I have not been here for a while.

[vic-k]

Scrivener. Literature & Latte.
Three words (4 with&), that says it all. Go figure!

[lunk]

Scheveningen, Illiterate & Lotto?
Weird...
What ’bout the Scalpel?

[vic-k]

[quote="Lunk]
What ’bout the Scalpel?[/quote]
The scalpel is in your hand .... do with it what you will.

[lunk]

The scalpel is in your hand .... do with it what you will.

[Jaysen]

It would be nice to drag KB, kicking and screaming, under the rock with us to get an actual opinion from the head turtle. Should we succeed in said dragging, the question I think we should ask...

So Mr B, has L&L growth kind of caught you by surprise and this thing has turned into something you really didn't plan?

I think that's the question that would make a lot of folks, with complaints like mine, step nod with understanding.

[Tanith]

I'm seeing an uptick of activity in one of the Scrivener FB groups I'm a part of. I thought maybe some folks got Scrivener for Christmas so new people had joined, but maybe some just prefer social media? I'm rather partial to forums myself.

[KB]

Well, Literature & Latte sounded a little more cultured than "Books & Beer" or "Poetry and Plonk"; it also had the decided advantage that the domain name was available.

The forum certainly has changed in tone over the years, and I, too, miss the intimate atmosphere of yore - but on the other hand, I also like owning a house, so, you know, swings and roundabouts and all that. Besides, even back in the early days, there were some shouty users, and conversely, as the forum has grown we've gained some very helpful newer users (some posting in this very thread).

I think Tanith is onto something, though - I don't think it's just that Scrivener's user base has grown (although of course that has an effect on the forums); it's also that, in the fourteen years since Scrivener was first developed and the twelve since it was released (oh wow I really need to write that novel), the way people communicate online has changed. Ten years ago, Twitter and Facebook barely existed and forums were the main way of communicating online. So a bunch of people who would come here to shoot the breeze with other writers (including some established authors) now use Twitter to share their opinions and banter online.

Meanwhile, expectations have changed as we've become more established (for the first time ever I met someone at a party the other day who had heard of Scrivener - I felt like I'd made it). I can remember the exact point that happened. For the first few years of Scrivener, I would use the blog not only to write about the software, but also for random notes and diatribes about books, film and TV. That was fine when Scrivener was niche and the user base was mainly a small community. But it got to point where I blogged about how I hated the ending of Battlestar Galactica (don't go there) and received quite a few comments to the effect of "Shut up - you're a software developer and we don't care about your opinions on anything else." In other words, users had started to expect us to present ourselves a little more professionally (plus some people have really bad taste in series endings). And, although I personally prefer companies wit a little quirkiness to them, I can appreciate that expectation.

We've also learned some hard lessons over the years, of course - the main one being, Never, ever give even a remote guess about when something will be ready. Raising hopes and then dashing them, no matter how much we try not to, naturally alters the atmosphere on the forums.

Jaysen - I had a friend you used to like quoting John Lennon: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." This would be quite apt - had I ever made any other plans. But I didn't plan any of it. I wrote a piece of software to help me, and figured I'd sell it as shareware (remember "shareware"?) in the hope of making a few quid, thinking that there might be handful of other poor souls who were after something like this too. (All this you know.) I thought I might be lucky and make, say, £200 out of it. I certainly never intended to become a software developer by trade, so it's quite fortunate that I enjoy it.

Anyway, all of those early forumites only have themselves to blame - they (you) were all clearly better at evangelising Scrivener than you meant to be!

Right, back to the hole I crawled out of now...

[vic-k]

I personally prefer companies wit a little quirkiness to them

Me too, young Kev, me too! Gynasticated fornication...yeah!!!...bring it on!!

[Jaysen]

... I didn't plan any of it. I wrote a piece of software to help me, and figured I'd sell it as shareware (remember "shareware"?) in the hope of making a few quid, thinking that there might be handful of other poor souls who were after something like this too. (All this you know.) I thought I might be lucky and make, say, £200 out of it. I certainly never intended to become a software developer by trade, so it's quite fortunate that I enjoy it.

I still think you (KB not L&L because YOU are what made L&L successful) are the exact case that every entrepreneur should study.

Nobody wants my opinion either.

[garpu]

I, for one, would support a rebranding to "Poetry and Plonk."

[lunk]

"Pooks&Plonks"..? No, that would give it a Finnish accent...

[vic-k]

It's straight forward enough ... 's no big deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qk9o_ZeR7s

The truth is out there somewhere!
Vic

[klcorridon]

Work has been taking so much more of my brain energy and physical energy these past three years. I was promoted to a supervisory position two years ago this month. I need to post the rest of my Space Sketches as well, I see. But you long–timers are still in my thoughts

KB, you helped a lot of us become writers. Without Scrivener I wouldn't have finished that one novel I wrote. That changed me for the better, and now I finish stories instead of piling up unfinished ones.

[vic-k]

I wouldn't have finished that one novel I wrote.

Wot novel?!! Y' never said anything to us about a novel. Y' better come up with some details ... quick!
Apart from that one lapse, it's good to see you're in fine fettle and great form.
Stay cheerful Kev, nice to see you back on board Scriv.
Take care,
Vic

[klcorridon]

Well, vic-k, I was messing about with that from late 2004 thru late 2007, back when I knew feck all about writing. Purchasing Scrivener helped me finish it. No commercial potential, but there are some good bits scattered through it. Based on an idea for a comic book my friends and I developed in high school oh so long ago...

It still lives here, if you want to take a look:

http://www.oort-cloud.org/?q=node/442