NEWBIE NOT CONNECTED

[whenisell]

I joined about three weeks ago. I have posted seven articles and have gottem two very brief comments (both positive) back. Most of the short articles have been read between 20 and 30 times. I was hoping for more feedback since I am trying to hone my ability to write.

I have posted two times on the forum asking questions and had only one response. On other forums that I frequent there is abundant feedback (re: motorcycles not writing) so I am suprissed by the lack of spirited feedback here.

I am not a complainer, and I think I can learn here. Although it is a Christian writers board I didn't expect it to be "Silent Night."

[glorybee]

Edd, if you're looking for lots of comments, try the Weekly Writing Challenge, which gets a lot more traffic than the regular articles. You might also consider posting links to specific articles for which you're seeking feedback here on the boards; it'll make it easier for people to find your work. The regular articles tend to get buried fairly quickly.

If you do enter the challenge, be sure to come back to the message boards every Monday and leave a "hint" (just a little game we like to play) for your entry, and don't be shy about begging for feedback.

Welcome to FaithWriters, and we look forward to getting to know you better.

[Rebecca Livermore]

Hi Edd,

Sorry you are not getting a lot of response at this time.

I noticed your one post asking about the Christian Writer's Guild, but didn't respond because I haven't participated in it. (I have looked at it and considered it so am familiar with it, but can't really respond to the post with anything helpful since I haven't actually done anything with it.)

I would suggest that you post that question in either Open Forum or Water Cooler. Those are the two areas that get the most activity. Another great place to jump in and get involved is in Writing Challenges. That area tends to be real active. The current challenge runs till Thursday morning at 8:59 ET. There will be a few weeks break after that, and then it will start up again later in December or the first of the year.

As far as posting articles, here is what I've found. It takes time to be "discovered." There are so many articles posted that it's impossible to read and comment on the majority of them. (I could do that if I didn't have a real job or a life, but since I do, I only post comments on a couple articles a day.) What I have had happen over time is that certain people began tracking me, and they often post comments.

The best way for you to get involved is to do what you want others to do. What I mean by that is to read other's articles and leave comments, read other postings on the boards and leave comments, etc. I've found that when I've left comments on the articles of others, they often check to see what I've written. Sometimes that's how I'm "discovered" by someone.

I checked and see that you have posted three times on the boards. I'm assuming the post in this thread was the third time. Most likely you haven't really posted responses to what other's have posted. Doing so will really help you to be part of the community and will result in more people rsponding to you as well.

Also, if you are wanting your work to get "out there," you might want to try posting some articles in the free reprint section. You won't always know who is using your articles, but I've had several people contact me and ask if I would contribute to their ezines regularly. This is not a ton of extra work for me because I submit the same item (e.g. devotional) several different places.

It does take time, but it's beginning to click for me. Active involvement seems to be the key.

Hope this helps,
Rebecca
P.S. You might want to put a link to your articles on FW in your signature on the boards here. That makes it easier for people on the boards to check out your writing.

[RedBaron]

Where did you post your articles? If they are in the critique circle, it sometimes takes awhile to get feedback there, because there are SO many articles there. The others made great suggestions.

Don't give up on the forum, we're quite the chatty bunch Branch out into the other forums, get to know us. I saw your other post about the guild, but I've never been involved with it, but I know some other folks around here have talked about it. Hopefully one of them will see your post about it and help out