If you’re ever unsure on if you should leave comments on people’s writing on AO3, just remember that I have made two of my most beloved friends by either me commenting or them commenting on my stuff. Comments are powerful things, man.
Also, if a writer puts in the notes that you can bug them on Tumblr, or email them, or whatever, that isn’t them just being idle. That is an ACTIVE INVITATION. I, for one, LOVE it when people come to my ask and talk story with me. If you ask the right questions, you might leave learning a lot more about a fic you may like. Seriously.
Useful posts on how to write comments for fanfics – [here] & [here]
On a personal note. I’ve
met wonderful people throughout fandoms and by leaving comments. I’ve made
great friends, some even on comment sections, as we shared our enthusiasm for
the same story.
People who like the same ships often hold similar character
traits and life experiences; they’re people who would get you. The bonds in fandoms only strengthen when people meet other
people as humans – and there are fantastic humans waiting to meet you.
Leave a comment. 🙂
((Methodology
For Data Collected
For this, I’ve used AO3, currently the most popular fanfiction
website.
I’ve taken the first ranked story in each ship, completed, rated
by kudos – since bookmarks on AO3 can be set to private so the counters don’t
reflect the real numbers – to reflect the stories that had the most positive
feedback in their category.
For the comments, I’ve (falsely and intentionally) assumed the
numbers represented are singular comments from singular, different users
(tipping the scales in favor of the commenters). For Destiel, Johnlock and
Spirk I had to pick the second story by kudos, since for the first the
deviation error (assuming the author haven’t replied and there aren’t
discussion threads included in the comments) was far too high for the ratio to
be accurate, and my initial assumption couldn’t be applied. My apologies to the
authors.
Honestly speaking, if AO3′s cold culture had been my first introduction to writing fic? I can’t guarantee I’d still be writing it.
Livejournal was a lot of (mostly bad, towards the end) things, but at minimum it was a community of readers that were excited to read and talk about your work. Their feedback was essential to my early evolution as a fic writer. Absolutely essential.
So I’m not posting numbers in an attempt to whine or look for more attention. I just want everyone to consider dropping some Kudos if you take the few minutes to read the entire story, and maybe leaving a comment if you liked it – especially if you’ve read it multiple times. Many of these writers might not even know how talented they are, since AO3′s not the kind of place that’s very keen on revealing your worth.
But we can help change that, you know? We can all do something about it. We don’t just have to accept it as “that’s the way it is” and shrug it off. That’s how you lose writers. That’s the kind of lonely, quiet environment that makes someone facing a writer’s block instead choose to close up shop. Then you’re wondering why they never continued their epic series, when all they ever got were about 3% of people leaving Kudos and five comments for days and days of work.
And I just think that’s a damn shame.
I’ve seen this discussed a few times recently, so I think it’s something that’s finally hit its limit with a lot of writers. I agree that what’s hard about it isn’t just feeling unappreciated, or that readers are uninterested, but the silence that takes away a large part of how fic writers engage in fandom.
I know people are not short on headcanons, and they can write essays on symbolism. I hope they come to understand these are things writers want to see, and not things they have to keep to tumblr. If a reader can’t go into detail, a simple, “Great fic!” suffices. Literally anything to let a writer know you heard them. It’s appreciated.
Also, it’s so much more fun to feel like you’re part of the community that creates fic, and commenting is an incredible way to do that. I love the feeling of telling someone that I loved what they created, and hearing back from an author is exciting.
It’s easy to be lazy and just graze from fic to fic, but it’s more rewarding to be engaged.
I’ve been having this problem a lot lately, and it isn’t a “omg whine no one likes me” sort of feeling, but just… for me personally it just feels draining to keep putting out work, to keep committing a little part of your creativity, a little bit of your heart and soul and a bit of your creative stuff out there, and not really knowing if it’s resonating.
And maybe it is just me showing my Fandom Age, but fandom for me was always about community, about engaging other people and writing fanfic was always a part of that, that there was a certain give-and-take with fanfic that you couldn’t have with Real Books or whatever. Which is why even now, long after LJ and fanfiction on LJ, I really still feel compelled to go and answer every comment, to not just simply acknowledge someone had written something nice to me, but to be like “oh hi you like the thing I also like the thing let’s us both like the thing together”.
And I’ve had friendships that literally grew out of fanfic comments, that there are people whom I consider good fandom friends whom I met because I would flail in their fics’ comments sections and they would flail in mine and we would end up following each other back on LJ or here on Tumblr and it just felt so much more personal then, so much more like I’m writing not just for me but also for someone else’s enjoyment and not just because I really like carpal tunnel. Hell, I’ve sometimes been inspired by the comments to write new fic, because creativity doesn’t come out of the vacuum. It comes out of sharing and sometimes all it takes is someone going “man I loved that and it brought this other thing to my mind…” and suddenly the spark is just there, the “oh that’s awesome/awful I’m gonna write it”
I think feedback nourishes a fandom as much as fanwork does, that “yes! you’re not alone! you like the thing! I like the thing too! have you considered this other thing?!” drives creativity as much as any kinkmeme as much as any prompt call.
I mean just yesterday, I was feeling exhausted, I was feeling like my creativity had run dry and there was just nothing coming out of the tap, no words no love no spark. And I was exhausted. Wondering if it’s time to give up on writing for a fandom, because I was getting hoarse from shouting into the void. And then I woke up to an incredible pair of messages from a reader, from someone who was reading an older fic of mine who was clearly enjoying themselves. And I won’t say it fixed everything, because feedback is magical but it’s not that magical, but it made me smile. And it reminded me that writing fanfic could be fun, that it could be a way of making things fun for someone else.
And you know, that’s really important sometimes.
And I always wonder why people don’t bother to comment or leave kudos when they like something – AO3 especially makes it SO EASY. Like the box is RIGHT THERE. The button is RIGHT THERE.
I always get so excited when I see the number of kudos on a fic growing or when people leave comments! We write stuff because we love it enough to spend hours on character analysis and research and basically we’re all major nerds so if you liked it come talk to us! Please! It feels really good talking to someone that enjoyed our stuff. I met an awesome group of people through my fanfiction and now we all talk about that game together and it’s awesome!
If you enjoy the thing, reach out and leave a nice comment and you just might get a friend.
YES I totally agree – most of my mutuals on tumblr have been because they’ve commented on my stuff or I’ve commented on theirs and we’ve brought the friendship over here! So don’t be shy ^.^
I love all of this! Leave kudos! Leave comments! Your writer has spent days or weeks writing that chapter – give them 2 seconds of your time to click a kudos button or take 30 seconds to write a comment. It means so much to know that people are reading and enjoying our stories. And if you’re a fellow fic writer then you know what it means! Make someone’s day and save a fic – leave a comment! Tell your writers you enjoyed it!
This!
Comments are fandom’s lifeblood. Kudos do very little to build community. Comments, by reaching out to creators, show that people care specifically about something, that our fanfics are not just another commodity. Comments inspire conversation and friendships in the way that few other things can.
Comments I remember for years and they can utterly change my mood for the better for the day when I get them. Kudos I forget after I close the email.
So please tell authors you liked something, whether it’s a simple “I liked this” or incredibly detailed. The silence that seems to be the norm now is disheartening.
And before anybody says “you should just write for yourself”:
Writing is a medium that depends on public opinion to survive. That’s the measure of success in writing. If enough people liked your thing to buy/read it, then you are successful. And many, many people who write fic–like myself–do so because they’re interested in becoming published authors. So to them, seeing no comments, no feedback? It means nobody cares. It means they won’t be successful.
I read something this morning that really resonated with me.
Maybe it’s the fandom, maybe it’s the people.
But back when I was between the ages of 12 and 14 I wrote my first few stories and posted them online. Looking back they were terrible abominations of writing, and should anyone come to me and ask if I wrote them I would deny all knowledge whilst sweating profusely.
And yet despite the atrocity of my first few fanfictions there was a plethora of feedback from readers. ‘Write more!’ ‘I really liked this.’ ‘Loved the ending!’ ‘Look forward to more from you’.
There was constructive feedback and insight as well as the views/likes.
People took an active interest in your words and communicated back to you.
Nowadays as a writer it feels like I’m shouting into the void.
By simply liking a post I understand that you have seen the piece exists. Most often I assume it’s that you’ve saved it to read later, or are merely acknowledging its existence. I have no idea if you read it or not, much less if you enjoyed it.
When you reblog artwork you essentially tell the artist that yes, you liked the piece. You liked it enough to spend an extra few moments putting it onto your own personal space on the web. If you tag it you explicitly communicate how you feel. It’s rare that you would simply like a piece of art, especially if its from your fandom. You want to share it so others can see it and enjoy it.
But most of you wont do that with fanfiction.
It takes a lot of time to learn to write. It takes a lot of time to write. Writers suffer the same periods of art block, or writer’s block as it’s known to us. We don’t struggle with drawing hands. We struggle with writing what that hand is doing in a way that is engaging. Instead of struggling drawing furniture and rooms and backgrounds we struggle to construct the same image but with our words.
It’s all relative. Our plight is no harder or easier than an artist but we do not get the same level of appreciation or recognition that an artist does.
In the end what you get is the same thing. An image on your screen. The difference is you have to look a little harder to see what we’ve painted for you.
So please. Tell the author that you saw it.
We love words. They are our craft. So give us some back.
Reblog a fanfic and get it out there so more people can enjoy it. Please.
People are apparently under the impression that reblogging someone’s art and adding a comment is frowned upon and that can’t possibly be true, every artist I know of sees a reblog-comment as like the ultimate definitive reward for their hard work.
Obviously don’t feel bad for NOT adding a comment if you’re shy or just don’t know what to say, but if there’s something you would like to say about a drawing you’ve liked enough to reblog, I’m pretty sure most artists crave hearing it.
This applies to art, fic, dumb theories, whatever! I totally love reading tags and commentary!
Definitely re-emphasizing that ALL reblogs, likes, etc are awesome! So don’t feel bad/feel obligated to add something if you don’t want to, but don’t hold back if you DO wanna add something because you’re worried it’s rude.
Well, I can only speak for myself (and probably @norcumi and @deadcatwithaflamethrower), but if you have stuff to say on any of our art/theories/fics, either in tags or in comments, YES PLEASE. 😀
(and yeah, don’t feel pressured if you don’t have anything to add – reblogs/likes are awesome, and I’m happy to know that ppl like stuff. But if you want to comment/tag, that is also awesome! )
Seconding (thirding?) all of this. Liking, reblogging, discussing, messaging about, commenting via tags = ALL AWESOME.
The only thing not okay is taking someone else’s work and claiming it’s your own. That’s what we in the biz refer to as a dick move.
FWIW, I totally agree. I don’t art, but I do fic, and when people reblog it, it’s amazing. When they reblog it and add commentary, either via tag or post addition, that’s SUPER AMAZING. Even if it’s just this tag: “#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” That tag always makes me smile and do happy kicky-feet because I assume I’ve reduced someone to squeaking incoherently and flailing and that makes me so happy. ^_^ (Alternatively, that tag accompanied by these: “#D:”, “#TT^TT”, “#;_;”, “noooooooooooooooooo” conjures up a wholly different, yet equally welcome image of a different kind of flailing. ;D)
Hardest part of fic-reading: trying to figure out nice comments to say that don’t end up with me just repeatedly flailing at the keyboard going “I LIKED THIS I LOVED THIS WAAAAAAAH”
This is why I rarely leave comments :O I feel bad about it but I don’t know what to say that isn’t repetitive or just “aasdfsdg”
Same here.
I’m actually pretty bad at leaving substantive comments unless I’ve finished a series or read quite a bit of it.
And art? Ha, no, because I feel weird about leaving the same types of compliments
As an author, flailing around is totally fine and in fact encouraged because the mental image of someone getting excited because of my work will stick with me for days.
Just copypasting some bit that made you flail, with no added comment but a keysmash or emoji, is also delightful.
Honestly speaking, if AO3′s cold culture had been my first introduction to writing fic? I can’t guarantee I’d still be writing it.
Livejournal was a lot of (mostly bad, towards the end) things, but at minimum it was a community of readers that were excited to read and talk about your work. Their feedback was essential to my early evolution as a fic writer. Absolutely essential.
So I’m not posting numbers in an attempt to whine or look for more attention. I just want everyone to consider dropping some Kudos if you take the few minutes to read the entire story, and maybe leaving a comment if you liked it – especially if you’ve read it multiple times. Many of these writers might not even know how talented they are, since AO3′s not the kind of place that’s very keen on revealing your worth.
But we can help change that, you know? We can all do something about it. We don’t just have to accept it as “that’s the way it is” and shrug it off. That’s how you lose writers. That’s the kind of lonely, quiet environment that makes someone facing a writer’s block instead choose to close up shop. Then you’re wondering why they never continued their epic series, when all they ever got were about 3% of people leaving Kudos and five comments for days and days of work.
And I just think that’s a damn shame.
I’ve seen this discussed a few times recently, so I think it’s something that’s finally hit its limit with a lot of writers. I agree that what’s hard about it isn’t just feeling unappreciated, or that readers are uninterested, but the silence that takes away a large part of how fic writers engage in fandom.
I know people are not short on headcanons, and they can write essays on symbolism. I hope they come to understand these are things writers want to see, and not things they have to keep to tumblr. If a reader can’t go into detail, a simple, “Great fic!” suffices. Literally anything to let a writer know you heard them. It’s appreciated.
Also, it’s so much more fun to feel like you’re part of the community that creates fic, and commenting is an incredible way to do that. I love the feeling of telling someone that I loved what they created, and hearing back from an author is exciting.
It’s easy to be lazy and just graze from fic to fic, but it’s more rewarding to be engaged.
I’ve been having this problem a lot lately, and it isn’t a “omg whine no one likes me” sort of feeling, but just… for me personally it just feels draining to keep putting out work, to keep committing a little part of your creativity, a little bit of your heart and soul and a bit of your creative stuff out there, and not really knowing if it’s resonating.
And maybe it is just me showing my Fandom Age, but fandom for me was always about community, about engaging other people and writing fanfic was always a part of that, that there was a certain give-and-take with fanfic that you couldn’t have with Real Books or whatever. Which is why even now, long after LJ and fanfiction on LJ, I really still feel compelled to go and answer every comment, to not just simply acknowledge someone had written something nice to me, but to be like “oh hi you like the thing I also like the thing let’s us both like the thing together”.
And I’ve had friendships that literally grew out of fanfic comments, that there are people whom I consider good fandom friends whom I met because I would flail in their fics’ comments sections and they would flail in mine and we would end up following each other back on LJ or here on Tumblr and it just felt so much more personal then, so much more like I’m writing not just for me but also for someone else’s enjoyment and not just because I really like carpal tunnel. Hell, I’ve sometimes been inspired by the comments to write new fic, because creativity doesn’t come out of the vacuum. It comes out of sharing and sometimes all it takes is someone going “man I loved that and it brought this other thing to my mind…” and suddenly the spark is just there, the “oh that’s awesome/awful I’m gonna write it”
I think feedback nourishes a fandom as much as fanwork does, that “yes! you’re not alone! you like the thing! I like the thing too! have you considered this other thing?!” drives creativity as much as any kinkmeme as much as any prompt call.
I mean just yesterday, I was feeling exhausted, I was feeling like my creativity had run dry and there was just nothing coming out of the tap, no words no love no spark. And I was exhausted. Wondering if it’s time to give up on writing for a fandom, because I was getting hoarse from shouting into the void. And then I woke up to an incredible pair of messages from a reader, from someone who was reading an older fic of mine who was clearly enjoying themselves. And I won’t say it fixed everything, because feedback is magical but it’s not that magical, but it made me smile. And it reminded me that writing fanfic could be fun, that it could be a way of making things fun for someone else.
And you know, that’s really important sometimes.
And I always wonder why people don’t bother to comment or leave kudos when they like something – AO3 especially makes it SO EASY. Like the box is RIGHT THERE. The button is RIGHT THERE.
I always get so excited when I see the number of kudos on a fic growing or when people leave comments! We write stuff because we love it enough to spend hours on character analysis and research and basically we’re all major nerds so if you liked it come talk to us! Please! It feels really good talking to someone that enjoyed our stuff. I met an awesome group of people through my fanfiction and now we all talk about that game together and it’s awesome!
If you enjoy the thing, reach out and leave a nice comment and you just might get a friend.
YES I totally agree – most of my mutuals on tumblr have been because they’ve commented on my stuff or I’ve commented on theirs and we’ve brought the friendship over here! So don’t be shy ^.^
I love all of this! Leave kudos! Leave comments! Your writer has spent days or weeks writing that chapter – give them 2 seconds of your time to click a kudos button or take 30 seconds to write a comment. It means so much to know that people are reading and enjoying our stories. And if you’re a fellow fic writer then you know what it means! Make someone’s day and save a fic – leave a comment! Tell your writers you enjoyed it!
Seriously, the emails I get that say I got a kudos puts a smile on my face for the rest of my day.
Recently I’ve seen a number of posts on the subject of giving feedback to writers / artists / creators, and I wanted to add a few thoughts of my own.
First a confession: For the longest time, I was really, really bad about leaving feedback. Not because I didn’t enjoy the stories (I did) or because I didn’t think the writers deserved some appreciation (they do!), but purely because as a reader, I really had no insight on what it’s like on the other side of the “Comment” button.
Now that I have started sending my own writing babes into the world, I have a very different perspective (and am now trying my best to leave feedback on everything I enjoyed). So I thought I’d make a little reference guide on “What I (the Reader) Believed Writers Think About Feedback” vs. “What I (the Writer) Now Know They Really Think”. Maybe you’ll recognize yourself somewhere in there, too…
Reader comments: I loved it 🙂
The Reader believed: Eh. Why are you bothering me? I have important writer things to do.
But the Writer knows: I am so happy to hear that, thank you for taking the time to tell me!
Reader comments: This was so funny / sad / hot!
The Reader believed: I know. That was the point. Why are you bothering me? I have important writer things to do.
But the Writer knows: I made you have a feeling! I made a thing and it touched you! YesYesYes! Thank you for taking the time to tell me that!
Reader leaves kudos / comment on a story that is older than two weeks
The Reader believed: Geez, that one’s ancient. Why are you bothering me? I have important writer things to do.
But the Writer knows: Someone is still reading and enjoying that story! That is so awesome! Thank you for taking the time to tell me that!
Reader leaves kudos on every story in the series / comments on every chapter in the story
The Reader believed: That’s a bit creepy. Please don’t be a stalker.
But the Writer knows: They read one thing and liked it so much they read the others, too, and they liked all of them! Thank you, lovely person, for making my day!
Reader writes long, burbling comment full of exclamation marks!!! and emoticons :-))))) because THEY LOVE IT SO MUCH
The Reader believed: What are you, three? If you expect me to take you seriously, try talking like an adult, please. Also why are you bothering me? I have important writer things to do.
But the Writer knows: YOU BEAUTIFUL TREASURE OF A PERSON I LOVE YOU AND I WANT TO TAKE YOU HOME AND FEED YOU CHOCOLATE FOREVER
(Okay, so I haven’t actually had that last one happen to me, but I imagine that is what my reaction would be. Except I probably wouldn’t be quite so restrained.)
Anyone else have that experience? Feel free to add your own 🙂
This is absolutely dead-on accurate. No comments mean you probably thought it was OK but not worth the effort to type something about the story. Kudos are wonderful, don’t get me wrong! But comments? There is nothing like hearing something you wrote touched someone enough that they felt compelled to write something back to you. Even if it’s “I really liked this.” or “This was cute.”
if i see your name a lot i might write for you, writers are so needy, we’ll take anything that isn’t go die in a fire as a massive compliment, and go die in a fire as a minor compliment
i know that some folks love telling creative people that “you should be doing it for fun because you love it not for the compliments” but creative people thrive on feedback whether it’s critical or just complimentary
so when i write fanfiction and don’t get any actual feedback i feel like i spent all that time and energy doing it for nothing because i’m not getting feedback from the people i wrote it for
doing something you’re proud of and then presenting it to the sound of utter silence is like the worst feeling on earth
I know the feeling of this.
i like to think: what if you were in a play and you spend all that time learning your lines and your cues and going to rehearsal for hours and hours and being bone tired and then getting up on stage opening night and giving it your all only to be met with silence from the audience at the final curtain call. No one would question why that upset them.
An art instructor in my childhood said something to me I’ve never forgotten – that a work of art isn’t complete until it has been experienced – seen, heard, etc. That this wasn’t just some abstract concept, but a visceral truth for the artist – that the work wasn’t DONE until the end result had been witnessed, appreciated, critiqued – whatever, it didn’t have to be positive negative knowledgable, it just had to happen as the concluding event, the final brush stroke.
Some folks who don’t get it go about thinking we make art or write fic because we crave praise or attention or fans, or even that some writers/artists thrive on negativity and drama (and to be sure, all of these things are true some times!). But that’s too narrow an understanding of why we art. I think my art teacher was telling a fundamental truth about the psychology of creativity – that art is a communal experience, that until we share our creative work and see how people respond, we do not have closure on that work.
Art is communication – and communication shouted into the void is frighteningly isolating. We need our readers our viewers our audience. We need to hear what you think. We need to converse in comments, answer your counter thoughts or thoughtful critique, we need the conversation – that’s what art is 🙂
Never feel bad for desiring feedback – it’s not some extra frill that exists outside of the creative process. It is a critical part of the creative process – and if you cannot find your audience in one venue, don’t give up. Keep putting your art out there until your audience finds you 🙂
Yes: that.
I don’t make art because I enjoy it. I make art because I am trying to communicate. And if it fails to elicit any response at all, or I can’t even tell if anyone saw it/read it then I have failed, or will suspect I have failed, to communicate and I’m gonna feel bad about that.
Sometimes I stare at the computer screen when the words don’t want to come and I think, “Fuck, who am I kidding? This is terrible writing, and this story is shit, and no one cares, anyway.“ And I close the window and go do something else.
But every now and then I get an amazing, heartfelt, beautiful comment from someone who loved something I wrote, and it reminds me that, at least for that one person, I did write something worthwhile. And so I open the window again and I write one sentence, and then another, and then I start to find my way again.
So on behalf of all fanfic writers everywhere, I want to say thank you, thank you so much, to all of the readers who take the time to leave a comment and tell us that something we wrote mattered to you, that it brightened your day or made you laugh or cry or get horny or whatever.
Please don’t think we’re ever bothered by your comment, or that we don’t want to hear it, or that what you have to say isn’t important enough. It means so, so much. And on some days, it’s what keeps us going.
I have no idea how this post got so many notes, but I’m really happy about it!
eirenical17 