Forum Poll Called Due To Google Fumble

When I checked the blog this morning I discovered that the latest poll was broken! Google could no longer find the Blogger created poll, and getting the Blogger designer page to re-create it wasn't working either.

It happens, and frankly, I don't think there's any reason to start the poll over.

Last time I checked, 8 people said; "The blog is more than enough" while three voted for the creation of a forum.

While that's not a huge poll turnout, it's enough for me to see a clear trend. I know the following behind Spinward Fringe is fewer than one thousand readers, and while it's growing, that's no where near what most novelized series with active forums have. Most series or author based forums are started after millions of copies have sold. Even after several best sellers, there are normally only a couple hundred active forum members, give or take. Every author and series has a different reader participation level.

The reader participation level for Spinward Fringe is really high, nearly ten percent, as estimated by a friend who's much better at math than I. For comparison, most popular books have less than 0.01% reader participation. That's why I thought it would be better to ask about a forum instead of a assuming that one wasn't necessary. As it turns out, people are enjoying the blog and don't need a forum yet - for the most part.

I'm glad I checked, to be honest. I was on the verge of just opening one as an experiment, but there's nothing worse than an empty forum. It's like a convention with booths but no patrons.

I plan on checking again in six months since more people download Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins every day, and the Spinward Fringe series is about to launch on the Sony Reader.

If anyone would like a place other than this blog to talk about the Spinward Fringe series, Allan started a threat on the Amazon.com boards here. If you're getting shut out because you've never made a purchase at Amazon.com, don't worry, I'll be starting a Spinward Fringe thread on a prominent eBook fan forum this weekend.

RL

Now, back to work on Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments.

Spinward Fringe Forums: To be or not to be?

Over the last few months a few readers have asked if there's an active forum for the Spinward Fringe series. Some of them have followed digital bread crumbs to the SyFy channel boards, Kindleboards and Mobileread, but weren't satisfied with what they found.

I'm left wondering if I'm seeing the tip of the iceberg. If these few readers represent a larger number of people who are looking to discuss all things Spinward Fringe. Beyond that, one reader asked if there was a speculation thread for the Dark Arts series, which is picking up readers like an electromagnet in a staple factory. I have to admit, I'm against speculation or fan fiction threads for many, many reasons (legal, creative, and quality control being just three), but I would love to see pretty much anything else discussed.

The Internet thrives on open discussion, and I'm all for it, but only if there are enough people to keep the forum active. So, if I get thirty votes for a forum and three comments from people volunteering to be moderators, then there will be a forum. As far as I can see, that's about the minimum any forum needs to remain active.

If the forum vote doesn't turn out well, there's no need to despair. Allan started a thread here on Amazon.com and commenting on this blog is always an option.

I'm lucky to have readers like you who take a minute to tell me what you want, it makes running a website and connecting with people a lot easier. Thank you for making yourselves heard, please keep it up by voting on the right.

RL

Back to editing Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments

Concentration

Today was spent on writing over 4,800 words and editing over 10,000. What I realized while working was how much I have left to do before I can hand the book over to my editor and the beta readers.

Broadcast 6 tells a broader story than Broadcast 5, and I'd have it no other way. What I'm doing now, during this preliminary editing phase, is writing in sections and cutting away others so every moment lives up to its full potential. Characters have to develop properly, the story has to be plausible and entertaining. The dialog must pop and flow. The book must feel whole. I'm adding entire chapters, and I've removed an entire perspective that was distracting and drew attention away from the important journeys taken by characters in this book.

Yes, that's a lot of work, but I'm really enjoying it and, more importantly, it must be done. This isn't a post about how this book will take longer than expected, however. No, we're finished with that. The final release date has been set, the link to it is at the end of this post.

In this post I'm telling you that I'm dropping off the radar while I concentrate on getting this done.

Some time while I was editing I realized how often I tabbed out to another program. Whether I was checking forum posts, Twitter or Facebook, they were all needless distractions, and my work flow will go much more smoothly without them. I'll get all this done on time, and I"ll be more focused so producing work I'm happy with earlier on will be easier.

So if you're wondering why my Twitter feed is dead, or my Facebook wall is bare over the next week or two, know that I'm doing something more important: putting my finishing touches on Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments, getting it off to my editor and beta readers. Immediately following the completion of this book, I'll be getting to work on Broadcast 7.

The only thing I'll be watching other than my word processor, is the counter on the front page of this site.

RL

See you on the other side!