So, you want to set up your own personal guestbook. Perhaps you're hoping that you'll get more feedback that way, or maybe you just want a place where people can say hi. Whatever the reasons, this is the place where you'll find the guidelines on how to go about doing that. I've done this as a Q&A, hopefully, this will make it easier.
A: There are many servers out there to help you. Dreambook is one of them, GuestWorld is another. You don't need any experience to set up a simple guestbook with either of them. They will give you step by step instructions.
A: People will be able to sign your guestbook from the page where your fanfiction is listed. You'll need to know what name you're listed under. (You should know this)
Every writer has his/her own "page" in the library. In most cases, I tried to name a writer's page by what name he/she goes under. However, some names are too long to do this with, so I needed to abreviate them. Find "your" page and copy the information. The URL will always begin with:
/library/
For example, the URL for JF Jackson's work is:
Note for everyone who set up their guestbook before I set up the "author's own pages." The index guide for listing all authors alphabetically, (Authors A-G, Author's H-M, etc.) are still working. They still list the author's for that section and link to their pages, so your guestbooks are still fine. If you wish to change the link on your guestbook to go to your personal page, you'll have to do it within the guestbook.
I have tried to put guestbook coding on index pages. However, I do this only out of the goodness of my heart and as time allows. I might not put it on the index page to your stories if I don't have time or I'm not in the mood. So please don't write and say, "But you did it for her, you have to do it for me!" Believe it or not, no, I don't.
A: You must send midnight the information. The guestbook servers will give you the HTML code that needs to go onto the page where people can sign your guestbook. Most servers will also mail this information to you. Send the code to: midnight@shifting-sands.la.ca.us and it will put up as soon as possible.
When you send me the code, please be sure to tell me who you are and what name you are listed under! Most of these guestbooks use the wording Sign My Guestbook. My is no help to me at all.
A: The coding to access your guestbook and the name you are listed under. Please just send this information only, nothing else.
This is an example of what you should send:
Midnight,
My name is Bob Smith. I am listed on your page as Crackerjack. I have set up a guestbook. Below is the coding you will need. Thanks.(Then, below that will be the coding as the server gave you.)
Not to be rude here, but please keep it short and simple. Don't use this as the time to write a personal letter to me. It's not that I don't want to hear from you, I do, but I want to keep this as simple as possible. If I have to wade through a long letter, it will end up too time consuming. If you want to write me a personal letter, send it separately.
I'll try, but don't count on it. Sometimes I just don't have the time. The best bet is to check where your stories are listed to see if your coding is up yet.
A: Absolutely not I will not edit or manage anyone's guestbook. That is their responsibility.
A: No.
A: No
A: No. All I will do is put up the links so people can access your guestbook. I don't care how busy you are, I'm busy too. If you want a guestbook, you have to make one yourself.
A: No
A: No, of course not. I'd say that 99.99% of the writers on this site can breeze through this easily. However, I have found that there is always this tiny fraction of people who can't seem to follow instructions. There could be many reasons, perhaps English isn't a first language for them, maybe they're very young, or perhaps they are feeling lazy. However, I just don't have time to take anyone by the hand with this and guide them through it. I think I have made these instructions as simple as possible to follow.
A: No. I am not going to host any guestbooks on my site. All I will do is put up links to access your guestbook. If you want to design your own guestbook, you will have to find a server to host it. I have no idea how anyone would go about setting such a thing up.
A: No. The server that hosts the guestbook takes care of all this for you.
A: Yes, of course you can. And I will do my best to answer it. However, I am not an expert in how Dreambooks and Lpage work, so questions about their servers, etc. I cannot answer.
A: We will do our best to get the links up ASAP. If you send the information and don't see it up within a week, contact midnight. Chances are that something has happened with the mail server and we never got your original message. In that case, you will have to resend the information, so make sure you save it.
A: Sorry, no. While I wish I could do that, it is just impossible for me to take the time to add 200+ guestbooks to my site. One guestbook per author is all I'm going to allow.