Readers who won't offer feedback...

[feel_the_beast]

Watching my 'Activity', I can see people adding my stories to their 'Favorites' list, one by one in the series. You know who you are. Pretty obviously reading them. Hard to imagine they're doing that, if they don't like them. And that's encouraging, to me, as a fledgling author.
So why won't these folks take five seconds, when they finish reading one, to submit a rating, or even a brief comment offering suggestions for improvement. Not only does this help the author, but decent ratings help us all find superior stories to read, since no one has enough time to plow through them all, looking for a few gems to enjoy. Even a low rating, if it's your honest opinion, and not just trolling, is helpful if accompanied by comments that explain what is wrong.
Help the authors get better, help the community. Offer some feedback now and then.

 

[StillStunned]

Quite a few readers use the "favourite" feature to bookmark stories for later. It's quite possible they haven't read them yet, so it's a bit unfair to expect them to rate or comment.

But yes, it would be nice to get more active feedback from readers. A bit of ego stroking, some pointers about what works and what doesn't, what they particularly like or dislike.

Unfortunately, that's just not the way. It's generally accepted that you'll get one rating for every 80-100 views, and one comment for every 1000 views. Some categories have a greater or lower level of engagement, of course - I find that SF&F is more often one rating per 40 views, and LW is commonly known to generate loads of comments, if you can stand them - but Lit is as Lit does.

It can be frustrating not to know what makes a reader drop a 1 on your story, or what makes them decide to follow you, but there's little you can do. Engage with the community here on the forums. Some people swear by replying to every comment they receive on their stories. Others add a note at the end, asking readers for their thoughts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Almost every author here asks that same question.
"I invest so much of my time and heart into this story and then I offer it to them for free, so why won't they show at least this small sign of appreciation? It's all I want from them!"

I've often wondered this myself, and I went through different theories until I reached the one that finally made sense. They don't offer feedback because they don't need to. Overall, they don't give a damn if you lose your motivation, if you continue writing or not, unless they really really liked your story. Only those who are really invested will offer feedback and show their appreciation with a comment/vote.

But why don't they give a damn if they enjoyed the story? Because all our stories here are cheap as fuck. There are tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of stories here, all given for free. There are 150+ new stories being published almost every day on this website only. It's impossible to appreciate something that is being given for free in such overwhelming abundance. And this doesn't apply to readers only, this applies to website admins as well. Just wait until you get into a situation to realize how much they don't care about your needs as an author.

This all might sound like some overly negative attitude but it's just harsh truth, such as it is. If you want to enjoy your writing and publishing here you will need to let go of the notion that the readers or website admins are thankful for your contribution to the website. Write for yourself and your own satisfaction and enjoyment, and forget about everything else. It's the only way to stay positive and truly enjoy your writing, unless of course, you decide to start publishing your stories somewhere else, for a price. Most authors who sell their stories on Amazon, Smashwords, and such, will tell you that nothing gives an author more satisfaction than when a reader shows their appreciation by actually buying the story.

 

[feel_the_beast]

Thanks, guys, for reminding me I'm not the only aspiring author yearning for validation. Actually, it's nice just to be able to see reader's interest through the 'Activity' feature, to know I'm not being totally ignored. Guess I'll just keep grinding them out, and try to be satisfied with whatever scraps of input they toss me.

 

[Becky_Sapphire]

I often wish for more comments too so understand your feeling, but think sometimes we need to put ourselves in the reader's shoes e.g. do we comment on every Youtube video we watch, respond to every media post we enjoyed or found interesting, email feedback to every Podcast we listen to, comment on every recipe we may try out from a website etc. Think it's just a reality that most of the things we view online we are merely silent observers, and (sadly for writers like us) that applies to our stories too.

 

[feel_the_beast]

I often wish for more comments too so understand your feeling, but think sometimes we need to put ourselves in the reader's shoes e.g. do we comment on every Youtube video we watch, respond to every media post we enjoyed or found interesting, email feedback to every Podcast we listen to, comment on every recipe we may try out from a website etc. Think it's just a reality that most of the things we view online we are merely silent observers, and (sadly for writers like us) that applies to our stories too.

Well, I do as a matter of fact rate every story I read, and comment on a lot of them besides. And I'm one of the laziest people I know. Thanks for the input.

 

[OnlyHappyEndings]

I get way more engagement here then I do on my non-erotic fiction pages. My least-read story, in Reviews & Essays, has 1000 clicks and 6 ratings. If I got that on another site I'd be thrilled. But for Lit, that's low. It's a matter of perspective.

 

[THBGato]

So why won't these folks take five seconds, when they finish reading one, to submit a rating, or even a brief comment offering suggestions for improvement.

I wonder if it's to do with publishing in chapters? These days I leave a comment on everything I read, but back when I started reading here I'd get so hooked in a multi-chapter story I'd quickly click onto the next chapter and only leave a comment at the end.

I see this pattern now with my own stories: I get comments on individual chapters as the publish (tip: leave them on a cliffhanger - that provokes comments) but once the whole series is published, new comments only really appear on the final installment. I notice, OP, that you are publishing a long series - I wonder if that is what is happening with your readers?

Great to see that you comment a lot too.

 

[feel_the_beast]

I wonder if it's to do with publishing in chapters? These days I leave a comment on everything I read, but back when I started reading here I'd get so hooked in a multi-chapter story I'd quickly click onto the next chapter and only leave a comment at the end.

I see this pattern now with my own stories: I get comments on individual chapters as the publish (tip: leave them on a cliffhanger - that provokes comments) but once the whole series is published, new comments only really appear on the final installment. I notice, OP, that you are publishing a long series - I wonder if that is what is happening with your readers?

Great to see that you comment a lot too.

Could be, Gato, I guess, but I believe that publishing in chapters is better than trying to write an entire novella and publishing the whole thing all at once, because I believe many readers here, looking for a quick erotic fix, shy away from very long works without giving them a chance at all.
Before I started publishing here, I was a bit shy about sharing thoughts on written works. With no proven track record as an author, I kind of had the mindset of, "Who am I to be telling an established author how to write...?"

 

[THBGato]

Before I started publishing here, I was a bit shy about sharing thoughts on written works. With no proven track record as an author, I kind of had the mindset of, "Who am I to be telling an established author how to write...?"

Well, I suspect lots of readers share that humility too... another factor that stops them commenting

 

[WittyUserName]

Watching my 'Activity', I can see people adding my stories to their 'Favorites' list, one by one in the series. You know who you are. Pretty obviously reading them. Hard to imagine they're doing that, if they don't like them. And that's encouraging, to me, as a fledgling author.
So why won't these folks take five seconds, when they finish reading one, to submit a rating, or even a brief comment offering suggestions for improvement. Not only does this help the author, but decent ratings help us all find superior stories to read, since no one has enough time to plow through them all, looking for a few gems to enjoy. Even a low rating, if it's your honest opinion, and not just trolling, is helpful if accompanied by comments that explain what is wrong.
Help the authors get better, help the community. Offer some feedback now and then.

I've seen the same. My main series has 49 chapters now. I've woken up to 49 notifications of the same person adding every chapter to their favorites. No comments. I've also noticed my last few chapters have gotten fewer comments than usual.

I can't blame them. I used to just read on here. I never even bothered to rate stories I loved. Why? Hard to say. If I thought about it, would I have wanted to tell the author I enjoyed it? Probably, yes. It's just hard to feel the need to bother. I try and comment on the occasional story now, and as much as I'd love more comments on my own work, it's just usually tough to bother. It's a shame, but it's reality. Most people don't comment. I really don't think there's anything we can do to change that.

 

[Bazzle]

I've seen the same. My main series has 49 chapters now. I've woken up to 49 notifications of the same person adding every chapter to their favorites. No comments. I've also noticed my last few chapters have gotten fewer comments than usual.

I can't blame them. I used to just read on here. I never even bothered to rate stories I loved. Why? Hard to say. If I thought about it, would I have wanted to tell the author I enjoyed it? Probably, yes. It's just hard to feel the need to bother. I try and comment on the occasional story now, and as much as I'd love more comments on my own work, it's just usually tough to bother. It's a shame, but it's reality. Most people don't comment. I really don't think there's anything we can do to change that.

If us authors wont comment on stories that we read...why should the punters?

 

[WittyUserName]

If us authors wont comment on stories that we read...why should the punters?

Agreed. I need to put more effort into commenting on stories I enjoy.

 

[SmokingFap]

Watching my 'Activity', I can see people adding my stories to their 'Favorites' list, one by one in the series. You know who you are. Pretty obviously reading them. Hard to imagine they're doing that, if they don't like them. And that's encouraging, to me, as a fledgling author.
So why won't these folks take five seconds, when they finish reading one, to submit a rating, or even a brief comment offering suggestions for improvement. Not only does this help the author, but decent ratings help us all find superior stories to read, since no one has enough time to plow through them all, looking for a few gems to enjoy. Even a low rating, if it's your honest opinion, and not just trolling, is helpful if accompanied by comments that explain what is wrong.
Help the authors get better, help the community. Offer some feedback now and then.

I would suggest you just be happy that people are reading, rating, and adding your stories to their favorites menu. Folks have precious little free time these days. You should consider yourself lucky that they choose to spend some of it on your work.

 

[BgDaddy33]

Watching my 'Activity', I can see people adding my stories to their 'Favorites' list, one by one in the series. You know who you are. Pretty obviously reading them. Hard to imagine they're doing that, if they don't like them. And that's encouraging, to me, as a fledgling author.
So why won't these folks take five seconds, when they finish reading one, to submit a rating, or even a brief comment offering suggestions for improvement. Not only does this help the author, but decent ratings help us all find superior stories to read, since no one has enough time to plow through them all, looking for a few gems to enjoy. Even a low rating, if it's your honest opinion, and not just trolling, is helpful if accompanied by comments that explain what is wrong.
Help the authors get better, help the community. Offer some feedback now and then.

Welcome to Literotica...

I read through the comments and I mostly agree with all..

Try not to let it discourage you. I almost threw in the towel just after posting a second part of a story because I saw such a huge decline in comments. Someone gave the statistic that stories in series lose readers by half for each chapter posted. That's horrid, and if you go by the alone you'd never want to write again.

Others here will tell you, "write for yourself" not for the comments, and that is valid thinking too... but I also think it is valid for an "aspiring author" to "yearn.. for validation" as you put it.

It's often the encouragement that fuels the ideas that come to us.

This is a creative space, with all that entails.

My only advice is to try to see Lit as a very large place fostering ALL sorts of interests and kinks. If you find a handful of people who share yours, well then you've done well for yourself. There are probably many more who don't and would flame your story just for the fact that it exists.

Try to ignore the trolls, and keep writing.

Good luck.

 

[darkride]

If we were publishing these professionally, we'd be dying to learn the numbers sold / published / etc, and looking for reviews in papers (err, well, you know, when print media wasn't dead)...

Now we can be more interactive with our audience, and in turn we become more demanding.

Totally understandable... But also not something you can demand of a reader.

If you were sitting at a park bench reading a book and the author sat next to you and said - Hey, that's my book, please I'd love for some feedback! What did you think? Did you like the protagonist? Did the surprise on page 66 trick you? You'd either sit there for the next 3 hours happily conversing, or you'd be running for the hills. Just because you picked the book up doesn't mean you loved it.

 

[TanyaDeVayer]

My stories have about 7.000 views each I think, but around 5 comments. So I decided not to publish a new story here. I share my stories with interested members individually and talk about the story. This is much more satisfying and insightful. Anybody else who is interested can pay for my other stories on various stores.