ETA: Changing the title of the thread because, as clever as I thought the first one was, it worked better on LJ than on here. :)

Copy/pasted from riters_r_us on Live Journal/Dreamwidth, I thought this might be something to share here as we've picked up some new authors lately.

I've seen some complaints lately about lack of reviews, I've seen some authors ending a chapter with a note (on an archive, not a personal journal) asking for reviews, and I've seen some newbies asking plaintively what it means when you don't get many reviews.  So, I thought maybe it was time to revisit life in fanfic as we know it.



Things to realize and understand:

Most readers are just that - readers.  They read, smile or cry, and move on to the next story. And isn't that why you're sharing your story? So that people can read and enjoy it?  So, rule #1 is - don't expect a lot of reviews/comments/kudos whatever.  It's not the nature of the beast. Be pleased with what you get. Remember, if you were a published RL author, all you'd have to go by would be sales of your work (and perhaps a few less-than-stellar reviews from professional reviewers). If you were very lucky, you might get fan mail, but certainly not on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Quality is more important than quantity. Reviews/comments that indicate the reader has genuinely enjoyed and understood the chapter are to be preferred to generic "great chapter" remarks. (Not that I'm denigrating short comments that can be encouraging to the author - just saying, one thoughtful review from someone whose opinion you respect should carry more weight than two or three generic ones on someone else's fic.) Rule #2, judge the usefulness and sincerity of the reviews as much as the quantity.

"But," you whine, "So-and-so gets a gazillion reviews. All the time!"  Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe so-and-so has a lot of friends who make it a point to say something no matter what. Maybe so-and-so's friends wouldn't know a well-written story if they fell over it.  (That's a bit mean-spirited, but I've seen a few too many "OMG this is wonderful!" on really bad fic to think that praise from someone who's praising something awful is worth much)

Maybe so-and-so is a BNF (not sure we have a lot of those anymore, but there are a few still out there) and readers feel that leaving a review is A)obligatory B)a way touch somebody famous or C) something to do to prove they aren't just reading for the smut. *g* 

Maybe so-and-so writes a lot of smut. Fun factoid - teh pRon brings the reviews, especially on some archives. I believe that says more about the readers than it does about the author or the work in question, but that's just MHO.

Maybe so-and-so writes very long fics with very short chapters. That's a good way to garner a high over-all review count by the time the fic is complete. I'm not recommending it, but I've no doubt that there are authors out there who do so deliberately. Perhaps you're comparing total reviews for one of those fics to those for your own carefully crafted, 4000 word chapter story that ends when it should? That's comparing apples and oranges.  And, comparing a good short fic -say 5000 words or so - to one with many chapters is comparing apples and... spinach.  You may have ten reviews from ten different readers, while the longer fic has fifty reviews for it's ten chapters, but only from five readers. Rule #3 - try not to over-think how you do compared to someone else. Consider all aspects of the situation.

Where you post makes a difference. And what kind of fic you are posting also matters.

I believer LJ garners the most comments; possibly because of the above-mentioned habit friends have of commenting on each other's work, but also because much of the fic on LJ is posted to communities with a broad base of readers. People are just used to leaving comments, so they tend to do so.
 
Different archives  attract different readers and some stories may resonate more with the readers at one archive than they will at another. Or, perhaps by the time your story has been posted at the last archive, it's already been seen by the majority of readers somewhere else. Hence a smaller number of reviews wherever it went up last.  AO3  seems to be trying to encourage encouragement *g* by giving readers the archive version of a "like" button. A reader may leave "kudos" for a chapter or a fic without having to take the time and thought to write something out. I'd guess that brings a few more instances of recognition than would the necessity of thinking up something to say. You may want to ask yourself it you are reaching your target audience. Who is that audience? and are they finding you where they expect to? Rule #4 - post appropriately.

Of course, you are taking the time to reply, right? Just a sincere "Thank you" or "I'm glad you enjoyed it" lets the reviewer know that you appreciate and notice that they took the time to tell you they liked your fic. Rule #5 - show your readers/reviewers that you appreciate them.

And, just to keep things real and honest, if you aren't getting any reviews anywhere (or only from your personal friends and/or beta), maybe you need to take a hard look at your story and ask yourself how it stacks up against - not just those getting a lot of reviews, but those that you know (from the quality of the reviews and reviewers if you aren't sure of your own judgment) are well-written stories with good characterizations and interesting plots. Perhaps you need a beta who will be less encouraging and more demanding of you?

I don't think I'm alone in limiting the number of comments I leave on the archives, including this one. In an attempt to limit spam, they've made reviewing difficult to navigate for the standard user. It didn't used to be so hard, so I left more reviews. After having a dozen or so well thought out reviews eaten, I've given up. AO3 never gives me grief, so I'll still review there (love the "kudos" button), but I'm most likely to review on LJ.

I know it works for other people, but I don't think I'm especially technically hopeless, so I've decided that It's Not Just Me. I don't expect to get many reviews on the archives, though it's nice when it happens. I tend to use those more to see the hit counts, which is hard to figure on LJ, and impossible when posting to a community there. Something for everyone!

I don't think I'm alone in limiting the number of comments I leave on the archives, including this one. In an attempt to limit spam, they've made reviewing difficult to navigate for the standard user. It didn't used to be so hard, so I left more reviews. After having a dozen or so well thought out reviews eaten, I've given up. AO3 never gives me grief, so I'll still review there (love the "kudos" button), but I'm most likely to review on LJ.

I know it works for other people, but I don't think I'm especially technically hopeless, so I've decided that It's Not Just Me. I don't expect to get many reviews on the archives, though it's nice when it happens. I tend to use those more to see the hit counts, which is hard to figure on LJ, and impossible when posting to a community there. Something for everyone!

Someone else mentioned (on LJ), that it is difficult to leave reviews on many archives. I guess I haven't noticed. I only read on LJ or here unless I'm following a link somewhere. I'm not aware that there's anything more to it here than typing into the box at the bottom of the chapter and clicking "submit", but maybe that's because I have mod privileges?  However, I do remember rahirah commenting on a review discussion some time ago that she doesn't post to archives to get reviews, but just to be archived. :) Which was a good point, but not one that's likely to carry much weight with newbie writers who only post on archives and judge them by how many reviews they get there.  I love the kudos button too, although I struggle a bit with both reading reviews left for me and leaving them for others at AO3. I think I'm figuring it out, but it wasn't intuitive for me.

I really try to leave a review comment - but since I am not a writer mine were usually just something small to let the writer know I appreciate their efforts.  The new spam moderation mode has made it more difficult and will unfortunately discourage readers like myself who just want to say a quick comment.  

With reviews - again using the "only reader" description - unless I am especially invested in the theme of a story and have something that I really want to say - I almost always go with a simple short comment.

I really try to leave a review comment - but since I am not a writer mine were usually just something small to let the writer know I appreciate their efforts.  The new spam moderation mode has made it more difficult and will unfortunately discourage readers like myself who just want to say a quick comment.  

With reviews - again using the "only reader" description - unless I am especially invested in the theme of a story and have something that I really want to say - I almost always go with a simple short comment.



I know Dia added some things to cut down on spam - are you all saying we have something on the BSV that is making it difficult? Captcha or something?  I don't see that when I leave a review, so was not aware of it. 

But anyway, the point of the post was more aimed at writers who worry about the number and type of reviews they get, not readers. 

I know Dia added some things to cut down on spam - are you all saying we have something on the BSV that is making it difficult? Captcha or something? 

Yep. Captcha is very frustrating. I'm pretty careful about matching the characters, but the majority of the time it won't accept what I enter AND deletes the comment. Unless I rememeber to copy the entire comment before pressing "send", I usually give up when it's eaten. I've taken to sending messages to authors via other routes (LJ message, email, etc.) rather than commenting here. It seems like a registered user shouldn't also have to go through the Captcha gauntlet, but then I never noticed spam was a problem here. *shrug*

In related news, I seem to be logged off more often than in times past. Admitedly, I was never logged off in the old days. Now I get logged off after about 1/2 hour or so, which also leads to less likelihood of leaving reviews. Doesn't everybody know that MY convenience is paramount? ;)

I know Dia added some things to cut down on spam - are you all saying we have something on the BSV that is making it difficult? Captcha or something? 

Yep. Captcha is very frustrating. I'm pretty careful about matching the characters, but the majority of the time it won't accept what I enter AND deletes the comment. Unless I rememeber to copy the entire comment before pressing "send", I usually give up when it's eaten. I've taken to sending messages to authors via other routes (LJ message, email, etc.) rather than commenting here. It seems like a registered user shouldn't also have to go through the Captcha gauntlet, but then I never noticed spam was a problem here. *shrug*

In related news, I seem to be logged off more often than in times past. Admitedly, I was never logged off in the old days. Now I get logged off after about 1/2 hour or so, which also leads to less likelihood of leaving reviews. Doesn't everybody know that MY convenience is paramount? ;)

Okay, I guess that doesn't show up for me because I'm a mod, and I didn't realize it did for others.  I'll try to get hold of Dia and see what her reasoning was. Maybe we can make it go away for members.  However, I can tell you that, now that I'm  the one who adds new members,  probably close to half of the names waiting to be added show up on lists of spammers or bots and have to be rejected.  I'm pretty careful, but it stands to reason that some have slipped through the cracks over the years and I guess she was trying to keep them off the author's pages.   I guess that explains why the number of reviews stories  get here seems to be dropping.  I rarely leave reviews anywhere else (except DW or LJ), but I do remember running into Captcha somewhere I tried to leave one.  I used to have trouble with it, which I attributed to a Mac issue, but I don't anymore, so I dunno.

Maybe we can make it go away for members.  However, I can tell you that, now that I'm  the one who adds new members,  probably close to half of the names waiting to be added show up on lists of spammers or bots and have to be rejected. 

This is another reason for the capcha at point of membership, together with the 'activation email' requirement, both of which really do make it more complex for bots.  Human spammers aren't nonexistent, but they are less common than bots.

I'm pretty careful, but it stands to reason that some have slipped through the cracks over the years and I guess she was trying to keep them off the author's pages.  

I can see why it would be desirable not to have 'more cheap V__ now' left as a review! ;)

I guess that explains why the number of reviews stories get here seems to be dropping.  I rarely leave reviews anywhere else (except DW or LJ), but I do remember running into Captcha somewhere I tried to leave one.  I used to have trouble with it, which I attributed to a Mac issue, but I don't anymore, so I dunno.
No, captcha is hard, period.  The only reason I haven't had my reviews eaten is that I got into the habit of religiously copying every review or post I make online since bad things have happened in the past.  Generally, I've submitted my reviews here a minimum of twice, but occasionally as many as four or five times... and sometimes i just reload the captcha without even trying b/c I can't figure it out at all. 

ctrl A (select all) ctrl C (copy all) are my friends when I post...   :)

Another thing about reviews... I've noticed that there's no way to edit a review...  Tonight, I made a spelling error, and of course, being somewhat OC, I want to correct it... Homonyms, bah, humbug!  Also, sometimes I think of something I want to add to a review, and though I don't mind leaving additional reviews, sometimes it really is part of the same thought... 

Just a thought...  smirk.

Peace,

Blue

Another thing about reviews... I've noticed that there's no way to edit a review...  Tonight, I made a spelling error, and of course, being somewhat OC, I want to correct it... Homonyms, bah, humbug!  Also, sometimes I think of something I want to add to a review, and though I don't mind leaving additional reviews, sometimes it really is part of the same thought... 

Just a thought...  smirk.

Peace,

Blue

LOL I'll pass that suggestion along to, but that may be a bit tricky - adding edit to the review form.