Forum: Author Hangout

1 is a smart ass

Said smart arse is one of my regular editors who'd processed that story a number of times as well as read it for fun during the time it was up prior to the fix. I worked out it had to have been edited by six different people at various times, and some had edited it three times while some only once, let along the over a dozen times I'd missed it. 'Tis a tad upsetting when that happens, more so than if it's during the initial posting.

1 is a smart ass

I'd like to compliment the smart ass who complemented the work of Ernest's editors.

(No, it wasn't me, but I'm pretty sure I spotted the error too.)

AJ

I rather doubt anyone here aspires to be a morbidly obese genius.

I don't know, I'm definitely working on it! 'D

I sometimes think these forums are less about communicating and more about being a competition on who can be the biggest smart ass.

Mea culpa - this time, anyway :(

AJ

who can be the biggest smart ass

Quietly glances at Ross ...

In all seriousness, though, I agree with Ernest. I had been a reader on this site a long time before I became an author here. This has been and remains my favorite internet site.

Quick Edit: Almost 14 years ... man, how time flies when you're having fun.

My Account page has the date the account was created.

Alas, I've long forgotten which account I originally signed on with, as I created an entirely separate 'author' id when I decided to started writing.

I bounce into the forums from time to time and bounce back out when the stories are more interesting than the dynamics here. I know CW and Ernest have seen me here and in the old forums in the far past. I am sure they will say I am just as much a smart ass as the next person too.

Actually, I don't mind that arguments and attacks, as they're rarely personal but are typically over style differences, and how we each view our stories differently (our more voracious and trivial fights are typically over whether a particular technique is either 'useful' or 'utterly worthless').

In the end, we all make out point, argue over the details, and come away respecting the other author's opinions (though we continue giving them grief for it).

For the most part small typos do not bother me enough to interrupt the flow of the story and I am usually enjoying the story too much to stop for every typo to report it to the author.

Generally, IF it bothers you that much, most keep an open post, where they jot down each 'stop me dead in my tracks' mistake, so it's easier to send them as a group, rather than one by one. But to even consider that much effort, you've got to be fairly motivated by the errors they notice.

If the story is enjoyable even with the typos, that a bigger compliment that the usual 'atta boy's we typically get. ')

My experiences so far are all positive but I must say I limit myself to reporting only to active authors and most of them active on this forum.

My other strategy is to 'feel' the author out. So I'll only note one or possibly two corrections just to see if he's receptive. If he is, I'll offer a few more, and then ask if he's interested in any more.

If he's not, I take him on my internal 'do not bother' list and I stop noting the things which stop in the middle of sentence, making both of our lives easier.

That way, I often have a good idea, going in, whether they'll respond positively or not. But getting a page full of 'corrections' (as I often do when asked to 'edit' someone's work) is often enough to scare authors shitless!

I try NOT to judge those who refuse to do corrections as they have their reasons. Some I have heard were more concerned with writing new material and in some cases because of declining health or other issues they felt compelled to try and complete the story or get as many stories down on paper as they could before they could no longer write.

For most authors, there comes a time where patching older stories just isn't worth it. I get to the point where every time I make a two-word correction, I end up rewriting whole pages to correct my earlier cludgy writing. That's generally where you stop doing updates, for fear you'll end up rewriting the entire damn book!

The vast major neither acknowledged my message nor fixed the error. Most of the rest chewed me out for expecting that a story I got for free should be perfect. Not one of them thanked me.

I'd love to claim those are the exceptions, I fear your estimates are largely correct. However, many of us take those suggestions seriously, and while I'm not always able to include them into the story (in the rare cases they run counter to the story, and just don't sound 'natural' in the character's mouths), I always try to show the people offering corrections how I did implement their ideas, or at least explain why it wouldn't fit into the story, so they'll still know it's appreciated.

It's difficult remaining true to your story while also encouraging readers to help spot obvious mistakes, but for me and several authors here, it's one we happy to walk.

FYI, the record for most reposting so far is 84 reposts on the first chapter of a long serial.

That's a record I hope not to break.

The author having that honour shall remain nameless.

And deservedly so, as we all prefer to remember authors by their finished work, rather than by what a 'pain in the ass' they are (here's hoping, at least, as I certainly fit in that last category).

11+ years, 15,000 + downloads

My current account is from April 2007, but I had a prior account for several years as a reader, and I forget why that got killed. 10,381 downloads

My account goes back to July 2004 with over 51,000 downloads.

That's a lot of reading to thank the site owner, staff, and authors for.

My account goes back to July 2004 with over 51,000 downloads.

That's a lot of reading to thank the site owner, staff, and authors for.

If you assume only $1 per story (bargain basement rates, rather than commercial retail prices), it stands to reason that you owe the site a few 'memberships'. 'D

Even if you aren't required to pony up that much, it helps put into perspective what they're offering, and how much the membership fees help the site continue offering as much as it does.