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brianmott View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote brianmott Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: getting feedback
    Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 11:14pm
What do you make of it when you see the thread with your story has been viewed 27 (or 33 or 48) times, and you only have two responses -- one of which is your response to someone's feedback? 

I have reviewed 6 or 7 other stories so far, I *think* I'm being constructive, and at the very least polite. So I am getting my name and signature out there. 

Can any of you more experienced folks help us newbies understand why there might be a huge gap between your views and your reviews? (Aside from your story being garbage, of course!)  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carriebeth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2017 at 11:27pm
I can't speak for anyone else, but the gaps between my views and comments are because I compulsively check my page for reviews. (Haha!) Have you been checking frequently? I think you'll find that you'll get more feedback on the weekend. I intend to give my full attention and constructive feedback on Saturday. Best of luck! I'll read yours this weekend.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TheDustyZebra Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 2017 at 12:28am
I'm not experienced here, but I can tell you I've read quite a few stories, or at least glanced at them, when I didn't really have time to stop and think what to say, and to write it all out there. So I'm guilty of having wandered off without providing any feedback to a number of people. I do hope to get back to them when I have time. (I don't think yours is one of them, so that's on someone else's head.)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 2017 at 12:57am
Originally posted by brianmott brianmott wrote:

Can any of you more experienced folks help us newbies understand why there might be a huge gap between your views and your reviews? (Aside from your story being garbage, of course!)  

You are not alone, and I doubt your story is garbage. There are certainly any number of reasons why you're not getting feedback.
 
I've found that sometimes people like to pace themselves...there's a good chunk of time between submitting stories/screenplays and getting the scores. I know I often start just reading the stories in my group...'cuz I'm scoping out the competition. (I sometimes print them out for comment later), then I start to explore the stories in other groups. 

More than anything I've discovered the more I comment, the more comments I get.

And sometimes, for no particular reason people just don't comment. (My most successful story was critiqued by three people and viewed 51 times...it was disappointing, but the quality of feedback from those three was more valuable than any quantity or little fire icon next to my thread.)

Trust your skills, learn what you can, and embrace the experience.


Edited by LoboGal26 - 03 Feb 2017 at 12:59am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote plkphoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 2017 at 2:58am
Views =/= #of people who have seen your story...

Every time you or someone else refreshes your page, it counts as an additional view. So even having heaps of views doesn't mean that many different people have actually looked at it. In Short Story Challenge, Suave is checking links as he adds them to the master list, so that's a couple more views too.

I've found the best way to get feedback is to look around at people's comments and see who's actively out giving the type of feedback you want -- then make a point of going to their story and leaving some thoughtful feedback on theirs. Of course, if they have 100 comments, they might be a while before they get to yours. But the best way to get feedback is to give feedback.

Also remember that it's not the weekend yet. Many people are working and just don't have the time to dedicate to reads yet. You'll find more activity over the weekend. 

Results don't come out for a month and a half, so some of us like to pace ourselves and give longer feedback on the stories we do comment on. For myself, my computer is slowly dying and GoogleDocs keeps freezing on me -- so I'm a bit limited on who I can read/comment on until my new computer comes in next week. (Luckily it seems to work okay with the forum still…) 

Participate as much as you can with other people's stories, but don't get upset if they don't return the review right away. They'll be trying to get there if they can. Most people will post a note on their story if they don't think they can return reviews.

The other thing is that critiquing other people's stories, especially ones in the same genre as yours, will help you to better evaluate your own writing -- even if you don't get feedback in return. It's been a huge rush, there are almost 300 stories up already, each one is 2500 words long (for me that means around an hour a piece to read and review the way I do it)… we're trying, but it might take some time… 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote plkphoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Feb 2017 at 3:01am
TLDNR version of above: 

Views are pretty much meaningless… Wink
To get readers and feedback, give feedback on other stories… Thumbs Up
People may be busy and overwhelmed… give us time and we'll get there. Confused
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Archon1995 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Feb 2017 at 2:22pm
Originally posted by brianmott brianmott wrote:

Can any of you more experienced folks help us newbies understand why there might be a huge gap between your views and your reviews? (Aside from your story being garbage, of course!) 

Others have already explained that the number of views is essentially meaningless, and it can take a while before people can find the time to return reviews. I just wanted to reassure you that while a hot mess of a story may reduce the number of reviews and comments for it, you will still get feedback. Some of it might be painful, but the majority of people here are honestly wanting to help others improve.

With as many participants as there is this year, and the number of stories posted to the forum, it may take a while for people to get to yours. There are people who specifically look for stories that have few/no replies, too.  Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wendy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Feb 2017 at 4:46pm
I notice you said "with as many participants as there are this year" -- do you know how many there are?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lisafox10800 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Feb 2017 at 4:56pm
So here's a funny story about the "number of views" and why they don't mean anything.

Last year, in the second heat of FFC, something wacky started happening  with the counter on my story.  I think I ended with "25,000" views - or some ridiculous number like that.  Which of course, was some crazy glitch.  Which, of course, happened to me.   I think somehow I got set on fast-forward every time someone opened my link.  (So for every time someone opened, it registered 100 instead of one).

It was so embarrassing.

I agree with the above posters, the more you review others, the more they will review you.  I, personally, prioritize reviews of anyone who takes the time to comment on my story.  And leaving thoughtful reviews (something more than "Great!  I liked this!" ...although sometimes it's nice just to see that) is a sure way of getting others to want you to review their stories.  The forum is like a great big writers' workshop.  

Wendy - there are over 3,000 of us participating in the challenge this year.  But of course not everyone posts to the forums.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Archon1995 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Feb 2017 at 6:09pm
Originally posted by Wendy Wendy wrote:

I notice you said "with as many participants as there are this year" -- do you know how many there are?

There were 3,031 registered for SSC2017. 69 heats had 30 people, 31 heats had 31 people.

Of course, some people didn't submit anything (for whatever reason). And many, many of those who did aren't participating in the sub-form.
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