Readers, why do you read a story but not Comment?

[Former Member]

While viewing the Newest Stories page, I noticed that there are a couple stories where many people have viewed the story, but absolutely no one has Commented. If I read a story, I try to find something to Comment on. I will come up with wild tangents or crazy pairings to keep myself entertained if no one else is saying anything interesting.

 

If there are hundreds of view, why can’t the readers say something, anything, to the author! Are they merely satisfied with the story? Why are they continuing to read new chapters?

 

I admit I haven’t read the stories that fit this description so I don’t know what the quality of writing is, but I’ve read other stories by one of the authors in the past and quality wasn’t a issue. I’m not trying to embarrass any authors, so I’m not mentioning names. I’m just curious about what I see as an odd phenomenon.

 

I’m guessing that once a pattern has been set, no one wants to be the first to break the ice. I know that some of the stories I read get several pages of Comments for each chapter. Others of a similar high quality only get a dozen or fewer per chapter. I know that the length of the chapter/story and the sheer number of readers make a huge difference, but some stories generate more speculation about future developments than others.

 

 

Does anybody have any insights to share?

[Talo Segura]

You are right about not getting any comments here. I am new and posted a couple of chapters. On the second posting I asked readers to follow and comment. I got a LIKE and two followers, I got no comments. The numbers show a few hundred readers, but nobody said, nice story, liked it, nothing.

 

I found another site, Nifty, and posted a story there, immediately I got emails from readers. What a huge difference! I stopped posting here, just look in from time to time to see if anything's happening, but nothing is.

 

I can't really see myself posting chapters into a void. I agree with you, that if like 200 or 300 people read a chapter, then a few comments to the guy who wrote it, isn't too much to expect. If the readers out there can't be bothered to just say, liked it, I can't be bothered to post it.

[Former Member]

I’m sorry you had that experience. Most authors I’ve talked to have said they get much more interaction here on GA than sites like Nifty. I know that when I used to visit Nifty, I’d try to email authors when I enjoyed a story. I also tried to offer constructive criticism, but was ignored. I find that authors here are more responsive to my Comments and PMs.

 

I don’t have an answer for you. I am puzzled by the appearance of several stories with multiple hundreds of views, but no Comments. Since I am on a limited income, I figure the only way I can ‘pay’ for what I read is by giving feedback to the authors who are providing free entertainment to me. My job is to Comment on what I read.  ;–)

[Former Member]

18 minutes ago, Talo Segura said:

On the second posting I asked readers to follow and comment.

You might try asking what your readers think will happen next. Try to turn it into a conversation. One author I follow used to ask questions designed to provoke a response.  ;–)

[Mancunian]

It doesn't take much effort to leave a comment but many don't appear to want to make even a little effort. I always try to leave at least a reaction and in almost all cases a comment if nothing else but to let the author know that I have enjoyed the story and appreciate their hard work. I haven't posted much but I have had some good and encouraging comments for which I am appreciative and let the reader know with a reply. If an author doesn't respond to comments then readers will give up leaving them, maybe in some cases this is the reason for the lack of comments for some authors. 

[Kitt]

My case us a little different. I used to leave comments religiously, even if it was merely a 👍

 

I was driven off of commenting when an author reacted very poorly to what i thought an harmless observation.

 

The plot took a completely unexpected twist, almost an about face for the character. I referred to it as an unsignalled left turn. I did not say anything i thought could be construed as dissatisfaction with the development, just that it was totally unexpected.

 

This author went off like a firecracker with a shirt fuse. He proceeded to dress me down publically in the comments telling me he worked hard on the story and how dare i be so nasty etc. He rambled on about how mean my comment was for several paragraphs.  He informed me, and the entire GA community what a horrid p rson i was.

 

Maybe i caught him on a bad day, but his comments, made publically, hurt. 

 

I continued to read thus authors work, and to leave likes, but changed my commenting policy. I would leave emogies that fit my feelings. 

 

This author posted two or three more chapters then has left the story unfinished. He was so close to tying up the loose ends, one or two more chapters could have completed it. It has been several years now.

 

I continued with my emogie policy till i found out the little hearts were disapearing after a while.

 

I now comment rarely. Comments are kept to generic " nice job" and the like with the exception of a few authors I know and can trust that if a comment is taken poorly it will be discussed in private.  I refuse to leave myself open to the nasty pm's i got from other readers after that author went nuts over my left turn comment.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Kitt
Fat fingers, tiny phone

[Carlos Hazday]

Y'all should realize the majority of views on a chapter or story are not from GA members; those 'readers' can't react or leave comments.

Posting two chapters, and then abandoning the story won't help increase traffic. Many of us wait until a story's complete before reading, or check to see the author's posting on a regular schedule. Many of us have been burned when we get involved in a tale and then there are no installments shared for weeks or months.

Unlike Nifty and most other sites, GA's a community. If I post something out of the blue, it'll get attention, but not as much as if I'd interacted with others. Status updates, comments in forums, comments on stories and chapters all increase visibility. The more people see you, the more likely they are to read your story. A well-written story will draw readers; a popular member will do the same. A well-written story by a popular member will garner much more attention.

One other suggestion: Provide an error-free, interesting description to a story. Just yesterday, I clicked on the link for a new story by a new author. Their description was so badly written, I passed on reading the opening chapter. If the author can't write a clean couple of lines, I suspect the story itself will be worthless. I have limited reading time and lots of options, so small things can dissuade me from trying a new story by someone I don't know.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Carlos Hazday

[Thorn Wilde]

3 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

You are right about not getting any comments here. I am new and posted a couple of chapters. On the second posting I asked readers to follow and comment. I got a LIKE and two followers, I got no comments. The numbers show a few hundred readers, but nobody said, nice story, liked it, nothing.

 

I found another site, Nifty, and posted a story there, immediately I got emails from readers. What a huge difference! I stopped posting here, just look in from time to time to see if anything's happening, but nothing is.

 

I can't really see myself posting chapters into a void. I agree with you, that if like 200 or 300 people read a chapter, then a few comments to the guy who wrote it, isn't too much to expect. If the readers out there can't be bothered to just say, liked it, I can't be bothered to post it.

While I understand your frustration, it often takes a little while for new authors to get much attention. There are a lot of good, quality stories here. Interacting with the community helps (something I see you haven't really done). I know the feeling of not getting any comments at all and it sucks. I have a couple of poems right now that I'm really happy with but which no one's bothered to comment on, and it can be disheartening. But stick with it. Don't give up after just a couple of chapters.

 

Also, like Carlos says, a lot of those reads may be from readers off site, who can't like or comment.

[Aditus]

Interesting were/is the reaction  comments  ratio. 

[Thirdly]

Yeah, I have no idea. I read a story to the end even if I find it boring halfway through and then babble about all the things I liked at the end. There isn't a story I haven't commented at least once in. I even try to comment to every single chapter as I read and jot down my reactions. Sometimes I'm so riveted to click to the next chapter that I end up delayed in my comments, but I never NOT comment at some point. The newer generations that grew up on Facebook and shifted to Instagram, where "likes" were faster and easier than comments, especially on mobile devices. They've become too frustrated to try to type on such a tiny screen with their thumbs unless something really speaks to them because of the way that the sites changed to add that "like" feature.  Even on mobile devices, I leave comments because I have fairly thin fingers and very little problem with tiny keyboards.  

[Mikiesboy]

Before i posted anything here...other than poetry, i read people's work. i chatted and made got acquainted with people. i commented on other's stories. i made friends and a place for myself.  i joined in ... and it makes a difference.

[Thirdly]

56 minutes ago, aditus said:

Interesting were/is the reaction  comments  ratio. 

 

You're like the reigning ruler of drawing out reactions.  I'm going to try my best to say something more technical about your writing style and flow in my next comment or something. 

[Aditus]

9 minutes ago, Thirdly said:

 

You're like the reigning ruler of drawing out reactions.  I'm going to try my best to say something more technical about your writing style and flow in my next comment or something. 

I luuuuuv your comments! They make me smile. And I still know if you didn't like something.  

[Thirdly]

4 minutes ago, aditus said:

I luuuuuv your comments! They make me smile. And I still know if you didn't like something.  

 

Actually, there isn't anything I really dislike about your work, even when I'm freaking out over the characters. I grew up on Latin soap operas and live for drama, angst, and romance. 

[Daddydavek]

I try to leave a comment, unless I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said and there are already several.  If I start a chapter and get interrupted, I may not get back to it unless I really like the author and/or it really drew me in.  Finally, I try to say something positive.

[Former Member]

I’m glad I’m a reader, not a writer. If no one Reacts to my Comments, I might wonder why, but not really worry about it. It doesn’t affect my future decisions to Comment.  ;–)

 

If I were a writer, I’m sure I’d be just as polarizing as I am in the Forums.  ;–)

[chris191070]

As a reader I try to leave a comment or at least a like on all stories that I read. 

[Carlos Hazday]

6 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

I’m glad I’m a reader, not a writer. If no one Reacts to my Comments, I might wonder why, but not really worry about it. It doesn’t affect my future decisions to Comment.  ;–)

 

If I were a writer, I’m sure I’d be just as polarizing as I am in the Forums.  ;–)

 

You? Polarizing?

[Marty]

As @Carlos Hazday has pointed out, lots of readers on here are not actually registered members, so they are unable to post likes or comments.

 

I think I saw @Myr comment somewhere that of the number of people actually using GA at any particular time, usually around 90% of them are not actually registered members, so that may go a long way to explaining why some stories may be shown to have been read an awful lot of times, but have few actual likes or comments.

 

Personally I would usually like or comment if I have enjoyed a particular story or chapter. As an author myself I feel that's the right thing to do.

 

As for people doing the same for my own feeble(?) offerings - - - well, I'm happy if they do, but I'm not going to upset if they don't. The fact that I can actually see the number of times a piece of work has been read can be reward enough in itself (I don't think you can see that on Nifty - or can you?)

[Mikiesboy]

11 hours ago, droughtquake said:

 

I’m guessing that once a pattern has been set, no one wants to be the first to break the ice. I know that some of the stories I read get several pages of Comments for each chapter. Others of a similar high quality only get a dozen or fewer per chapter. I know that the length of the chapter/story and the sheer number of readers make a huge difference, but some stories generate more speculation about future developments than others.

Possibly you're right about the pattern ... but i'm not sure.  i part of it is.. well, i speak for myself here ... i put effort into this site and a lot of people on it. So do you, so do lots of people. i think you get out of it, what you put in .. and if you only come here to deposit your story, you may not get the attention you think you should.   If you come there and join in, read, comment and let people know you're here and interested, you'd likely get more attention.  That's just my opinion and my experience, here on GA.

[Former Member]

3 minutes ago, Marty said:

The fact that I can actually see the number of times a piece of work has been read can be reward enough in itself

One thing that distorts the views statistic is that chapters get significantly more views when we check to see each new Comments or Reactions to our Comments.

 

4 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

and if you only come here to deposit your story

Interesting choice of words! If that were my choice, it would be because I was being very sarcastic and catty. But Canadians are nice, not like rude Americans. Have we corrupted one?  ;–)

[Mikiesboy]

Just now, droughtquake said:

Interesting choice of words! If that were my choice, it would be because I was being very sarcastic and catty. But Canadians are nice, not like rude Americans. Have we corrupted one?  ;–)

Nothing to do with my nationality, it's the simple truth. 

[Marty]

11 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

if you only come here to deposit your story(, you may not get the attention you think you should.)

3 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Interesting choice of words! If that were my choice, it would be because I was being very sarcastic and catty. But Canadians are nice, not like rude Americans. Have we corrupted one?  ;–)

 

I'm not sure, but I suspect Tim's comment there was possibly in response to another member's reply much earlier in this topic. And, if it was, he was only saying what I was thinking myself.

[Mikiesboy]

5 minutes ago, Marty said:

 

I'm not sure, but I suspect Tim's comment there was possibly in response to another member's reply much earlier in this topic. And, if it was, he was only saying what I was thinking myself.

in part  -  but maybe it is me.    maybe it's who and what i am, but my thinking is, if you want respect you have to show it to others first.  especially if you are new on a site.  

[Marty]

28 minutes ago, Marty said:

The fact that I can actually see the number of times a piece of work has been read can be reward enough in itself

18 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

One thing that distorts the views statistic is that chapters get significantly more views when we check to see each new Comments or Reactions to our Comments.

 

 

I suppose that's true enough. I suppose that the site could be set up to prevent the read count going up when authors read their own stuff.

 

But, then again, I suppose if they really wanted to artificially boost their read count they could just log out and read as an anonymous user...