Literature DDs and You

12 min read

Deviation Actions

BeccaJS's avatar
By
Published:
3.8K Views
:new: Hey Guys, the response on this has been AWESOME so far! Please keep comments and questions (and of course DD suggestions) coming because it is really positive to see what our community is thinking!

Also, please spread the word on this: +Fav this journal, tweet it, link it and direct the community to it :heart:

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend? I am having a romantic evening of laundry and X factor tonight, after a day out yesterday in Birmingham watching the gymnastics world championships in Tumbling, Trampolining and DMT which was pretty awesome. The journey back was a little scary after seeing an accident and then driving through fog back to Derby. Will be hanging around in chat tonight, so poke in and say hello! :new:


Hello

I have a feeling anyone who has had the privilege of featuring literature DDs has been where I am today. Whether the title Galley Director, Gallery Moderator or now "Community Volunteer" has been involved, one of our roles as volunteers is to select daily deviation features, a piece which is showcased for 24 hours at the forefront of deviant ART.

It's not our only role; we're not just DD producing machines. We get involved in groups, projects, community relations, chats, forums and critiques too. Most importantly, we are writers, members of the same community you are with probably similar ideas about literature on deviantART. The majority of what we do doesn't require a fancy symbol; you guys can do it too and in fact so many of you continuously put efforts into this community and that's what makes us strong.

You guys also have the ability to help get literature featured as a DD. Just because you don't have access to click the right buttons, you have a chance to suggest what can be seen there.

In an average week, I receive about 10 DD suggestions. Some CVs receive up to 50 suggestions a day. I sometimes worry my own choices do not satisfy the greater community and although I know we all have our own tastes, the support from the community is really important. This is why we love suggestions, because they show us pieces we may not find on our own. Every since I have started featuring DDs, I have literally begged for suggestions and I want more.

A few days back, theWrittenRevolution posted a poll and subsequent journal asking their members if they knew how to suggest DDs. The response sadly didn't surprise me, but at the same time concerned me. There were quite a few comments that suggested thoughts that weren't true and I thought it would be worth just putting a journal out there and clearing up some of those thoughts as well as sharing how to suggest a DD and what to do if you don't like what you see.

Firstly for those who are truly unfamiliar with the process of suggesting DDs, please check out the following links:

FAQ #61: What is a Daily Deviation?
FAQ #18: Who selects Daily Deviations and how are they chosen?
FAQ #313: How can I find out if someone already has a Daily Deviation?
FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?
:bulletblack:The current CR Team

Your current literature Community Volunteers are:



Halatia- a fierce yet wonderful raptor, who has a love for science, glee and the big bang theory (seriously, sing "soft kitty" to her!).
ikazon- the monkey, friendly and very chatty, just like a monkey, but a monkey with a good knowledge of literature.
BeccaJS- this be me! I am the tiger, who roars a lot for attention and I also have a love for glee and the big bang theory. I have been on the volunteer team since July 2010 and absolutely love it.

(I don't quite know where the need to make everyone an animal came about, previous GMs included a Cat and a Cavewoman!)

:bulletred: Please note, there is actually currently an opening for another Lit CV into the team, if you are interested in applying, please see this journal

:star: We also have an official group called CRLiterature which is for all literature news! We want to be able to use this group to link up other groups, activities within the community and events/contests both on and off dA. Also we have the CRLiteraturechat room alongside it!


Some thoughts made by members of theWrittenRevolution and some answers...



Please note, I am not singling out individuals or responding for defensive reaction. I can genuinely see there are some myths about DDs that just need dispelling and want to be able to clarify this all in one place. Also note, some of these are paraphrasing!


The big, scary Lit GMs frightened me off

I remember when I first came onto dA and ndifference and imperfect were literature GDs. I felt a little intimidated because they had a different symbol and seemed to know a lot. However, both of them are lovely people and getting to know them both makes me smile because you realise that symbols don't indicate a person, just a role (trust me, I live near DEVlANT and he is about as intimidating as this :fart:). So the first thing I would say is, please don't be frightened. Watch us, get to know us. We're no different from you.

And I am only 5"4, I am not that big- the only scary thing about me is my face!


I had a suggestion accepted but the GM changed which piece from the artist was featured.

Yes this happens. We don't do it because we didn't like your suggestion, usually what happens is a suggestion may come in and it may be a first draft, or something not quite right. However we can see potential and wander into the suggested writer's gallery and sometimes we find something even better.


I don't know how long I have to wait to suggest again

There is no time limit or regulation as to how often you can suggest. If you find something awesome, send it in whatever time or day and whenever you find them!


A lot of what gets featured is abstract free verse and I tend to prefer and suggest stuff that is more mythological or evocative

If you have a particular style or genre you would like to see DD'd, help us find features for that genre. Personally I'd feature a script every week if I could, but the volume just isn't there!


Well, as far as GMs' tastes, I think they shouldn't follow their personal tastes but be objective, and judge its quality and not if they like the subject or not

I think this is something that is easier said than done. We all have personal tastes differing from one to another- it would be boring if we all had the same.  We are objective, we actually discuss DDs between the three of us and therefore it's not just one person's taste. I hope this reassures.


suggesting something of my own just seems low

It's not low. If this was the "real world", you'd be suggesting your writing for literary magazines, published etc. You need to believe in yourself as a writer to do that- what better place to start than on dA amongst your peers?


none of my suggestions have been accepted.

Perseverance is key. No were not going to feature everything, but then why not feature them yourself? Make use of your journals, create news articles and even collections of works you thing are great examples of literature on dA. DeviantART offers so many places to show off work, the DDs is a one page on one day.


Gathering DLD's tends to take most of it out of me

Consider killing two birds with one stone? Maybe when you find your DLD features, ask yourself whether it is also DD worthy. The same goes for any group you may feature regularly for.


I never get a reply.

This is a difficult one because it is self-prerogative. Personally I don't reply to DD suggestions, mostly because I've never really considered doing so. I am not entirely sure what people want in a response? Telling you "yes I will feature it" will risk losing the element of surprise when we do feature it. And what if I change my mind? (I do change it frequently!). Is a personal thank you every time you submit what you want? Let me know what you think.


Many of the lit DDs tend to have one of a select few deviants as the suggester.

Of course we do, that's because those "select few" send in so many suggestions! A greater range of people sending in suggestions will mean different names appearing wouldn't it?


CVs often receive so many suggestions that they also rely on your description of the piece to decide whether it's worth looking at

A good description is nice, but it's not what we judge a feature on. I read every single suggestion I receive, in fact I usually work backwards and read the description the suggester has left afterward.


To Wrap Up



I have to say that there is a wonderful feeling to be able to feature a good piece of writing and see others enjoy it. For those of you whose suggestions have been featured, you will understand this, pass on that feeling to your watchers. For those of you who feature writing in your journals and articles, this is the same feeling.

The fundamental baseline of an effective community is communication. If you do have thoughts about literature DDs- or anything else we CVs do, please let us know. Drop any of us or CRLiterature a note,  or even post on here or anywhere on our profiles. Talk to us, we want to hear from you. If you dont feel like you can talk to us, then talk to moonbeam13

So finally here are some questions for you:

1. Do you regularly check todays DDs?
2. What encourages/discourages you from suggesting DDs?
3. What would you like to see DD'd?
4. You are a lit animal, what kind of animal are you?
5. What are you doing this weekend? :)

I hope this helps in understanding literature DDs on dA.  :heart:

© 2011 - 2024 BeccaJS
Comments104
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Pencil-of-Power's avatar
1. Do you regularly check todays DDs?
Yes, I do check them and comment on them, if I like them. However I do not congratulate the artist on the DD because I find it rather stupid. I can imagine the artist getting loads of messages (Imagin you log on and suddenly see that you have 100 Notes!) and being slightly frustrated if they are all like "Congrats on the DD"
2. What encourages/discourages you from suggesting DDs?
Until recently I was only in the fanart part of DA and additionally I didn't quite know how to suggest a DD (I know now).
3. What would you like to see DD'd?
Um, what kind of answer do you want? A specific piece of artwork/literature or just a genre?
4. You are a lit animal, what kind of animal are you?
A cat. I am obsessed with cats. Although, maybe I'd be an owl too. Owls are cool. I guess I'd be an owl-cat hybrid. A cawl?!
5. What are you doing this weekend?
Visiting my grandmother! She lives in a really small town so I'll come back with lots of inspiration. :)