Hello, hello!
Now that I’ve enabled new account creations for comments and such, I have some questions I thought I might toss your way. I am typing this on my phone so there may be a ton of errors.
1. Chapters. I typically write 1 or 2 chapters per story but I usually leave a hook in some way for possibly continuing the story. For those that have read my stuff, would you rather I continue most stories or would you rather I just move on and write new things? I’d appreciate examples and reasoning if you can spare them.
2. Is there any other kind of content y’all would lik eto see? More behind-the-scenes on stories? Or, micro stories perhaps? Or little badly done art sketches? Or…?
3. Is there any interest in commissions? If so, what pricing would you, personally, be willing to pay someone such as myself? Also, how open would you be with your requests? Would you want something done exactly like you wanted or would you be happy providing a very general outline and letting me twist it the way I like?
4. Is there anything I can be doing to improve? Either as a writer (something you’ve noticed I do in general, perhaps?) or … hell, I dunno?
5. Is there anything I can be doing differently as an author? To give back to the community or something? I like to play around with different things like the sketch stories or the Dr. Seuss parody and I’m open to ideas. Hell, I’ve considered making a “Choose your own adventure” style website (I’m a web developer/general programmer) or even trying my hand at a simple computer game (basic sprites or a text adventure ala Zork). Or possibly running a writing contest. Thoughts?
Thanks for any thoughts or feedback!
Well, gonna chime in on this even if I probably don’t have all that much to say :)
(I haven’t any idea what your workload is, so I haven’t any clue as to how much my suggestions might ask of you.)
1. I particularly like sort of a mix between the two; Having maybe a single ‘large’ story running through chapters and all, for instance your Legal Issues (which is probably the single best cow TF out there.), while then between chapters having smaller maybe “one-off” stories as filler material between chapters — even if this means a longer wait between the main chapters.
2. I for one would love to see more content from you as a whole. Be that behind-the-scenes to how you work, haikus, poems, micro stories, experimental formats, and/or even art-work :) As long as it’s “well done” so to speak; that you don’t just upload something whipped together in 2 minutes while on the can.
3. Commissions is a touchy-feely subject for me as I don’t really feel I want to shell out more money for ‘entertainment’ than I already do; what with games, subscribtions, and the likes.
That being said, I think it’d be a good idea to have a commission system running, as long as it’s its own thing on the side. Having a sizeable paywall is never a good thing.
Additionally, if I were to commission something in terms of a story, it’d definitely be in the form of a general outline and/or just ideas or content I’d like see put into a story. For instance a particular way of a transformation, or a certain environment, etc.
4 & 5. These two I don’t think I’m in any way qualified to comment on at all =P But! As I mentioned earlier, more content no matter the shape or form is always appreciated, and a CYOC type thing you can add content to, or a small game would be VERY welcome on my PC here ;)
Hope this is at least a small help
~D4113R
The bit about smaller stories between longer chapter stories is a good idea. That may be something I try out once to see how it works. Often I just get wrapped up in the story and want to see it through. But, it might be a good way to break things up.
I have to admit, I feel oddly bothered by the commission comment. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I write this stuff because I enjoy writing stuff and I’ll keep doing that but I guess something about the wording rubs me the wrong way? That might be it. I buy comics from TF and TG artists occasionally. Because I like their stuff but also to support them. Definitely is a form of entertainment but, having written a decent amount, I know what kind of time suck and strain it can be to do the work and I’m happy to help a little when I can. Helping the independent artist while buying something I know is going to be pretty good. And, hell, even if it’s just kinda okay, it’s an encouragement to them to show that I appreciate the work they’ve done.
I suppose I feel the same about my own stuff. I’ve commented in this thread already that I don’t ever plan to put up advertisements and I certainly wouldn’t ever do a pay wall but occasionally I might sell something. Or, perhaps I’ll occasionally make a simple donation drive post every so often.
Mostly, I just really appreciate good feedback and comments on stories. A lot. But, hey, wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of extra money every so often, yeah? That’s a pretty good compliment, too :)
However, in this case I meant for commissions by individuals wanting custom stories for themselves. Just to try and get a sense of what I should charge for those if I do it.
All of that said, thank you very much for chiming in! It’s weird and totally cool having people actually comment in my blog thing rather than all the other places I post :)
Gotta just touch up on the commission thingy again here ^^,
First of all: English is NOT my native language, so wording’s not really my strongest suite at all I’m afraid..
Secondly: While I did mention I felt iffy with paying for content like this, I for one definitely do not condone nor do I dabble in pirating this content either seeing as I think that’s quite literally just screwing over people who try and do this for a living..
Thirdly and bestly!: I hadn’t at all considered that ‘commissions’ could also in some shape include donation drives; a concept I (for reasons I can’t explain..) feel much more eager to chime in on.. probably because it’s a more ‘general’ thing I then pay for.. I’m not sure.
And lastly: I’m also a bit new to chiming in on stuff like this.. But I’m glad you’re at least enjoying the input ^^, And I definitely prefer butting in on your blog rather than for instance your posts on Reddit.. These posts here I feel are more ‘conversation-like’ rather than just random comments.. but that’s probably just me.
Well, you do very well with English so I had no idea. Regardless, I’m not upset at you or anything. Just needed to say something and then clear it up.
I’m very appreciative of people joining up here. It’s been a ghost town. Tons of visitors but nobody commenting. My fault, there.
Curiously – what is it about bovines that you like specifically?
Thank you very much, it means a lot coming from someone so literal ^^,
As for the ghost town thingy, I actually wasn’t sure how to even drop a comment or the likes on this blog before you posted the ‘Opening up account creating’ post a few days back; I have however made sure to get e-mail notifications whenever you post something =P
And the bovines? I.. I’m not entirely sure what specifically makes a good story in my eyes since I like so many different takes on the thing.. However! As I’ve already stated, your Legal Issues story really hits home in at least a few things: The mental aspect is practically spot on to my tastes with it kinda “slowing down” her mental capabilities, but still NOT touching the “dumbing down” aspect which is often present in stories of the bovine variety. :)
Another thing I generally like seeing develop is how a TFee can develop into this.. almost overly maternal figure, what with them often growing a little in size from added weight (healthy padding is nice =P) as well as them now producing milk (udders of course are wonderful.), all the while dealing with and trying to fight off them losing their ‘humanity’ so to speak with the ever developing features of a cow.
I hope that at least is of some use in terms of feedback, even if I’m not entirely certain what exactly makes for a good story and what does not; but I think a LOT of it lies within storytelling and character development rather than someone plopping out an udder and mooing. :)
Thanks for enabling accounts, I was having a lot of issues trying to register, but much better now.
I’m going to answer your previous question here first so that you don’t have to worry about responding in two places.
In regards to frog ladies, I would have to say that there are probably several factors. You really don’t see them that often and the ones that I have seen are well written. As for the draw, if you are a female legs person then what better draw then an antro-frog ladies legs? ;) Plus you have the crouching and jumping all around. One idea that I had was a skin cream that a lady uses to make her legs more shinier but finds out that the creme has side effects all of it’s own. Things such as that. I hope that answers your questions.
As for these questions, I have to agree with D4113R.
1) Legal issues was brilliantly written. Long and drawn out with the slow change over several days. Much more satisfying then a quick change over one or two chapters. Just the shock and turmoil that she goes through as she loses her humanity. Very well written.
2) Same more content as a whole as long as it continues to be of such high standards that you currently have now. I’d rather quality over quantity.
3) It all depends on the commision and how much per page and the quality, at least for me.
4) Nothing I can see so far, it’s just so well written it’s hard to find faults!
I hope this helps!
I suppose I have seen some occasional cute frog ladies while browsing around for stuff on FA. Who knows!
I appreciate the comments and compliments! I guess I’ll just keep thinking on it and just write what feels natural. And if I can come up with something that I personally like and enjoy writing, I’ll do that. If people like it then, yay! If not then I’ll just sit in a corner eating ice cream. And sobbing :)
1. I like a mix. Short one-off stories are fun, but then – if I really like one – I want to read more about it and get more into characters and development. I’d love to see a novel-length work from you someday.
2. Occasional “how-I-write” behind that scenes stuff is cool, but honestly I’m really here for your awesome, smutty, furry TF writing.
3. I think your writing is absolutely worthy of commissions, and you would get them if you made them available. Whatever price you set, you can always adjust according to how much work you get. I have a feeling you would get a good bit. Personally – I’m not sure why, but I don’t think I would commission writing. Oh, well maybe because you already pretty much do a ton of stuff that I like, so I don’t need to! I think another avenue for you to make some money is to do either a novel or compilation of short stories and sell it as an ebook on amazon. Check out this post on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2t1u4g/whats_the_best_no_experience_required_job/cnuy1n5. Personally, I’d be more likely to buy a book from an author I like (e.g., you) than get a commission.
4. Not really. I love your work. You’re one of my favorites.
Another new user! Oh my gosh! Hello!
Man. I dunno if I could ever write a novel length TF story. Something like The Change (my first story and I cringe to think of how poorly I write back then) is about the most I could possibly handle. I guess I could theoretically do it? And I do have some ideas. Hell. “Testing Grounds” could become a decent size and an unnamed future project I have in mind could possible be not bad. And I could even grow “The Labyrinth” into a longer story. But probably not novel length. Then again, I don’t know what an official novel word count is.
Commissions are tricky things for me. I don’t have a solid hardcore writing schedule since this is a hobby and I have a life and other obligations. I’ve actually had a couple people tell me I should stop posting mostly for free. Maybe release little teaser bits but then only sell the full thing (even if it’s just a 2 chapter thing) online. I mean, I like money and I’m not exactly rich so the idea is interesting. But, I don’t think I have the heart for it. That and I’m unsure of how well it’d do. I’ve also considered making an occasional pledge drive thing? Like, a simple post once a month pointing people to a Paypal donations link or something. Just an unobtrusive post. I refuse to put up advertisements. Too much of an eyesore, too much of a pain in the ass and not nearly enough of a revenue to make it worth it.
My ideal scenario would be to work with an artist to sell illustrated versions of my stories. Basically the story with like ten or twelve illustrations. That would be great. But, also expensive for me. Might be worth it to try once, though? To see if I make back enough to make it worth it?
But… my ideal ideal solution would be to get good enough to do my own illustrations. Simple ones but possibly enough that people like it? That’s something I actually am working on doing. Slowly. Badly. But it’d be so cool.
One more reddit post you might find interesting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2v4b74/i_am_scarlett_skyes_the_2_erotica_author_on/
Thank you! I’ll try to take a look when I have a bit of time :)
Leaving my two cents now that I’m FINALLY able to post.
1) Depends. One the one hand, more of a good thing! On the other hand, keeping to one storyline can eventually exhaust your ideas for it, so don’t be afraid to move on to greener pastures of that happens.
2) Not off the top of my head, no.
3) Ehhh… *IF* I did ask for a commission, I’d probably give you a general outline and lots of leeway. If I had a precise roadmap in my head, I’d write it myself. That said, the notion of me commissioning something in the first place is a really big if.
4) There is one thing. I’ve enjoyed most, if not all of your stories to some degree, but the only one I can say I actually *disliked* was Filth. Took me a while to pin down why, exactly, but I believe my discomfort came for two sources:
A, The protagonist was too likeable, the transformation too horrific. I felt like she didn’t deserve it, you know? I was too busy rooting for her to be titillated.
B, The ending. Oh Jesus Christ the ending. I am a sucker for “Good Ends”, where everybody (or at least the hero) goes home happy, and up until Filth you did a darn good job delivering on that front. But allowing demons to gain a foothold on earth is about as far from a Good End as I can imagine, short of the protagonist outright getting killed.
5) If it wouldn’t distract from your writing too bad, go nuts!
I thought I’d replied but I guess not. And, I hear you. I way prefer happy/”good” endings over bad ones but I like to play around with different things sometimes. And it’s not quiiiiiitte a bad ending. Not… not exactly. Maybe?
I feel like I’m late to leave my comment but I only just found out we can comment now so I’m gonna anyway!
1. It’s always devastating when I find out that an author whose work I’ve gotten attached to hasn’t touched, nor do they have plans to touch the story that got me so attached in the first place. I was thankful to find that both the Labyrinth and Legal Issues were fully completed as they may be my favourite of your works. That being said, though I like your longer stories (I even got surprisingly invested in the Honeypot despite it not being my thing just because it was nice to have a larger dose of your work), I absolutely understand wanting to move away from ideas. I also have no problems with short, open ended stories. All fun!
2. I have nothing really to suggest but I’d love to see sketches, minis and backdoor sneak peaks ^-^
3. Yeah! I would leap at the chance to commission you and force you to write something tailored to my own depravities. I have absolutely no idea how much it should cost, and I don’t feel like I can gauge how much I’d be willing to pay. I’m totally unfamiliar with the workload of literary artists unfortunately. So long as the fee sufficiently compensates (and perhaps compliments) your efforts then I’m in. And I think it would be totally be best if you had the majority of the control to take the story in the direction you felt best. We here to read your stories, after all, not the stories of backseat writers
4. Always eat your greens, and remember to smile. Apart from that, I got nothing. Again, I’m no author. I think you’re doing swell as it is so I leave that improvement stuff to you
5. Contests sound great. Who doesn’t like a contest? I’m a big fan of the choose your own adventure genre, regardless of the context. They’re irresistible! But online, I’ve seen a lot of potentially good but incomplete ones where people just toss them aside once bored. The CYOA graveyard is a sad place. This is another where I don’t really have anything to add.
Also, a note on the previous comment. I kinda liked Filth for punishing someone who may not have deserved the punishment, and then not giving a happy ending. but maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, I love your work. Glad I can say that out loud now. Keep it up!
It’s never to late to write a comment on something! Hell, you could go back to the old stories and post comments and I wouldn’t complain at all.
Am I to guess that you like bovine transformations? Since you list The Labyrinth and Legal Issues?
Thank you for the compliments on Filth (it definitely worked for some and *not* for others) as well as your comments in general! I really appreciate it.
Oh good. I’ll have reason to go back and reread some of your stuff then ^-^
Yes, unfortunately when the weird, socially unacceptable “interests” were being dealt out I got the cow lover card (though it’s probably better described as a general lacto-love ¬____¬). I usually look for slightly more feral stuff but the stories here are enough to make up the difference for me. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed over here for more bovine stuff in future ^