Jack Green: Blog

Made a bit of a cock up when editing and amending a chapter. Think - hope -I have got it sorted now. Sorry about the confusion.

I was astounded - gobsmacked, in fact- by the amount of feedback generated by my blog, far more than I have received thus far for Demon and Demeanour. Maybe I should quit writing and start blogging.
My sincere thanks to all who replied, especially the Anon, who broke the habit of a lifetime, or at least of ten years as a SOL reader, to give feedback.

By and large the consensus was scores are not the most reliable indicator of a story's worth, especially when/ if given for early chapters. Many wait for the completion of a story before voting, and choose which stories to read using a combination of genre, author, story codes, and blurb, with the higher scoring story taking preference when all other criteria are equal. However, some find merit in being able to change their vote during the life of a story, and one responder made the point that had my score been higher I would not have written the blog, which is fair comment


I was not criticising the scoring system; it is the same for all writers on SOL, merely wondering if a story should be completed before votes are cast. As for the sudden drop of my scores; someone, tongue in cheek I think, suggested my not tagging the chapter with 'bestiality 'was my undoing. Could be true, but I have no feedback to discover what misdemeanour(s) I committed.


Time will tell if the 'no vote until completion 'makes any difference to my scores -downloads are slightly less, but not significantly so. I hope to post the final chapter, #26, on Sunday 15th October.

Once again, my grateful thanks to all who have contacted me.

Best regards
Jack G

I ask my reader to bear with me while I conduct an experiment.
The Great and the Good of SOL, those whose names appear most frequently on the Forum, maintain story scores are for the benefit of readers not authors, and should be seen in that context. I admit I try to ignore the less than stellar scores I get for my stuff, but when scores drop without any accompanying feedback it can be quite frustrating.


I am assuming the last chapter I posted, 'A shaggy dog story', has caused the plummeting score in my current tale, Demon and Demeanour. This may be due to more readers from Scunthorpe than I anticipated, or, the chapter is seen as an irrelevance. If the former ,'Sorry lads , it was only a joke ', if the latter then the reader(s) must have the Second Sight to know how the story will end, and how the various plot lines, contained in the chapters, work through the whole story.

Perhaps, to give a more accurate picture to readers, scores should only be awarded after posting the entire story. By then the reader will have seen how the various plot lines interact, and can judge with more certainty whether a chapter is surplus to requirements.
Accordingly, I have turned OFF voting for Demon and Demeanour until I post the last chapter. However I have turned ON anonymous feedback, realising I might have shot myself in the foot by not accepting 'anon' e mails, which more likely than not would have negative feedback, and so alert me to what gets up my reader's nose.

I welcome your comments on the above.

Regards
Jack G

The fourth book in the series 'Poacher's Progress' is ready for posting on SOL. The title of this book is Demon and Demeanour,and runs to 26 chapters, approx. 70,000 words.

My trusty editor, Old rotor head, has ironed out any errors, but because I tweak and meddle with the edited chapters before formatting for upload other errors may creep in. Any faults gimlet-eyed readers discover are thus down to me.
I intend posting two chapters twice weekly. The first offering will be on Sunday 4th September, with the next two chapters posted on Thursday 8th. I hope to maintain the same frequency until all chapters are posted.
As ever I welcome feedback; good, bad or indifferent.

I have taken certain liberties with history, but none that should frighten the horses; at least I don't think so. However, I am prepared to be dissuaded of that certainty by all and any History Majors/Minors, etc. out in reader land.

All the best

Jack G

'Fantasy Island' is the title of the latest tale in the series, and is due to be posted on SOL sometime during July the 1st.

There may be delays to further tales as I finally have Book 4 of Poacher's Progress in a state fit enough to go to my editor. I cannot multitask, so if there are rewrites, which is more than likely, then other projects will need go on the back burner.
But don't despair, my merry reader. I have plenty more anecdotes to bore you with, and they will eventually see the light of day

Regards

Jack G