What do you want to hear in the comments?

[TheRedLantern]

Basically the thread title.

I came across a story and wanted to leave a comment, so what kind of comments have people found helpful? Do people like specific feedback, a general "loved it," a 500 page PhD dissertation about a cheating wife (I was warned to stay out of LW until I was fireproof)?

And do people prefer comments on stories, or a one-on-one Conversation?

I know there will be as many answers as respondents, and I'm really only hoping to get a sense of what the norms are (or should be).

 

[SimonDoom]

I enjoy a variety.

I don't need a long comment.

The best comment is one that says something intelligent about my story, positive or negative, and then backs it up with something specific, so I have something to look at and understand the basis for the commenter's opinion. I like "I loved it!" comments as much as anyone, but I APPRECIATE comments that show a little more thought and effort.

 

[Erozetta]

Whatever reflects the reader's honest experience with the story.

I always respond to emails sent through the contact an author form as long as they include an email for me to respond to (or a username to send a message here.) I don't respond to comments on my stories because I don't like that it counts towards the story's comment count and I don't like that you can't reply inline on the comments.

 

[StillStunned]

I love to hear something that the reader particularly enjoyed: a bit of dialogue, a description, a character, a plot point. Any or all of those.

But I'll settle for just knowing that they enjoyed the story.

And I prefer to get comments on the website, not by email, for the simple and selfish reason that every comment that shows up in the "Recent comments" sidebar draws more attention to my story.

 

[iwatchus]

I guess I just want to know how people interacted with it. My most useful comment was comparing their experiences with a foursome to what I had written. Having never actually been involved in a foursome, it was gratifying to see that it resonated with the commenter.

And definitely through comments.

 

[lovecraft68]

I settle for anything indicating they liked anything in the story other than just the sex.

Bonus if I think they read it at all. I get a lot of comments that make me wonder how little of it they read before spouting off about something that ended up never happening.

 

[HordHolm]

If I've dropped a clanger I tell myself I'd prefer to know. But... perhaps I wouldn't prefer it pointed out in a comment . But what I really appreciate is comments that indicate whether the reader has understood, misunderstood, or wilfully refused to understand what I've written.

 

[Bamagan]

 

[MelissaBaby]

The only thing I can add to the previous posts is, yes, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME TYPOS.

 

[NotWise]

I want the reader's gut reaction. Specifics about why they feel that way are nice, but few readers express themselves all that well. On the other hand, I value the more detailed reactions I've been given by other writers.

 

[lovecraft68]

The only thing I can add to the previous posts is, yes, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME TYPOS.

I don't mind because I think finding a typo and pointing it out makes these people so happy how can I fault them for it?

 

[SmokingFap]

The only thing I can add to the previous posts is, yes, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME TYPOS.

One star. I hate all caps.

 

[iwatchus]

The only thing I can add to the previous posts is, yes, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME TYPOS.

As a longtime reader, I would grumble to myself about the typos and swore I would be different if I ever wrote. And then twenty some years later, I am writing and dammit there are typos.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Basically the thread title.

I came across a story and wanted to leave a comment, so what kind of comments have people found helpful? Do people like specific feedback, a general "loved it," a 500 page PhD dissertation about a cheating wife (I was warned to stay out of LW until I was fireproof)?

Something that says how the story affected them as a reader, something that's had a little thought behind it.

And do people prefer comments on stories, or a one-on-one Conversation?

Public comments, because they bring more readers. If I receive a comment through Feedback, I'll often drop it into the Comments myself.

I know there will be as many answers as respondents, and I'm really only hoping to get a sense of what the norms are (or should be).

Read the comments in the categories you write in - there are no norms. Every category is different.

 

[MrPixel]

Short and sweet ones. "Thank you," "I like this series. More, please," and "I think I'm falling in love with [character]."

Only once did I get a remark about a technical error, a comma which the respondent thought should have been a period. I simply smiled at the computer screen, as the suggested change would have changed the meaning. Oh... there was a complaint about a perceived tense conflict. It was intended.

Very few comments in general, and most stories garner none. I have no issue with that.

 

[AG31]

I find all comments interesting. The variety of tastes in eroticism and writing style is vast. But what I most appreciate is evidence that the reader understood where I was coming from. Even if they explain to me why I didn't achieve it.

 

[SugarStorm]

In a recent work of mine I had an anon criticising the story, calling it flat, with the story not going anywhere and full of cliches. 30k words romance, and I poured myself into that one.

Their words stung, I'll admit.

A few days letter a named account comes to my defence. 16 year old account, only one comment prior to the one they make on my story.

I felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

But to answer the question, positive feedback. Any positive feedback, really, and bonus points if they can tie it to a part or a character from the story.

Constructive feedback I personally feel is best sent to me directly, so I have a chance to reply/discuss/ask for clarification.

Negative feedback I'm not interested in at all. A harsh comment is way worse than a low rating. If my work is not for you, no need to read nor comment.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Negative feedback I'm not interested in at all. A harsh comment is way worse than a low rating. If my work is not for you, no need to read nor comment.

Negative comments can be a bitter pill, but a pill you need to swallow, nonetheless. A reader once chastised me for relying too much on the passive voice. If they'd been nicer, I might have skimmed past them, but that they were so stern about it made me pay attention. And they were right.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

All comments are good. That said, my favorites are the ones that share something they liked and suggest an improvement.

"The dialogue was very good, but I wish they had..."

 

[SugarStorm]

Negative comments can be a bitter pill, but a pill you need to swallow, nonetheless. A reader once chastised me for relying too much on the passive voice. If they'd been nicer, I might have skimmed past them, but that they were so stern about it made me pay attention. And they were right.

That to me sounds like constructive feedback, in the sense that they highlight a specific problem area worthy of your attention.

Negative feedback for me is when it's not constructive, when there's nothing I can use to further improve my work. It's vague, dismissive, or just critical for the sake of it, without offering any direction. It lacks the insight that makes feedback useful.

 

[Nynah]

Whatever reflects the reader's honest experience with the story.

I always respond to emails sent through the contact an author form as long as they include an email for me to respond to (or a username to send a message here.) I don't respond to comments on my stories because I don't like that it counts towards the story's comment count and I don't like that you can't reply inline on the comments.

I agree with this entirely. I definitely want readers' genuine reactions to what I wrote. I'm lucky in that most of the comments I have received have been very nice but the ones that are neutral and negative (in relation to the story, ad hominem attacks are obviously no use at all) are also valuable because they reflect something that can possibly be improved in my work. I may not always agree with them but I'm glad that someone took the time to reach out to me about it.

I've responded to almost all of the emails I've received (with one significant exception) because I appreciate someone who went through the effort of contacting me through the Literotica portal (which can be confusing sometimes). A few of them turned into correspondences and I was able to have nice conversations with interested readers about the content of my stories, so that always feels good.

Sometimes, if a lot of time has passed and several comments have accumulated asking for updates/clarification, I will post a catchall response in the comment section addressing them. But for the most part, I also do not want to artificially inflate my comment count by replying to each comment I get, especially because a lot of them are usually just nice positive affirmations that I don't believe require direct responses. Honestly, I wish I could use emotes/emojis to react to them because I think that would convey my sentiments more effectively and succinctly.

 

[iwatchus]

Negative comments can be a bitter pill, but a pill you need to swallow, nonetheless. A reader once chastised me for relying too much on the passive voice. If they'd been nicer, I might have skimmed past them, but that they were so stern about it made me pay attention. And they were right.

Some negative comments are useful. Others not. The second comment I ever got, for my third story, was a one word review from our favorite critic anon something.

"Boring"

To this day, I don't know what they were commenting on. It surprised me at the time, because I thought the story contained the first hot sex scene I had written. Had that come on the previous story, which was dialog heavy, I would not have been surprised.

Oh well. But not useful. Or appreciated for a new writer.

 

[MelissaBaby]

That to me sounds like constructive feedback, in the sense that they highlight a specific problem area worthy of your attention.

Negative feedback for me is when it's not constructive, when there's nothing I can use to further improve my work. It's vague, dismissive, or just critical for the sake of it, without offering any direction. It lacks the insight that makes feedback useful.

Agreed. But they were damn nasty about it.

 

[crookedletter]

I, of course, want to hear that not only is my story a work of profound beauty and brilliance, but that I myself, having written such a masterpiece, am a generational talent, my awe-inspiring intelligence and creativity rivaled only by my raw sexual magnetism.

Still waiting for that one.

 

[PennyThompson]

Negative feedback certainly doesn't feel good, but if there's something useful to be gleaned from it -- either because the commenter was intentionally trying to provide something constructive, or because the commenter described something useful -- then it's good feedback.

Positive feedback that talks about what specific scenes or characters or elements they enjoyed is helpful, because it lets me know when I'm on the right track with something that resonates with readers.

I tend to aim for specificity instead of broad appeal, so it's nice to know that when it works, it works