-stars rating of your enjoyment of a story, or even several rating for various aspects of a story you've just read? It would give readers a way of interacting a little more while still not having to de-lurk and attach their name to a response. However, since we do need and want authors of all skill levels stepping forward, I think any sort of "please grade my creation" functionality should be something you have to opt into when you submit a tale. Some folks are at a stage where they want there stuff picked apart, and some would prefer mostly positive responses that build the confidence to keep generating stories. There's some very successful creative-hosting sites out there that make "Artist desires critique." a very clear switch you can throw as a contributing creator.

I guess my focus would be less on 'where is everyone?' and more on 'how can we make people feel like this is a place to be?' Both as writers and as readers who want to encourage authors they enjoy.