why is are so many of the best authors leaving

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this week we received blogs that alys was leaving and then michelle. Now i read angel is upset and leaving. There is just so much bad news that it has made me feel so sad. I loved all of their stories. Angels was wonderful she is such a talented author i really don't want her to leave. :((
I tried to send her a encouraging PM but i guess she is so upset she turned them off. What is going on with big closet lately

Comments

This isn't the first time Christine

that some authors have left. They ALL are leaving for a variety of reasons. Some for real life family situations, some for having changed goals and writing is no longer their thing, and others because of point pushing and a tiredness of it. Whatever their reason, authors do come and go just as the seasons change each and every year. The best that we can do is offer whatever support we can while they are here, be friends and family, and enjoy what we have now, while we have it. For these times never come again.

Some may come back, some won't. But all who had come here, ARE a part of TopShelf and will always be remembered as family. Even should they never come back.

What is important is how we treat one another while we are here and in communication. Niceties, civility, respect, and helpfulness with an aura of happiness and love...all a part of the better side of life and what we should aspire to achieve both here and in the Transgender Community at large.

As an administrator here, I do a lot of things behind the scenes to make concessions and try to keep the peace. I am but one woman. Erin, as the site owner, also tries to do some of that but is absorped in her life changing while trying to keep the site up and running along with the financial responsibilities to keep this site open, free, and here daily for everyone to enjoy. Our editors try to do as much as possible too to fill in the gaps and help us run this site. Despite the staff we have, there is only so much that we can do. Sometimes its for the best that some have to go, even though we dearly love them. Some people have paths that they have to tread upon alone, something in life that they have to experience and discover.

When someone leaves, a part of me leaves as well and hurts me. I don't take losses well at all. And even I need a shoulder that I can let it all out on. And be held.
 

    Sephrena Lynn Miller
BigCloset TopShelf

That's a fact, Jack!

I agree with Sephrena, people do come and go. Some with great fanfare, others just stop coming. Some return, some don't. Sometimes real life interferes with activities here, and sometimes activities here are a replacement for real life for some, which means they take things entirely too seriously.

I would never encourage anybody to leave, even if I have no regrets at their departure. This is, after all, a "BIG Closet" and there ought to be room for all in here. This is a big family here, and like any family I've ever seen, some do not always get along with others; but that's no reason to stop having family get-togethers. I truly hope BC is around for many years to come, but that decision is not in my hands.

Karen J.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Are the best authors leaving?

I've seen several new authors post over the past couple months and seen several "established" authors stop. Some said they were stopping, some just pulled their stuff and left, others have said they were leaving, and changed their minds. Or so it seems from where I sit.

If the authors in question had just stopped posting, it might have been quite a while before anyone noticed they were no longer posting. I have to believe that their need to dramatically tell us of their departures was due to some series of events I'm not aware of (if they were being "attacked" here on the site) or they had major RL isses that got in their way.

I've not personally seen much (if any) of the mud/anger/hate/personal attack postings that have been complained about. Everyone perceives things differently. It's very possible that something said in innocence can be taken very poorly by another. This happens in conversations, and much more commenly in text formats where people can't actually see one another. When one is hurting, it's much easier for a little thing to be felt as something large. Some people are quite blunt in how they comment/chat. Others beat around the bush. It's much easier to be hurt by the blunt, even though well ment, comment than the other. That doesn't make a blunt comment wrong. It's all about how we react to comments.

To be honest, there have been times I've considered abandoning BCTS, or at least writing. It's discouraging to put a lot of work into writing something, and then see 200-400 reads to a single comment. I've not left, since when I started posting, I made a committment to someone I respect that I'd not "abandon" a story half done.

Well, that's kinda rambling I know. It doesn't answer what it seemed you're asking. I hope it provides some of my thoughts on the topic.

Annette

The odd thing was

erin's picture

There didn't seem to be much anger, hate or persoanl attacks involved. Some strong opinions and disagreements but I really thought things were going well. Then the chickens flew up on the roof and laid their eggs in the storm gutters. I'm really mystified and I removed the blogs as being the only thing I could think of to do to calm things down. Just taking them off the front page didn't work, so I unpubbed them. And still the eggs are falling off the roof.

Hugs,
- Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Those blogs - seemed like good discussions to me...

Of course, I didn't see the chicken flying off the roof that appears to have happened at the end of them. Sad when that happens. All the issues and dramatics in the have discouraged me a good bit.

*sighs*

Annette

Authors Leaving

I have written this paragraph after posting the content below. I wanted to add that I think BC is a great site and I think it ought to stay. I would probably have never started writing anything because I did not have anywhere to put my stories. BC gave me that opportunity. Although I am not a good writer, at least I had the chance to write (which I love to do).

-------------------------------------------------

I realize that I am not one of the best authors, but I will probably be putting less on BC, too. I have gone mostly over to Fictioneer because my current stories are not transgendered.

I had planned to take off all of my Lizzie Jane stories and did remove the first one (The Beginning), but it appeared that Erin wanted them to stay, so I replaced all of the original chapters of "The Beginning" on one page.

I do have the revised story on Fictioneer with less chapters. (I put two chapters together, thus making longer ones.

On Fictioneer, I have stories of Lizzie Jane's grandmother in the late 1800's and stories of Lizzie Jane's great, great, great granddaughter getting trapped in the 1950's with Lizzie Jane adopting her.

The latter is going to be a science fiction adventure story. It may not sound like an adventure right now, but I plan on exciting things happening.

Love,
Billie Sue

Billie Sue