Commenting on Fic
I think it’s time for a meta post again. It seems, the discussion about commenting on has died down. Which means, it’s time for me to add my two cents, because I always come late to the party. Actually, I’ve wanted to make a post about leaving feedback for a while now, but never got around to it.
I’m making this post as a reader, not as an author of fanfiction. I always try to be a good reviewer. I generally don’t care whether the story is ten years old, whether the author has moved on, whether I know or don’t know the author. My general rule is always: Leave a comment, even if it’s short. That means, I’m leaving a lot of feedback. And would it surprise you to learn that sometimes, leaving feedback isn’t all that easy? I mean, technically?
I think a lot of authors don’t even think about how their journals or their fic looks to an outsider - or to a random passer-by. They post their story, they know there’s a reply-button somewhere and they expect readers to comment. But, it isn’t all that easy. If you want strangers to talk to you, you should at least make things as easy and accessable as possible for them.
1. Make reviewing easy.
This seems like a no-brainer. Most authors crave feedback, but at the same time they’re putting up a lot of barriers - sometimes without realizing it.
If you have your own website and you put your fic on a static html-page, please add a way for readers to leave feedback. Link to your LJ post, add your email address or a contact form. Something!
If you are posting to archives, check whether they allow anonymous reviews. Check whether users can allow or forbid anonymous comments. Don’t force readers to do tasks first before they can review: things like friending or signing up somewhere. Personally, I hate to be cajoled into doing things in order to be able to do other things.
If you are posting fic to your journal, open it up! I’ve had it happen that I wanted to comment on a story on DW and couldn’t, because the poster only allowed other DW users to comment. Because I really liked the story, I hunted down the author on LJ, commented on the story and let her know about the DW settings. Apparently, this was not a mistake - they still look like this in that particular journal. But you can bet that I won’t comment on this author’s stories again anytime soon - fic reviewing should be neither a chore nor a treasure hunt. So, if you use a journaling service, check your settings. If you don’t allow anonymous comments, have a moment and ponder whether that’s really necessary. The internet (and fandom) is much bigger than LJ or DW. Do you really want to shut out so many potential readers?
2. Make reviewers feel welcome.
I realize that this is possibly a personal pet peeve of mine, but I really like an author to reply to my review. In my opinion, it’s the polite thing to do. Especially when I review an author I don’t know. I generally have no problem browsing a total stranger’s journal and leave a comment, but when this is met with nothing but silence then even I will change my behaviour. I have stopped reviewing authors or stories when I was under the impression the author didn’t care for my thoughts.
ETA (March 22):
3. Don’t threaten your readers.
Yes, threaten. Because telling your readers you will only post the next chapter once you’ve gotten 10 reviews on the last one is threatening your readers. It is generally frowned upon. It will cause potential readers to click away from your story and never come back.
Conclusio:
As an author, you want something from your reader. Don’t make reviewing harder than it has to be. A lurker will certainly not delurk if he is met with the problem of “where is the review button anyway?”. A reader who just wanted to leave a quick “Loved it” will certainly not hunt you down through two journals and three archives just to leave that bit of feedback. That reader will probably simply go on to the next story.
Originally published at Unspoken. You can comment here or there.