My Two Cents

I’m going to sound like a completely blasé broken record here but I need to get something off my chest. As a writer who has been around for a fair while – going through the hassles and writers block and creative droughts and triumphs that it seems all authors go through – it seems that there’s this new custom around fanfiction which seems to have gotten out of hand. Writers pour so much of their time and effort and souls into creating and working on a story and readers just expect to be given a chapter with the snap of their fingers even if they don’t plan on giving the writer anything in return.

Unfortunately; reading and writing are both two way streets and both have to, without question, be walked. Years ago like many people will state – there was an unspoken rule along the lines of ‘if you read and enjoyed a story or piece which had been written; or even if you didn’t and thought the writer would improve it someway; you commented or at least reviewed it. Readers would take 30 seconds of their own time to tell or let an author know who had spent anywhere between a few hours to weeks writing a chapter. Even if the comment was as short and as small as ‘I can’t wait to see what happens next; good job!” or something longer which flowed for more than a single sentence.

Authors – fanfiction based or otherwise, spend so much of their time on stories; they become completely invested in them, they become proud of what they’ve created and of course because of this they want to share it with the world that’s out there. Just take a moment to think about how they feel about what they’ve created. They’d want to – just like anyone else, get feedback from others to see how the world views and thinks and feels for their hard work – right? The answer is YES! A huge freaking yes!

When you read a story and don’t review it or give a comment or even rate or subscribe negative feelings and messages are being sent the authors way. They start to think and believe that they aren’t worth your time and that no one at all has enjoyed the hard work they’ve slaved over. Yes – they may choose to continue it for their own enjoyment – but the chances of you seeing another chapter are slim because like most; readers couldn’t be bothered to take a bit of time out and comment about how they felt or didn’t feel.

A lot of people say that reviews and comments and rates and subscribes don’t matter but they do! People say you should write for yourself but after a while that gets disheartening because as social individuals – we crave acceptance and assistance. Reviews, rates and subscriptions can make or break a piece of writing. Everything mentioned pretty much tells authors, writers, drabblers, scribblers etc whether or not they should continue with the idea they’ve become invested with. It tells them that they have support with the creative ideas they’ve got flowing through their veins. It tells them whether or not they should keep the file saved on their computers or just delete it all together and not share it with the world.

The manner and approach that reviews, rates, comments and subscriptions don’t matter needs to be adjusted. Start telling the people who post their hard work if you like their stores – tell them how you feel, tell them what you don’t like, how they could improve and be supportive just the way you would expect if you had something posted of your own. If you and I and everyone else continues to be invisible – we shouldn’t be surprised when the writers and their stories start to vanish and disappear.

I couldn't have said it better myself, especially on this sight I've come across so many great stories that disappear after a few chapters, it's really sad.

@sugarcube.
I completely agree. I wish my first account hadn't been hacked and that i could still continue writing off that (but you know - shit happens) but it seems that any new writer on here just gets pushed to the side without a care in the world for their talents, integrity, creativity etc.

@mspippa
Honestly I completely disagree with this. I will NOT continue reading a story if I see anything telling me to comment, rate, or subscribe. I'll reply to questions in the author's notes but otherwise I don't care for any of that. And I don't expect anybody who's read what I've done to comment, rate, or subscribe. If I have views, cool. If I have comments, cooler. But I don't write to please anybody so why should I order my readers to tell me how much they do or don't like my creations?

I started fan fiction as a hobby, and like my other hobbies, I don't mind sharing it with certain people. But fan fiction is never something I'd take as seriously as art or theatre when it comes to critiquing. I save that for my actual writing. I imagine most people who write fan fiction are just dicking around, kind of doodling or playing Mary Had a Little Lamb on a guitar. Sure your doodle can be good but it's not what you're putting in your art show. Thus I really don't care and truly I feel it's selfish to just expect that.

I mean I get what you're saying, trust me. It is always helpful when someone reads your story and says "I like this but that could be better" or guesses where it's going to go because then you can gauge how cliche it is or isn't. But personally it's just not something I'm into.

But like they say.....opinions are like butts :D everyone has one lol

@Call_Me_Godot
That's your own opinion and I completely respect that - but you may be one of the very, very few in the fandom-writing world who is like this. As a majority; most writers need some kind of push and inspiration from readers - otherwise for them there's no reason to continue.

It's not that people should be 'ordered' to do anything - readers should take the opportunity to let authors know how they feel if they wish to do so. Most of this world is give a little, take a little and I think this works wonders for writing.

@mspippa
Well like I said, it IS helpful. I've been inspired to write things just to mess with readers. They get excited about happy things and when I get bored I decide "let's take this a different route." So it does make the process and plot more interesting. Maybe I just disagree with the phrasing. I kind of understood what you said as "if we write, will you PLEASE JUST COMMENT."

And maybe I've just formed that idea because I initially started writing in a long dead site that didn't even give you the option to comment :O so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me

@mspippa
I agree and disagree.

It's almost a cold hard truth that all writers crave and seek some kind of positive feedback for what they've written. It's only logic; I mean people put a hell of a lot of time into creating something - if they weren't to get any kind of acknowledgement back for it, I could just imagine the disappointment they'd feel.

At the same time though I don't think anyone should be forced to respond. Yes the option should be there and yes, from time to time people should give some kind of action to show they are interested or like what's happening (or not - if they're that way inclined).

In my person case though - everything i write no one bothers reading either way so it goes up and comes down in the blink of an eye. Eh - each to their own.

Feedback is crucial and unless you are one of the lucky few who really don't need any kind of response you will struggle, when people just don't review.

I can only speak for myself, one of my stories has a total of nine comments from readers, the story is 13 chapters long and apart from the prologue the chapter length is between 6k and 8k.
I am not a native speaker and this story needs research, so one chapter equals around 10h - 16h of work, depending the content. So imagine you spend 16h on a chapter, that would be two full days pay-wise and then no one says anything. Wouldn't you be disheartened?

By uploading these stories online, we are looking for an audience. We are offering them whole worlds for free, all we ask for is that they vote for the story and maybe leave us a line or two when they enjoy something - that really isn't too much to ask.

I guess it really depends on why you publish something. I do take my writing very serious, some stories more than others, so feedback is crucial, especially since I am a none native speaker. Sharing my world with other's is daunting and when I don't get feedback, I automatically assume that everything was awful.

There is a saying in latin, "Qui tacet, consentire videtur" which means -> he who is silent is understood to consent. If I upload something and all I get from my readers is silence, I will automatically assume that my story is bad. That I should stop writing. So by not saying anything, they proactively made me doubt myself so much that I want to leave. This is also due to my anxiety, something none of my readers is responsible for.

I am just amazed at the current culture. Not only does no one wants to pay, now people won't even give you a single minute of your time, after you've worked for hours to create something. Makes me sad....

@Call_Me_Godot
Thats a really good way of looking at things!


@cocopops
Thankyou for yourself two cents! I'm glad people and other writers are all aware of this. It makes things a lot easier when it comes to understanding where everyone stands and how everyone feels.

@Escapist
You honestly could not have put this better!

@sailorscouts.
AMEN SISTER!!!