# What to do?



## megamania (May 29, 2004)

Though it should not matter, I can not help but notice but only a select few give a darn about my Story Hour.  Why?  It shouldn't matter but it does bother me just the same.

Thoughts and ideas or do I just rot


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## Enkhidu (May 29, 2004)

megamania said:
			
		

> Though it should not matter, I can not help but notice but only a select few give a darn about my Story Hour.  Why?  It shouldn't matter but it does bother me just the same.
> 
> Thoughts and ideas or do I just rot




Truthfully, if you only have a handful of avid readers you're probably par for the course. Most story hours (even some of the longer running ones) have a few readers that wait impatiently for the next installment. Yes, we do have the occasional freak of story hour nature that strikes chord and whose readership grows with leaps and bounds (like Sepulchrave's, Sagiro, Wulf, or P-Kitty - who we all know uses a bot to boost his views anyway ), but more than likely if you start a stry hour you will have a smaller readership even if you write like Hemingway - its a function of the breadth of story hours to choose from.

And remember that while you are definitely writing for an audience here your primary audience should be yourself.


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## Lazybones (May 29, 2004)

My suggestions to increase readership:

1) Update frequently.  It took me a while to build up a core of readers. 

2) Read other story hours and post there.  Most SH authors are readers as well, and if you read their work, they may give yours a look.  Note this is not quid pro quo, and it's rude to _expect_ this reciprocity as such.

3) Post actively all over ENWorld and have a catchy link to your SH in your sig (note: I'm not advocating spam, have something good to say, in other words, be active in the community).

4) Write for yourself, and not for your "audience". If you write solely for accolades and not for your own personal fulfillment you'll only find disappointment. Try and write something each and every day, even if it's just a "junk" paragraph.  Often when I don't feel at all like writing and force myself my best stuff ends up coming out (even when it needs lots of editing later). 

5) Remember that far more people read these things than post comments. 

6) Practice, and both read a lot and write a lot.  Consider this a long-term project to improve your writing skills.  For me, when I started writing I had the most difficulty with dialogue, and tried to work on this particular area.  Developing a good style that draws the reader into the story takes a *long* time.  Read those popular stories noted by Enkhidu, and lots of other fiction.  Try to find your own voice.  

Don't get discouraged.  I've collected over 80 rejections from agents and publishers for my novels, but I still love to write, and it's a great skill and hobby to develop.  Plus it helps in "real life" as well...


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## Dakkareth (May 29, 2004)

Don't presume, nobody reads your story hour - there are probably many people like me, who are so firmly entrenched in their lurking ways, that they don't reply, even if they like the SH.


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## Emperor Valerian (May 29, 2004)

My first advice is to write for yourself.  If you try and write for others, chances are you'll get disappointed.  It takes dedication, and not everyone is going to have the same level of success in terms of drawing an audience.  But there are quite a few excellent story hours out there that don't have a massive audience, either.  Keep writing, and if an audience is meant to come, it will.


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## spyscribe (May 30, 2004)

Something else to consider.

As of the time I'm writing this, there are 952 (or 942 according to the forums index) threads that have been created in the Story Hour forum. 

Mean thread length: approximately 57 posts.
Median thread length: 11 replies.
Median number of thread views: just under 200
Number of threads that have *no* replies: 110

Granted, not every thread in the forum is a story hour, but the fact of the matter is that most of them are and most story hours don't become a major phenomenon.  There are just a lot of threads out there and a finite number of readers with a finite amount of time.  Anyone measuring their readership against Piratecat's is bound for disappointment.  It can help to step back and take a broader perspective.


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## Piratecat (May 30, 2004)

Excellent advice from folks.

Another thing worth keeping in mind: I'd estimate that there's at least 5-10x the number of people who read a story hour than who comment on it. EN World has a lot more lurkers than you'd imagine.

I also found that frequent, shorter updates help quite a bit. People are more likely to read three shorter installments than one long one.


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## Inez Hull (May 30, 2004)

I know I lurked at ENWorld for a good 6 months before I ever registered and spent almost all of that time reading story hours. Consider also that the link in my sig is to a published transcript of a comic that the owner gave me permission to post and even then it took ages before anyone really started noticing it. 

And if you really want people to check out your story hour, get some celebrity readers - I know I checked Destan's story hour early in the piece after I noticed Piratecat's name several times as the last poster.


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## megamania (May 30, 2004)

Thankyou for your responces.  I have two Storyhours going.  My Darksun one which I am taking a break from (while refueling on ideas) and of course STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI.

Darksun had about 30 regular readers before I took a break.  (based on hits between listings) while Strikeforce is only getting 10-12.  I figured Strikeforce would be a bigger hit as it involves time/reality and parrell universes.  Readers can see how different DnD worlds wash or don't wash.  The most noticeable being a dark James Bond comicbookish charcter of 2003 thrown into the mix.  There is alot about cultures and the way folks look at things.

The latest one involves said character using CPR.  A cleric of Corellon was both surprised and amazed by this "barbariac" method of saving a life.

Oh well.  I guess it's about tastes and maybe my ideas are just "too out there".

Again-  thankyou for your replies.


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