Source
First steps
Little did I know all those months ago when I met @rhondak at @minnowsupport that I would begin a journey toward becoming a writer. As an avid reader of fantasy I always, like lots of people, had a dream of maybe writing my own stories but never did anything about it. Rhonda convinced me that I had something to develop, and develop it I have.
The Block
I became so enamoured with writing and expressing myself through my stories that I wanted to encourage others. Rhonda and I began @thewritersblock with this idea at the forefront. We built a community we are proud of with some 738 members, all striving to create top shelf fiction. We encourage, brainstorm, edit each other and congratulate everyone on their successes. The Writers' Block members have constantly fared well in the various writing contests on Steem and I am always proud to see such a good turnout from them.
From day 1 The Writers' Block has had plans to create a publishing house backed by crypto. This is Steemhouse publishing, with a mission to help develop novels for publication in both print and digital mediums, rewarding authors with cryptocurrency.
Why I posted fiction on Steem
I have to date shared stories from two ongoing series - Emerus and Virtual Mortality. I have also posted shorter stand alone pieces on Steem. Generally they do well through upvotes and I am happy to say I have won a few writing contests. I have used Steem posting as a way of building my confidence as a writer: it's all well and good writing for yourself, but when others appreciate and enjoy your work, it gives you a great boost.
Why I am dialling back posting fiction on Steem
As much as I have enjoyed sharing my writing here, I have little appetite for it lately. Steem is in flux and does not appear conducive to original content providers, with music being one of the few exceptions. Trending is a cluster fuck, populated with bid bot pumped posts. It appears that memes, crypto analyses and personal attacks are what the community enjoy most.
Very few whales actively support fiction - @blocktrades used to but they got stick for it. @v4vapid does with his conspiracy related writing contests. Off the top of my head I can probably name @teamsteem, @ausbitbank, @aggroed, @eturnerx and @canadian-coconut as supporters of the writing communities. Not many in the grand scheme of things.
I understand that yes, investors in Steem are most desirable. We all want them to help pump the price of the currency, there is no argument there. But why would anybody else want to come to Steem to see endless memes, the same crypto charts available elsewhere and with all the infighting among certain factions? I argued before for original content bringing in more consumers, and it seemed well received. Calm discourse was had by both sides. Months on however, whispers are that original content providers are at best a nuisance on the platform and a drain on the reward pool.
While I have enjoyed polishing my writing craft by sharing pieces on Steem, I am going to concentrate on exploring alternatives apart from the occasion short piece. This does not mean I am leaving Steem, far from it. But for work that I put hours, days, weeks and possibly months into, I want it to be published where it will be appreciated. I have plenty of other things to post here, this is not a rage quit. My writing contests will continue for as long as there is interest and I am more than happy to carry on supporting others.
Nor does this mean that the core mission of The Writers' Block will be changing: encouraging writers and helping them by developing and editing their pieces will continue. However, our focus will not solely be the Steem platform. Steemhouse Publishing is already an entity and more time and effort will be going into developing the idea further. Several novels are already 'on the books'.
TL;DR - Bidbots suck, Trending sucks, vapid content wins
Mate I don’t blame ya, you and I are about 2 weeks away from our 1 year anniversary and I can’t bring myself to write anything anymore, the ongoing flag wars and bs opinion flagging by certain employees of steemit have slowly made the platform less attractive IMO.
Seeing shit post after shit post richly rewarded because the blogger has tons of sp must be demoralising for newbies especially when they’re trying to be creative, informative or educational.
I’m convinced as soon as a viable competitor appears Steemit will see an exodus of the best writers.
It’s a real shame.
Agreed on all points.
I agree on all points as well. I'm thunderstruck that none of the power players are paying attention to this or even seem to be aware it's happening. It took me pretending to have a meltdown on a recent streaming radio show for anyone to even hear what I was saying.
There's so many things wrong with steemit and the bulk of the community that it's hard to invest yourself and your time and your work into the endless maw of the blockchain. It eats and eats. It feels like our posts are just things tossed onto a conveyor belt and taken on a short ride into the dumpster, only to be covered immediately by garbage.
That said, I enjoy writing and will continue to write, and will also continue to post, but I will save my better work in the hopes of a larger, more mainstream audience and perhaps some mainstream visibility.
Yup, exactly my strategy from here on out.
Same for me. Glad we're in this 'boat' together.
there are mice in this boat, run.
And this is a reason why I closed Minnow University. I found it hard to swallow trying to "teach" people how to succeed at Steemit while everything I was saying is contradicted by the trending page.
In total agreement with you there Sir.
Wow. I'm so sorry about that.
Interestingly, almost the entire community of evergreen content creators is reaching this conclusion simultaneously. Hence the major meeting scheduled at TWB, the end of dMania, and the post I am myself about to make. Is it okay if I drop a link to that here when I'm done? I will share a link to this post in mine.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@rhondak/pay-to-play-the-future-of-steemit
Oh shit...did I just do a share for share? RFLMAO . . . . .
v4v too? Lol
Sure, while you're at it . . . .
Haha
I came to the same independent conclusion and have stopped writing for Steemit and sharing my fiction on Steemit. I will also focus on publishing off Steemit. Definitely still committed to The Writers' Block, but Steemit and quality fiction are like oil and water. I wish I'd come to my senses a few months ago before I posted some saleable stories here.
These are my sentiments of late as well. All that energy to produce for readers to enjoy but they never get to see it before it's drowning amisdt the flood of other posts--few of which are worth being drowned under. Writer exhaustion. I'll still be posting my fiction, because bugger the majority's view about it, but it won't be stories that I believe deserve a better platform where readers can properly appreciate it.
Well, I think you've summed it up. Working on serialized fiction and keeping at it while focusing on the quality is hard work. To have it fall by the wayside or be superseded by a meme or shitty-video is a punch to the gut. And to never have a chance at the Trending page... Bah! These bidbots are a stinky ass-hat on the blockchain.
I've been focusing on shorter personal interest pieces and will still strive to write my fiction and support the TWB community (an essential community to improve your writing.) Like you, most of that fiction will likely not end up on the chain. I'm still trying to find a niche... mostly non-fiction, sciency topics with a bit of family thrown in...
Mmmmm... I wonder about a new interface that ignores posts upvoted by bidbots...
Jason, interfaces are going to be a very top priority point of discussion in TWB meeting this coming weekend. Please oh please oh please be there.
Oh! I'm back... be on Discord later this afternoon. I'll be at the meeting this weekend. Was out on a top secret mission ;-)
Top secret?!!! Ooooh -- that means you'll share all the juicy details with us, right?
LOL. Yes, I'll share... not as exciting as you think ;-)
I think the only thing that will help, is the work that @thewritersblock and other communities like that do. Creating a large following through the original art curation path. Muckery of work, much appreciated!
Also. The meme made me laugh!
Our community will continue to go from strength to strength but won't be focused so much on Steem.
Totally agree.
I interact with quite a few people in Nigeria, Indonesia etc and it is most difficult when I am asked "What should I write about to get good votes?"
Well, that's a good question, isn't it !
Anything or nothing might be the most accurate answer.
One change. A capcha for posting, commenting, and voting. That will rid us of the bots and return a sense of community.
Joe
@joe.nobel
science fiction, fantasy, erotica
That simple measure would do a major blow to the armies of bot darkness...
Although it would be annoying if it were ever to be implemented, it would make people think twice before voting or commenting.
There would still be bid services, it would just cost more to maintain them. I would guess that the minimum bid price would go up. This would result in much less material being promoted.
I would like to see how that would play out.
Payout? I imagine organically, by people who read your post, and like your post. And by none-other.
Organic is good.
I agree with you, and am of the same opinion; although I will continue to post here. I write poetry (often Classical formats), which is difficult enough to acquire a regular readership in itself ... and sometimes other posts, but mostly poetry. The state of steemit is very frustrating for those of us who write and read quality posts of all genres. I've resteemed this post.
So true. We slog on our stories. Yet nothing compared to the abusers.
There is nothing we can actually do about this.Unless a yuuuuuuuge number of whales decide to help shutdown bidbots and focus on original content. Never going to happen though.
Hahaah your line, I have heard whispers that original content creators are a drain.
Yep. I've found that my fiction posts have been largely ignored, while challenges and random writing tend to go over better. Poems might be the exception, but I think those are easier to take in than serialized fiction for the average reader here. So, okay. It is what it is. I'm still enjoying the community building, and I count every post as a win for author platform in the long run. The hard part is finding time to do Steemit and work on my novel. It's been slow going on the novel front, but at least I'm doing well here, in my own eyes anyway.
Proud of you. I think what you've achieved is honorable. You've discovered a way to tap into your creative excellence, and find your voice as a writer. You've encouraged many others in their journeys as writers. And you've created a community–a support system–to help these writers. High-five! 👋
Yeah, and I feel your discouragement. People like you and I put a lot of heart and soul into our posts. A lot of talent. A lot of time. And there's not always/often a fair energetic exchange for our good work. Still, the work is worthwhile, and rewarding in its own way. The best news of all is that we have these fabulous creations, and maybe they will continue to appreciate as we appreciate them.
In my experience, I believe it's important to celebrate these completions with some self-love. To me, it's vital to hold the completed works in my attention and really feel the energy in them. Look and feel and resonate with what we've created, and give the creation some reverence. This way, we remember the gifts in it, in us.
Sorry to hear that the current state of steemit has discouraged you to this point, but I have some news that might cheer you up!
As far as memes go, Dmania is shutting down as of tomorrow. Just check out @zombee's blog.
A silver lining 😁
You make a lot of sense. I've noticed that we creators of original content are shunned at best, flagged for 'making too much' at worst by those with all the power, with the few that support our efforts taking flak for it to boot.
I've been writing off steemit for a few months now and my creativity is increasing. Another added benefit (I think) is that I'm looking at other directions and other avenues - www.minds.com is one such avenue.
You can find my first three posts over There. The voting is slightly different - not weighted by the amount of tokens one account holds, so it really is one man, one vote.
You never know, we may be able to make a sustainable community elsewhere.
If you do go to minds.com, look me up, I'm exceptionally new there, so it really is follow for follow, especially with regards to people I respect - like you :)
maybe when communities are set-up things will change/improve ... but yes, basically steemit is kind of like random floating islands of chaos
peace
Communities features might help with post visibility, but might even make reward pool abuse worse because low value/high vote content will be hidden.
That remains to be seen but I hold little hope at this point.
I greatly appreciate your sentiments, and hope I can remember to properly lurk at the meeting this weekend.
I have flagged a comment you upvoted on this post, because it was plagiarism of a comment @anikekirsten made. I would appreciate it if you withdrew your upvote from that comment I flagged. I am sure you do not want to support plagiarism, and wanted to make sure you became aware of it so that you can take appropriate action.
Thanks!
Thanks, removed my upvote.
If you really want to feel bad, check out these poorly written or low quality posts compared to their payouts:
https://steemit.com/adsactly/@adsactly/adsactly-short-stories-hello-mom-i-need-help
https://steemit.com/cape/@mandela/breakfast-in-the-bay-table-bay
https://steemit.com/planes/@ngos/an-old-veteran-the-harvard-from-world-war-ii
https://steemit.com/science/@gavvet/rusinga-island-proconsul-africanus-and-a-turn-of-luck-for-the-leakey-s
Steemit's problem is that it's capitalism. The whitepaper states it wants to be a 'free market'. This is what you get when all social interactions are mediated through tokenization. Actual content doesn't matter, only the illusion.
Capital accumulation is unavoidable on Steemit, and we currently see its results. Derivative, hollow bullshit is consumed by sycophants hoping for an upvote.
Don't expect fiction to be valued high on the scale here, when even in the material world, less people read books each year. We're a niche, and as such, we should stick together. If not Steemit, than another. EOS will come out in June.
Either way, let's form a blockchain writers union.
And this, ladies and gentleman, THIS is the main problem there is with steemit.
People, amazingly talented people, people who spend time and effort on a quality content, just don't feel it is worth it. Even worst, they feel content that is easily (I'm sorry, it obviously is) inferior, gets the best part.
A shame. Really.
I too, did not write fiction until I joined steemit and I want to believe that I have improved a lot over the few months I have been here.
Despite the poor reception of creative writing, I do not despair because this is more than traction. I intend to publish one day and I intend it to be the best that I cannot offer. I am getting feedback and the feedback is improving me, I believe and I am getting it for free. So despite the fact that my posts have never been on trending, I do not have the support of a whale, I am going to keep at it until the lights go off.
I have been asking this question for 15 months now... wait! I've only been here for 16 months!
Perhaps venues like Steemit start with a lot of idealistic dreams, and are often followed (in the early going) by other people with idealistic dreams. And then "the masses" arrive... and that's what we're seeing (sadly) here. No matter what, the lowest common denominator always seems to end up becoming dominant.
I tend to mostly write psychology, philosophical ramblings and musings about the human condition... but those are a "hard sell" here, as well. But I still write them. But not with the same enthusiasm I once had.
Everyone has gotten so damn wrapped up in "chasing the money" that content has almost become an afterthought.
I am so sad reading this post, i dont like bidbot and all those "uncivilized" behaviours, but it is not that easy to get rid of them. For years, decades, even centuries this world is thought by materialistic way of thinking, capitalism, lies, corruptions, and all that manipulative things that make most people used to it, even believe that it was right. Most people dont even think, they just play safe and follow. I think this is a challenge, especially this platform is relatively new and need more time for people to realize and understand the vision of this platform. Well, this is just my opinion. I like reading fictions and I think what you have been doing really helps a lot, that perhaps it will not be appreciated at the moment since what you are doing is for the future and beyond. ;)
I'll echo many of the comments here - I concur, and feel the same way about almost everything I write. It's only the support of the teamaustralia community and @comedyopenmic that have stopped my enthusiasm from dropping further.
I'll paraphrase the comment that even the arch-free-marketeer and bidbot enthuiast, @yallapapi, agreed with: If I write something for steemit, it won't get a good payout and hardly anyone will read it. Sure, academic journals and the independent news site I write for don't pay much either, but they do reach my intended audience of journalists and potential future employers in a way that steemit simply cannot match.
Furthermore, I can get more views by paying other social media channels than by paying bidbots (and maybe that's why the views counter is gone).
Yeah i agree trending is a clusterfck atm and it will take some more time until actual creative content and people who put a lot of time into their work will make up the bigger part of it .
It will never happen. Those with the most to throw at bidbots always rise to the top.
Really, I have always felt that the underhanded way in which the Steemit's system is running currently has largely gone unnoticed. But sighting this post and its comments, I can rarely say that is the case any more. As much as I will totally want to go on and rant about how much high quality posts go down the drain, I can't help but say that those we call uncreative folks twisting words and pictures into memes, zappl and maybe strutting out bare bodies in explicit contents or talking about coins blah blah blah, they are the life of any online interactive platform. While writers might the nuclei of the community, the ones who uphold this platform, these other folks are the vibe, the pipers that must not be quietened. As much as Steemit's codebase is centered around high quality posts, we shouldn't forget that it is also a social media platform. This means it is meant to accommodate the rants, the craze, the eccentricities as well as the amateurish nonsenses of man people all over the world.
Believe it or not @gmuxx, that you have these comments swarming on your post, that your payout isn't going to be $0.0... like that of several writers like me mean many people look up to you, they read your works, comment on them, love them and love you too. If you choose to stop posting your fictional works even for a second because you think they're not getting the attention they deserve, what should someone like me, who has experienced more defeats over and over on steemit do? Should I lay off and mourn the fact that most people rarely make the time out to read or upvote the posts I spend quality time writing, or should I keep at it with the sole purpose of building myself, my passion till it touches the sky?
Yes, I just came to the same realization myself that Steemit stopped being fun. I decided to get back to basics and not try and join the legion of bid botters that seem to be flourishing. It may not be profitable, but at least I will enjoy myself more.
I'm nor a writer, so I don't have that experience on steemit, but I can certainly see what you're talking about here. I have made it a point to ignore anything on the hot or trending pages, I never look at them. I'm not a prolific poster on steemit, I've struggled with putting out 1 post per day, much less more, in the past. I've been a bit selective about who I follow, so I don't see too much real crap in my feed, but I know it's out there.
Yes this is great concept. .Keep it up.. dear...
You didn't read it, did you? Sigh
Why are you flag me.?
Because your comment added nothing to the conversation and you didn't read the post.
Thats right but you don,t 1 time conscious.. why are you direct flag..?
Explained already
Also, don't call me dear. I don't know you.
It's ok ..Please withdraw your plag?
I am new one and 1st time comment your blog.
If you don,t like my comment,i will don,t comment your blog ok..
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Bit-Bots are not a problem.
The artificial scarcity created by the trending tab fuels the bots.
The lack of innovation surrounding the trending issue is unreal.
We have full access to the Steem API.
Yet no one is making custom trending tabs.
You make me question if I want to vote for a witness that makes posts like this, but I have to give you a few free passes because you did me a solid a few months ago and listened to what I had to say.
I am no longer a witness.
Ah well sorry to hear that you're getting so discouraged by this Wild-West cluster fuck.
It's a shame that it's so difficult to get guarantees for the work that we put in here. You might spend hours and hours on a piece of fiction and then get paid the same as a meme you posted.
Its true. At this point im entirely focused on "join em" to try and amass enough wealth so that i can upvote quality content better than .25 cents. This means i am using bidbots. But the goal is to eventually become independent of them. That also means self voting and some other "icky" faux paz but tbh i give away more than 50% to the mods and contest winners of teamgirlpowa.
Its up to you and i get your frustrations but As i always say---- if its worth it--- keep going. And never.give. Up.
I've not given up with steem, I'm just not prepared to spend days on end creating original content for it to disappear within less than a day. I'm also not prepared to sink to self voting or bidbots.
Its up to you. I don't consider it to be sinking. Stepping left.until someone actually creates a solution rather than complaining about the problem and hissing at those who are playing the game. Looking at what I have to contend with and the amount of real, meaningful work i want to create for women--- I do what I have to do. Its definitely better than being a prostitue although, as a woman that has been suggested to me so very often, even as a "fat bitch" as I am called by peopke who dislike me. :) you can call it sinking if you want tho.
I recommend you check out @stimialati's comments. He profits far more from his use of bots.
Also, remember when I mentioned there are other ways to fund your interests? There are many more that I didn't mention because I was trying to be nice.
There's an old story about a man asking a woman if she'd sleep with him for a million dollars. After she accepted the proposition, he asked if she'd sleep with him for a dollar. She declined, protesting she wasn't a whore. He thereupon pointed out that she'd already agreed to sleep with him for money, and now they were only negotiating price.
While I'll not point out the many unsavory things you can do for money, I hope they are vivid in your mind.
Please resolve to act in an ethically acceptable way. I strongly feel you are not when you buy votes and selfvote.
Once you discard your principles, who can have confidence you might regain them?
Are you stalking me now? Get a life.
Yo this fucking dude telling me that i should go prostitue myself instead of using bidbots?!? So fucking funny. This is just so classic mysoginist assholery.
You have zero clue what my principles are. And I really could care less. I hope you find a nice hobby soon. Perhaps knitting so you can weave some more lies to te yourself.
Solve the problem or stfu. :)
I note you put words in my mouth.
I might have expected that from someone absent the moral values to refrain from selling their own words for the price of a vote.
You confuse my words to reveal your incapacity to understand them.
I will lastly point out that stooping to ad hominems is proof you have no counter arguments, and displays that fact for all to see, permanently, on the blockchain.
Did you check out @stimialati? You should. You'd learn from it.
She's a nut, VC. Ignore her and she eventually goes away.
I wish he would ignore me. 🙏
I hope in vain betimes for reason to sway folks that seem to have lost their way.
I will practice here that very reason by doing as you recommend. I appreciate your wise counsel.
How else am i supposed to interpret that? I clicked on the @ and got nothing but frankly your stalker trolling is a distraction. I though @gmuxx would be open to dialogue but i guess he supports your words. Because what? Because i said fucking And called you names? Im not sure exactly what you expert. I ended this conversation with you on another post. Now you are continuing ng your condescending rant and adding prostitution into the mix? Let it go. Move on to someone else who cares. As for @gmuxx I see you. I get it now. Dont worry, I wont respond with my opinion even if its kind and fair and attempting to be helpfuland positive to you.
Lima, if you're on drugs, please stop taking them. If you're not, you might want to start. Cos whatever you're doing for sanity ain't working.
What does that even mean? And why did you feel the need to say it?
You can always share of content here. I share most my content here, including fan-fiction, but my fiction will be published in stores like Amazon, so I will share bits here but not the fiction story itself.
I hope to see you around again. But I understand the need for a break sometimes. Good luck with your endeavors, and let us know where your fiction will be available :)
Finding a niche is the most difficult thing in writing process, and making a good and smart contents in steemit is not a guarantee we are going to earn much steem/sbd (voted).So, the solution for that kind of situation is to write more and more smart and interesting contents while waiting for some whales.
Keep spirit and regards from Indonesia.
Its a shame that fiction never really got a decent shot on Steemit, but to be brutally honest, a lot of it is really shit.
I've read a handful of decent stories that make you stop and think, but the reason people are publishing on this platform is because nowhere else will take them.
For fiction to do well in such a community, it would have to be killer short form stories. This is hard to do repetitively. No one wants to read chapter 14 of some fantasy/dystopian pastiche.
I appreciate the effort of curators like the Writer's Block, as the competitions have been generally interesting, and there are a few writers with a unique voice.
The voting patterns on Steemit platform is partly to blame, and also the fact that such a platform doesnt lend itself to longer form fiction. However, lets not pretend those writing on Steemit are undiscovered literary masters.
This is what my folks will call 'true talk'. Sometimes, I wonder if I haven't fallen in with the lot claiming to be potential writers, but posting watery stories filled with dead lucre.
Interesting issue, Some never minded people which are very bad. Don't mind friend, keep going fast track.
Memes should be decreasing as dmania is shutting down
you should try medium
I still have hope for the Steem blockchain even if Steemit is still too juvenile for a mature writing ecosystem. It's still changing, and I'm curious what the newest iteration will bring about.
Have you thought about creating something like SmartSteem exclusively for vetted writers? I know it's probably not in your wheelhouse so maybe it's a silly suggestion, but I think SmartSteem is on the right track by vetting those who are worthy of rewards and those who are not.
I wish you the best with Steemhouse publishing, I have has some success with short fiction stories here in contests, but not sure if I can commit the time to keep going. Since STEEM is in the title of Steemhouse, I am guessing you will be supporting steem in some way in the new venture anyway. Take care!
These are my opinions generally too. All that vitality to create for perusers to appreciate however they never get the chance to see it's suffocating amisdt the surge of different posts- - few of which merit being suffocated under. Essayist depletion. Despite everything i'll be posting my fiction, since bugger the lion's share's view about it, however it won't be stories that I accept merit a superior stage where perusers can appropriately value it.
@resteemit
Here's the comment you plagiarized:
Because you're a plagiarist, I am flagging this comment. I hope @gmuxx sees this, and removes his upvote as well.
Unless you have substantive explanation of why you are plagiarizing comments and merely rewording them, please go away and never come back.
Thanks for the heads up.
Some people...
Thank you, VC! That rewording, though. Wow.
It's a strange phenomenon, this rewording plagiarism. I don't think it's done by bots, or some app, as you can see the mispelling of the word 'amidst'. I have repeatedly inquired of folks doing this to ascertain why they are doing it, with no answer. All of the accounts I've noted doing this seem to be actual people, and do make comments that aren't plagiarized.
Maybe it's some kind of synonym game. I suspect it's the groundwork for creating malicious AI.
That's not good at all. What is becoming of Steem where even comments are plagiarised?
People are people, even on Steemit.
Flagged for being an idiot.