More on the Fanfiction.net thing
I posted chapter 4 a couple of days ago. Planning to do one a week.
The general results of putting SM4200 up on ff.net have been…good, but disappointing. There've been no negative responses, and I've even had some actual commentary back—ie, someone posting a review that actually went through the story and commented on particular points. That commentary was, I think, based on a line-by-line compare of with the version of SM4200 that was posted to rec.arts.anime.creative, years ago, but has still raised some good points.
On the other hand, while the responses have been positive and useful, there haven't been many of them.
Regarding ff.net in general…my experiences of it appear to have been better that some of you, judging from the comments you've posted. ^_^ Yes, most of what gets posted there is juvenile crap (it follows Sturgeon's Law very well indeed). And yes, the site has a deplorable habit of altering the text you post, without warning you. (I spent a lot of time working out a format for SM4200 that wouldn't get changed.)
But I've also read some genuinely excellent stories there as well.
I suspect that some people would like to see me posting SM4200 on moonromance.net instead. I've considered it. But moonromance.net has its own problems, primarily technical. (For example, cryptic database error messages when one tries to change an email address. Zero response when complaining to the site admins about same.)
In the long run, my own web page remains the primary forum for posting the story. All others will remain subsidiary.
posted by Angus @ 9:02 am
6 comments
6 Comments:
Aww, you're a real fanfiction.net writer now, Angus... worrying about the number of your reviews. ;) Still, it is interesting... "Smile" has 25 comments, "Sailor Moon 4200" only 5, and "Perfect" none at all yet?
The fanfiction.net search engine has always been mysterious to me in any incarnation, but right now it appears you can't find your story by searching for "Sailor Moon 4200" as the title. In other cases, I haven't find authors when I search for their name. I dunno.
In the process of searching out fanfics on fanfiction.net to MST (on my new website, linked to from my name), I've found that practically anything posted there seems to result in positive reivews. I hope that's because people are so very, very nice, and not because people love those kinds of fanfics (which, in some cases, would sort of frighten me).
Keep up the good work, MacSpon!
"In the long run, my own web page remains the primary forum for posting the story. All others will remain subsidiary."
Cheers to that ;)
I am a great fan of your series since I first read SM4200 several years ago, in the age when the fanfics still where the second reason of why anime fans browsed the internet (we all know the main reason: hentai).
Since then many authors have dissappeared: some of them one day stopped updating and nobody heard from them anymore; others announced their retirement because of "real life issues", some ended their stories, others not.
But the truth is that almost all of the authors and readers simply lost interest when manga and anime were obtained more easily by Internet, in stores or on TV.
I was never an active member of any major forum, I had accounts on some of them, but rarely talked in the discussions because I am just a fan and english is not my first language and I still make too many grammar mistakes.
Over a year ago there was an authoress that asked for reviews of her stories because she felt that nobody liked her stories mainly because other stories that have been dead for years still got more reviews and messages than some of hers.
That (and some real life issues) depressed her to the point that she deleted all her unpublished chapters and almost retired.
Upon posting that message a lot of anonymous readers started to post in her site: asking her to not retire and offering their support.
She didn't retire but the damage was done and it will take a very long time before she rewrites what she once had, if she ever does it.
I don't want that to be repeated.
That is why I am writing those reviews: I want to show you that you have many fans that, like myself, have been silently reading and enjoying your stories for many years and we want to be able to continue reading them in the future.
I think there's little danger of my abandoning SM4200. I'm not hurting for commentary; and in any case, I've lived this story for too long now for give it up.
This is old news, I guess, but just dropping in to throw my $.02 at you.
FF.net has it's rough patches, but then--what site doesn't? There is a *whole lot* of shite there, but don't be disheartened. As you mentioned, there's a lot of good hidden in there, as well. Your fanfic probably remains my favorite of all time, but the others I've loved have all been found amongst the ruins in FF.net.
And don't expect a whole lot of reviews there--at least not until you either build a rapport as an author, or until SM4200 gains a fanbase. There are a lot of really great works that go unnoticed, and some really crappy stories that get 300 reviews.
Either way, I'm going over there now to find SM4200 and add it to my faves list. I'm so excited you've finally posted it there!
Jamie ...
Thanks. Yes, I'm well familiar with the signal-to-noise ratio on FF.net. I go through the new entries in several areas at least once a week. (And, in fact, SM4200 is not the first story I've posted there; though it's the first in quite a while.)
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