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
