On Authors, Readers, Feedback and Reviews

[Tomas]

I saw that one of the authors has posted a poll about his stories in order to find out if he is just wasting his time and maybe he should just stop adding anymore to the stories because no one has given him any feedback or reviews. One of the authors over on another site has remarked that the person that responded to one of his stories was the only one reading his story.

 

In the first instance, the author may be a relatively new author, I really don't know. He does have two stories with multiple chapters each, but to be honest I haven't read or checked out either of them simply because I didn't know that they existed. But I have put one of his stories on my list to at least check out. Who knows... might be missing out on a good read.

 

In the second instance, the author is an established (for want of a better word) author with a following. I'm sure that others do what I do when I log on to any of the story sites that I frequent and that is to check and see of there are any new chapters to stories that I'm following or to see if there is perhaps a new story by that author.

 

It has been said, and often repeated, that unlike authors that publish and sell in the 'dead tree world' or now in the 'e-book world', the only compensation that most, if not all, online authors receive for their time and effort are the reviews or other feedback in the forums that are there for that purpose or in an e-mail. I'm sure that there is a bit of an ego boost involved for the author to know that someone or ones have taken the time to read something that they wrote. Some kind of response whether good, bad or indifferent is not an unreasonable expectation on the part of the author and I'm just as guilty of not always fulfilling that expectation as the next person. No excuses... sometimes just sheer lazyness, procastination...'I'll do it later after (insert event)', but the event comes and goes and like tomorrow, later never makes an appearance.

 

OK, having said all of the above I have some thoughts, none of which is an attempt on my part to justify not letting an author know that I have read what he has written. I make no excuses for my failures.

 

The enormous volume of stories that are available to be read can be overwhelming and sometimes outright intimidating and 'separating the wheat from the chaff' can be a daunting task. But there are any number of sites to help with that task. As with anything, some sites are excellent, some are very good and of course... not naming a particular site, but trying to find quality there is like wading through a swamp full of alligators looking for that one hidden gem that makes the effort worthwhile, but that sites' one saving grace is that it does serve a useful purpose.

 

At times, even on the most excellent and very good story sites, a story by an author that is well known at that site can get, shall we say inadvertently misplaced and maybe never gets or is hardly read. Imagine the plight of and how discouraging it must be for a relatively new author trying to get some small recognition for his or her story only to find that it may never have been read because no one knew that it existed. The author might well be a regular fixture on the site, but no one may know that he/she has posted a story let alone one with multiple chapters. Kind of makes an augument for frequent 'shameless self promotion'.

 

Besides the sheer volume, time is another major factor why some stories and new chapters don't get read or read as rapidly as the author may wish. As much as one may wish it, with taking care of the necessities of life out in the world, whether it be work or school preparing for some kind of future, or taking care of family, try as one might, there just isn't always enough time to keep up with new stories or even updates to ones favorite stories. That is especially true of those authors who have the ability to turn out new chapters to multiple stories in, what seems to be, a blink of an eye.

 

I have read comments and remarks by some authors that they write because 'they enjoy writing and write for their own pleasure', and they only publish their writings on the web so that maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere might read something they've written and enjoy it. It seems that when ever the subject of reading, feedback and reviews come up it is many of these self same authors that are moaning and bitching, whining and crying, about no readers or no feedback or no reviews and are threatening to not continue with the story. Then I wonder... why, if that authors motivation for writing is because they derive enjoyment from the writing and they do it for their own pleasure, does it make make any different if it gets read or there is feedback or reviews and why the threats to not continue. Oh, by the way! Those are rhetorical thoughts and are not looking for, nor do they require response, but if you must, you must. It'll not make a lot of difference in the greater scheme of things one way or the other.

 

That last paragraph is not about the 'reasonable expectations' of any and all of the authors, which all the authors do deserve, talked about above, but about the apparent dishonesty in declaring that they write for themselves and their own enjoyment and pleasure and, maybe not explicitly stated but certainly implied, that no response is necessary, then making an issue about not receiving any.

 

Anyway, I'm sure that I could ramble on and on about any number of things, but it's getting late and it has been a rather long day and there is no need for this to get any longer than it already is. If any here feels offended by what I've said, I apologize it was not my intention to offend anyone. What I said was only my thoughts and my opinions and as such are only important to myself.

 

Take Care

Tomas

 

[AnytaSunday]

I honestly don't know what you're looking for in response to this, but I'll share a quick thought:

 

Yes, getting reviews and responses from one's readership is extremely encouraging to an author that puts in a lot of time to create a story to post online for free.

 

Personally, I think if you want to be reviewed, there is an element of 'tit for tat'. That is, if an author writes reviews highlighting what they did like/what could be more improved on, it is LIKELY that their name will be seen more in reviews and other people will check out their stories in response. Of course, it can never be 100% tit for tat--because there just isn't enough time in the day to keep things even. Still, putting yourself out there by doing what you wish to be done for yourself will help to boost up the author's reviews.

 

Why do I put my stories up? I've never claimed writing is just for me. I WANT people to read and more than that, I want people to like what I wrote. HOWEVER, I am fully aware that writing is a process--there is so much to the craft and it takes years to hone those skills. Why I appreciate people's reviews/constructive criticism, is that it helps me to develop myself as a writer--but also at the same time encourages one not to give up.

 

Having beta-readers and editors will only help with a story being seen too, as quite often a good crit partner will promote the other's writing too.

 

Also, open up a discussion thread. Show that you're interested in what happens with this story, try and engage with the readers. That will help too.

 

Um, yeah. But my note to all beginning authors: Don't give up. It can be hell hard writing--but if you keep working at it and allow yourself to be open to learn--you're more likely to get there.

[TalonRider]

Having beta-readers and editors will only help with a story being seen too, as quite often a good crit partner will promote the other's writing too.

 

Also, open up a discussion thread. Show that you're interested in what happens with this story, try and engage with the readers. That will help too.

These are just a couple of the things that the Writers Support Team (WST) look at when considering someone for advancement to Promising Author or Hosted Author. So it's important for an author to interact with their readers.

 

I think what Tomas is trying so is, if you want to get you and your stories noticed, then you need to get out there and promote them.

 

There is also the exception. I work with an author who doesn't reply often to topics about his story. He sits back and lets the readers discuss it without his interference. And since most of the discussion has taken place at my own site, if he does need to say something, I post it for him. He does answer any emails he receives.

[Cia]

I love feedback as much as the next person. Is lack of feedback going to stop me from writing or posting? No. Will it maybe make me slow down a bit if I'm not as in love with the story to work on something else? Sure, sometimes. For me, writing is a hobby. It's fun, sure, but if I get all stressed about it that element of fun is gone and then why would I want to do it?

 

Everytime I encounter a new author on GA and have a conversation with them I say, promote yourself. Post your chapter update in your status update, in a discussion forum, talk to people on-site, interact, review for others, get a beta reader, become a beta reader, any or all of the options above. Another good way to get feedback on a project if you aren't sure if you want to post is the Sneak Peeks area. When you get feedback, respond, respond, respond! Read the Writer's Corner topics on writing, improve, learn, pass on tips and knowledge you have. In other words, just BE here. The more you put into something the more you get out of it.

 

I know some of the authors I have spoken to have passed this information on and that's great. I try to do at least 5 reviews a week, if not more. That's not a lot but then again I sometimes have a lot to do on GA other than getting to read (which I sometimes whine about) but every little bit helps. Often you can look at those authors who are wanting to remove stories or stop posting and see they aren't doing those things at all. As Tomas said, if we don't know the stories or author is there what do they expect? Squeaky wheel gets the grease, after all.

 

 

[rustle]

Someone on this site challenges us to write a review for each story we read. That's a lofty goal. I'm not there, but have tried to leave a few, and email the authors in some cases. A word of thanks or encouragement goes a long way; a thoughtful critique or analysis in some depth for something really good isn't much to do for someone who has provided you with a bit of entertainment, or perhaps had an impact on you.

 

It impresses me that so many of the authors reply, and only encourages me to comment on their work more, and to read more attentively. Some day, I hope to live up to that challenge.

[Marzipan]

The interaction between authors and author and readers is simply fun to me. I love to read and write and socialize with people. So that makes GA perfect place for me.

 

The down side is, that a one person can only do so much. I wanna read all from everyone and I just can't do that.

 

I like to read stories from people I see friendly and supportive, and I wanna give something back to the community too. I beta and I have betas. I promote others rather than myself, I still am shy about promoting myself. I don't need to forse myself to talk about my story, nope, I love it, but having to ask people to read is something I don't do quite often. I hope others are interested in my stories as they get to know me. That is my basic tactic in selfpromoting - hate the word.

 

I think it is important that this discussion is an ongoing one, it opens the eyes of all participants and maybe gives ideas on how to use what you've got in GA world.

 

Thanks for the thread!

[Graeme]

From personal experience and from comments from other authors, the more established you become as an author, the LESS feedback you get There are going to be exceptions to this, but since I've had a few authors mention it at various times, it seems fairly consistent.

 

So, getting less feedback as time goes by is not necessarily an indication that there are less readers.

 

As for the 'writing to please oneself', I do know that there are authors that do that. I'm not one of them myself, though I enjoy the job of writing when I can do it, but we're all different and there are legitimately authors who fit into that category.

 

For the ones who write for others, there's quite a spectrum in what level of feedback they 'require'. Some authors are looking for a lot of feedback. Others are happy just to have a story out there to be read, without needing to know who is reading and how many (these tend to be more experienced authors - I think all first time authors want to know that people are reading what they wrote I know I did ).

 

I have personally suggested to some authors that, from time to time, they explicitly ask the readers for feedback. You don't want to do that on every chapter of every story, but if they ask from time to time they'll generally get comments from the readers. They just have to word the request in such a way that it encourages the readers to respond.

 

The interaction between authors and readers can be complex and there are a lot of permutations and combinations. There's no one pattern that fits all cases and all personalities. I don't have a problem with an author asking if anyone is reading there story, even if it's an experienced and well-respected author. Established authors are human too, with human frailties including anxiety about whether what they're writing is crap. I believe the more experienced an author is the less they have that anxiety, but I can assure you that most, if not all, of them will still have it.

[Adam Phillips]

Intriguing thread.

 

I'm writing to please myself, or, more accurately, I should say that I began writing Crosscurrents as an exercise in self-therapy. But I first posted it hoping that there would be readers out there who could relate to the theme. I've been more than gratified over the years that this has been amply the case.

 

It's a problem for me that there are so many stories here! One of my closest online friends is also a Hosted Author, and in the early days of his writing, he sent me drafts asking for some feedback. I gave it, usually at length and ad nauseam. Be careful what you ask for. But he's become so damn prolific--he seems to ship an entire new novel every nine days--that I've lost the ability to stay current. And that's with a guy who's one of my closest online friends. Not to worry; he gets more than his share of acclaim, don'tcha, Mark? But there are so many stories here I want to get to, and just haven't been able to. There are a lot of books in print I want to read, too, and never seem to have time to get to. And that's even considering that I usually have at least three reads of some sort going at the same time.

 

What I'm trying to say is that I sympathize with readers who are overwhelmed at the thought of leaving feedback to all the authors they read, and I sympathize with authors who want feedback and don't get it. And I guess what I'd like to say additionally is that readers don't have have to respond to every single thing they read...but maybe as a nod toward compensating people who provide them with free entertainment, it would be good if readers would commit themselves to a small number of reviews/responses per month and just plug away at giving those reponses. Don't make it an all-or-nothing thing.

 

And authors could do all the things mentioned in the previous posts to get people to see their stuff.

 

And someday I'll get back to your Cramptonworld saga, Mark. I promise. But would you please quit writing for a while?

[Mark Arbour]

Intriguing thread.

 

I'm writing to please myself, or, more accurately, I should say that I began writing Crosscurrents as an exercise in self-therapy. But I first posted it hoping that there would be readers out there who could relate to the theme. I've been more than gratified over the years that this has been amply the case.

 

It's a problem for me that there are so many stories here! One of my closest online friends is also a Hosted Author, and in the early days of his writing, he sent me drafts asking for some feedback. I gave it, usually at length and ad nauseam. Be careful what you ask for. But he's become so damn prolific--he seems to ship an entire new novel every nine days--that I've lost the ability to stay current. And that's with a guy who's one of my closest online friends. Not to worry; he gets more than his share of acclaim, don'tcha, Mark? But there are so many stories here I want to get to, and just haven't been able to. There are a lot of books in print I want to read, too, and never seem to have time to get to. And that's even considering that I usually have at least three reads of some sort going at the same time.

 

What I'm trying to say is that I sympathize with readers who are overwhelmed at the thought of leaving feedback to all the authors they read, and I sympathize with authors who want feedback and don't get it. And I guess what I'd like to say additionally is that readers don't have have to respond to every single thing they read...but maybe as a nod toward compensating people who provide them with free entertainment, it would be good if readers would commit themselves to a small number of reviews/responses per month and just plug away at giving those reponses. Don't make it an all-or-nothing thing.

 

And authors could do all the things mentioned in the previous posts to get people to see their stuff.

 

And someday I'll get back to your Cramptonworld saga, Mark. I promise. But would you please quit writing for a while?

 

Great comments. I find it hard to find the time to read and write at the pace I want to. Usually the writing part wins (in case you didn't notice).

 

I'll let my readers know that I'm going on a sabbatical and it's all your fault.

[Hamen Cheese]

I missed the old days where I could virtually read every single new chapter posted in efiction and leave reviews. It wasn't necessarily to get reviews or readers for my story (in fact only 1-3 people ever left reviews when I started lol - hello Nephy). But I knew that SEEING someone leave a review your story can be a huge boost to write your story so in a way I wanted to return the favor for other new authors. I have no proof for this whatsoever but I have a feeling that most people here write to be read, you know? If they don't see any evidence that their stuff is being read... well, we can't expect his/her writing to continue for very long.

 

I think just as authors can get busy, so can readers. I know I don't have as much time to read now than I did before and I wish I could leave a review for each new update posted in GA Stories.