Most of us are here to improve our work and not just to have it read by others. I believe you can learn much by writing reviews, and it is the best way to earn the member dollars to promote your own work without spending your own money. Reviewing someone's work soon after it is posted will more likely cause you to win bonus certificates to promote your own work.

It is best to build up a lot of member dollars before you start posting so you can promote your own work. Before reviewing someone's work, I would suggest new writers should go to the 'view ratings' at the bottom of a piece and read what other reviews say, not to copy, but to get a feel
for what others find impressive about the work. Note the ratings other give.

If you don't promote it, you won't get many reviews and it isn't fair to you or your work. I perfer not to read work that isn't promoted. I always try to promote my work high enough to get it on the first page of the listing.

Members aren't happy with less than five stars unless you make helpful suggestions for improvement, and if you agree to go back and change the rating later. Make fans of people whose work you like so you will be notified when they post. They will often become your fan, which means you will get more reviews when you post.

You may go further up on the rating scale by the sheer volume of the work you put out, which has nothing to do with the quality or length of your work, but personally I think it is better to be further down on the ratings and post work you can take pride in writing.

Buy the Treasure Chest promotion in order to have your work remain on longer for those who run behind in reviewing. Get a fan list going quickly, so people will be notified when you post. Don't bother buying the banner advertisments. They don't work.

Check out the contests and enter them after reading the requirements carefully. It is a good way to win dollars to promote your work. FanStory committee contests are free to enter, but others require member dollars and are voted on by members.