Wanted your thoughts on the sixty-character limit.

[UnexpectedLuggage]

I'd like to have both longer titles and descriptions, yeah. Not super long, but just a little more room to play with. Hate coming up with a title I think is super clever only to find out it's too long.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

The example you provided is clearly from someone without the skills, and it is unlikely that doubling the existing character limit would change that.

And by your argument, like I said, those skills will never improve, so forcing them to up their game in 60 characters is completely pointless. Folks like me and you, we don't need to improve. Not that we're perfect, but for what the tag line was created for, we will attract more readers, more targeted readers to our stories with an extra 40 characters than we ever will by trying to get as super amazingly crafty as possible with our 60 characters.

For many writers there would be no benefit, but also no detriment, but for many other writers, there would be a significant benefit. But most importantly, it would be a benefit for ALL readers, as they would have an easier time choosing our stories since they have more accurate description of what is in the box before it's opened. And THAT is exactly what the description is for.

 

[alohadave]

I'd like to have both longer titles and descriptions, yeah. Not super long, but just a little more room to play with. Hate coming up with a title I think is super clever only to find out it's too long.

Laurel can push it if you ask when you submit. One of mine I needed like 3 extra characters for the title, and I offered an alternative title that would fit if not. It went through with the longer title.

It's not something I'd for ask all the time, and it's only come up the one time.

 

[DarkCosmos]

Laurel can push it if you ask when you submit. One of mine I needed like 3 extra characters for the title, and I offered an alternative title that would fit if not. It went through with the longer title.

So then why not just give us those ten extra characters to play with by default and save Laurel the trouble?

 

[StillStunned]

So then why not just give us those ten extra characters to play with by default and save Laurel the trouble?

Because then people would want another ten characters, and it wouldn't save Laurel any trouble at all.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Because then people would want another ten characters, and it wouldn't save Laurel any trouble at all.

That's no reason to ask for something that would definitely improve the site. This is always a lame argument. It's not going to happen so don't bother asking. Just shut up and accept the less-than-ideal. That's just a pointless way to think or go about one's life.

 

[SimonDoom]

So we can ignore all the people who want more now, or we can make an extremely simple change to improve the site and continue to ignore anyone who still complains.

I don't think you, or anyone else here, knows how many "all the people" are. There's a tendency in this forum to think the voices that complain loudest are representative of the many, and I'm not convinced that's true. In fact, I suspect it's often wrong.

I don't have a strong feeling on this subject, and if it turned out that the site decided it could increase tagline lengths without any cost that would be fine with me. But speaking for myself, as a reader I have never thought, "Gosh I wish taglines were longer to help me pick stories more effectively," and as an author I have never thought, "I wish tagline lengths were longer so I could describe my story more fully." I kind of enjoy the challenge of having to come up with a teaser line that fits within the word limits. We're all on an equal footing. And keeping it this way ensures that new stories won't have an advantage over the old ones.

 

[DarkCosmos]

Because then people would want another ten characters, and it wouldn't save Laurel any trouble at all.

I understand your logic here, and on some level I think you're right. If they give us seventy characters someone will want eighty, if they give us eighty someone will want ninety. I can absolutely see that being a real problem and you do absolutely have to draw the line somewhere.

But I think it's also worth taking into account what others are clearly saying about how restrictive sixty characters feels. Just because the line has to be drawn somewhere doesn't mean it needs to be drawn back quite that far or that sixty characters isn't restrictive.

And to those saying it's a creativity issue and and not a formatting issue, I'd argue that there's really only so much you can do with sixty characters regardless of talent. It becomes less about skill and more about math. At some point, the tag lines all start to become samey because they have to be when you're working with so few letters.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

So then why not just give us those ten extra characters to play with by default and save Laurel the trouble?

Because she has to evaluate each request independently.

For example, if the story is part of a series or will have multiple chapters, will allowing more space for one piece require it for additional ones.

Factors like that could influence her decision or ability to support the request.

Like AlohaDave, I have only requested additional title characters one time and she accommodated me.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

And to those saying it's a creativity issue and and not a formatting issue, I'd argue that there's really only so much you can do with sixty characters regardless of talent. It becomes less about skill and more about math. At some point, the tag lines all start to become samey because they have to be when you're working with so few letters.

I respectfully disagree and gave several examples earlier that prove my point.

If you ever venture into mainstream publishing, you will encounter constraints worse than those here, and an industry set in its ways.

From titles and taglines, to blurbs, synopsis's, and story descriptions, you either learn how to do them within the established parameters or you don't get past the gate. If you have an agent, they can typically help you, but you'll need to meet the query requirements of the agent for them to consider representing you. And guess what, they all have constraints too.

As I mentioned previously, I wouldn't be bothered if the character limit was increased, I just think that your time and effort could be better spent learning how to adapt to the limit rather than waiting for this site to adapt to your request.

 

[alohadave]

Because she has to evaluate each request independently

A systemwide change to allow ten more characters would be no different than the work done now.

If you ever venture into mainstream publishing, you will encounter constraints worse than those here, and an industry set in its ways.

This isn't commercial publishing, and the standards there should not be forced here. The vast majority of authors here will never trad publish, so the ones that do can deal with it then.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Because she has to evaluate each request independently.

Not if she just increases the size of the text line.