Bones fans are better than this! Don't you think?
I'm in the process of replying to reviews for my new fic and came across something that really makes me sad...
A girl wrote reviews to several of my fics on FF.net, so rather than replying to each one separately, I decided to PM her a general thank you. I'm nosey, so I was reading her profile and in it, she says that she really likes to write (and has written several Bones fics). She didn't say specifically how old she is, just that she's very young. Her profile goes on to say that she's not writing much anymore because someone left her a nasty review, telling her that her grammar sucks and that she needs to find a beta reader.
Now, I haven't read any of her fics, so they could quite possibly be terrible for all I know. I just think it's unnecessary to leave someone a review like that. If you have an honest, constructive criticism, there are ways to tell a person tactfully. And there is no reason to leave a nasty comment on a public forum, when sending a PM is just as easy. We're all self-conscious about our own writing... whether we like to admit it or not. There are some amazing writers out there in the fandom, just as there are some less-than-amazing writers, and it can be quite intimidating to open yourself up to potential criticism. We all hope we're in the "good" category, but fear we're in the "bad."
I come from the school of "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I understand this can be very hard to do at times, but I try to keep in mind that fanfiction is for fun! We're not spending our hard-earned money at Barnes & Noble buying fanfic, so reading the occasional bad!fic isn't hurting anyone. What can actually hurt someone is leaving a nasty review! All I'm asking is for everybody to please keep this in mind. We have no way of knowing who's on the receiving end of such a review.
*Steps down off soapbox*
A girl wrote reviews to several of my fics on FF.net, so rather than replying to each one separately, I decided to PM her a general thank you. I'm nosey, so I was reading her profile and in it, she says that she really likes to write (and has written several Bones fics). She didn't say specifically how old she is, just that she's very young. Her profile goes on to say that she's not writing much anymore because someone left her a nasty review, telling her that her grammar sucks and that she needs to find a beta reader.
Now, I haven't read any of her fics, so they could quite possibly be terrible for all I know. I just think it's unnecessary to leave someone a review like that. If you have an honest, constructive criticism, there are ways to tell a person tactfully. And there is no reason to leave a nasty comment on a public forum, when sending a PM is just as easy. We're all self-conscious about our own writing... whether we like to admit it or not. There are some amazing writers out there in the fandom, just as there are some less-than-amazing writers, and it can be quite intimidating to open yourself up to potential criticism. We all hope we're in the "good" category, but fear we're in the "bad."
I come from the school of "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I understand this can be very hard to do at times, but I try to keep in mind that fanfiction is for fun! We're not spending our hard-earned money at Barnes & Noble buying fanfic, so reading the occasional bad!fic isn't hurting anyone. What can actually hurt someone is leaving a nasty review! All I'm asking is for everybody to please keep this in mind. We have no way of knowing who's on the receiving end of such a review.
*Steps down off soapbox*