Gaining views and active readers

[Rosica]

Fair enough lmao. I take back the approval on your behalf then. Didnt know imgur was banned on SH. My bad on that one.

imgur isn't banned for every users of SH. Just for users whose country or ISP ban the site because pornography.

I also have to switch to desktop to see the cover in the signature (which I can't still see) because signatures are hidden on mobile by default. Like most SH readers, majority of SHF users are on mobile too.

You have wasted my time. Now suffer the consequence.

 

[shut_up]

Alright I accept the consequence. Whatever it is I probably deserve it for making you switch to desktop.

And good to know about the imgur thing. Makes sense now. I just assumed it was a site-wide block. The signature thing is rough though. If most readers are on mobile and signatures are hidden by default then putting your cover there is basically invisible marketing. Might as well tape a poster to the inside of a closet.

imgur isn't banned for every users of SH. Just for users whose country or ISP ban the site because pornography.

I also have to switch to desktop to see the cover in the signature (which I can't still see) because signatures are hidden on mobile by default. Like most SH readers, majority of SHF users are on mobile too.

You have wasted my time. Now suffer the consequence.

Lesson learned. Thanks for the correction though. Wont make the same mistake twice.

The synopsis is essentially “boy meets girl, but in space,” padded with abstract, dense purple prose that lose my attention very quickly. The narrative puts a great distance between the story and the reader. Take a step back and think about what really hooks readers in a sea of romance stories, and hint at that early. What are the stakes for the characters? Is this just a cosy space romance?

This is solid feedback honestly. The "boy meets girl but in space" thing is a real trap because it sounds simple but then the synopsis goes the opposite direction and tries to sound literary. Readers on SH and RR are scanning. They give you maybe two or three sentences before they decide if they care.
The best synopses answer three things fast. Who is the character. What do they want. What is stopping them. If a reader has to work to figure that out then you already lost them. It doesnt matter how beautiful the prose is if the reader cant tell what the story is actually about within the first paragraph.
Stakes first. Style second. You can always show off your writing inside the chapters. The synopsis is a sales pitch not a sample.

 

[Eldoria]

Alright I accept the consequence. Whatever it is I probably deserve it for making you switch to desktop.

And good to know about the imgur thing. Makes sense now. I just assumed it was a site-wide block. The signature thing is rough though. If most readers are on mobile and signatures are hidden by default then putting your cover there is basically invisible marketing. Might as well tape a poster to the inside of a closet.



Lesson learned. Thanks for the correction though. Wont make the same mistake twice.

Use google photos. It's free.

 

[shut_up]

Google photos. Thats actually smart. Simple and no ISP blocks to worry about. Appreciate the tip. Will switch to that going forward.

 

[Rosica]

Use google photos. It's free.

Until it isn't.

 

[Eldoria]

Until it isn't.

Google doesn't require payment unless you upgrade your account to the premium version for more space.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

Use social media

 

[Rosica]

Google doesn't require payment unless you upgrade your account to the premium version for more space.

For now. But they requires your allegiance and total obedience to the Epstein class.

 

[shut_up]

I was in the middle of reading Eldoria's chapter 3 and yall dragged me back here with the Google Photos debate. I was emotionally invested in a pinky promise between a mother and her daughter and now Im reading about Epstein class allegiance. Let me read in peace.

For now. But they requires your allegiance and total obedience to the Epstein class.

 

[Rosica]

I was in the middle of reading Eldoria's chapter 3 and yall dragged me back here with the Google Photos debate. I was emotionally invested in a pinky promise between a mother and her daughter and now Im reading about Epstein class allegiance. Let me read in peace.

I will stop here. Going any further will derail the thread.

 

[RaeSovereign]

Alright I accept the consequence. Whatever it is I probably deserve it for making you switch to desktop.

And good to know about the imgur thing. Makes sense now. I just assumed it was a site-wide block. The signature thing is rough though. If most readers are on mobile and signatures are hidden by default then putting your cover there is basically invisible marketing. Might as well tape a poster to the inside of a closet.



Lesson learned. Thanks for the correction though. Wont make the same mistake twice.

This is solid feedback honestly. The "boy meets girl but in space" thing is a real trap because it sounds simple but then the synopsis goes the opposite direction and tries to sound literary. Readers on SH and RR are scanning. They give you maybe two or three sentences before they decide if they care.
The best synopses answer three things fast. Who is the character. What do they want. What is stopping them. If a reader has to work to figure that out then you already lost them. It doesnt matter how beautiful the prose is if the reader cant tell what the story is actually about within the first paragraph.
Stakes first. Style second. You can always show off your writing inside the chapters. The synopsis is a sales pitch not a sample.

I revised it.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

@RaeSovereign :

in high school sports (in this country, anyways) there's a thing called an "A" rating. It measures how big your school is.
Bear with me.
Single a = small school
Quad A = huge school
you can't put a single A high school sports team, up against so much as a double A team.
you'll get slaughtered every week.
the bigger school? Has more chances to get bigger faster players, taller players.

now lets look at what genre you're writing in.
Single A or Quad A.
You said, and others... its a romance. Here's the number one novel in that tag...

13, almost 14 M-I-L-L-I-O-N views. 186,000 hearts. 530 chappies. over 8,000 readers. Gettingon 100 reviews. 1.3 million words
we'll just call that "successful", okay?
Now... lets look at the LAST romance, the one in last place.

notice anything?
there's over 15,000 novels competing in "romance".
its a H-U-G-E thing to be in, to compete in.
this might be *the* biggest most competitive market on this site, for all I know.
I mean, there's over SIX HUNDRED pages of novels in "romance"...

hey. as far as I'm concerned?
you have b@lls as big as CHURCH BELLS, even walking out onto *that* playing field.
what are you're other tags, though. what ELSE does this romance offer.

and remember... web-novels are inherently different from paperbacks.
and you will *always* hear conflicting advice...
---you need to write better / sentence fragment translations sometimes get millions of views.
---you need a great cover / someone just rolled with automatic cover and got a zillion readers
---short sentences and short paragraphs / but this book has regular sentences and long paragraphs and look how good its doing
---this / that
---this / that

in the end?
what works, works. What doesn't? doesn't.
what works for someone else, might not work for you.
what doesn't work for everyone else, might work best for you.

I know this though, and that's for a fact.
keep writing, or you have zero chance.
@RaeSovereign :
here.
case, in, point...
number SIX on the all holy trending:

Is that a "great cover"? (it might be)
it sure ain't what I have in mind, when I think about getting a pro artist to make me something.
so... if its a requirement, to have a "great cover"? To get into the top nine on trending...

it obviously ain't.

DISCLAIMER: I didn't read the blurb, I didn't click on the first chapter. I have no idea.
this might well be the single greatest web novel ever written for all I know.
and the "plain jane cover" is that reverse thing, got everyone clicking on it.
who knows.

but... I just got done saying how you will get "conflicting advice".
that author will clearly tell you...
not that.