Asking for Tips. (novice author)

Discussion in 'Author Discussions' started by janoi, May 22, 2018.

  1. janoi

    janoi Well-Known Member

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    Hey. I'm FateMaker, the novice author of new novel called "What do you want for me, I'm just a GOD!" a.k.a. "I'm just a GOD!". I posted only 5 chapters so far but that beside the point.

    Here's the thing. Since it's still new and have relatively small number of chapters posted, I want feedback from my readers but how do I get them to participate in comments? Because I just start, with proper feedback I can still easily change or adjust things that was not noticed in my story from my perspective. I did ask for comments but no one really post anything. I appreciated some thank you, here and there but that's not currently what I need right now. I did ask for comments in my posted chapter but no one really does much. I do have about 100-200 views per chapter (look at RRL statistic page) but all my reader except 3 are shadow readers who just read and go. How do I fix this?

    I currently post in 3 places; Royalroad, NU forum, and webnovel's inkstone (that Qidian app thing). All have similar situations.

    And for those who reading this post, No. I didn't just want you to go and comment on my novel just because I post this. It did not solve my problem in long term. I still appreciated the kindness tho.
     
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  2. Alexios Blake

    Alexios Blake Well-Known Member

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  3. Jigoku Shounen

    Jigoku Shounen An Envoy From Hell

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    Write more chapters.
    Just like how people choose to read novels with many chapters., there are countless of Authors and countless of novels out there. If you want to have fans that started to comment, then 1st off just try to get your novel to become more popular, either by advertising it or keep on writing more chapters till people start to notice it. By then, people that pay attention to your novel will start to find faults in it, then either you improve your writing, or make a Reboot.
     
  4. jinxs2011

    jinxs2011 [Rebel Against Normality][Writer of the Unusual]

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    getting people to comment... I dunno. Generally, more readers = more comments. More chapters = more readers and therefore more comments. Just keep writing. While I haven't read your story, there's a few things you always have to watch out for: make sure you aren't randomly switching between tenses all the time, make sure changes in perspectives are clearly defined and you aren't doing them every other sentence, use proper grammar, spelling, etc.
     
  5. janoi

    janoi Well-Known Member

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    I check it out quickly but it mainly about how to draw.

    @jinxs2011 @Jigoku Shounen Thanks.

    Ok. I'll try biting the bullet and keep going. Sometime it just that you are not sure if you did ok or not. I'll take your advice and carry on. Thank you.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 22, 2018
  6. Neroborj

    Neroborj Well-Known Member

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    Readers would usually wait and see how the story would progress, so just be patient with them and continue writing more.
    I do advise you to stay motivated and have a clear goal in plan.
     
  7. ExaQuaTrZ

    ExaQuaTrZ Well-Known Member

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    I haven't read your novel but from what ive seen, comment sections just aren't suited for discussions and well thought out comments. If your looking for actual feedback instead of just passing thoughts, starting a thread in forums might be a better choice. you did say you were active on NU forums.
     
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  8. janoi

    janoi Well-Known Member

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    I might give that a try later but I feel like in current stage, it will turn into a forgotten post in about 1 day ... at best.
     
  9. raysha18

    raysha18 [Blank]

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    if you have stable release or updates people will start to notice your novel. Just hang in there.
    i think there is also space for author notes? maybe you can write something there and ask your genuine readers to write their comments or reviews so you can improve.

    i checked your novel at qidian site. i suggest you put a cover, a simple cover of any background related with title, with the title and author name will suffice.

    Good luck FateMaker!
     
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  10. Arkanth

    Arkanth Well-Known Member

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    You might also want to check this out:

    https://brandonsanderson.com/writing-advice/

    Not all of it might apply to LN but in there Brandon Sanderson, a quite famous fantasy author, shares quite a few tools and advice for new writers, including two YT playlist with two full courses he taught.
     
  11. ExaQuaTrZ

    ExaQuaTrZ Well-Known Member

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    While having few chapters makes it harder to get comment section commenters, it makes it easier for someone from the forum whom hasnt seen the novel to go take a look and give you some feedback. You just need one or two people with some free time to pass by, quite a few people have commented on this post already.
    What everyone else is saying about more chapters having more comments may be true but you seem to be looking for feedback precisely because you are early in on your novel and don't have as much experience.
     
  12. reagents 11

    reagents 11 disaster personified

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    What particular aspect you want to sell ? Characterization ? Worl building ? Intrigue ?
     
  13. janoi

    janoi Well-Known Member

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    Currently in my mind, My selling point is how the MC create the world building. Most story have a world building set in stone, like overlord for example, it's world building was amazing. Their main sell point is how the MC discover the aspect of his world and how he effect it.

    What I want is for my MC to be the world building aspect. he set the rules and he deal with the problem at occur. Think like Overlord is the perspective of mc got new computer OS and how he will find use of it. My mc will be the creator of his own computer OS and fixing bugs as he go along.

    The main thing is he's like me, new to the job so he keep try what he think is right and we as reader just watch his rise and fall on his job.
     
  14. AeonicI

    AeonicI Well-Known Member

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    Write what you want; not what others want.

    As for why you don’t have feedbacks, the others already said it - very few chapters available.

    I’ve been reading in RRL before I joined NU. As a reader, I’ve been left disappointed time and time again with how most of the novels are discontinued. These novels include ones that I consider as well-made and professional with how the story flows. This also makes us readers hesitate in giving feedbacks when there’s a chance the story will never be finished.

    P.S.
    A finished book will gain more attention.
     
  15. Yagisa

    Yagisa Member

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    Generally speaking, more chapters = more comments, since there's much more content for your readers to actually make a comment on. Personally, as a reader, I'm more inclined to leave comments on works that have at least 10k or so words since there's a likely chance that something interesting has happened or the characters have proved themselves interesting enough to be invested in.

    That being said, just continue writing and posting, people are bound to notice your work if they see a stable release date and a lot of chapters.

    Good luck!
     
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  16. Slayerwolfx2

    Slayerwolfx2 [Immortal Forever]

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    Really?
    Cause that's stupid in my opinion...

    Once I spent about 16 hours in total (along with reading the novel), reviewing and helping a guy with his novel. Well, all of my feedback was replied to, and it was A LOT!

    So I do not regret it even tho the story was dropped some time later~

    I also help randomly some guys when I'm bored... like editing and giving my opinion about stuff.

    Giving feedback and your thoughts on a story isn't that hard, and it won't take a long time, so why hesitate?
    If you enjoy the story, for me that's the only reason I need to comment.
     
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  17. Ner0

    Ner0 Well-Known Member

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    I want to point out another thing; you say you want more comment for "feedback" but it's very important for you not to doubt yourself. If you don't know if your fiction is good or bad and wait for the readers to decide it for you, you'll be disappointed.
    Reader's comment is only useful AFTER you've laid down your story, described your characters and advanced with your plot.
    Because it seems what you're waiting right now are comments about whether you're a good writer or a bad one. Yet, do you want to be judged based on 5 chapters?
     
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  18. janoi

    janoi Well-Known Member

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    Good point. I'll take that to heart. Thank you
     
  19. Dizzcity

    Dizzcity Watching generations of fans rise and fall away

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    So if I understand you correctly, essentially you're writing a story about an MC who is trying to create a world with a system of rules that works well for the inhabitants. It sounds like the first point you have to figure out about this story (and communicate to the readers) is where the key conflict is going to lie.

    Is the main conflict of the novel going to be between the MC and the system/magic that allows him to build stuff/set rules? That would be similar to some of the business management / dungeon maker kind of novels, where it's all about setting up a strong system of rules for the MC to do stuff, with in-built limitations, then having the MC show off his cleverness in getting around the system rules. In which case, you have to make sure your system rules are solid. Read Sanderson's Three Laws of Magic in the writing advice link provided above by another poster.

    Alternatively, is the main conflict going to be between competing factions that the MC is ruling over, and the MC trying to set rules to please as many people as possible? In that case, we're heading into kingdom-management / political strategy genres. What you need there is strong characterisation and good ethical dilemmas. Take time to flesh out the characters leading each of the major political factions that the MC is ruling over, and give them a strong / understandable reason for wanting the MC to change the rules / make the world in favour of them. Then create a faction opposing them. Best if it's not just a direct opposite, but rather a complex three- or five-faction political struggle. Two factions alone can get pretty simplistic. Come up with situations which forces the MC to choose between two or more factions, and play out the logical consequences of his decisions on the factions involved.

    Or, there are two lesser-travelled paths of development you could try. One is to have no conflict at all, and turn it into a slice-of-life or aesthetic experience. In this type of novel, your story is about the joy of the creation process, similar to how some cooking novels go into detail about how they created certain dishes. You have to spend a lot of time and words describing the beauty or the experience of the thing that was created. Preferably from a third party (instead of the MC), who is experiencing the beauty of the thing/ world that the MC created. See Cook of the Mercenary Corp for a great example of this.

    The other rare path is to have the conflict internal to the MC. The story is not about manipulating the world-building system, or trying to balance political factions, or even about the joy of the world-building process. The story is about how the world-building process helps the person change who they are as a person, on the inside. Mushoku Tensei does this to some extent, as do other novels. If you choose this path, it becomes a coming-of-age story. Give the MC a clear flaw / trauma that they are trying to correct or realise is wrong, then show how creating the world can help them overcome the trauma or learn how to be a better person.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2018
  20. reanox

    reanox Well-Known Member

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    I'd try to improve my english.. Many people, including me, won't even bother to give your story a try if it's full of mistakes. Try getting someone to help you out should you struggle with that. Also, comments don't just magically appear out of nowhere as soon as you have many chapters out, don't know where others got that from
     
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