Why no comments?

[jts259]

Hi, keep putting stories in. People obviously like them, ratings 4+ and favorited, but very few comments, even anonymous. Is commenting becoming less common?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hi, keep putting stories in. People obviously like them, ratings 4+ and favorited, but very few comments, even anonymous. Is commenting becoming less common?

Comments have always been rare. My metric, over 140+ chapters/stories and twelve years, is one Vote per hundred Views, one Comment per thousand. Some categories are less responsive than others. If you write really well or really badly, readers will let you know. If you're in the middle of the bell-curve, it can be very quiet.

 

[StillStunned]

My first twenty-two stories received a total of four comments. One was a complaint that the story was "nothing but smut, there needs to be more", and another complained that the chapters were too short.

But I've stuck with it. Those first stories are long since deleted, but for a long time I'd still only get a few comments, and sometimes none at all.

A while ago I began replying to each individual comment and since then I've been getting far more. I think readers like to know that their words will be read, and that the author appreciates their thoughts.

 

[DanDraper]

I have many stories with comments, but also just as many zero or very few comments, it's never a guarantee it will happen.

Sometimes I get comments months later, or even years later. So if it doesn't happen now, you may get more down the line.

 

[yano2mch]

From what i see on Youtube, 10% of the viewers will like/dislike, and of that another 10%-20% of that number will comment.

So i would assume commenting and rating are rare overall. Yeah maybe it's not the same crowd, but percentages of people will likely be similar. If someone is logged in they are more likely to rate or comment, and if they aren't they just are there for the story and will go out of their way only if it really meant something to them...

Least, that's how i see it.

 

[darwin1859]

Hi, keep putting stories in. People obviously like them, ratings 4+ and favorited, but very few comments, even anonymous. Is commenting becoming less common?

I suggest for your existing stories, you add a comment yourself, and in that comment request comments from readers. Also, interact with commentors.

For future stories, I'd add an author's note to the beginning or ending (or both) requesting comments.

You could also write in Loving Wives... Then you'd get comments

 

[JTass]

I suggest for your existing stories, you add a comment yourself, and in that comment request comments from readers. Also, interact with commentors.

For future stories, I'd add an author's note to the beginning or ending (or both) requesting comments.

You could also write in Loving Wives... Then you'd get comments

I agree with darwin1859 about drawing comments in the LW category, with the caveat that only about 20% of those comments provide any useful feedback.

Alternatively, you could create a thread in Story Feedback with a link to your story and request people to critique it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Why a reader leaves comments vary widely, but the audience in some categories seem far more prone to leave comments than the audience in others.

This story only has 20 comments in three years, but as a ratio of comments per views, it is doing great.

Loving Wives tends to have an audience more willing to provide a comment, but some can be quite caustic.

If someone completes reading a novel-length story and then leaves a comment, it will generally be more positive/constructive

Another example of the rating having little correlation to the number of comments, but once again, in Loving wives.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

A while ago I began replying to each individual comment and since then I've been getting far more.

Do you reply with another comment? Unless the site has changed, if you tag a user in a story comment they don't get notifications. Do you PM commenters that post while logged in, and therefore show their username? I'm curious because I have noticed a significant uptick in readers adding stories to Favorites, and a corresponding downturn in comments. I do agree, commenting is historically a small percentage of readers.

 

[StillStunned]

I reply with a comment, and tag the user, even if it has no direct effect. Quite a few will check back, and if nothing else other readers see it and will be more inclined to leave a comment of their own.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

I reply with a comment, and tag the user, even if it has no direct effect. Quite a few will check back, and if nothing else other readers see it and will be more inclined to leave a comment of their own.

Thank you. I’m going to try that.

 

[debbislut]

My first twenty-two stories received a total of four comments. One was a complaint that the story was "nothing but smut, there needs to be more", and another complained that the chapters were too short.

But I've stuck with it. Those first stories are long since deleted, but for a long time I'd still only get a few comments, and sometimes none at all.

A while ago I began replying to each individual comment and since then I've been getting far more. I think readers like to know that their words will be read, and that the author appreciates their thoughts.

In all seriousness I like smutty