Posting on Forums for Dummies
In order to build name recognition as an author, I decided to publish my first and second books, Guardian and SoulFire, as works in progress on four different forums. Each of those forums works a little differently, and I am certainly no technical genius. I learn best by doing something over and over again and seeing for myself what works best.
When I first began to post, putting up a chapter on all four websites took two hours or more. Now that I have found several time-savers, posting takes about half an hour.
I would warn new writers, however, to be aware that in order to keep the readers gained by posting on several forums, it is advisable to post regularly (at least once a week) on the same day(s) of the week. Therefore, it is better to have several chapters completely finished before starting to post. I had eight chapters written, edited, and rewritten before I began to post.
The writer also must take the time to check the forums regularly and reply to all comments which are made on the story. Readers will be offended if the writer does not answer their questions and thank them for their reviews. In addition, part of the reason for posting a work in progress is to get feedback from the readers. Sometimes, their questions and observations will point out weaknesses in the story, or they will suggest plot ideas that are creative. Knowing what readers are thinking before the work is actually published in paperback or e-book form helps a writer to strengthen the story because of having the opportunity to go back and adjust plot problems or character development.
Because of my genre, my forums were fan fiction sites, but there are many others available. On one forum, I have over fifteen hundred readers from more than eighty countries. I was surprised to see many crossover young adult fans from Twilight, Airbender, Harry Potter, and other paranormal stories reading my work, and the realization opened my eyes to an entirely different fan base. Some might feel that posting their work for free will impact their sales later. I think that building a fan base and name recognition will more than compensate for losing a few sales in the beginning. Many of the people who have read my work online have later bought the books because I take the stories down after I publish, leaving only a preview of three chapters on the forums.
On three of the forums I chose, the writer must copy and paste the chapter, and then format it using the available tools. Originally, I formatted separately on each forum because the commands looked different to me. Eventually, I came to realize that I could post the chapter and format on one forum, select “modify,” and copy and paste the formatted version to the other two forums. The commands worked on all the sites. Only the link to the “comments” page has to be changed, because that is different on each website. After setting up the “comments” page on each site, however, the writer can open “modify” on the previous chapter and copy and paste the comments url set up at the bottom of the new chapter. Be sure to “preview” before posting. I always find small errors in my formatting, such as neglecting to space between paragraphs or forgetting to italicize certain words.
When I first started writing, I indented my paragraphs, but as I continued to post I saw that block paragraphing and double-spacing between the paragraphs was a better choice. The block style, justified both right and left, looks better when you format for self-publishing. Some e-book formats automatically indent the paragraphs upon submission.
The fourth forum I use allows the writer to upload documents. There are pros and cons with this option. The good thing is that the writer does not have to format on the site. The down side is that the writer cannot easily correct errors by modifying the document. If an error is found, the writer has to upload a new document and replace the old one. Be very careful. The first time I did this, I simply added the chapter rather than replacing the chapter with the error. I was unable to straighten out the problem without deleting and reposting everything I had previously posted, and I lost all of my reviews. Because some readers look at the number of reviews before reading the story, losing the reviews can adversely affect the sum total of readers viewing the story. Another drawback on this site is that replying to reviews on this site is done through private messaging only. On the other forums, people are able to view the writer’s answers even if they do not comment themselves. Additionally, the document must be formatted properly in order to separate scenes or the entire document will run continuously after it is uploaded. Symbols alone used between scenes will disappear. Symbols mixed with letters, such as ~~oo~~ will not be changed or deleted. Using only letters will also work, but I think that they are distracting. I tried all sorts of combinations before I stumbled across the answer to the question of how to keep my scenes from flowing into each other.
Be cautious to observe the etiquette on each forum. One forum does not allow individual replies to each comment. The writer must wait several days and reply to all reviews in one post. On all of the sites, writers who post a chapter immediately after another writer posts is considered to be rude. If it happens accidentally, apologize to the offended writer.
Never argue with a commenter. Answer the question if there is one, and move on. Sometimes, the commenter is right. I have acknowledged my error in those instances and thanked the reviewer. It gave me the opportunity to correct a problem before I published the work.
Never, never criticize another writer’s work. If there is a legitimate problem with the plot and you are friends with the writer, send a private message with a polite observation. Do not comment on grammatical or mechanical errors in the work. Though I appreciate it when other writers message me to tell me about such errors, most other writers do not.
Support the other writers on the forums by reading and commenting on their work. I make every effort to read and review the stories of the writers who read my stories and comment on them. We also help each other with formatting questions that come up in self-publishing, and we write reviews for each other when our books are published. In this instance, follow your grandmother’s advice: If you cannot say anything good, say nothing at all. I do not leave bad reviews for anyone’s work, whether or not I know them. Though others may disagree, if I cannot in good conscience leave a five-star review, I keep my thoughts to myself.
I follow the rules and play nicely, just as I was taught to do by my first grade teacher. I write because I enjoy it, and I want others to read my work. Obeying the forum rules and being courteous makes posting a more positive experience for everyone involved – both writers and readers. The instant gratification of immediate reader feedback for each chapter makes posting well worth the effort.
When I first began to post, putting up a chapter on all four websites took two hours or more. Now that I have found several time-savers, posting takes about half an hour.
I would warn new writers, however, to be aware that in order to keep the readers gained by posting on several forums, it is advisable to post regularly (at least once a week) on the same day(s) of the week. Therefore, it is better to have several chapters completely finished before starting to post. I had eight chapters written, edited, and rewritten before I began to post.
The writer also must take the time to check the forums regularly and reply to all comments which are made on the story. Readers will be offended if the writer does not answer their questions and thank them for their reviews. In addition, part of the reason for posting a work in progress is to get feedback from the readers. Sometimes, their questions and observations will point out weaknesses in the story, or they will suggest plot ideas that are creative. Knowing what readers are thinking before the work is actually published in paperback or e-book form helps a writer to strengthen the story because of having the opportunity to go back and adjust plot problems or character development.
Because of my genre, my forums were fan fiction sites, but there are many others available. On one forum, I have over fifteen hundred readers from more than eighty countries. I was surprised to see many crossover young adult fans from Twilight, Airbender, Harry Potter, and other paranormal stories reading my work, and the realization opened my eyes to an entirely different fan base. Some might feel that posting their work for free will impact their sales later. I think that building a fan base and name recognition will more than compensate for losing a few sales in the beginning. Many of the people who have read my work online have later bought the books because I take the stories down after I publish, leaving only a preview of three chapters on the forums.
On three of the forums I chose, the writer must copy and paste the chapter, and then format it using the available tools. Originally, I formatted separately on each forum because the commands looked different to me. Eventually, I came to realize that I could post the chapter and format on one forum, select “modify,” and copy and paste the formatted version to the other two forums. The commands worked on all the sites. Only the link to the “comments” page has to be changed, because that is different on each website. After setting up the “comments” page on each site, however, the writer can open “modify” on the previous chapter and copy and paste the comments url set up at the bottom of the new chapter. Be sure to “preview” before posting. I always find small errors in my formatting, such as neglecting to space between paragraphs or forgetting to italicize certain words.
When I first started writing, I indented my paragraphs, but as I continued to post I saw that block paragraphing and double-spacing between the paragraphs was a better choice. The block style, justified both right and left, looks better when you format for self-publishing. Some e-book formats automatically indent the paragraphs upon submission.
The fourth forum I use allows the writer to upload documents. There are pros and cons with this option. The good thing is that the writer does not have to format on the site. The down side is that the writer cannot easily correct errors by modifying the document. If an error is found, the writer has to upload a new document and replace the old one. Be very careful. The first time I did this, I simply added the chapter rather than replacing the chapter with the error. I was unable to straighten out the problem without deleting and reposting everything I had previously posted, and I lost all of my reviews. Because some readers look at the number of reviews before reading the story, losing the reviews can adversely affect the sum total of readers viewing the story. Another drawback on this site is that replying to reviews on this site is done through private messaging only. On the other forums, people are able to view the writer’s answers even if they do not comment themselves. Additionally, the document must be formatted properly in order to separate scenes or the entire document will run continuously after it is uploaded. Symbols alone used between scenes will disappear. Symbols mixed with letters, such as ~~oo~~ will not be changed or deleted. Using only letters will also work, but I think that they are distracting. I tried all sorts of combinations before I stumbled across the answer to the question of how to keep my scenes from flowing into each other.
Be cautious to observe the etiquette on each forum. One forum does not allow individual replies to each comment. The writer must wait several days and reply to all reviews in one post. On all of the sites, writers who post a chapter immediately after another writer posts is considered to be rude. If it happens accidentally, apologize to the offended writer.
Never argue with a commenter. Answer the question if there is one, and move on. Sometimes, the commenter is right. I have acknowledged my error in those instances and thanked the reviewer. It gave me the opportunity to correct a problem before I published the work.
Never, never criticize another writer’s work. If there is a legitimate problem with the plot and you are friends with the writer, send a private message with a polite observation. Do not comment on grammatical or mechanical errors in the work. Though I appreciate it when other writers message me to tell me about such errors, most other writers do not.
Support the other writers on the forums by reading and commenting on their work. I make every effort to read and review the stories of the writers who read my stories and comment on them. We also help each other with formatting questions that come up in self-publishing, and we write reviews for each other when our books are published. In this instance, follow your grandmother’s advice: If you cannot say anything good, say nothing at all. I do not leave bad reviews for anyone’s work, whether or not I know them. Though others may disagree, if I cannot in good conscience leave a five-star review, I keep my thoughts to myself.
I follow the rules and play nicely, just as I was taught to do by my first grade teacher. I write because I enjoy it, and I want others to read my work. Obeying the forum rules and being courteous makes posting a more positive experience for everyone involved – both writers and readers. The instant gratification of immediate reader feedback for each chapter makes posting well worth the effort.
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