Kurahieiritr

Usually, if I start a story and the spelling and grammar are really bad, I just quit reading it. I just can't stand reading stories like that--the language distracts too much from the story--and anything I could say in the way of concrit isn't going to make much of a dent, anyway. So any spelling or grammar problems I point out in a review are likely to be minor. I generally spend more of the review talking about what I liked about the story, because if there weren't enough things that I liked, I wouldn't have read through to the end.

The whole thing seems dubious at best, and rife for abuse. Right off the bat, if Amazon isn't going to do a thing about stolen works, then they should not be providing a venue for these works. They seems to be declining any and all responsibility in return for money they really are doing nothing to earn.

Parts that immediately catch my attention:
We may revoke your right to use any of these worlds at any time. We may revoke your right to use any elements from any other "Kindle Worlds" works at any time. The guidelines may change without notice. If your works are ever found to be in non-compliance with the guidelines, they will be pulled. You may include only up to 20% of your work on your own site, and may not state that you are a writer for Kindle Worlds, the original licensor, or any of either 'our' or 'their' affiliates. If we are sued because of something in your work, we 'may' withhold fees for attorney payment from any of your sales. We can take your work out of the program without telling you, for any reason we like. We will not pursue legal action on your behalf should your work be stolen. All in all, I think I'll research other publishers, like Pocket Books and Random House, who have been marketing licensed fanfiction for ages, before using a new program set out like this that has no protections for the authors introducing new elements into these environments.

That is very much not worth it. And I doubt they're going to get the big fandoms that pull the most people either. Like Harry Potter. The anime they may as those--they tend to be treated differently and, from what i know, some of the companies in Japan are willing to license that. I'm not seeing this as a good thing for the authors, just Amazon trying to cash in on the craze that started with Fifty Shades of Grey when it became well known it started life as a fanfic.

Even though I don't write, one of the big things I see as issue with this is that you lose rights to anything you develop once it's submitted and accepted.
The publishing agreement shows exactly what it is you're willing to give up once you've submitted in this format. In fanfiction (free), when an author develops an interesting concept that may be sellable in the future, it's still all theirs. If an author opts to remove the fanfiction and submit an original work to a publisher based on their concept, the concept and worlds still remain the author's. In this format, the author loses that.

as much as I love recieving, there is nothing I love more than posting a review. I am so full of myself I'm dazed for a couple of days after leaving a particularly good review. (Sheesh, I'm so preachy!)
The elements of a good review: 1) NEVER say: "I know what's going to happen to so and so, you're going to do such and such, aren't you?" This is the worst review, aside from a flame that one person can give to an author. Muses get chased away by good guessers. So even if you know where the story is headed, DON'T SAY IT.
2) DON'T tell the author what to do with their story, even if they ask. If you can't hold back, email them, don't tell them in a review. "Oh, please let the mother live!" when obviously, she's doomed.
3) Always describe how the work made you FEEL, even if it was negative. An author might have been going for that feeling, and to hold back here is death to the story. For example, a certain passage grossed you out, so just say so, then bring up another example of how the author evoked another feeling from you. Authors are trying their best to connect to their readers, not just trying to connect to themselves. If no one is telling that author how that story made them feel, then they might think that the story isn't worth telling.
4) Hey, poster below me, what's another element of a good review?

I love reviews, I even like flames, to instill emotion in someone is my goal. Anyway, one pointless review I got recently, was just someone telling me how evil I was. It made me smile.
The main thing I think is, do unto others. I try to review every fic I finish, but I have a short attention span, so I need quick chapters and an engaging plot if I'm jumping on the bandwagon late.

I'm a conrit-review whore. I don't appreciate squees that much (though I know I should try to). I've never deleted flames, but I don't tend to get any either.
As for reviews in another language - I can read Spanish and French, can figure out Italian and German, and Hindi/Bengali/Urdu transliterated into Roman alphabet is do-able. Still, I want the reviews to be in the same language as the fic. If it's not your first language, that's fine. Just try. This especially applies to l337, because that's one language I really can't read. Don't get me wrong - I'm still learning how to read l337, but it's a long and agonizing process, especially because I don't want to learn how to write in it.
Please give me concrit! I live for concrit. I'll stoop so low as to offer cookies over the internet even though I know it's impossible to deliver, I'm that desperate!
There. Does that above paragraph count for review whoring? I wouldn't know - I don't tend to put stuff like that in my ANs.

As we've discussed here, the REASON reviewers of quality are scarce is because we feel the authors don't necessarily want to hear what we have to say.

We have a promo forum ya know. Promote a Story. You add that particular data to your post.

I am not a politically correct person, so do not expect me to mince words in this rant. I have plenty to say about the frauds who plague this and other sites. :sarcasm: is now in session because I have already read all of the favorite nauseating, too often written, worn out excuses that have triggered this overwhelmed frustration induced rant. I do apologize in advance for this being such a tactless tirade. I really need to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with things I continue to read every time I come here.
What is the point of writing if the document is a thoughtless piece of slop without merit pounded out willy-dilly on a whim, and posted without revision? Why do some people insist upon placing such infantile things in the archives, and then get angry when someone with a basic grasp of English structure mentions a few of the problems that need addressing to create a better reading tale? Why do some individuals whine incessantly about contrit feedback, instead of considering that there might be a real problem which can be corrected with a little expended effort? If one does not understand the foundations of proper grammar and spelling, why insist upon being vile to those who seek to give actual valid aide? When did writing become a place for cop outs and egotists? Who ever said that everyone should be patted upon the head simply because they bothered to put something up at a free site like AFFnet, or FFnet? What have the lazy done to earn a touch of praise and accolades for the illiterate slop they insist upon posting?
Absolutely nothing gets done when a poorly written piece is added to the archives is my response. Give feedback to such frauds, and they delete the reviews, or proclaim concrit reviews to be trolling! Such frauds are too infantile to accept that they can improve if they get off their lazy butts and do a little research! YE Gods Forbid that such individuals ever face the wrath of a genuine editor. I can see the suicide rate escalating fast if they ever had to remove the blinders from their eyes. Such people are the bane of the writing hobbiest, and professional alike. What is the point of giving reviews if the writer is unwilling to consider critical mistake portions of an honest review? Why do lazy, insecure asses bother to beg for reviews while remaining too immature to give such reviews any thought toward self improvement? How can people call themselves writers when they are so obstinately unwilling to learn how to take a fair reading story, and make it into a genuinely beautiful tale that is memorable? Why do such frauds feel so compelled to provide a plethora of meaningless excuses for their mistakes, instead of attempting to change for the better?
The reason for my ranting questions: I am so sick and tired of the whining, lame excuses that the vast majority of writers like to pull out of their asses. People seem to love bellyaching, and giving excuses to avoid improving anything they slop together and post. To me, people are flat against learning the diverse aspects, and complex elements involved with writing style. I am also fed up with jerks who refuse to pull their heads out of the asses when it comes to a reasonable review meant to give genuine help. Nobody is attacking when they send a review that something was messed up when they mention grammar/spelling problems.
Any idea why I might be so angry about the plethora of bull I read in forums, and in author's notes in the main archive? Reality Check: I had a massive stroke a few years ago. It took two years to get to the point I could use my right side again. Then, I had to reteach myself from the foundation up how to read and to write a second time. Everything that I know I should recall from my time as an employed editor in the 90's was locked behind a wall of damage that I struggle to break down every single day of my life. I also have Dyslexia problems complicated by fine motor skill nerve damage. Do I use these difficulties as a knee jerk excuse for instances of personal, poor writing? THE ANSWER IS HELL NO!
To my way of thinking, real writers strive to overcome their disabilities, not use them as a crutch to languish within their flaws! I bought grammar based books and read them repeatedly to recover my lost knowledge. Due to a little thing called effort, I regained the vast majority of the information I once lost due to a life threatening medical crisis. Therefore, I do not give crackpot reviews whenever I take time to read over and consider the most glaring problems I see within a story's structures. I fine comb everything I write repeatedly to get rid of every flaw before I post anything. Yes, I do miss things, which I correct as I get a chance. A person who reads my work can return seven months later to find a lot of mistakes are corrected. I abuse my edit chapter button every few weeks, based upon the errors I get told about when someone reviews my stories.
Whenever I give a review to someone, I always endeavor to point out the strengths, and the weaknesses of each story I have read. The reviews I give carry my hopes that the input will help complete strangers to revise their stories to add strength to plots and characters that were devised. It is a real insult to all reviewers who give thoughtful feedback when the reviews get deleted by such frauds who pretend to be writers. Very few writers I have personally reviewed have retained my concrit reviews. Those who have kept their reviews, I am grateful to you for doing so. Your strength in keeping my review prevents me from becoming completely sick and tired of the constant flow of disrespect given to those who take reviewing for others seriously.
Put bluntly, I have seen the signs of a real epidemic of fraudulent whiners begging for reviews that are insincere. The ongoing blasphemy of it all has finally tweaked my last nerve. The majority of said frauds beg for reviews in every single chapter's author notes. My conclusion is that such begging for reviews is a form of blatant "stroke my ego or else" guilt tripping. "Please review because I live for reviews," is a blatant lie 9 times out of 10 in my personal experience with giving reviews. That type of bullshit line now reeks of the biggest attention seeking ploy in existence to me, as a reader. In the vast majority of cases I leave very tame comments compared to my actual reactions to such writer's stories. I refrain form taking every single line and pointing out the problems. If the writing is atrocious enough, I am reduced to perhaps you should use your spell/grammar checking features before posting in the future. Getting reduced to such a flippant response really hurts because I would not be writing a review at all if I did not see some kind of merit within the story. I would simply back click and be done with the author, and everything else they may have posted. I do keep a list of the unreadable slobs so I do not have to hurt my eyes by accidentally clicking on anything the royal stink writers have added.
During the last three weeks, after seeing how often that line accompanies a deletion of my reviews, experience tells me to avoid such authors as if they have the Black Plague. To date, seven out of every ten concretely focused reviews were erased because my input was not a fanpoodle. My honor code from my previous career as a "shred the writing to get it corrected in time for the sales team to make a profit from it" variety editor experience does not condone "I love it so keep writing" variety pat upon heads. I do apologize for this being such a tactless tirade. I had to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with "poor me syndrome" type commentaries.

A: Hm, interesting to know. Quality Control was never the core issue that this rant focused upon when I posted it, and still has nothing to do with the main focus of my particular tirade. My whole rant was completely grounded in those who beg for reviews nonstop, then get mad when someone actually gives them one if it involves concrit feed back. My frustration exploded because such writers scream to get reviews they do not honestly want from the rest of us. The overall intent to vent frustration with review demanding that leads to reviews getting deleted, if said review is not purely glowing was the only reason for this particular tirade. ROFL. It was my intention only to rant about those specific writers who have the Diva style attitudes when I wrote this specific rant out. I was not speaking about others who do not review whore to the limit in A/N's per every chapter. Several threads bring up this same exact issue repeatedly in this forum, and it is something of an issue that I am not alone in expressing across thread domains. It is a topic many here have expressed, so I know I am totally not alone in the frustration felt over this specific issue.
Still, some automatically see all concrit reviews, which point to strengths and weaknesses alike, as trolling. I have no problem back button clicking when I start reading something that is very poorly written. It is not so much that I find such fics beneath me, rather such fics are often too difficult to follow with any personal enjoyment because I am thrown out of the story so often I stop reading. Yet, those writers are not screaming for reviews with every single chapter and to the limit of A/N format either. They are not the issue to me, because they are not throwing "give me reviews" tantrums.
If such intention to give reviews of the caliber I hope to receive from others makes me an unforgivable troll, then I am proud to be one. I used to make a living being a troll when I was an actual editor in the Print Media Publishing industry. Can't help but have a high standard because of my work history, I suppose. I've always endeavored to point out the strengths of every single story I have reviewed, but I always give the kinds of reviews I wish to receive from others because to me that is part of the expected game of writing. My favorite reviews have all come from fellow trolls who have helped me to revise my current stories a lot in recent months. The stories are steadily evolving into a better reading series since I began posting my work here. I'm grateful for the pointed out typos and other as sundry pointers I have received. I personally love knowing I have a few grammar and spelling trolls who like my stories enough to take the time to mention flaws they see in my work. Since I began posting here I have gotten some great feedback and am doing slow but steady revisions to all my tales to bring them up to a better standard. Guess this means I adore getting trolled.

You are welcome, and what you are looking for is at the bottom of the screen, when you are doing your lessons. There are little boxes down there right in the middle of the screen. Clicking on them will change the writing style. Happy birthday to you as well. I hope you're having as much fun with it as I am.

I read this and laughed. As a writer, this is my formula. No, not the 'get-straight-to-the-sex' part, but the focusing on plot and characterization as opposed to rushing into the good stuff, which in my opinion is typically overrated. It's a bonus, but not the goal I am striving for. And I have to admit that it irks me when folks pass up a story simply because it's not riddled with grammar and spelling errors, missing punctuation or the use of too many. Or lacking that immediate gratification with the use of fluff, cuteness, straight-up sex. But who am I to tell those people what they should or shouldn't like? *shrug* In any case, I don't think I can add much to the definition of what 'good writing' is. Everything BronxWench wrote is what I feel good writing should be. Aside from the technical stuff, it becomes very a individual matter, straight down to the genre, setting, time period, sexual orientation, so on and so forth. Good writing is much too detailed to fit into a general description, but you're always going to have a critic or two. Not everyone is going to like what you write, and as long as you have a firm grasp on how to properly use the English language (or whatever language you're writing in), what you like to write is not necessarily going to be the issue.

I would be devestated if (should I ever be so fortunate) I had an editor who told me I had made almost no mistakes and still had a bad story. I know that magic puts a body on the bones but I need to find out what these 206 bones look like so I can put stuff on them that makes them pretty to look at and fun at parties!
I have the sticky parts, the gooey bits and the wobbly peices but when I put it together it looks like... Abaddon, before she 'Thinged' her hands back on.

Are there any such sites that do? Hentai Foundry QCs images but not written material.

First, let me clear something up, Aysha is a man. Aisha Clanclan just happens to be my favorite anime NecoGirl and is probably my favorite cartoon character of all time. I just like the name spelled with a Y though.
As for being lucky. Yes, I consider myself to be very lucky, every time I need inspiration for my writing I go back and reread the reviews I've received and they push me to keep going. Even when the story is fighting back.
I don't know if I'm qualified to try to teach you anything , I just enjoyed reading and writing, but I suppose I may be able to give you a few tips. The first one being don't take any shortcuts developing your story, make sure you explain your character's motives emotions and feelings and what precipitated them. Number two is continuity to the best to maintain the continuity of your stories so you don't throw the reader out of the world you're trying to create for them. If you think of something in later chapters that relates to the earlier chapters , make sure that you get the reference right.
For instance in the legend of Drizzt , the author wrote in one of the early books about the main character playing a joke on his nome friend, where he had his pet Panther lie on top of the nome. Then in a later book got it wrong when the main character was retelling the story and said he had the panther lie on his dwarf friend. Both characters were present at the retelling of the story
and both acted like he got it right.
It may seem like a small breach in the continuity of the story, but it's those small things that stick with the reader.
The third and final tip I can give is that if your character has special abilities or attributes, explain them! How they got them and how they work and don't put them in unless they're important to the story.
If you read my stories, you'll see that I have tried to stick to these principles myself, and hopefully they can help you.
Good luck from Ayhsa
P.S. Oh wait , I just thought of one more thing and it's probably the most important. Read your story not as you wrote it because , you can overlook things that way. you have to try to read it as if you don't know what's written on the page. . It's a very difficult thing to do as the writer of the story, you tend to anticipate what the next word will be and you miss seeing what's actually there and it can be something that you did not intend to put on the page that totally destroys the continuity of your story. So every time you complete a couple of chapters go back over it , make sure you read every single word that is actually on the page and then once you've completed a scene or chapter reread that to make sure it comes off the way you intend.
Well that's all I have I sincerely hope it helps.

I am not a politically correct person, so do not expect me to mince words in this rant. I have plenty to say about the frauds who plague this and other sites. :sarcasm: is now in session because I have already read all of the favorite nauseating, too often written, worn out excuses that have triggered this overwhelmed frustration induced rant. I do apologize in advance for this being such a tactless tirade. I really need to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with things I continue to read every time I come here.
What is the point of writing if the document is a thoughtless piece of slop without merit pounded out willy-dilly on a whim, and posted without revision? Why do some people insist upon placing such infantile things in the archives, and then get angry when someone with a basic grasp of English structure mentions a few of the problems that need addressing to create a better reading tale? Why do some individuals whine incessantly about contrit feedback, instead of considering that there might be a real problem which can be corrected with a little expended effort? If one does not understand the foundations of proper grammar and spelling, why insist upon being vile to those who seek to give actual valid aide? When did writing become a place for cop outs and egotists? Who ever said that everyone should be patted upon the head simply because they bothered to put something up at a free site like AFFnet, or FFnet? What have the lazy done to earn a touch of praise and accolades for the illiterate slop they insist upon posting?
Absolutely nothing gets done when a poorly written piece is added to the archives is my response. Give feedback to such frauds, and they delete the reviews, or proclaim concrit reviews to be trolling! Such frauds are too infantile to accept that they can improve if they get off their lazy butts and do a little research! YE Gods Forbid that such individuals ever face the wrath of a genuine editor. I can see the suicide rate escalating fast if they ever had to remove the blinders from their eyes. Such people are the bane of the writing hobbiest, and professional alike. What is the point of giving reviews if the writer is unwilling to consider critical mistake portions of an honest review? Why do lazy, insecure asses bother to beg for reviews while remaining too immature to give such reviews any thought toward self improvement? How can people call themselves writers when they are so obstinately unwilling to learn how to take a fair reading story, and make it into a genuinely beautiful tale that is memorable? Why do such frauds feel so compelled to provide a plethora of meaningless excuses for their mistakes, instead of attempting to change for the better?
The reason for my ranting questions: I am so sick and tired of the whining, lame excuses that the vast majority of writers like to pull out of their asses. People seem to love bellyaching, and giving excuses to avoid improving anything they slop together and post. To me, people are flat against learning the diverse aspects, and complex elements involved with writing style. I am also fed up with jerks who refuse to pull their heads out of the asses when it comes to a reasonable review meant to give genuine help. Nobody is attacking when they send a review that something was messed up when they mention grammar/spelling problems.
Any idea why I might be so angry about the plethora of bull I read in forums, and in author's notes in the main archive? Reality Check: I had a massive stroke a few years ago. It took two years to get to the point I could use my right side again. Then, I had to reteach myself from the foundation up how to read and to write a second time. Everything that I know I should recall from my time as an employed editor in the 90's was locked behind a wall of damage that I struggle to break down every single day of my life. I also have Dyslexia problems complicated by fine motor skill nerve damage. Do I use these difficulties as a knee jerk excuse for instances of personal, poor writing? THE ANSWER IS HELL NO!
To my way of thinking, real writers strive to overcome their disabilities, not use them as a crutch to languish within their flaws! I bought grammar based books and read them repeatedly to recover my lost knowledge. Due to a little thing called effort, I regained the vast majority of the information I once lost due to a life threatening medical crisis. Therefore, I do not give crackpot reviews whenever I take time to read over and consider the most glaring problems I see within a story's structures. I fine comb everything I write repeatedly to get rid of every flaw before I post anything. Yes, I do miss things, which I correct as I get a chance. A person who reads my work can return seven months later to find a lot of mistakes are corrected. I abuse my edit chapter button every few weeks, based upon the errors I get told about when someone reviews my stories.
Whenever I give a review to someone, I always endeavor to point out the strengths, and the weaknesses of each story I have read. The reviews I give carry my hopes that the input will help complete strangers to revise their stories to add strength to plots and characters that were devised. It is a real insult to all reviewers who give thoughtful feedback when the reviews get deleted by such frauds who pretend to be writers. Very few writers I have personally reviewed have retained my concrit reviews. Those who have kept their reviews, I am grateful to you for doing so. Your strength in keeping my review prevents me from becoming completely sick and tired of the constant flow of disrespect given to those who take reviewing for others seriously.
Put bluntly, I have seen the signs of a real epidemic of fraudulent whiners begging for reviews that are insincere. The ongoing blasphemy of it all has finally tweaked my last nerve. The majority of said frauds beg for reviews in every single chapter's author notes. My conclusion is that such begging for reviews is a form of blatant "stroke my ego or else" guilt tripping. "Please review because I live for reviews," is a blatant lie 9 times out of 10 in my personal experience with giving reviews. That type of bullshit line now reeks of the biggest attention seeking ploy in existence to me, as a reader. In the vast majority of cases I leave very tame comments compared to my actual reactions to such writer's stories. I refrain form taking every single line and pointing out the problems. If the writing is atrocious enough, I am reduced to perhaps you should use your spell/grammar checking features before posting in the future. Getting reduced to such a flippant response really hurts because I would not be writing a review at all if I did not see some kind of merit within the story. I would simply back click and be done with the author, and everything else they may have posted. I do keep a list of the unreadable slobs so I do not have to hurt my eyes by accidentally clicking on anything the royal stink writers have added.
During the last three weeks, after seeing how often that line accompanies a deletion of my reviews, experience tells me to avoid such authors as if they have the Black Plague. To date, seven out of every ten concretely focused reviews were erased because my input was not a fanpoodle. My honor code from my previous career as a "shred the writing to get it corrected in time for the sales team to make a profit from it" variety editor experience does not condone "I love it so keep writing" variety pat upon heads. I do apologize for this being such a tactless tirade. I had to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with "poor me syndrome" type commentaries.

fanpoodles are not so much empty reviews, although that's what they tend to leave, is meaningless reviews, but the clique of reviewers who "squee" for no apparent reason, and review and make popular some absolutely DREADFUL writing. Yet, because it's (the story) for a popular pair, for example, it'll get reviewed and highly rated whether or not it actually deserves it. What's even worse, is that often, the writers who HAVE all the fanpoodle following tend to be rather divaish in behavior. To me, they don't so much seem to be writing for the craft of it, but more for the ego boost.
I suppose as someone who cut their reading teeth on the likes of Homer, Asimov, and Tolkien, I tend to be a tad picky...

I completely agree. And as a writer who really does live for reviews, these liars give me a bad name. I love reviews, honestly and sincerely. I may not have dyslexia (thank whatever deity was responsible for that), but I do have chronic depression and intense agoraphobia. These may not seem like they'd be pertinent to my writing, but the truth is, I write to alleviate the depression, and sometimes my readers are the grand total of my social interaction for weeks at a time. Knowing that people read my work, enough that they will write a review, helps me stay even keeled.
I don't care if the response is "You switched tenses for no reason here, renamed a supporting character (yes, i did that, this is why we don't type under the influence, kids) and then later a guy who hadn't been introduced showed up out of nowhere and I don't know who he is, etc." I actually like complaint reviews, because they help me grow. Of course, I also love it when a reviewer says "I like the way you did this scene, and your OC has a dynamic personality, etc." Who dislikes praise for their work?
My only pet peeve as far as reviews go is what I call anti-flamers, or as Kurahieiritr puts it, fanpoodles. The people who say "Great job, nice work, keep it up!" Ok, so you like it, great, but for the love of the Muses, can you at least tell me why?!? Is my descriptive work the 'great job', or is it my dialogue 'nice work', or should i stay with the pov format I was using, or was something else? I spend more time agonizing over vague compliments than over flaming trolls. Unless I'm writing a fantasy involving the spontaneous-combustibility of troll-kind. Then the logistics of burning underpass dwellers takes top pick.

This is a good rant, I to am dyslexic, and like you I work hard checking and re-checking my stories before I post them. By the time I post, I have likely read it 6 to 10 times, and still I end up missing a lot of stuff that I get told about in reviews.
Whenever I am informed of mistakes I make a mental note to re-read the story and fix the problems.
Lastly I have never deleted a review, even if I didn't agree with what was said.

I am not a politically correct person, so do not expect me to mince words in this rant. I have plenty to say about the frauds who plague this and other sites. :sarcasm: is now in session because I have already read all of the favorite nauseating, too often written, worn out excuses that have triggered this overwhelmed frustration induced rant. I do apologize in advance for this being such a tactless tirade. I really need to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with things I continue to read every time I come here.
What is the point of writing if the document is a thoughtless piece of slop without merit pounded out willy-dilly on a whim, and posted without revision? Why do some people insist upon placing such infantile things in the archives, and then get angry when someone with a basic grasp of English structure mentions a few of the problems that need addressing to create a better reading tale? Why do some individuals whine incessantly about contrit feedback, instead of considering that there might be a real problem which can be corrected with a little expended effort? If one does not understand the foundations of proper grammar and spelling, why insist upon being vile to those who seek to give actual valid aide? When did writing become a place for cop outs and egotists? Who ever said that everyone should be patted upon the head simply because they bothered to put something up at a free site like AFFnet, or FFnet? What have the lazy done to earn a touch of praise and accolades for the illiterate slop they insist upon posting?
Absolutely nothing gets done when a poorly written piece is added to the archives is my response. Give feedback to such frauds, and they delete the reviews, or proclaim concrit reviews to be trolling! Such frauds are too infantile to accept that they can improve if they get off their lazy butts and do a little research! YE Gods Forbid that such individuals ever face the wrath of a genuine editor. I can see the suicide rate escalating fast if they ever had to remove the blinders from their eyes. Such people are the bane of the writing hobbiest, and professional alike. What is the point of giving reviews if the writer is unwilling to consider critical mistake portions of an honest review? Why do lazy, insecure asses bother to beg for reviews while remaining too immature to give such reviews any thought toward self improvement? How can people call themselves writers when they are so obstinately unwilling to learn how to take a fair reading story, and make it into a genuinely beautiful tale that is memorable? Why do such frauds feel so compelled to provide a plethora of meaningless excuses for their mistakes, instead of attempting to change for the better?
The reason for my ranting questions: I am so sick and tired of the whining, lame excuses that the vast majority of writers like to pull out of their asses. People seem to love bellyaching, and giving excuses to avoid improving anything they slop together and post. To me, people are flat against learning the diverse aspects, and complex elements involved with writing style. I am also fed up with jerks who refuse to pull their heads out of the asses when it comes to a reasonable review meant to give genuine help. Nobody is attacking when they send a review that something was messed up when they mention grammar/spelling problems.
Any idea why I might be so angry about the plethora of bull I read in forums, and in author's notes in the main archive? Reality Check: I had a massive stroke a few years ago. It took two years to get to the point I could use my right side again. Then, I had to reteach myself from the foundation up how to read and to write a second time. Everything that I know I should recall from my time as an employed editor in the 90's was locked behind a wall of damage that I struggle to break down every single day of my life. I also have Dyslexia problems complicated by fine motor skill nerve damage. Do I use these difficulties as a knee jerk excuse for instances of personal, poor writing? THE ANSWER IS HELL NO!
To my way of thinking, real writers strive to overcome their disabilities, not use them as a crutch to languish within their flaws! I bought grammar based books and read them repeatedly to recover my lost knowledge. Due to a little thing called effort, I regained the vast majority of the information I once lost due to a life threatening medical crisis. Therefore, I do not give crackpot reviews whenever I take time to read over and consider the most glaring problems I see within a story's structures. I fine comb everything I write repeatedly to get rid of every flaw before I post anything. Yes, I do miss things, which I correct as I get a chance. A person who reads my work can return seven months later to find a lot of mistakes are corrected. I abuse my edit chapter button every few weeks, based upon the errors I get told about when someone reviews my stories.
Whenever I give a review to someone, I always endeavor to point out the strengths, and the weaknesses of each story I have read. The reviews I give carry my hopes that the input will help complete strangers to revise their stories to add strength to plots and characters that were devised. It is a real insult to all reviewers who give thoughtful feedback when the reviews get deleted by such frauds who pretend to be writers. Very few writers I have personally reviewed have retained my concrit reviews. Those who have kept their reviews, I am grateful to you for doing so. Your strength in keeping my review prevents me from becoming completely sick and tired of the constant flow of disrespect given to those who take reviewing for others seriously.
Put bluntly, I have seen the signs of a real epidemic of fraudulent whiners begging for reviews that are insincere. The ongoing blasphemy of it all has finally tweaked my last nerve. The majority of said frauds beg for reviews in every single chapter's author notes. My conclusion is that such begging for reviews is a form of blatant "stroke my ego or else" guilt tripping. "Please review because I live for reviews," is a blatant lie 9 times out of 10 in my personal experience with giving reviews. That type of bullshit line now reeks of the biggest attention seeking ploy in existence to me, as a reader. In the vast majority of cases I leave very tame comments compared to my actual reactions to such writer's stories. I refrain form taking every single line and pointing out the problems. If the writing is atrocious enough, I am reduced to perhaps you should use your spell/grammar checking features before posting in the future. Getting reduced to such a flippant response really hurts because I would not be writing a review at all if I did not see some kind of merit within the story. I would simply back click and be done with the author, and everything else they may have posted. I do keep a list of the unreadable slobs so I do not have to hurt my eyes by accidentally clicking on anything the royal stink writers have added.
During the last three weeks, after seeing how often that line accompanies a deletion of my reviews, experience tells me to avoid such authors as if they have the Black Plague. To date, seven out of every ten concretely focused reviews were erased because my input was not a fanpoodle. My honor code from my previous career as a "shred the writing to get it corrected in time for the sales team to make a profit from it" variety editor experience does not condone "I love it so keep writing" variety pat upon heads. I do apologize for this being such a tactless tirade. I had to get this off my chest because I am so frustrated with "poor me syndrome" type commentaries.

Back when I wrote non-erotic fanfic in a very popular fandom, there were several other authors (all met through FFN, where we reviewed each other's stuff) for whom I betaed and who betaed for me. Now, though, I'm writing erotic PHINEAS AND FERB stories, and other authors who do that (and do it well enough that I would WANT to beta for them or to ask them to beta for me) are extremely rare. Even my wife won't read my stuff--the very idea of P&F erotica freaks her out.
That said, I'm a much more skilled writer than I was years ago, so I feel like I can make do without a beta somewhat better than I could have back then. However, I still find that I don't really have any sense of the pace of my own stories; to me, scenes that are a page or two long often seem far longer, because I've reread them or replayed them in my head time and time again in an effort to get them right.
I think I've completely lost sight of whatever point I was trying to make in the post. Maybe someone could beta it for me.

As to beta readers, there are some good ones out there, but they're not easy to find. You do build up a relationship with your beta, to be sure. I know when I used to do this, I'd take on anything from a drabble, to multi chapter (with loooong chapters), without issue. But that would be when I had the time to actually beta read, and give the author who sent me the work my full attention.

On the subject of beta readers... I no longer use a beta reader for fanfiction purely and simply because I write big chapters and I'm impatient. I haven't built the kind of relationships online or in real life where 'hey, read this 10,000 word chapter? kthnxbai' is an acceptable utterance. Maybe its a personality flaw... I actually have a word-count limit dividing 'favor' and 'work'. Seriously, I would rather be a good enough writer that in fan fiction its not needed and as you say, in real life a professional is paid to wave a cat o' nine tails and scream "type, monkey!! Type faster and better!!" at me while I cower and desperately try to please.
There doesn't seem to be an in between market of beta-editors who cater to wannabe authors, those stuck in limbo between wanting to be good enough to be professional and not having mastered/perfected the skill despite a vast knowledge or god forbid, the education and training. If I was to send out a manuscript and it was sent back with 'no thanks' and nothing more I'd be driven to suicide. Not because I consider my writing a precious baby or expect it to be a masterpiece at the first, second or even seventieth draft before an editor would take it but because I have done everything in my tax bracket to learn, study and understand this craft. Unfortunately life tests you first then you learn a lesson, not the other way around and writing to write as best one can is hard without a patient beta armed with a red pen. The other issue is that despite understanding the need, I don't believe in the possibility.
I'm sorry but I don't believe in the unicorn that is a real-live human being with the experience to guide the leap across the chasm from wannabe to potential by saying 'sure! I would love to set my time aside to do that for nothing!' on a full-sized manuscript so I've aimed for being as good as I can be with what knowledge I have gathered and turning it into practice where-ever possible. I simply assumed that once I was brave enough to feel that what I had produced was worthy of at least an agent's time, the terrible and brutal experience that is making the dream come alive would begin as it does for everyone else without a 'writing-nanny' to see me off.
I am sure a beta would be amazing but I'm a kid from the school of hard knocks and we look at unicorn pictures but we know they're not real. We get our hands dirty and our armpits sweaty and we try and try and try out little hearts out but anyone who comes along to say 'hey, why don't you do it the easy way? I know a guy!' usually goes missing, never to be found. Its a long-held natural suspicion of shitty human beings (it could also be cultural) coming to take, rob or steal from the niave and thanks to being churned through that grinder in ways that shattered my life more than once, I have become perhaps a little protective of my writing in the sense that I would rather do things with the lights on... in an office where everyone can see me. I know that might be a self-imposed stumbling block but thems the cards I gots to play with.
I can't think of anything to make this less personal so I might tap out of this topic. I feel a bit nudged out anyway, but I did appreciate all the time and effort put into the answers I got and hope this helped out a few others as well.
Thanks, Slayitalldown.