End of Story Request to Comment?

[Otto26]

Thank you for reading this free story. It took many combined hours of work by several people to produce this and the only compensation we will receive is your feedback. If you enjoyed this story please leave a comment to let us know.

Thinking about adding the above to the end of my upcoming stories. Do you have any experience fishing for comments in this fashion? Does this work for you? Thoughts?

 

[StillStunned]

I've done it once, to no appreciable difference. But it wasn't a particularly profound story, so it might have been different if there had been more emotional engagement from readers.

 

[alohadave]

This should be fun...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

By all means. Many readers don't appreciate how much feedback means to an author. I generally encourage them to vote, "if not for this story, then for one you think is better."

 

[MyBareTorso]

Yeah, go for it. I've never done it, but it's certainly been something I've considered...

 

[AlinaX]

Leave a comment - or a woman with long black hair will escape from your device and abuse you until you scream...

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I do it on almost every story I write. It's always a little different, usually along the lines of 'your comments are why I write,' to Your comments help me become a better writer.' My philosophy is it doesn't hurt yo ask and any comments I get definitely help, so, go for it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I end every story saying votes and comments are appreciated. Been doing it for years, not really sure if it helps or not.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thank you for reading this free story. It took many combined hours of work by several people to produce this and the only compensation we will receive is your feedback. If you enjoyed this story please leave a comment to let us know.

Thinking about adding the above to the end of my upcoming stories. Do you have any experience fishing for comments in this fashion? Does this work for you? Thoughts?

I have no idea whether requests for comments work (I never ask for them), but this wording is far too needy for me. I'd loose the "free story", and "only compensation" - both phrases are sort of rubbing it into the reader that they've not paid.

They're negatives for me - I'd be inclined to think, "Well I read your bloody story, didn't I? and now you want me to comment on it? Write a really good story and I'll comment, but not before."

If a story is worth comment, it will get comments, you shouldn't have to ask.

 

[Voboy]

By all means. Many readers don't appreciate how much feedback means to an author. I generally encourage them to vote, "if not for this story, then for one you think is better."

I do something like this every time I enter a contest: "Thank you for reading. I'm entering this story in the ______ Contest. There are a bunch of amazing stories we've written for you; please read them all and vote up your favorites!"

Does it help? Who knows?

 

[ronde]

I left such a note at the end of my early stories, but I think once you've developed a following, it doesn't really affect the number of votes or comments.

 

[Otto26]

Leave a comment - or a woman with long black hair will escape from your device and abuse you until you scream...

I can't deliver on that promise so I think I shouldn't make it.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've written an Afterwards for almost all my stories, sometimes offering a little tidbit as to the inspiration for the story, as well as any Thank You's needed to beta readers, editors etc.

I also ALWAYS make sure to thank the reader for their time, and encourage comments and feedback.

Does it help? I think so. Most of my stories get at least a few comments. Does it make a HUGE difference, though? Probably not.

 

[Carnevil9]

I normally don't, but I have one story where the main character has to make a very difficult decision at the end, and he does. I intended it to be a dilemma with no obvious best choice, so I asked readers to comment if they think he made the right or wrong decision, and why. I only got about five comments total, so I don't think it helped much!

 

[Britva415]

Reminds me of the Youtube trend I've been noticing a lot lately, on a lot of different channels. The kinds of channels where someone basically spends ten or fifteen minutes talking, lecturing, teaching, opining, you know, these kinds of channels.

Then right at the end they say "But what about you? Why do you think Frodo didn't know about that? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Also Like and Subscribe we're on the way to ten thousand it helps me a lot with the algorithm thank you have a great week yeah bye."

It's really transparent that they're just asking (A) as an afterthought and (B) for purely self serving reasons. Youtube algorithm prioritizes engagement and comments are a strong factor signaling engagement. One comment is worth thousands of views, scores of likes and half a subscriber.

This is just a tangent, I'm not saying your end-of-story invitation will come off the same way. I get that Lit isn't Youtube.

 

[StillStunned]

Reminds me of the Youtube trend I've been noticing a lot lately, on a lot of different channels. The kinds of channels where someone basically spends ten or fifteen minutes talking, lecturing, teaching, opining, you know, these kinds of channels.

Then right at the end they say "But what about you? Why do you think Frodo didn't know about that? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Also Like and Subscribe we're on the way to ten thousand it helps me a lot with the algorithm thank you have a great week yeah bye."

It's really transparent that they're just asking (A) as an afterthought and (B) for purely self serving reasons. Youtube algorithm prioritizes engagement and comments are a strong factor signaling engagement. One comment is worth thousands of views, scores of likes and half a subscriber.

This is just a tangent, I'm not saying your end-of-story invitation will come off the same way. I get that Lit isn't Youtube.

I think there's a difference. Those YouTube videos are all about the creator. They're trying to convince you of something (usually in quite an aggressive way), and then the call to action at the end comes across as begging on top of demanding. Lit stories are different: we're giving something, the reader enjoys what we've given, and then we ask for something in return.

Of course YT people might have a different perspective.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I normally don't, but I have one story where the main character has to make a very difficult decision at the end, and he does. I intended it to be a dilemma with no obvious best choice, so I asked readers to comment if they think he made the right or wrong decision, and why. I only got about five comments total, so I don't think it helped much!

Ah, I’ve done that too, once or twice. In my case, I did get a fair bit of feedback, so I guess it can work. It would be easy to overdo it.

 

[TheLobster]

I think there's a difference. Those YouTube videos are all about the creator. They're trying to convince you of something (usually in quite an aggressive way), and then the call to action at the end comes across as begging on top of demanding. Lit stories are different: we're giving something, the reader enjoys what we've given, and then we ask for something in return.

Of course YT people might have a different perspective.

One of these days I need to take this comment of mine and turn it into a “story” in H&S

 

[StillStunned]

One of these days I need to take this comment of mine and turn it into a “story” in H&S

I find it most concerning that innie navels are apparently something to be ashamed of.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Thank you for reading this free story. It took many combined hours of work by several people to produce this and the only compensation we will receive is your feedback. If you enjoyed this story please leave a comment to let us know.

Thinking about adding the above to the end of my upcoming stories. Do you have any experience fishing for comments in this fashion? Does this work for you? Thoughts?

It's not something I have tried... Really I shouldn't comment... BUT...
I have seen comments like that at the end of stories I've read and just skim past them...
Maybe it's because I play around with writing myself, and I know what it feels like to get almost no feedback...
However, as a random reader seeing the comments about leaving comments won't change my mind.
If the story was good and held my attention, I will comment. Otherwise nothing the writer says will entice me to make the effort....
Do I wanna use up valuable time telling a writer they did a terrible job... Yeah Nah... Not happening.

If a reader is affected either positively or negatively enough to leave a comment they will.
Some will and some simply can't be bothered... It's the way of the world...

Cagivagurl

 

[THBGato]

I have similar messages, usually a simple "Thanks for reading. All comments and feedback gratefully received." No idea if it makes a difference.

The only thing I think does increase the number of comments is to leave your story/chapter on a cliffhanger!

 

[Britva415]

This is just a tangent [...] I get that Lit isn't Youtube

I think there's a difference

Great, we're on the same page.

 

[SimonDoom]

Try it. But I recommend keeping it short. Get rid of everything except the last sentence.

 

[RetroFan]

I always invite comment on my stories, but how much difference it makes, I don't know. Although on one story I wrote I got this: 'You asked people to comment on your story, and here's mine. I thought it was crap.'

Some categories just have readers that comment more than others. Like a Loving Wives Story will usually attract plenty of comments whether the author asks for them or not, but in other categories like Erotic Horror, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Group Sex and E & V there are far fewer comments, even if the author is practically begging the readers for feedback.

 

[WhiteTailDarkTip]

Some categories just have readers that comment more than others. Like a Loving Wives Story will usually attract plenty of comments whether the author asks for them or not, but in other categories like Erotic Horror, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Group Sex and E & V there are far fewer comments, even if the author is practically begging the readers for feedback.

With LW, the stories often deal with varieties of betrayal and consequently some of the chatter around LW can be pretty nasty, esp when it gets into BTB territory.
The problem with SF&F is that it is dogged with cliche. As CS Lewis is said to have remarked to JRR Tolkien, “not another fucking elf.” It’s hard to invent a different yet consistent reality.
Erotic Horror is pretty specialised stuff. 5k stories out of the prox 600k on Lit means a small target audience and not a lot of what you might call ‘passing trade’. Which is a nuisance, because I’m collaborating on a story in this very category at the moment.