FanStory review: Biggest Scam ever 20

I am presently a member of FS. I am a bit surprised at all the negativity, although I can understand some of it. First, I believe there are some very good writers along all genres and then there are some less talented. Secondly, the review process is up for debate. As a reviewer, subjectivity needs to be limited in its scope and objectivity needs to be the defining element. Thirdly, unless you have a following or are willing to spend (dollars) on promoting your work, then the work gets limited to a review count of two. Often times, these two reviews come from the same two people over and over again. Rather frustrating. Although I have finished first in a few contests, I find that the best or most creative entry rarely wins. FS is a vanity writing site.

I have been a FS member twice, and both times, I encountered --and called out-- cheating on the contests. The first time, it was so flagrant and came with a gloating admission by the cheater that I turned him in, and Tom Ens, the owner of the site, had to capitulate to my request that the cheater be stripped of that month's Book of the Month title. (But, prior to the gloating private message, Tom was insisting that there was no votes counted after the 12 midnight deadline...despite the fact that I had watched, with my own eyes, the vote go from a tie at midnight to my competitor's having received one additional vote at 12:07 am. Tom did the gaslighting technique of "Well, there might have been a glitch in the system and it didn't register before midnight, but it was cast before midnight.")

This time, I called out a member who's won (I'm serious) FIVE HUNDRED, SEVENTY-TWO times, one hundred seventy-two in just 2022 alone. Tom deleted my post, even though I never made a specific reference to any person on the site or to the FanStory site, either. All I posted was statistics. Later, in back-and-forth private messages, Tom wrote that I "did nothing wrong" and reinstated the poem. Another week later, though, he deleted it again, citing it was "a break in site terms" though he refused to be more specific. After many additional back-and-forth private messages, Tom Ens stated that he knows the member in question has "daughters who vote for her" but also cited that he "wasn't concerned about it." (Not surprisingly, hundreds of the contests this member "won" were her squeaking by with one or two votes more than the second-place winner. Tom told me no rules had been broken, so there would be no repercussions. The prolific winner --and all her family members who don't ever post writings, by the way; their sole and exclusive purpose on the site is to vote for their mother-- remain on the site, same as always. [Two of the daughters wrote me scathing little private messages about how ashamed of myself I should be. Meanwhile, because I made the matter public, my post --the one Tom Ens deemed had "nothing wrong" with it-- was permanently deleted. The same happened to another entrant on a different contest who also was questioning the incomprehensible number of "wins." And before my post was taken down, Tom Ens also deleted many of the REVIEWS of it that cast aspersions about such a questionable number of wins.

So, the best you'll most likely ever achieve on a FanStory contest is second place. If you don't mind spending a yearly membership fee and oodles and oodles of time and money posting your work, then have at it!

I have to agree with all this. I have just pulled out of FanStory as it is nothing more than a money-making scam. It is inhabited by a bunch of intolerant religious types who will not read your stuff if it hurts their sensitivities.

Their contests are pathetic. There was one recently that asked for 'supernatural-not horror.' Profanities, sex and violence were not allowed. It was not allowed to occur in a church, graveyard or prison. Oh, and it had to include a biological sister. Can anyone make sense of that? There was no take-up but the woman who initiated it was closed to the idea of dropping the restrictions. I got a mental picture of Carrie's mother!

Most of the content is twee third rate poetry which is impossible to critique without being rude, so I did not bother much. Yes, there are a handful of decent people on the site and a few very good writers, but they are very much in the minority.

I wrote a story I was very proud of, a very funny parody of the Four Horsemen, which went down like a lead balloon. Every chapter got good reviews but always just a few from the same 4 or 5 people. At the same time, some pointless, tawdry poem got 30 reviews and more. Hardly encouraging to a new writer.

Take my advice - do not go near this platform. They want your money and don't give a damn about writing,

And just an important note, the site mutes you at the drop of a hat, but never returns your money. Poor form by Tom Ens. But being a vanity URL, says it all.

Fanstory is a vanity URL, not a real writing site. Tom cares about nothing but money and the talentless poets and writers are unable to take a proper literary critique, but revenge reviewing and other cheating tactics are everywhere, including writers having two accounts so they can review themselves. The top poet last year, Gloria, did this and was called out for cheating. The contests are hijacked and people lose it, puffed up by reviews from other amateurs, they go from Fanstory, on into the trap of self publishing their second rate literary efforts. Most of the members are very elderly and have no interest in improving their writing, they just want flattery from their cyber friends. But what is a friend if you are cheating. So much cheating goes on, especially posting the same post more than once. I'd steer clear of FS, it is a gullible trap for people who can't really write. I guess talentless people have to get their kicks from somewhere.

I'm fine with Fanstory too. Have been an active member since 2006. Unfortunately, some reviewers do give a one-star review. Usually, they are new. If the writer gets mad and attacks a reviewer, that writer can be removed. The writer can 'mute' that reviewer, however, which stops the reviewer from seeing his work again. Revenge reviews are not allowed, but they are reportable to Tom, in which case it's the reviewer who will be in trouble, not the author.

I am fine with FanStory. Being a member since 2011 and learnt a lot, and improved my poetry and Novel writing substantially. FanStory is not perfect but I am a much improved writer because of sound critique received in the beginning which helped shape my writing. Grammar and spelling is important.

I tried this website years ago. It was a waste of time then and it is a waste of time now. They are inconsistent with their rules and regulations. It is little to do with writing and more to do with a popularity contest for those who have been complimenting each other's somewhat bland diatribe for years. The regulators rule you in or out depending on how they think their revenue stream is best served. Commercial sites such as this and creative spirits are just in-congruent and should avoid any semblance of rating someone's creativity. I wasted a lot of money trying to move forward on this site and eventually gave up with some success, but overall I realized the site is a failure. This is not for anyone that sincerely wants to hone their skills or even simply write creatively and have others enjoy.

I entered a lengthy positive review of FanStory on this site a couple days ago and I see it is not on here. Apparently, the positives are not going to be shown. That is very unfortunate as writers who need a practice outlet should use FanStory. I also had other positive things to say, but apparently this site is not interested in showing the positive aspects. Well, I see there are only a handful of negatives. This should be obvious that many people enjoy and use FanStory and it is a great tool if used wisely and if you are not in it for MONEY, but for the love of writing, sharing and getting better at your craft. Do I love and understand all I have seen on there? NO. Most of it is explained in author notes, however and the writing comes from the minds, hearts and REAL experiences of many in many cases. I also offered legitimate avenues where your writing can be contested (not doing it again-no time!). Good luck. Too those of you with open minds and understanding that poetry is an extremely open-minded genre, don't rule it out! I have a B.A. in Education and I recommend it. Also, THIS site never did actually show my accurate number of stars for FanStory, so I wonder who is pushing the button here.
Wendy
Wendy

Very well spoken

furthermore, the Poet of The Month contests are fixed. The genuinely talented rarely make the top 5. Incidentally, I am not writing this from bitterness, because I am the only poet on the site that requests NO LIKES on my work; only comments. I do not take part in a competition that is not a fair playing field, and neither have I withdrawn because I don't think I'm good enough.

Sorry for the late reply.

I had been a member of FS for several years. The first few reviews I received where too harsh for me, I pulled down my work that same day. Now, years later, I fully understand and agree with the reviews. My work was terrible. My stories were fine, but my writing (my use of English) and my punctuation were just awful. So, critiques were often way too harsh for me, at first, but, I eventually learned to suck-it-up, to take it and use it to mold my writing into something that worked —— something the majority liked. because your never going to please everybody. There's always some joker that just wants to hate on you.

Anyway, I always believed, and still do, that if one cannot find something encouraging about a piece of work, to add to ones critique, one should just forget about critiquing that piece altogether. Over my years at FS, I eventually found that the majority of the readers/reviewers were in fact genuinely encouraging, but not all. Many reviewers have been on FS for years and years and seem to have forgotten the importance of encouragement, especially toward the neophytes. They review it how they see it, straight to the point, blunt as you like. Fanstory reviewing rules says to add encouragement, but some don't.

Learning to except a tough critique can be extremely painful, and some never learn to except it. But, it is a necessary part of the creative process if a writer, painter, sculptor, actor, musician, singer, ever wishes to progress to the pinnacle of his chosen craft. It's crucial to an artists growth to be able to cope with harsh criticism. Sure, some people are just A-holes, however, they become easier to spot after some practice. you eventually find that most readers and most reviews are quite helpful, even if they are harsh. My grammar, my punctuation, my sentence structure and my turn of phrase has improved 100% thanks entirely to the harsh critiques and helpful reviews I received on Fanstory. I may still have a long way to go before I master the craft completely, but at least I'm confident now to submit my work to a publisher. And after all, that is the goal of most writers.

These days, when I get criticism over a piece of my work, I can analyze the information in my head, not in my heart, and I can do it without my emotions getting in the way. I no longer feel anger or bitterness over a harsh review as I once did.

In closing, I agree, Fanstory is not for everyone. Reviews can be tough, even harsh, the fees are too high and the ranking system is not based on the best writing, but on the most reviews. The ranking and reward systems are just a way for FS to generate more income, and that part sucks. But I learned a lot from being on Fanstory, and for that I'm grateful. And, I still have some really great friends that I keep in touch with, all thanks to FS.

I also experienced a lot of heartbreak and anger and bitterness that I had to learn to work through, so I can see your frustration. But, honest reviews, whether harsh or encouraging, can be helpful to a writer. They can help you learn, they can help you grow, they can help you become a better writer. If you can get through the painful crushing. I did that by focusing on the positive and the encouraging reviews.

Cheers.

You guy seem to harbor the lowest form of literary lifee

The guy who will not Identify himself, who wrote that last article must be brain dead or perhaps in a coma. I just read through his diatribe on reviews! He cannot put two 2 sentences together with any success! If that is the type of writing his complaint is about and it getting bad reviews, then...what can I say? Get a job because the Art world does not need you, unless you can draw perhaps!