replying to feedback

[eponine119]

As kind of a follow up to last week's inquiry into how you leave feedback, it seems fitting to also ask: how do you reply to feedback that's left for you

Comments

[thedorkygirl]

I still hate the LJ rule of responding to feedback! It's not an e-mail to the author, so I don't feel like it's personal enough. It's so easy to click feedback but e-mail takes time.

[eponine119]

I know you're old skool like me, so I appreciate your saying that. It does seem weird! Less and less so as time goes on, but it's just another of those things to wonder at in the evolution of the medium of fandom. I used to love the emails, because they do take time, but now they seem almost strange because they're so rare.

[mysticxf]

Depends on what the person left in response to their story. If someone just goes, "Hey man, nice one-shot!" there's really not much you can return with.

With my feedback, I like being talky. ;) Sometimes they have a question, so don't hold back answering because people LIKE you and they want to hear your answer, not the summary of it. Sometimes they compliment a specific thing I did and I might elaborate on why I made that choice. Sometimes they relate something back to the show I'm writing for and I might discuss how I feel about where the show went with a certain thing.

I don't think there's any real "how-to" on "talky feedback" except that you look for a cue and you run with it. As you get to know your readers better, it becomes a little easier. But I do think it matters. It's why stars who have more interaction with fans are loved more than stars who are very detatched from them. It gives the "fan" a feeling of appreciation for being a fan from the person they admire.

[eponine119]

You are definitely one of the chatty repliers who I find charming.

The interaction thing you bring up here is interesting. I don't think we can compare ourselves to celebrities, but at the same time I do feel like one of the lame ones who IS grateful but still just smiles thinly and waves or sends out pre-stamped autographed photos or something. To continue your metaphor.

[voleuse]

I don't really understand the "reply to feedback" rule. I try to, but usually the feedback is only one or two words anyway. I usually end up just replying "thanks" to everything, which feels silly.

[eponine119]

I understand it now, but I know what you mean. A long row of "liked it!" "Thanks" is a bit repetitive.

[isis2015]

I find I tend to babble. Like, I really want to say all these things about the writing process and things that nobody really cares about that really don't fit anywhere outside of the author's note, and god help you if you give me room to start talking about that because I will babble at you for paragraphs. It becomes like, a big, long, boring author's note. ;)

I don't think, though, that there's an appropriate way to respond to feedback anymore than there is to give feedback. It's about whatever feels right for you. A simple 'thanks' is always nice to hear.

[eponine119]

Long author's notes tend to turn me off. But a long author's note style feedback is fun, because it's more insight into a story I've already read and liked. (I like afterwords in books way more than introductions, too.)

I love the babble. Maybe I'm the only one, but I say embrace the babbling!

[fosfomifira]

It's funny because more often than not I don't know what to say. I'll say thanks, obviously, and I'll try to answer what questions might be, discuss any specific points the person mentioned, but mostly I ramble trying to sound as grateful as I feel.

[eponine119]

Huh. This is getting sort of interesting. There seems to be two kinds of people -- the ones who ramble because they don't know what to say, and the ones who just say "thanks!" because they don't know what to say.

No one knows what to say! :D