feedback, getting replies to
So, I was thinking. Actually, I was staring at my inbox and thinking.
It's like this: I don't really care very deeply if I get replies to the feedback I send. This stands as an intro and a disclaimer here. I mean, sure, if I write someone with a really detailed and specific comment and question, I might think for a while that it would be nice to hear back, but most of the time I tend to forget after a while where I sent stuff, and I mostly just say "Hey, really nice story" anyway. I don't normally keep track of who doesn't answer, and I don't resolve to never write them again. The only time I really send enough feedback over a short period of time that I notice anything about replies is the dwnoga-and-yuletide season (with dwnoga-and-yuletide standing for the whole slew of seasonal challenges).
Which was just recently, and actually I kind of looked at this last year as well, and now I'm curious enough to post about it, too. Last year, I got replies to about 25% of the feedback I sent. This year, I'm currently running at about 20%, with the caveat that it's only been a month so I might get up to 25% again. And I just find that interesting based on how I've seen bits of fandom talk about the concept of replying to feedback as something everyone should do and when someone doesn't it stands out. In my experience, it doesn't stand out at all.
Of course, it could just be me; I don't think I'm a statistical baseline, and it's quite possible people just don't want to reply to me. And as I said, I definitely don't keep track the rest of the year; maybe it's seasonal.
I want to make it clear that this is not an attempt to guilt anyone into replying to their feedback. Imagine that bit in flashing neon or something. I meant what I said up there. This post is not, for me, about writers.
But I'm really wondering now. If I stopped sending feedback to people who didn't reply, that would 1, apparently really cut down on the number of people I wrote more than once to and 2, probably require a spreadsheet so I could keep track. And that just seems like a lot of trouble. Do people really do that? And those who do, do they have a better fb reply ratio than I do or do they just keep moving on to new writers?
It's like this: I don't really care very deeply if I get replies to the feedback I send. This stands as an intro and a disclaimer here. I mean, sure, if I write someone with a really detailed and specific comment and question, I might think for a while that it would be nice to hear back, but most of the time I tend to forget after a while where I sent stuff, and I mostly just say "Hey, really nice story" anyway. I don't normally keep track of who doesn't answer, and I don't resolve to never write them again. The only time I really send enough feedback over a short period of time that I notice anything about replies is the dwnoga-and-yuletide season (with dwnoga-and-yuletide standing for the whole slew of seasonal challenges).
Which was just recently, and actually I kind of looked at this last year as well, and now I'm curious enough to post about it, too. Last year, I got replies to about 25% of the feedback I sent. This year, I'm currently running at about 20%, with the caveat that it's only been a month so I might get up to 25% again. And I just find that interesting based on how I've seen bits of fandom talk about the concept of replying to feedback as something everyone should do and when someone doesn't it stands out. In my experience, it doesn't stand out at all.
Of course, it could just be me; I don't think I'm a statistical baseline, and it's quite possible people just don't want to reply to me. And as I said, I definitely don't keep track the rest of the year; maybe it's seasonal.
I want to make it clear that this is not an attempt to guilt anyone into replying to their feedback. Imagine that bit in flashing neon or something. I meant what I said up there. This post is not, for me, about writers.
But I'm really wondering now. If I stopped sending feedback to people who didn't reply, that would 1, apparently really cut down on the number of people I wrote more than once to and 2, probably require a spreadsheet so I could keep track. And that just seems like a lot of trouble. Do people really do that? And those who do, do they have a better fb reply ratio than I do or do they just keep moving on to new writers?