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Author:
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What is the appropriate way to ask about serials that seem to have recently stopped? I can think of three different possibilities:
A: Ask about author in a blog post;
B: Ask about author in comment to last post;
C: Send private message to author.
(There is also D: Consult Magic-8 Ball, and don't bother the author.)
Comments
Be kind
I don't know about appropriate, but I'd go with (C). Authors don't see comments on older stories unless they go looking for them, PM's they see whenever they log in.
But when you ask, try not to sound like you're demanding things. If an author hasn't written anything for a while, or hasn't continued a story, there is usually a very good reason, most often involving life getting in the way. Requests from readers for more "content" may come across as someone demanding that they drop their attempts to keep their head above water in order to satisfy their desire for stories (which they're not getting paid for, I might add.)
I would add one option to the OPs list
Check the In Memorial list to make sure the author isn't listed as having passed away before even trying any method of contact.
Sadly, some of the great story tellers we have had posting are no longer with us.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
The track function
Authors do see new comments made to older stories, if they are aware of the track function (under My Account). For myself, it is the first thing I look at whenever I log in. Under there, you'll have a list of everything you've ever posted, whether it is a blog entry, a story chapter or a comment on somebody else's blog or work. New comments filter to the top and are flagged.
I'm currently following a number of comments including two new readers to SEE. Considering the number of chapters :) and that both are leaving almost a comment a chapter, that's a lot of comments to read :)
Penny
I tend to go with B and C.
I tell them how much I've loved and enjoyed their stories and how much I miss seeing new chapters, along with recognition that the author owes us nothing whatsoever in continuing them. I usually also mention that I am so glad I got to read the start to their story and that I'd much rather read the start of a great story and be left hanging and wanting more, than to have never had the opportunity to read it in the first place.
In this way, I think I am making it really clear that I enjoyed their stories and that I appreciate the effort they put into writing and posting them. And I feel that telling them this is important.
And on a few awesome, precious occasions, I think my post has made the difference on whether new chapters have come out.