Folks dug it when I did regular updates for anachronauts. So, since I just finished coa//003 and have some honest to god buffer room, I’m bringing that practice back.
Starting next week, CoA will be updated weekly every Monday evening. I may do additional updates during the week if I’m seriously on a roll or have something else to show you but you should get some sort of content update piping hot and fresh every Monday.
In other policy news I’m including the two ad boxes on the latest story draft page. They will be removed once the story goes final and then pushed onto the next draft. That way I can link right to the drafts to give you one-click access from the blog, and still keep my page views up. Again, if the ads are Deplorable in any way let me know and I can cancel the offending ad.
Next item up is encouraging feedback. I know there’s at least 30 folks out there reading the series, based on my VIP club numbers. That is awesome and I’m so happy you’re hanging around and enjoying the series — I’d also like you bring you into the community overall. Feedback to the latest drafts is the way I guide the story somewhere you want it to go, by making character tweaks to keep them fun to read and fixing up problems you spot along the way. Even just “COOL STORY BRO” is good feedback to leave since it says I’m on the right track.
So, I’m pondering sort of Achievement Points wackiness, wherein each post you comment in gets you one point towards a nifty reward. That may be a ministory written about you, a CoA bookmark by mail, some high resolution desktop wallpaper, or whatevers. Not sure how this’ll work with anonymous posting but I can figure something out — IF this is something you see encouraging you to post. It’s just an idea off the top of my head and I welcome your response.
See you Monday for the next scenes of coa//003. Then the week after that for its grand finale!
Lirazel says
Oh gosh, performance anxiety here I come!
(Don’t worry. Nothing you do or don’t do could ever shut me up. ^_^;)
This does remind me of a stunt my ever-lovin’ Wonder Offspring is pulling in this game he’s running. If you do something awesome out of game, like publish a backstory, you get a highly desireable Hero Point!
PetitPrince says
Maybe you could just say ” **** Hi, I’m actually answering to most of your comment comments, feel free to tell me what’s on your mind ! Love xoxo, 2f” (emphasis on the author/reader interaction) and/or display the latest comment (iframe ?) at the bottom of each stories.
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne says
I tried an iframe dealie awhile back, but folks didn’t like the formatting issues that popped up and the lag time of pageloading. I’m not sure if WordPress has an embed option I can use (that was back on LJ).
I do have a link at the bottom which basically says that, though.
sptrashcan says
cool story bro
Seriously, of your big ideas, I think I like this one the best. I’m not sure I’m digging the characters yet, but I want to see more of the world.
Winter says
I think that’s a (if not /the/) major difference between publishing on the web in a serial format and “traditional” publishing. It’s significantly easier to jot a quick note or email then it is to write a letter on paper, hunt down a mailing address and send off a letter to an author. It’s almost more like storytelling around the fire, where you can tailor the narrative to your audience’s reactions.
And I don’t mind waiting for a set update schedule while you write, but I get cranky when an author finishes a work and refuses to post it all at once “to increase views” or some such nonsense. So as long as you give me a way to see the whole thing when it’s done I won’t complain. Much. ;)
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne says
It’s less about ZOMG PAGEVIEWS and more about making sure I have enough buffer to keep the content flowing smoothly. I don’t even have an outline yet for //004… if I posted all of //003 tonight I’d be stuck for a week and a half or so before I’d have anything new to show. Consistency is a key factor in getting people to bookmark and come back.
Don’t worry. In the end, you’ll get the whole thing. :D
Winter says
Oh, sorry! Wasn’t saying that’s what you were doing, just something I’ve seen in the past. I agree, while a work is being written posting at a set time is good for the readers /and/ the author.
Winter says
Well, I won’t turn down free stuff, but I like giving feedback regardless. That, and you can’t see me shaking my computer screen and yelling “Write faster!” ;)
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne says
I COULD post all of //003 now… but the advantage to spreading it out is that when (not if) I do run into writer’s block, you won’t have to shake your screen so hard because there’ll be a buffer. Yay!
I’m not sure yet about the Free Stuff For Commenting idea. It’s just an idea I had. It’s an important part of the writing process to know there is an audience out there, and to make sure I’m writing what they want to read. Most authors throw their books out and largely ignore the audience, but I’ve integrated the audience into the writing process.