Feedback vs comments

[Booblover56]

When I first submitted my stories I selected the yes to comments option hoping I would get useable feedback

I am now regretting that since mostly I got comments about not enough sex, tits, ass, etc... or ones that were so badly worded or misspelled I honestly wonder how they made it passed the 6 grade

Honestly I don't write for others, it is a hobby to unload thoughts from my head and submitting them is suppose to be closure on my thoughts

Am I the only one who feels this way?

How do you deal with the comments? Care? Don't care? Ignore?

Alsomif you know how to completely stop these or if I should let me know, I already shut it off on the stories but now I keep getting emails instead

 

[holliday1960]

Welcome to Lit. (said both literally and tongue in cheek.)

In addition to turning comments off on the individual stories, you can turn off all anonymous feed back in your member control panel. I think it is under options. But, I still havent figured out how to stop the emails from coming. Most of those are not as annoying tho. You could always just delete them without reading them if you like.

 

[ElectricBlue]

On your User Page, Edit Options - you can turn off all feedback (comments and feedback).

If you are writing totally for yourself, one might ask why are you posting on Lit?

Setting that aside, you can do what you like with the Comments, it is totally up to you. Keep them all, keep them selectively, delete the trolls and tools, delete them all, reply to them, whatever. It comes down to how you the author want to engage with your audience.

Do you even want an audience? You sound ambivalent.

 

[SamScribble]

In seven or eight years of posting here, I have probably had no more than three or four comments that were useful from a structural or compositional point of view. Many many more comments have simply been from people grumbling about the size of the female protagonist's tits, etc, or grumbling about the paucity of explicit sex. (These comments are frequently misspelled and mis-punctuated.) I'm afraid that my usual response to these is: tell someone who gives a damn.

Happily, I have also had more than a few comments from readers expressing their appreciation. These I am always happy to receive.

I guess the bottom line is this: no one is paid to publish here; and no one pays to read here. What you get is what you get.

My advice: write what you would enjoy reading and don't take too much notice of anyone else. But when you find yourself gathering a small coterie of 'fans', enjoy them and look after them. They are good for your soul on the grey days.

 

[NotWise]

When I first submitted my stories I selected the yes to comments option hoping I would get useable feedback

What do you consider to be usable feedback?

When I first started posting stories I went to the feedback forum and asked for feedback. I got some well-reasoned comments on the forum and on the stories. There was a problem. Most of the comments, though well-reasoned, weren't especially useful. They were subjective, sometimes they were style-dependent, sometimes they were trivia. A few helped.

Aside from those early stories, I don't get a lot of comments. The ones I do get from the usual readers are about the story content and are usually fairly visceral. I find I prefer that to the more writerly comments. The reader's comments can be uninterpretable, but ultimately they give me a gage of success or failure and sometimes a clue as to why.

 

[SusanJillParker]

When I first submitted my stories I selected the yes to comments option hoping I would get useable feedback

I am now regretting that since mostly I got comments about not enough sex, tits, ass, etc... or ones that were so badly worded or misspelled I honestly wonder how they made it passed the 6 grade

Honestly I don't write for others, it is a hobby to unload thoughts from my head and submitting them is suppose to be closure on my thoughts

Am I the only one who feels this way?

How do you deal with the comments? Care? Don't care? Ignore?

Alsomif you know how to completely stop these or if I should let me know, I already shut it off on the stories but now I keep getting emails instead

If you want to stop some of the rude, nasty, and shit comments from filtering through, if you haven't already, turn off "Accept Anonymous Feedback."

By doing that the reader must sign in to make a comment on your story. By doing that, you'll avoid the cowards who don't want their comments attached to their Literotica name. Then, again, I've had plenty of readers who start a new Literotica name just to give me a bashing comment (lol).

Good luck.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

How do you deal with the comments? Care? Don't care? Ignore?

I care about comments. Very occasionally they show me weaknesses in my writing. Mostly they stroke my ego, which of course never gets enough.

At one point I turned off anon comments to shake off someone who had developed a weird fetish for commenting oddly on my stories. Doing that might cut your comment rate in half, but it can be worth it.

I've seen strange comments that show the reader was completely lost; I've seen a couple that show people take fiction wait too seriously. In general, if a comment is out there, delete it. You don't want people thinking your stories appeal largely to the deranged; and there's definitely a few crazies associated with Lit.

 

[MindsMirror]

The way we look at it, even comments that are short are giving more than just a vote.

Too much X or Y and not enough Z, still tells you that at least one reader thought there were things that could be done to make them happier. Does that matter? It might not if you don't value those things and were working for something different. Maybe a better disclaimer helps set the readers expectations.

We've gotten comments that we have way too much detail and no where near enough. Or stories are to long and too short. There's probably no way to satisfy everyone. So write what you're happy with and make use of the very little feedback that there is, when you feel it might be valid.

-MM

 

[MeredithEighty8]

Where did it go?

I look forward to the feedback and comments on my stories. Occasionally they are useful and encouraging, but frequently they are pointless, negative and mean spirited. Surprisingly I find the negative ones the most interesting because they say more about the writer of the comment than they do about the story.

That having been said, I noticed that a comment on my most recent submission had been removed/deleted but not by me. It was negative, but nothing devastating or mean. I've also noticed this happening in the past with a negative comment. Is there someone who reviews and removes these? What do they base removing comments on?

 

[MindsMirror]

That having been said, I noticed that a comment on my most recent submission had been removed/deleted but not by me. It was negative, but nothing devastating or mean. I've also noticed this happening in the past with a negative comment. Is there someone who reviews and removes these? What do they base removing comments on?

We thought we'd seen that but we were very new and uncertain of how it all worked. We think comments can be removed by Lit if they break the rules.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Anybody can report a comment if they think it breaches the rules, and site management can then decide whether to delete it.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

When I first submitted my stories I selected the yes to comments option hoping I would get useable feedback

I am now regretting that since mostly I got comments about not enough sex, tits, ass, etc... or ones that were so badly worded or misspelled I honestly wonder how they made it passed the 6 grade

Honestly I don't write for others, it is a hobby to unload thoughts from my head and submitting them is suppose to be closure on my thoughts

Am I the only one who feels this way?

How do you deal with the comments? Care? Don't care? Ignore?

Alsomif you know how to completely stop these or if I should let me know, I already shut it off on the stories but now I keep getting emails instead

Most of the time comments, good or bad, don't bother me. I let one get to me and it was because the person said they skimmed my story fast, but then went ahead and complained about stuff. If they had read the story, fine go ahead and let me know what complaints you have, but don't tell me you skimmed the story and think you can complain.

I leave comments on and I don't think I've ever deleted any. Usually read them and move on.

The only feedback I've gotten in an email was always positive.

Weird though on my last story, which was a quickie short story I decided to submit just to see what others thought of it, I've gotten no comments or feedback at all!

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Most of the time comments, good or bad, don't bother me. I let one get to me and it was because the person said they skimmed my story fast, but then went ahead and complained about stuff. If they had read the story, fine go ahead and let me know what complaints you have, but don't tell me you skimmed the story and think you can complain.

I leave comments on and I don't think I've ever deleted any. Usually read them and move on.

The only feedback I've gotten in an email was always positive.

Weird though on my last story, which was a quickie short story I decided to submit just to see what others thought of it, I've gotten no comments or feedback at all!

I don't believe you. From what you say I suspect you obsess over every word, especially from your honey.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Jesus Christ on rollerskates this topic comes around like menstrual periods. Nothing changes. Readers and writers are clueless dumshits.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Readers are like ghosts

You can see evidence of their passing by (views, faves and scores) but they can be like fragile spirits, leaving no trace.

I've got a four part story cycle, it's been up for eighteen months, and I know that readers of the last two parts stayed with me as the story unfolded, right to the end. Right from the start, the number of views of these parts tracked within 10 of each other - so everyone who has read Part 3 has read Part 4. For the last two months they have been within 5 views of each other, then in the last week, Part 4 has suddenly got 30 more views than Part 3.

My conclusion is that 30 people have very recently read Part 4 twice (or one person has read it thirty times, but I doubt that), yet there is silence. The story must have touched them (why read it again?), but they touch it back like a ghost does, in silence. It seems so strange, like I'm haunted. It's appropriate, because the story is of my own haunting, but it's still strange, knowing that someone has got a piece of me and they're all alone with it.

Sometimes I want the ghosts to knock on the door, to tell me they're there.

 

[ChloeTzang]

You can see evidence of their passing by (views, faves and scores) but they can be like fragile spirits, leaving no trace.

I've got a four part story cycle, it's been up for eighteen months, and I know that readers of the last two parts stayed with me as the story unfolded, right to the end. Right from the start, the number of views of these parts tracked within 10 of each other - so everyone who has read Part 3 has read Part 4. For the last two months they have been within 5 views of each other, then in the last week, Part 4 has suddenly got 30 more views than Part 3.

My conclusion is that 30 people have very recently read Part 4 twice (or one person has read it thirty times, but I doubt that), yet there is silence. The story must have touched them (why read it again?), but they touch it back like a ghost does, in silence. It seems so strange, like I'm haunted. It's appropriate, because the story is of my own haunting, but it's still strange, knowing that someone has got a piece of me and they're all alone with it.

Sometimes I want the ghosts to knock on the door, to tell me they're there.

Oh, I think many of us like that feedback, but really, views is the best we can rely on. Comments are just x o haphazard and ratings, well that's been discussed do many timez. I'm building up my own email list slowly and I find that works far better for feedback.

 

[MeredithEighty8]

Anybody can report a comment if they think it breaches the rules, and site management can then decide whether to delete it.

Hmmm, I didn't know that, thanks for the info.

I have yet to come across a comment that I felt compelled to delete. They're usually anonymous, and I take them with a grain of salt and move on. I don't think 3rd party deletion is necessary. if a comment was bad enough to upset me, I'd have deleted it myself.

 

[TamLin01]

Well, the way I see it, the worst case scenario with comments is that you never get any that are helpful. And turning the comments off is the only 100 percent, ironclad, cannot-fail way to guarantee that this happens--because of course, you'll never get anything at all.

And what exactly do unsatisfying comments cost a writer anyway? They don't hurt the story's standing. They don't diminish your audience or degrade your ability to publish. They don't give you a wedgie and steal your lunch money.

They might hurt a writer's ego, I guess. But an ego has never done a bit of good for any writer anyway.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

When I first submitted my stories I selected the yes to comments option hoping I would get useable feedback

I am now regretting that since mostly I got comments about not enough sex, tits, ass, etc... or ones that were so badly worded or misspelled I honestly wonder how they made it passed the 6 grade

Honestly I don't write for others, it is a hobby to unload thoughts from my head and submitting them is suppose to be closure on my thoughts

Am I the only one who feels this way?

How do you deal with the comments? Care? Don't care? Ignore?

Alsomif you know how to completely stop these or if I should let me know, I already shut it off on the stories but now I keep getting emails instead

Delete the ones you don't like. You have control over that and few people will notice. No one will know you deleted a comment unless they are specifically watching your behavior. Most people don't take the time do that. Delete and rock on.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hmmm, I didn't know that, thanks for the info.

I have yet to come across a comment that I felt compelled to delete. They're usually anonymous, and I take them with a grain of salt and move on. I don't think 3rd party deletion is necessary. if a comment was bad enough to upset me, I'd have deleted it myself.

I think third-party reporting/deleting is more useful with inactive authors who aren't around to keep an eye on their notifications.