Vincent Berg: Blog

For those who missed the initial response over the weekend, my newest story Nowhere … Like Home, was NOT well received. I’ve finally found an editor willing to work with me, yet the bigger issue is that the story just didn’t seem to find an audience (i.e. no one cared whether it was properly edited or not) as I only received 3 responses, with only two sorry to see it cease posting.

So just to be clear, if ANYONE cares whether the story continues or not, please let me know, as at this point, I’m willing to consider individual personal updates via private emails. However, in the end, it seems intensely personal (i.e. it’s ME they’re pissed at, not the story itself).

So, work WILL continue, and now it’s a question whether I ever post to SOL again, either under a new pseudonym or continuing this story, but at this point, I see little reason to assume it’s not a personal bias (well-deserved, admittedly, which if true, is answer enough).

Just to be clear, the ONLY reason I posted the story at all, is that my Quora fans (1M now) were eager to know what my ‘current’ project was. So since they’re actively supporting my writing, if there IS no interested on SOL, there’s really no sense wasting time feeding an absent audience.

(Sorry for the whinny tone, though again, that seems to be the main issue here. And with a ready and eager market elsewhere, unless I hear some interest, I’m likely to simply walk away from SOL forever.)

In short, I can hold off until the ENTIRE sorry is thoroughly edited and proofed, yet if there is no interest, I won’t bother with it at all. At this point, my future here is entirely in your hands..

Well, after all the grousing and bitching about the lack of editing (my editor is still on vacation), the utter lack of support and NOT a single volunteer editor to help tide me over, I’ve decided it’s best for everyone if I stop the story now, delete the entire thing, and only repost it once the whole thing has been completely edited.

Frankly, I NEVER considered the story ready for publication, much less posting, but I went ahead due to the intense interest by my regular QUORA readers (I’ve surpassed 1M reads a little while ago), and while my SOL posts are regularly panned, my book sales have never been better).

So, I’ll continue feeding the readers most interested in my stories, because again, this story, like all of mine, is a complex, engaging and captivating read, which no one here seems to give a damn about. Not to sound embittered, but I can tell who’s appreciative and who’s not. So, it’ll return to SOL when it’s ready, and not a second before.

I’ll leave it up for a little while, just on the off chance anyone wants to be slightly more encouraging, or is willing to volunteer to help clean it up more than it currently is. But as they say, the writing is on the wall, as clear as day. So you’ll will only see it when it’s completed, since no one seems interested until then.

However, the Bookapy listing will continue being updated. Though again, I’d suggest you again wait until it meets your standards, and I’m sorry for having insulted you all by showing you where I’ve been for so long. And while I continue writing, with several books in the works, after this current fiasco, I think I’ll stick to my Quora readers. Again, I’ve learned more about writing by NOT publishing for four years, than I ever did, publishing 3 full novels for 10+ years. So, I have my own priorities now, especially as, given my overall health, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to continue writing anyway. But piling low ratings on top of rejection and a refusal to cut me any slack, have made clear everyone’s intent.

But, just in case I have any volunteers to help tide me over, please contact me via the ‘reply to author’ response button, and you can help improve the story, as even once my Content Editor, it back, I STILL need secondary editors anyway, as I’ve never been able to see my own typos. :(

P.S. I’m considering posting some kinkier stories, under a pseudonym, so you can enjoy that if and when they appear, or crap all over them for all I care. The important thing is that they’re free, and once upon a time, SOL was still a friendly, encouraging place to post.

A slightly redrafted chapter 1, as the original was a hot mess, all over the place. It was suggested I stick to one ‘theme’ (I’d interjecting too many conflicting threads), but once the protagonist realizes he’s on a strange world, he focuses on the observable world about him, concentrating on his rationality.

I still have to revise the rest of the chapter (having so many family over the holidays kind of wore me out), so there may be a few more changes coming.

As I’d expected, the version of this story I posted earlier wasn't ready for publishing. Cleaned up the first 4 chapters, changing it from primarily telling to more active storytelling.

The revision is taking time, so I’ll be making periodic updates, before I begin posting it. So, if you’ve already purchased a copy, download the latest revisions and see how much it’s changed.

It can be found at Bookapy’s Nowhere … Like Home? Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated.

As some of my fellow SOL novelists know, I'm been spending more time on Quora answering questions about writing and publishing, as a way of paying the assistance I got so ago long forward.

However, the fallout of that is that my total views to date on Quora have recently reached 789,000, which means I'm closing in on the 1M mark, which is where publishers typically sit up and take notice (assuming they ever hear of it, that is).

However, the more immediate benefit, is that I long ago announced where most of novels can be found (Bookapy), when I announced the two newest books. I haven't yet gotten around to getting the story's ready for weekly postings, but already, after only 4 short days, I'm already #5 on the Bookapy best-sellers list.

That wasn't meant to be a simple brag, merely an explanation if anyone out there notices the unknown new books sudden popularity. I'll get them out before long, but now I'm also investigating how to turn my part-time hobby into some real money. And short of trying to get traditionally published (neither of those books are what the Trad. Publishers typically print), I'm instead looking into either creating a pay-to-read site (in advance of my usual SOL posts, mainly to post my Quora posts rather than my novels, or creating a collection of my various sundry Quora posts themselves.

So, big things in the works, though how soon they come to fruition, since this IS my home-base, as it were, I just wanted everyone to know what's likely coming.

It took a hell of a long time, but the proverbial small town success may finally making a bigger splash, or not! We'll see how it plays out in time. ;)

Anyway, if anyone's curious, I'd love a couple of honest reviews, just so I can advertise them with a few reader reactions. No pressure though, but as I said, some of you out there have already read the earlier versions of these two stories (and of course, I've already posted Clinging to Hope before, as part of my Extermination Event and the earlier Great Death series.

Even better, I'm getting some ready cash into Lazaar's paws to pay a few more bills, which always helps.

Now, I just need to relearn how to post active stories on SOL, as it has been a while since I last tried.