Well said, tim!

I am totally with Puppilull. When I started reading here, I felt shy expressing my thoughts in a foreign language, wasn`t even sure, that it would be of interest. And review - as I understand the word - includes an opinion and kind of evaluation. But it dosen`t feels right to me to evaluate someones work, which he does out of passion in his leisure time. A comment is much more free of this. I am not writing in English, but have enough experiences writing and posting in my mother tongue, that I know, how important feedback is.

And it is nice to get in a discussion.

I am totally with Puppilull. When I started reading here, I felt shy expressing my thoughts in a foreign language, wasn`t even sure, that it would be of interest. And review - as I understand the word - includes an opinion and kind of evaluation. But it dosen`t feels right to me to evaluate someones work, which he does out of passion in his leisure time. A comment is much more free of this. I am not writing in English, but have enough experiences writing and posting in my mother tongue, that I know, how important feedback is.

And it is nice to get in a discussion.

You get your point across very well!!  I appreciate your comments and your blog. I think it's great. 

Like 1810, I read a lot of things I don't provide feedback on. I rarely write reviews these days though I will hit the like button if I like what I read.

 

My aversion to writing reviews has developed over time. I want to write reviews for those who appreciate honesty and that means sometimes I'll say less than complimentary things about a chapter or story. That doesn't sit well with many writers. Too many thin skins and fragile egos around. I've been trashed a couple of times for expressing my opinion. Everything from one author writing me a nasty review because they were upset I'd not liked something they wrote, to the reader of another one telling me to shut up because the author was doing a good enough job even if what had been posted was not accurate. And let's not forget those who resent being taught how to use proper grammar or spelling.

 

As artists we put ourselves out there when we create and if we can't handle people not liking our work sometimes then we shouldn't ask for feedback. I always keep in mind the old line about being careful what you ask for when I tell my readers reviews and comments are welcome.

i understand, C.  I don't like negative feedback, but you post stuff, you're going to get some from somebody. Any one who posts needs to realize that.

It's funny I remember talking to AC because I got so much good feedback, I was starting to doubt myself. I was starting to think people were just being nice to the poor ex-street kid. AC straightened me out though.  

And C, likes are great. And you know if I have issues with something you write, I'll let you know. And have zero doubts you'd do the same. 

I am totally with Puppilull. When I started reading here, I felt shy expressing my thoughts in a foreign language, wasn`t even sure, that it would be of interest. And review - as I understand the word - includes an opinion and kind of evaluation. But it dosen`t feels right to me to evaluate someones work, which he does out of passion in his leisure time. A comment is much more free of this. I am not writing in English, but have enough experiences writing and posting in my mother tongue, that I know, how important feedback is.

And it is nice to get in a discussion.

I feel much the same way the Lyssa and Puppilull do.

Although English is my first language and my background is in writing, I am no writer.

Leaving a "review" seemed pretentious.  Most of what I write is "comments."

I want to encourage the authors I read to keep writing, to keep sharing these people who live in their heads, their talents, with readers.

Being involved with forums, and reading some authors blogs, I've come to understand better how valuable my comments and likes are.  I'm lavish with the likes!  I'll leave comments every few chapters.

I also hope that having a "Comments" label, there will be more feedback from readers. 

I try hard to support authors. I spend many hours editing, am always willing to discuss things when one of "my" authors need a sounding board, hit like on 99% of what I read, and leave a short comment explaining why if I didn't hit like. But I don't leave real reviews. My friends here all know why. If you don't and would like to know, pm me. I do, however, leave emojies that best represent the feelings I have at the conclusion of a chapter. It has earned me the name of "Emoji Momma" from a favorite author. It made me smile, as I hope me emoji reviews make the author's smile.

I try hard to support authors. I spend many hours editing, am always willing to discuss things when one of "my" authors need a sounding board, hit like on 99% of what I read, and leave a short comment explaining why if I didn't hit like. But I don't leave real reviews. My friends here all know why. If you don't and would like to know, pm me. I do, however, leave emojies that best represent the feelings I have at the conclusion of a chapter. It has earned me the name of "Emoji Momma" from a favorite author. It made me smile, as I hope me emoji reviews make the author's smile.

Likes are unlimited and your thumb's up work for me. The point, to me, no matter what you leave, is that you left it. A smiley face, a  "loved it, thanks", or something longer they are all recognition, an acknowlegement. It's support and that's what we need. And frankly i'd say that editors need it too and deserve it even more!

Thanks Kitt aka Emoji Momma (love that)

As an author who publishes stories I'm interested in every comment and review, positive and negative. The likes are nice too. What this site lacks is any presentation of reader stats for it's writers, which is a shame.

I would love to see something done with the page clicks to work out readership figures. It's obvious the total views is meaningless, the only real indication of numbers of readers is the minimum views for any one chapter, likely to be the closest approximation to how many people read the book. Booksie.com does much better on presenting readership graphs, but they make their author's pay for the detail.

In the meantime using 'likes' to say I read it is maybe not a bad approach, but I kind of think 'likes' are really for saying 'I liked that chapter' and you can 'like' the whole book as well, without commenting or reviewing.

I think I would carrying on writing no matter the responses, but those comments do have a huge impact for me, far more than you might think, it's simply sooooo good to get an acknowledgement.

As Gary said, well said/written Timmie.

As a reader, i always like a chapter I've read, i do this because i do like the chapter and to let the author know i have read it. 

I do intend to leave comments/reviews, but i must admit to getting caught up and not always having time. Which is where the like button comes in handy  

As an author, i love reviews. Bad or good reviews tell me a lot. Is a story plot working? Have i forgotten to add Tim's edits? (that happens a lot ) Have Tim and I missed something? Where could i be doing better?

Do i like getting bad reviews? Of course not. But, as long as they are constructive and tell me where i am going wrong, i am always willing to listen and learn. 

Nice blog post Timmie  

Reading and writing reviews (or comments or forum posts) can also be good practice for authors. Expressing what I enjoyed about a chapter often makes me think about how I can improve my own writing with similar methods. Or I can show my appreciation of something I'll never be able to match, but that's OK, because at least I know we share the joy of telling a story and getting a response.

Reading and writing reviews (or comments or forum posts) can also be good practice for authors. Expressing what I enjoyed about a chapter often makes me think about how I can improve my own writing with similar methods. Or I can show my appreciation of something I'll never be able to match, but that's OK, because at least I know we share the joy of telling a story and getting a response.

Never thought of that, Tim! But you're right, of course ... great advice!