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Thanks, JP...now get busy!
Bill, the info is on the way to you!

Thanks so much.~Ann

BIG congrats! Now the real work begins. Marketing the darn thing!!

I do a weekly feature on my blog called Five on Friday where I have an author answer 5 questions (they choose from a list) and also promote their book/books on the same blog. If you do decide to blog, the main thing is to be consistant. Just a random post now and then won't do any good. I get more followers on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest through that feature because I share it on all my social media...which brings people to my site. I also post a snarky cartoon/quote once a day on Fb and Twitter...although I've missed about 5 days now because of life getting too busy. Since I've started doing that, in 6 weeks, my Twitter followers doubled.
To get authors to participate, I simply post an invitation on a couple of groups I belong to and here on this site. I can fill every Friday for 6 months within a couple of days!! Authors are always looking for places to promote their books. In return, those authors I feature will invite me to their blogs for a feature of my books! That's why I say it's all about the connections you make. It does take work and time because I have to set the blog up and load the images. But, I put each blog in draft form as soon as I get it, mark it on my calendar that it is in draft, then on the day of the blog, all I have to do is hit publish and then share on social media. It takes me about 45 min. to an hour to set up each blog.

~Ann

Norm,
I never pay attention to the point count. Until this post came up, I don't remember the last time I even glanced at it. I racked that number up the first year I was a member here while reading more than writing. I've gone down a lot in the number of novels I read. And, I've gotten in the habit of reading just a lot of first chapters. Without the pressure of remaining on the top ten reviewer list, I can relax and just read when I feel like it! If Sol ever decides to put that list back in place, I'll be burning the midnight oil again to stay on it!
Now days, I only read about 6-8 novels. But when I started here, I only had one book. Currently, I'm working on my 12th, so I don't have the time to read much anymore.

Thanks for the compliment, Dags. I appreciate it.  One book I think every writer should have is  The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. Best selling authors, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi cover everything between Adoration to Worry. They list physical expressions, internal sensations, mental responses, cues of long term and suppressed expressions of each emotion. I use the reference all the time. It isn't just for facial expression but includes the whole body's reaction.

Sherry,
Some reviewers only review first chapters. I do that a lot. Mainly because no matter how good the writer, the story might not be a genre I like, so I don't want to commit. I usually tell those authors NOT to read my work because I can't promise to keep reading theirs. Of course, if they do, then I keep reading theirs because guilt gets the best of me! When I first joined the site, back in the dark ages, I read as many as 35 novels at one time. That was before I had any books published. Once you publish, you spend a lot of time marketing, blogging, on social media, doing book events, and in some cases, like mine, speaking.
It seems members just don't have the time they used to have. When I posted a story, I'd start with maybe 20-25 reviews of the first chapter. By chapter 4, that amount would dwindle to maybe 15. Then by chapter 10, I'd have maybe 6-8 regular readers who'd stay with the book until the end. If you get that many, then that's about normal.
For me, it isn't the point incentive. Like so many others who have been members a while, I have more points than I'll ever use. It's simply that new members join all the time and some of us older folks like to help them out by reading their work. It's a time constraint. It isn't anything you are doing wrong.
Heck, if you can get just a few good reviewers, then you're in good shape. In addition to being a member here, I also belong to a local group where I read my work and get critique. I suggest you do that if you have a group in your area.
Also, some of us are slow to read. So you may still get readers who started your story to come back later. Sometimes, like you say, life gets in the way, and we have to neglect the site for a while.
Hang in there. ~Ann

Thank goodness I never let anyone read the first thing I wrote!! I should probably destroy it before I die so none of my relatives find it!!

BIG congratulations to all the winners!!

Welcome, Karen.
Ditto to everything Marilyn said!!
~Ann

Hello.
Later today I will review your short story. I agree with Marilyn. You need to post your work so readers can get points for their efforts. Like Marilyn, I have more points than I'll ever use, so I read regardless. But...most members need the points to post their work.

Welcome to the site. I hope you like it here.
~Ann

Thanks to all for such kind remarks!
And, BIG Texas thanks to Randy for sharing his book with my readers.