Why so few comments?

[Asso]

Why so few comments?
Just a little thought: I love this site because here I can find the stories that I love.
But I think writers would like to have some feed-back.
I have not seen many lately.
I do not think it's right.
I think it can be daunting.

[Silverbullet]

Asso is correct. I believe Alelou once said that feedback is the life's Blood of a writer. it is. Only way a writer knows if what he is writing has an audience. If he is in the right Genre. If the writer should hang it up.

On this board most of those who read the storiesare Guests and they very rarely leave a comment. On occcasion, yes but mostly not. So, if the board members do not read another members writing what does tht writer have togo on. FF Net one gets readers from around the world but unless one has been writing for a fairly long time, no fan base. Some have a large following and get lots of reviews. That is good. Others don't get but a very few. Not so good. Of course there are some who will list one of a persons stories in their favorite story list or even list the wirter in their favorite author list. Again rare for most.

I try to read every story put up by members of the board. Not alway ssuccessful. Some are simply too long and my eyes can't take that much reading at a time and doing it in chunks means a couple weeks can go by before I can finish the story. I will have lost the plot in my mind by then.

Anyway, yes feedback, please

SB

[Aikiweezie]

You are right, gentlemen. I am so far behind. I'll try to catch up on reading and reviewing asap.

[Cogito]

I've been working all the hours there are and haven't found time to comment on any stories recently. Isn't it funny, though, that I somehow found time to read them?

Adding to my problem, I've been lazy and got into the habit of putting the tab to one side after I read a story and thinking 'must comment on that as soon as I get a minute'. And Firefox has been dutifully reopening all my old tabs for me to remind me which stories I wanted to comment on. Until today, when it threw a hissy fit and forgot every single thing I ever told it - bookmarks, cookies, sessions, the lot. Damn. You mean I actually have to remember all this stuff myself?

[Asso]

Cogito, if there is someone to whom certainly nothing can be said, this is you. Your name is always present among the commentators.
And they are always intelligent and pleasant comments, even when they seem to express a possible disagreement with the story.

[Silverbullet]

Cogito, Asso is right. Your name is always among those commenting. Your comments are kind, intelligent and helpful. I look forward to them.

SB

[putaro]

Cogito does write good reviews. I write lousy reviews and feel inadequate after reading his and then procrastinate on writing reviews. So it's all Cogito's fault!

A few things:

I've been reading more at FF so this may not apply as much here for technical reasons.

A little reply to the reviewer helps encourage them to continue reviewing. I wonder sometimes if there's anyone reading the reviews I write (it's a ridiculous circle, isn't it?). When I get reviews, I try to respond back at about the same level as the review is written. If someone writes "I liked it", I write back "Thank you!". If there's a more in-depth review I will usually write something more in-depth back. There have been some of the more established writers at FF who get tons of reviews and when I write a review for them, I get nothing back. So, I figure, they don't really need any more reviews. On the other hand, some authors are always gracious - Alelou for example ALWAYS writes something back. I don't know if replying is possible/easy here.

Write 'em if you want 'em? It's not a tit-for-tat thing but I'm certainly more likely to write a review for an author who's reviewed my stuff. Maybe all the review action is happening here and people are just dumping things over at FF and ignoring what's being published there.

Suck it up? According to my stats over at FF there's about 400 people reading what I'm writing and I get 2-4 reviews per chapter. Either the stats are way off or writing reviews is pretty damn rare or my stuff really sucks. I figure I'm writing for me and reviews are a bonus ( a big bonus, and very much appreciated).

[Silverbullet]

Putaro, I would say you are doing quite well. 2-4 reviews per chapter. Much better than me. Most reveiws I ever got was five for one story. 99 percent get no review sat all. Stand tall you are doing very well.

SB

[putaro]

I wonder if having something like a "Like" button would encourage more feedback. Not as good as a review but a lot easier for people. I hesitate to recommend a rating button (like pick 1-10). I think if I got a bunch of 1's I'd feel lousy and some people are mean-spirited enough to go through an archive and rate everything as a 1.

[Cogito]

I wonder if having something like a "Like" button would encourage more feedback. Not as good as a review but a lot easier for people. I hesitate to recommend a rating button (like pick 1-10). I think if I got a bunch of 1's I'd feel lousy and some people are mean-spirited enough to go through an archive and rate everything as a 1.

I guess you mean a 'thumbs up' button on its own - no corresponding 'thumbs down' button. A way for a reader to say 'I read this and I liked it' without having to go through all that awkward business of typing whole words in and then figuring out the captcha. I like that idea. If it was available now, your suggestion would get a 'thumbs up'.

[panyasan]

According to my stats over at FF there's about 400 people reading what I'm writing and I get 2-4 reviews per chapter. Either the stats are way off or writing reviews is pretty damn rare or my stuff really sucks. I figure I'm writing for me and reviews are a bonus ( a big bonus, and very much appreciated).

400 people is a lot of people! That's great, Putaro!

I think most people read my stuff at TRIS and mostly I get around 5 reviews or more, depending on the story. When I get a review at FFnet, I answer them. At TRIS I mostly write a general reply, commenting on what the reviewers have said.

The reviews are a big bonus for me, an encouragement to keep on writing. It is nice to know your work is read and hopefully enjoyed and reviews also help me to improve my writing. (So go ahead and review my stories!! )

On a side note: one of the plus sides of FFnet is that after you posted it, you can change the text yourself. When I noticed a misspelling or something else in my text - I want to change it! Down side is you don't have an admin who can prevent you for posting something really bad.

[Asso]

It seems to me that there are some excellent suggestions here.
I wonder if it's possible to make sure that they are applicable.

[Cogito]

When I noticed a misspelling or something else in my text - I want to change it!

Yes, that would be a big plus for me too. Of course I've only written one small 'missing scene' but I regret publishing it the same day I wrote it - I was just so excited to have written something that I couldn't wait. Almost as soon as it was up, I noticed a couple of typos and bits that I wanted to rephrase. The copy at FanFiction.net started off identical but I was able to fix these niggles as I saw them.

[Transwarp]

I regret publishing it the same day I wrote it - I was just so excited to have written something that I couldn't wait. Almost as soon as it was up, I noticed a couple of typos and bits that I wanted to rephrase.

Trust me, waiting longer doesn't help either. There seems to be a whole class of typos and errors that remain completely invisible until you post. No matter how many times you proofread, and no matter how many sets of eyes are looking at it, you will not catch them.

Then you post the story, and >poof!< the typos leap right off the page at you. It's the darnedest thing, really.

[putaro]

Then you post the story, and >poof!< the typos leap right off the page at you. It's the darnedest thing, really.

It is truly remarkable, isn't it? I have the same problem.

I also love when Word's grammar checker starts suggesting ungrammatical changes (it is challenged with their/there among other things). I wonder how much of the bad grammar we see is actually a result of people following its advice.

Does anyone have any ways to get more reviews that works? Asking people to review doesn't seem to have any affect . Is it just a numbers game and we should be happy if 1% of the readers review?