peers or public?

[Elianna]

I suppose I wouldn't be posting stories here if people didn't give me praise and feedback. I would probably be very discouraged, but I'd still write. Just for me. I've been doing it since I was a kid.

So. What kind of praise means more to me? Well... probably just educated praise. You don't have to be a writer to comment on character development, or plot or how the story evoked emotion. The "YOU ROCK" stuff is good, too, but I really appreciate it when someone actually knows a bit about writing or reading fiction.

 

[butters]

thanks for taking the time to reply, guys
People fascinate me, and I enjoy hearing about the differences in how we all think and feel.

I'd imagine the majority of writers get a warmer feeling inside when they receive praise from someone they consider better than them at the craft than in the knowledge they've sold lots to those who might or might not actually appreciate the nuances and/or depths of their work. That's why I was asking - to find out if answers to this post showed this to be the case. It would also seem likely that there are those for whom NOTHING beats that sense of personal achievement when they know they've sold lots of material, regardless who might be reading it. I've already stated my preferences, but that's not to say I'd not be well chuffed and my cockles warmed if I were a sell-out writer too!

If I were a playwright, though, it's possible I'd get that bigger buzz from a whole audience applauding and wanting more than I'd get from a personal approval. Horses for courses?

What do you think?

 

[R. Richard]

Money talks so the applause of the public matters most if your trying to make a living at writing.

Yes! I sell to the public. Thus, the public's opinion of my writing is of paramount importance. I review my sales numbers quarterly to see what's selling best of what I'm writing.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I was talking about my peers and those better than I am. I don't see where your comment is relevant.

I was born a peer, its in my blood.

 

[oggbashan]

My writing here is recreational. I write because I want and need to write.

I know that I could write stories that would be more popular on Literotica but my main intention is to experiment with different approaches, to amuse (sometimes) and try to be original. Some of my experiments fail.

I have written manuals, instructions, advice, articles etc. for publication and have an aging but longish list of published works but those were work-related. I wrote them because no one else had.

I appreciate comments and criticism from those who know something about writing. I even appreciate those comments that are derogatory because that means that my story has evoked a response - and sometimes those comments are the most accurate because I have failed to entertain.

I started writing erotica for Yahoo Adult Groups because I thought I could do better than many of the stories I was reading in those Groups' Files. Some of my stories show that I was writing for a particular sub-genre or specific fetish such as Unbirth. Those stories appear to have an appeal for the followers of those particular fantasies but leave many people saying WTF?

My answer to the original post? I appreciate both AND any response is better than none.

Og

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Since I write for the challenge of it, peers are very important. Now should the day come when someone is silly enough to offer me money, then I could very well be swayed by R.Richard's argument.

 

[sr71plt]

If I were a playwright, though, it's possible I'd get that bigger buzz from a whole audience applauding and wanting more than I'd get from a personal approval. Horses for courses?

What do you think?

That was true for me, but the sample set hasn't been large enough to make a sweeping judgment on.

There was, however, a play, consisting of vignettes, that I gave to a semiprofessional theater where I was involved in a playwrights' group. The group didn't think it was anything special, but I went to the opening of that theater's new theater building, where they staged bits and pieces of plays as representative of what they do--and to my surprise, they staged two of my vignettes. I did, indeed, value the audience's applause above the critical teardown of the others in the playwright's critique group.

Of course that probably was because one was validating and the other one wasn't, particularly.

 

[Boota]

Even though I make money from my writing it doesn't really figure into what I write or why I write it. My primary income is from music, then the day job, and then writing. I like it that way because I am totally free to write what I want. But even with music, it's the same way. I do what I want and if other people like it I get to make money. If they don't, I'd still do exactly what I want anyway. I don't think I could create any other way.

Hearing "that's good" is always better than "that sucks", but it just doesn't figure into my view.

 

[Guest]

I really appreciate feedback from anyone who can tell me that what I wrote works well, or doesn't and why it works or not, be they peer or reader.

But I also cherish the feedback from readers telling me that what I've written has moved them.

The feedback that "This got me wet/hard/made me come five times"? Not so much.

 

[SimonBrooke]

Since I write for the challenge of it, peers are very important. Now should the day come when someone is silly enough to offer me money, then I could very well be swayed by R.Richard's argument.

Well, I really hope that one day someone will pay me some money for writing. But I wouldn't want to write something I wasn't proud of, just to get paid for it - that would take the gilt right off the gingerbread, as far as I'm concerned. So the judgement of people whose judgement I respect (which is to say, not just other writers but other writers whom I believe to be good) is important to me.

 

[john-the-author]

Money talks so the applause of the public matters most if your trying to make a living at writing.

Exactly true, Jomar. As someone who makes a living off of my writing, I like the money first and foremost. I've got a couple dozen writing awards (26 or so now) but fat checks is far more important.