Honest To Blog: My Misadventures

Part Ten: Frequently Asked Questions

23/04/12

F.A.Q

This is a list of questions that I have been getting asked frequently over the past month or so. From now on anyone who asks one of these questions will just be given the link to this! Note: some of them are questions I’ve been getting asked since I joined.

1)      Will you write me a one-shot?

I offer a “service”, I suppose you could call it, whereby I accept requests to write one-off stories for people who ask for them. However, there are some criteria, which I won’t get into here as I’ve already outlined them in a separate chapter in the “One-Shots” books, that you need to meet before I write you a one-shot.

Furthermore, as of this date, the one-shot request has been closed for several weeks. I’d really appreciate it if people could check my profile before asking for a one-shot, it will always say there whether I am accepting requests or not :) Also, I send out multiple fanblasts every time I open or close the request, so you should have plenty of notice when I re-open it.

2)      Will you write a sequel to The New Boy?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No, and here’s why:

a) It ended perfectly. Like seriously, I know that's tooting my own trumpet, but it's the best ending I've ever written.

b) I've written a sequel to almost every other book I've posted online and it gets old having to rehash the same characters over and over again.

c) I love my boys. To write a sequel there has to be some sort of drama, usually a break-up or something equally traumatic, and I'm just not willing to put any more of my characters through that! Writing KMLYD (sequel to IGHS) broke my heart, it took almost a year to complete because I got so depressed every time I went to write a new chapter.

d) I don't feel that I need to rely on using well-loved characters to get reads/votes/comments; I'm happy to keep creating new characters and situations and romances for people to enjoy and fall in love with.

e) In the *highly unlikely* event that I ever decide to write a sequel to TNB, it will be vastly different to the original story. When people ask me to write a second book it's because a) they feel cheated that they didn't get a graphic lemon and b) they want the story to pick up where it left off. That wouldn't happen; it would be set well into the future and who knows what else would be different. One of them could be dead. Nobody wants that!

3)      Will you read/vote for/comment on/critique/announce my story?

Probably not.

I don’t have a lot of time to focus on stories that aren’t my own; I’ve got all the writing, fanmail, college, and life in general to be getting on with. Occasionally I’ll read a story that someone has asked me to take a look at, but it’s rare that I’ll read more than one chapter.

I’ll usually only comment on something if I really like it, and I never leave nasty comments or point out people’s mistakes. I know that’s how people learn, but it makes me uncomfortable, and furthermore I hate when people critique my work so I wouldn’t presume to do it to anybody else.

It’s incredibly rare that I’ll announce a story to my fans. If people want to leave the links to their stories on my page that’s fine, I don’t really mind, but I spam my readers enough with updates and such without asking them to read other people’s stories as well. Sometimes I’ll come across a really awesome story that has very few reads and I’ll pimp it then, but only if I think people will really like it.

4)      How did you become so famous on Wattpad?

This question really makes me laugh, because I don’t consider myself to be famous on Wattpad. There are hundreds of authors with way more fans on here than me, I don’t even consider myself to be very well known. I have a niche audience of very lovely, very loyal, very committed fans that vote and comment and mail me, and I’m very grateful for all of them, but I’m by no means “famous” haha :)

I don’t really have any tips for getting more reads and fans on Wattpad, but if anybody wants advice I’d offer the following:

a)      A good title. Don’t use something stupid like “He’s a Jock and I’m a Prince and He’s Really Popular but Nobody Knows I’m Royalty and I’m a Total Nerd With No Friends But He Kissed Me, Does This Make Me Gay??” Keep it simple. Don’t give everything away in the title or people will have no reason to read the book.

b)      A good cover. Whether you prefer simplicity or a riot of colour, make sure it’s appealing, clear, and that the title is legible. I know the thumbnails are small and that makes it difficult (I’ve been guilty of having shitty covers in the past) but as long as it’s nice to look at it, people will instinctively click on it.

c)       Grammar and spelling. Once they’ve clicked on your book, you’ve got to keep them interested. A good storyline is key, but nobody’s going to keep reading if they can’t understand what you’re saying.

d)      Keep track of your details. If you say somebody has a sister in Chapter One and then make them an only child in Chapter Six, that’s gonna annoy people. If you name a character John in the first three chapters and change his name to James for the following four, that’s gonna annoy people too.

5)      When are you going to update XYZ?

I don’t have an updating schedule. I basically update whenever I feel like it. Sometimes I play favourites with a certain story, which means any others I’m working on can fall by the wayside for a couple of weeks, but unless I have a block I usually never leave it more than a month before updating something.

If I’ve posted a chapter ten minutes ago and you ask me when I’m going to update again, I’m going to basically ignore you. Bitch I just DID update! Appreciate, rest, and come back to me in a week XD

Okay, I think that’s pretty much it :)

Love you guys! <3