Question about asking followers

[creativeboyinspring]

Hello everyone! I hope you are having an awesome day.

I have a question, but I fear I know the answer. (The answer being no). It's a question that I'm sure other Lit authors have had so I decided to ask it.

I will often write the first few pages of a story then stop as I'm not sure if it is working. I'll read it over and over again, trying to figure if it is working. At that point I wish I had someone that enjoyed my writings to read it to give me their opinion on the idea/plot/characters. Not to edit it, but to give a general opinion. I do have followers (and thank you everyone that follows me) and wondered if one of them might be interested in helping me do this. I would like a follower because they would already like my genre and writing style, as a stranger might hate the story based strictly on personal preferences (rather than the idea). There is no way to ask my followers, right? If there isn't, are there other ways I could find this? Other authors have to be doing this.

Thank you every and anyone for your advice.
CBIS

 

[Bamagan]

You could try putting your request in your profile. Followers are alerted when such updates happen, although how many pay attention is anyone's guess.

 

[ElectricBlue]

You could try putting your request in your profile. Followers are alerted when such updates happen, although how many pay attention is anyone's guess.

Yes, that's the only way I can think of, to ask followers. Update your profile with the request, and your followers will see it.

That might work, but remember, most followers are probably more likely to be readers, not writers.

Alternatively, you could try your luck in the Editors Forum, say you're looking for a beta reader. But don't hold your breath.

Ultimately though, you just need to push through your doubt, and have more confidence in yourself. Why do think it's not working? You need to figure that out for yourself, I reckon.

 

[creativeboyinspring]

Yes, that's the only way I can think of, to ask followers. Update your profile with the request, and your followers will see it.

That might work, but remember, most followers are probably more likely to be readers, not writers.

Alternatively, you could try your luck in the Editors Forum, say you're looking for a beta reader. But don't hold your breath.

Ultimately though, you just need to push through your doubt, and have more confidence in yourself. Why do think it's not working? You need to figure that out for yourself, I reckon.

I get worried that my ideas are not new or creative. That I'm just changing names and settings to repeat the same plot. Each story I do I try hard to make it unique even if they share the same kinks.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

If you go to your own profile, you should be able to click on the "Followers" and get a list of them.

If they have their settings set to accept e-mails (instant feedback), you can contact them through that feature.

You may want to sort through the list of followers to see which ones might have commented positively on your works. Those would be the ones to target first.

 

[Voboy]

Can't hurt to ask, OP. It's not a bad idea, if you're looking for someone to read your stuff.

 

[WaxPhilosophic]

I get worried that my ideas are not new or creative. That I'm just changing names and settings to repeat the same plot. Each story I do I try hard to make it unique even if they share the same kinks.

There's a book out there called The Seven Basic Plots, so yeah, we're all repeating the same plots. But it's your characters that make it fun and interesting.

As for getting followers to read your drafts and offer suggestions, you might try a blog site and link it in your Lit profile. Post snippets on the blog and ask for feedback. It will take a while to gain momentum, but once it gets going your regulars will likely appreciate the sneak peeks.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

You might consider putting an author's note at the end of your next story.
"If you enjoyed this story and want to see the next one before anyone else, I'm looking for Beta readers. Please contact me through the author feedback link".

Or something similar.