How to get FB. Everything Paula says here is sooo incredibly true and I have to rant here, so please bear with me ::steps on soapbox::

It's not possible to just post and get FB. Yes, it would be nice if that happened and that would definitely be the perfect world scenario. Those of us who have been around fandom for a while know that fandom is anything *but* perfect world. You've got to work very, very hard for every bit of FB and trust me, even after years on ASC, it's still not easy to get FB. Momentary adulation does not necessary mean anything for the future. Not at all.

I also love Paula's point on thanking the FBer - there are an amazing number of people who do not thank their FBers. In that case, you're never quite sure if your FB has disappeared into the great black hole or if your FB simply wasn't worth responding to. If the latter, you wonder why even bothering in the future? And voila, another source of FB gone, simply because the author can't take the time to thank the FBer.

I admit to posting FB today that I normally wouldn't have - simply because I'm concerned that ASC is more dead than alive these days in terms of FB. But I was also concerned that a newbie author would be upset by the silence greeting her fics, so I read them all and commented on one. On most days, I would have probably just moved on and not said a word. But like I said, it's important to encourage the newbies and keep them around.

I admit - I'm a discerning reader - a fic snob, if you will. I simply don't have time to read and comment on every single story and yes, I'm attracted to stories that have been FB'd by authors I respect or are written by authors I respect. The days of reading just about everything on ASC have long gone. And other people are just the same - they don't have the time either. As a result, fics disappear into the big black hole.

To prevent that big black hole from happening to you the majority of the times, Paula's suggestions are a good one. But I still think *expecting* FB without giving any yourself or building relationships with other people is probably a bit high on the scale of expectations. Does it happen? Yes. Will it happen often? Probably not.

I'm probably preaching to the choir. We've all been around for a while, some longer than others. I got my start back in '97, but even having been around that long, I don't think FB rolls in. Perhaps, I get more readers because people recognize my name from over the years. Or maybe it's because I try my best to be very generous with FB when time allows. There are other people on ASC like that as well, and their actions do not go unnoticed.

I don't think there is an easy formula to get FB, but I think the first place to start is to give FB yourself. Think first of the others before yourself.

::steps off soapbox to go read "Kerzoinky Blue"::