In one of my previous posts, I had stated that I would avoid posting additional blogs up due to a couple of my previous postings that were getting deleted. Due to the nature that some major questions that have come up, I feel that it is important to put up a new posting. Hopefully, this post won't get removed either...
I have a series of questions in particular to basically everyone. Among one of my goals as a writer is that I'm trying to find ways to turn a hobby into something that I can make money off of it. Honestly, there is no shame in that as we are all trying to survive during these hectic times. One way is Patreon where if people enjoy my writings, then they can help donate and they in turn are rewarded with things such as an Epub or KDF file of the stories (early access to stories being written, etc). I've seen some writers that make quite a lot off of it. In the course of an entire year, I've seen almost no increase in patrons and the amount of money that I get is far less than writers that write similar genres too. It isn't an entire loss as I have had some fans that have outright paid an artist to create a book cover because they enjoy my stories so much. Plus, I've been willing to entertain commissions for fans of my stories and have managed to get my stories put up on Amazon to be sold via Print on Demand.
My goal is to try to figure out what it is that the audience looks for. This alone could be a broad topic, so I'll try to narrow it down. One of the challenges that I have that others could attest to is trying to find a good editor. I have gotten better and better at writing as time has passed. Things such as Grammarly even helps a lot, but a professional editor can cost thousands of dollars per book. Needless to say, that is a chunk of change with my twelve book in the process of being put out. Something tells me, though, that even with the most finely tuned book it may simply just be not enough. I can write a story of historical fiction and magic and erotica, which sounds awesome on paper, but I didn't get much attention on it at all until the Gabatrix series came out, which has a far higher number of people that check it out.
Among one of the other things that I've greatly considered is to allow voting on all my stories or keep things as it is. Some may wonder why I had disabled the voting on most of my stories to begin with and there is a simple good reason to this. Most of the times, the moment that I put a story up, it gets bombed rather hard. I've learned and witnessed the art of "Zero Bombing" or "One Bombing" on storiesonline, but have witnessed it on other times I post a story up on other sites. This even includes downvotes in which the audience hasn't even had enough time to read the story to properly vote. Yet, at the same time, I can see others that can post a story here and it gets 9s even if its in the process of being written. It is a serious flaw in which has been remedied on sites such as Wattpad where if you like the story, then you leave a star and if you didn't like it, then you don't have to give the writer anything at all. It is simple and effective.
The question is, do you feel it is wrong for me to disable voting? Would you feel comfortable reading a story in which a general audience has given a low score over other stories that have a much higher score? Or one in which the voting is disabled? Does it matter at all? It's a tricky situation on my part. Which is better? Honestly, it isn't a fair situation as I feel that disabling voting cuts out those that have an honest positive feel on your story, but I prefer having constructive feedback a hundred times over rather than a number that tells me nothing. Its crazy that I've received high praise on stories that I had to disable the voting on. Stories like Violet Wave, I receive more direct positive comments on it than the First Peace, yet the voting scores I had for it would make me question reality. As I stated in my past blog, I received a rather stern negative comment from that story alone that I supposedly enjoy writing and promoting rape (most likely from some troll or some disillusioned moral crusader) when that wasn't what the story was about at all, hell, I believe in a happy ending if I can try. I feel that some people simply look at the tags and if they don't like it, then they slap a vote and walk away without reading it at all. If its completely true, then leaving the voting disabled maybe the only thing I can do to protect my stories from sabotage.
But I have other questions. Do you guys prefer science fiction over historical fiction? In my Gabatrix series (with the exception of an upcoming one) that I'm working on right now, I generally follow the rule that I have one sex scene (Why I have it tagged for minimal sex). Is that acceptable or not enough? When you go through the list of stories, what catches your eye? Do you prefer the stories of war, sex, and sacrifice, or do you look for a story that is strictly romance and lovemaking only? Do you prefer the type of stories that is a complete bordello or one that has little sex in it? Do you prefer an immersive universe or one that simply gets down to the point? For the writers that are making the big bucks on Patreon, what is that you write about or what are the things you're doing that has people come flocking to you? We all come from different walks of life. I don't mind getting a chance to hear what you guys think. :)