Authors, how do you reply to comments by readers?

[Aceinthehole]

On 1/3/2019 at 3:45 PM, droughtquake said:

As a reader, I feel ignored if the author has not either Reacted or Replied to Comments on their story. While I appreciate getting a Reply on every Comment I make, I can understand why an author might choose to ignore one or more Comments. I believe a minimum effort should be Reacting to Comments to show that they’ve been noticed and read.

 

I’m sure I offended one author because I recently had trouble believing early- to mid-teenagers (acting like middle aged men) with access to tens of thousands of dollars in disposable income buying expensive, exotic, esoteric audio equipment, but said author has not even Reacted to anyone’s Comments to the story!

It's great to hear from a readers perspective. I'll make sure to at least react from now on, but hopefully I'll start consistently replying as well.

[Aceinthehole]

6 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

Most readers know you are not going to answer many of their questions about who, what, when and why ... i just sort of deflect them gently...or say they'll know all very soon. They like to hear from us mainly, i think. I know i do when i am reading, I hate being ignored ... and have been and it's one way to ensure i think twice about reading again in the future. I think the story with most interaction for me was Changes ... it was posted after the changes to the website so you could reply more easily.  I like answering there in the comments, where the thoughts are fresh, so to speak, rather than moving to the forums. Most people don't seem too interested in forums now.

 

Deflecting gently sounds like a good strategy. I think I've made the mistake of trying to figure out how to answer all aspects of questions in the past. So I'll certainly be trying out this way of responding. 

[Mikiesboy]

2 minutes ago, Aceinthehole said:

 

Deflecting gently sounds like a good strategy. I think I've made the mistake of trying to figure out how to answer all aspects of questions in the past. So I'll certainly be trying out this way of responding. 

Nothing wrong with saying.. now Ace, you know i can't tell you..LOL..   but answers to that will be in chapter 2 .. hope to see you there!   Just be nice and friendly ... hope that helps.

 

And if your beta readers pop in with some that helps too! LOL

Edited January 5, 2019 by Mikiesboy

[Brayon]

5 minutes ago, Aceinthehole said:

It's nice you stand up for yourself when you need to in your comments. It's an unfortunate thing that needs to be done from time to time. But I do agree with trying to be positive as much as possible.  

 

P.S. I have money on the duo of Kucherov and Stamkos leading the NHL in points by the end of the year. So far I have a decent lead in front of my other friends in on the betting!

It is what it is, for all of us. We all get that one know-it-all who thinks things have to go their way. Kill them with kindness, is the best way to deal with them.

 

Stammer and Kuch are going to be really good, but Pointer was robbed. He should have been in over Stammer, now I just hope he wins the last man in, but most likely it'll go to Toronto or Boston.

[Aceinthehole]

1 minute ago, Mikiesboy said:

Nothing wrong with saying.. now Ace, you know i can't tell you..LOL..   but answers to that will be in chapter 2 .. hope to see you there!   Just be nice and friendly ... hope that helps.

Sounds great! Thank you for the help. It's appreciated!

[Aceinthehole]

Just now, BHopper2 said:

It is what it is, for all of us. We all get that one know-it-all who thinks things have to go their way. Kill them with kindness, is the best way to deal with them.

 

Stammer and Kuch are going to be really good, but Pointer was robbed. He should have been in over Stammer, now I just hope he wins the last man in, but most likely it'll go to Toronto or Boston.

 

I can't believe how good Point has been this season. You could probably build an all star team with lightening players! Hedman is certainly deserving as well. 

[Brayon]

3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

And if your beta readers pop in with some that helps too! LOL

[Brayon]

1 minute ago, Aceinthehole said:

I can't believe how good Point has been this season. You could probably build an all star team with lightening players! Hedman is certainly deserving as well. 

That was said last year when the All-Stars was here in Tampa. If it wasn't for the rule that each team has at least one player at the All-Stars, then only the Lightning would be featured in the Atlantic.

[Mikiesboy]

3 minutes ago, BHopper2 said:

Yeah, like that.

[Former Member]

2 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

Nothing wrong with saying.. now Ace, you know i can't tell you..LOL..   but answers to that will be in chapter 2 .. hope to see you there!   Just be nice and friendly ... hope that helps.

 

And if your beta readers pop in with some that helps too! LOL

And some authors answer part of the message while ignoring other parts. Sometimes because they don’t want to give anything away, other times because they don’t like what was said. In some cases, only quoting part of what was posted instead of the whole Comment.  ;–)

 

What’s especially off-putting is when one reader repeatedly attacks another because they don’t agree with the direction a character is heading. I had to block another reader because it was so tiresome. I don’t expect everyone to agree with what I say, but there is a limit to how far disagreements should be taken. People come here with different life histories which color how they view the actions of characters in stories. That will affect how they interpret the actions of a bad boyfriend, for example, and how much that bad boyfriend needs to do to redeem himself in order to be forgiven.

[Mikiesboy]

2 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

And some authors answer part of the message while ignoring other parts. Sometimes because they don’t want to give anything away, other times because they don’t like what was said. In some cases, only quoting part of what was posted instead of the whole Comment.  ;–)

 

What’s especially off-putting is when one reader repeatedly attacks another because they don’t agree with the direction a character is heading. I had to block another reader because it was so tiresome. I don’t expect everyone to agree with what I say, but there is a limit to how far disagreements should be taken. People come here with different life histories which color how they view the actions of characters in stories. That will affect how they interpret the actions of a bad boyfriend, for example, and how much that bad boyfriend needs to do to redeem himself in order to be forgiven.

I've received comments i don't like. I usually just thank the reader for his comments.

Yeah, each of us has own own opinions. How much we'd put up with or take. Personally, i read to see what will happen. If i dislike a character, i do, but it's part of the story ... there are nasty people in real life. Life is not all sweetness and light.  I read to discover the story ... i never expect an author to change their direction because i may not like something. After all, THAT is the story, and i didn't write it. 

[Dodger]

24 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

And some authors answer part of the message while ignoring other parts.

This is a very useful trick to use. I sometimes ignore direct questions which would spoil the plot if I were to answer, and focus on another part of the comment instead. I try to keep people guessing as much as possible and even throw in a few red-herrings here and there. It's not always easy to think of clever replies to comments, but it can be a great way of keeping readers interested in your story.

[Former Member]

1 minute ago, Dodger said:

This is a very useful trick to use. I sometimes ignore direct questions which would spoil the plot if I were to answer, and focus on another part of the comment instead. I try to keep people guessing as much as possible and even throw in a few red-herrings here and there. It's not always easy to think of clever replies to comments, but it can be a great way of keeping readers interested in your story.

Especially when readers keep bringing up obscure throw-away characters from early in a very long story? Like the Retired Social Worker™ that we badgered you into bringing back? Was he going to be just a red herring?  ;–)

[Dodger]

2 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Especially when readers keep bringing up obscure throw-away characters from early in a very long story? Like the Retired Social Worker™ that we badgered you into bringing back? Was he going to be just a red herring?  ;–)

Certainly not a red-herring but I was surprised by his popularity. Others may not know what we're talking about, but this is a good example of how useful comments can be in this type of story.

[Thorn Wilde]

In an earlier draft of Nemesis that I posted to a different site before coming here, I killed off a character by suicide. A reader reacted to this. They sent me a PM where they explained to me why they thought the choice was melodramatic and pointless. I listened, and when I wrote the final draft, I changed it. Glad I did. I will happily receive constructive criticism. Sometimes, though, you get that reader who demands you do things a certain way or practically berates you for artistic choices you've made. I only have so much patience for that... Think I wrote a blog post about it a while back.  

[Former Member]

3 hours ago, Dodger said:

Certainly not a red-herring but I was surprised by his popularity. Others may not know what we're talking about, but this is a good example of how useful comments can be in this type of story.

Then they can read the story to find out. It’s only 111 chapters (so far). They won’t have to read all of them if they only want to find out who the Retired Social Worker™ is.  ;–)

[CassieQ]

I always reply to comments.  I appreciate that a reader took the time to tell me what they thought or felt about a piece I wrote, so I try to show that appreciation by replying to them.  I think it's rude if an author doesn't reply to a comment.  

 

I'm still not clear on replying to reviews.  I tried once and it didn't work.  

[Headstall]

12 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

I always reply to comments.  I appreciate that a reader took the time to tell me what they thought or felt about a piece I wrote, so I try to show that appreciation by replying to them.  I think it's rude if an author doesn't reply to a comment.  

 

I'm still not clear on replying to reviews.  I tried once and it didn't work.  

Replying to a review didn't work for me either for a while, but it does now.