I know you're making general points aimed at a number of people, Classicalla, but this seems directed to LabRat - and LabRat, I can assure you, had a reputation (when she was still reading L&C fic) of always reading new authors and posting encouraging feedback. So please don't blanket every old-timer with the same criticism, hmm? Thanks.
No, I assure you, it wasn’t aimed at LabRat. It was aimed at *everyone* - not just the
‘icons’. I’ll reword it. (LabRat actually read one of my fics and she was very encouraging with my fledgling attempt.) Sorry, if you thought I was trying to ‘blanket’ the old timers. I wasn’t. It’s just something that I’ve been very curious about. And LabRat, if you thought this was directed at you, I apologize - profusely.
Either way you "old timers" were lucky to have had the chance to participate in so many great discussions
Yes, they were.
When I read this, I realized that my post might have been confusing. I didn't mean at all to suggest that you didn't appreciate the feedback you receive. Good heavens, no! My point was actually later in the paragraph, but my wording wasn't clear, and I do apologize for that.
No, I didn’t think you did, but I just wanted to make sure no one else thought that was what I meant.
That said, you've inspired me to be a better reviewer in the future. I'm planning to do quite a bit of catch-up reading when I finish the current WIP, and I hereby promise to review each author faithfully, either here or privately.
Thanks. I’m glad I inspired you.
I am highly embarrassed to admit that I only made 10 feedback posts in Fanfic in 2006; however, 5 were for stories posted by authors who will all be eligible in the New Author category this year. And ALL of my posts in nfic have been to authors new or almost-new to the fandom this year. That means 50% of my posts in Fanfic have been for stories by new authors.
This is good to hear that so much of your feedback has been for new authors, Kathy.
It's taken me 40 minutes to write and rewrite this before hitting the ADD REPLY button. Maybe I do more editing than I need to (yes, I do realize that this isn't a letter being sent out to some important dignitary), but it's very important for me to try to explain my thoughts as clearly as possible. When you don't have the tonal qualities that color what is being said, misunderstandings can easily crop up. And they have - both for me and for posts that I have responded to - more than once, so I prefer to err on the side of caution. And I'm equally careful with a feedback post, since I am commenting on an author's "baby", and I want to say it "just right".
I can certainly understand this.
I haven't received any email from you, Nancy (yet), so to be honest I haven't the faintest idea what you mean by this. Although now I'm deeply intrigued.
Yeah, think back to that beta I asked you about. I emailed you again.
But I have to say that I, personally, know of no authors who shouldn't be writing and posting here. If a writer is having fun making up stories and wants to share them with other fans, well done to them, I say!
I guess I was thinking about trying to read fics that totally don't make sense because of multiple inconsistencies. (I’ve actually rarely seen that.) Most authors go back and re-read and re-read and re-read their fics, and they work hard on them. But I have a read a *very* few that don’t do that, and if you ask them a question about what they mean, then they are clueless because they don’t even know what they wrote. That’s the kind of fic I was talking about.
You are right in what you said, LabRat. I was just curious as to what was happening, and if this was ‘usual’, and if so, why. I suppose these answers have explained a lot.
