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| >> Static Item >> Column >> How-To/Advice >> ID #883574 |   |
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Dear Aunt Blab, Why won´t anyone touch my new item with a 10 foot pole? Even though I have put it pretty high up on the auto review page, no one will even look at it. ( I´ve had 2 views in 10 hours.) Should I go back to cooking? / AL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dearest AL, Don't allow this transient albeit troubling problem cause you undue angst ~ it is far more likely the product of critical global shortages of unusually tall Polish people than of apathy on the part of co-Community Members here at Writing.com. Due to a drastic decrease in the ranks of ten-foot Poles in the workforce, precious few are available for recruitment by Writing.com to reach out and 'touch' your masterful though temporarily " Review-challenged " portfolio. But take heart ~ an number of alternate avenues remain at your disposal... Fear not, my dear ~ for benevolent angels, magical fairies, elusive elves, and of Course, good old Mother and Father Anonymous are tirelessly afoot in every nook and cranny within the confines of the Writing.com Community, frequently extending helping hands and always willing to offer an enthusiastic boost in terms of recognition of newcomers. Your star is already rising on the horizon within this realm ~ "undt vee haff vays uff getting you seen...." {wide, wicked grin}. Several which readily come to mind are: 1. Submit as many different pieces as you wish at Writing.com forums specifically created to welcome in and show off the work of "Newbies". Some of these forums bestow "Newbie" status upon members for 30 days, some for 60, and a few for as long as 90. Being a "Newbie" is actually very beneficial to a writer here; a plethora of such sites serve the exclusive purpose of assisting Newbies in coming on board with Writing.com and receiving introductory attention from the remaining members of the Community. In addition, under "Item Jumps" on the left side of your screen, click on and visit A) The Shameless Plug Page, B) The Contest Listing Page, and C) The Review Request and Review Forums pages. Many of the latter look forward to reviewing the work of new members; some contests and forums have even been known to raid and review entire ports. (Use search word, "contests" to find Contests not listed on the Contest Listings Page and the searchword "Reviews" to find review sources which may not appear on the Site's Item Jump Review Page.) 2. Avoid confining yourself to only entering Newbie Contests - enter each and every kind of contest that dovetails with your talents. Often, competitors in the contest, as well as those sponsoring them, read other entries for their own edification, generating reviews via yet a another avenue for exposure of your work to readers. 3. Subscribe to and read all of the weekly Writing.com newsletters applicable to your talents and preferences in writing. They are laden with information and resources that will assist you in having your work seen and reviewed, and provide valuable tips for honing your writing skills. 4. Ask individuals you know - and forum/group members who offer reviews - to read and review your piece(s). Writing.com does not allow mass e-mailing, of course - but you can individually post at such sites or send individual e-mails to a tasteful number of such individuals, politely asking that they take a look at and comment upon selected examples of your work. When these good-hearted folks do review your work, bear in mind that, in any random number of persons who review you, there are bound to be those who are habitually low raters, have personal agendas influencing their reactions and critiques, aren't fond of your particular genre and/or writing style, etc. Without question, however, most who review here are very sincere and extremely helpful - even if they cite more errors or rate a bit lower than you would have preferred. Writing is an exacting Master whose dedicated subjects may not have it both ways - if an author wants his or her work to be read by the general public, he or she must be prepared to "pay the dues and walk the walk". And that means accepting review comments (unless they are obviously insincere, unfounded, or represent harassment, which rarely happens here - but can.) as constructive criticism and not a personal attack to be worried over and regarded as a reason for throwing in your pen. Even the giants among authors of excellence whose works have - and will continue to - withstand the test of centuries have received appreciable measures of criticism of in response to their works - even their masterpieces. In the field of writing, it comes with the territory. Harness the power of such criticism - and put it to work serving YOU. Utilize it for your own personal betterment and to more cleary understand those for whom you are writing to begin with. Use review comments - particularly the less than complimentary ones - to hone and polish your work WHEN CALLED FOR. Take another look at the piece in question through the reviewer's eyes and truly endeavor to comtemplate what you've written from their vantage point. Above all, grant your readers a wide berth regarding just exactly what their perspective(s) may entail. Ultimately, the power to accept or reject all or some portion of their suggestion(s} lies solely in your hands... YOU are the author - and solely responsible for your ultimate assignnment of relevancy, value, and applicabililty of any given comment or criticism to the piece generating same. If making such changes would please the masses but is detrimental to the message you wish to impart, then remain steadfastly aligned with your principles and allow your piece it to stand on its own merits. ('ConBlabus' say: "Opinions are like anal orifices ~ evlybody has one. Some are just pinker and plettier than others...") The bottom line is this: never prostitute your work for fun, profit, and/or to appease the masses.... DO polish it to a high gloss when offered advice is sound. Each and every piece that you pen is your very own, unique "offspring", gestated within and given birth by your own heart and soul. Nurture and discipline each of these, your 'children', as you, after unbiased comtemplation of review comments, honestly deem to be best. Cook because you like to, dearest AL ~ write because you were BORN to. Yours 'til every inkwell's dry, Aunt B. CLICK BELOW IMAGE TO POST PRAYERS AND SUPPORT FOR SOFTY'S SWIFT RECOVERY!     ** #882298 Not An Image **
Writing is a talent innate within all of us... listen to your heart sing and copy down the words! (Thank you, Orion's Moon for this beautiful Sig!) 
© Copyright 2004 Of Fire Born ~ welcome, 2012! (UN: of_fire_born at Writing.Com).
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