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To review or not to review


Guest Cai

What makes you review?  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. What makes you review?

    • Fast updates
      0
    • If the author asks for a review
      1
    • Quality/Content of the story
      14
    • Popularity of an author
      0
    • The pairing of the story
      1
    • Other
      0


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Ok, so I've noticed that many authors I know from the y! Gallery are jumping ship and not posting on this site due to the overall lack of reviews. I know that there are other reasons, such as not being able to directly respond to the readers (which has me finishing up what I'm working and leaving), but the main complaint has been the fact that people aren't reviewing much anymore. I have to wonder why that is. I would think that losing several good authors and many quality fics would be enough to make people review a bit more or at the very least give the story a rating.

I know that the last two updates I posted didn't get reviews and only a few rates. And normally if one of my stories doesn't get reviewed much I'll have a decent amount of rates that will show me that the fic was enjoyable. And honestly I never thought that I would be left to wonder to whether people are enjoying my fics... but oddly enough, as of late I find myself thinking "Would anyone care if I just stopped posting?" And believe me, it's even worse with other authors considering I'm probably one the most laid back writers when it comes to this sort of thing.

I won't get into specifics or bore anyone with the many complaints that I hear all the time so I'll just ask why? Why don't the people of AFF review and interact with the authors on this site more? I know that it's hard to interact well on this site but feedback is essential to many people who write fanfiction. With fanfiction many of the authors do this in their free time and so that they can contribute to the fandom so letting them know that their fic was great is a necessity. If they feel that they aren't appreciated then they go elsewhere... like FF.net (where I don't post, btw) :lol:

This isn't a "poor me, I've gotten no reviews" post. Believe me; I enjoy a good review as much as the next person but I'm one of the few authors I know that doesn't ask for them and who leaves it up to the reader because I don't feel that people should believe that they are forced into anything. I'm a writer and I write for the love of writing and do fanfiction for practice. I write more for the act of writing than the finished product so this doesn't really apply to how I personally feel. I'm just a very curious person and I want to know what's going on. This site is slowly becoming a ghost town and it's sad in a way.

Sorry to be nosy but I want to know. Comments on this are encouraged :)

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First thing everyone needs to take into account is that less than 1% of those that read a story are going to review or rank it. That's the way it is on ALL sites, fan fiction and 'regular' sites.

Second, authors will complain about this until the end of time but nothing is going to change the fact and fact #1 isn't going to change.

Third, though most readers can't be 'bothered' to rate or review, the sad fact is there are plenty of things that authors have done to cause this. Review whoring (demanding reviews for chapters), going off on readers, removing legit reviews because they contain some concrit they don't like, flame baiting reviewers that said something the author doesn't like, authors using reviews for other stories to go off on authors, etc, are all things that have led to this and hurt most authors chances at getting good, decent reviews.

But, even taking this all into account, the truth of the matter is if you write for yourself and do it because you love it, reviews or lack there of really don't mean anything. They are just kinda' candy for the soul.

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But, even taking this all into account, the truth of the matter is if you write for yourself and do it because you love it, reviews or lack there of really don't mean anything. They are just kinda' candy for the soul.

Tell the truth and shame the devil.

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First thing everyone needs to take into account is that less than 1% of those that read a story are going to review or rank it. That's the way it is on ALL sites, fan fiction and 'regular' sites.

Second, authors will complain about this until the end of time but nothing is going to change the fact and fact #1 isn't going to change.

Third, though most readers can't be 'bothered' to rate or review, the sad fact is there are plenty of things that authors have done to cause this. Review whoring (demanding reviews for chapters), going off on readers, removing legit reviews because they contain some concrit they don't like, flame baiting reviewers that said something the author doesn't like, authors using reviews for other stories to go off on authors, etc, are all things that have led to this and hurt most authors chances at getting good, decent reviews.

But, even taking this all into account, the truth of the matter is if you write for yourself and do it because you love it, reviews or lack there of really don't mean anything. They are just kinda' candy for the soul.

I agree with you 100% about how a lot of authors ruin reviews for themselves. I always shake my head and wonder why ask for feedback if you're going to shoot down every suggestion given to you. I understand that as an author you may not agree with what critique has been given but I still think that it should be taken with a certain amount of dignity and grace and if not all else, that reader is entitled to their opinion.

I feel that sometimes authors just don't get that not everyone will like their stories; that is just something that will happen. And I've seen the sad state of authors holding their stories hostage just to get reviews and I hope that not too many readers fall into that type of attention whoring trap.

And I find it annoying when people use reviews to fight. It's disappointing that adults behave like children sometimes but yet I see it all the time. People take fanfiction too seriously. And don't' get me wrong; I do think that if you're going to write fanfiction that you should put a lot of care into the fics but to fight over it? That's something I won't involve myself in.

And it will be something that fanfiction authors complain about, although I still have to wonder why the overall review rate has gone down. I mean, I've never gotten a ton of reviews for my fics so that's really not an issue. I wonder because of popular authors that I see who always got a lot no longer do. But I don't think that jumping ship will change anything but I guess if they're not satisfied with the site any longer then maybe it's best. I'm hoping that this poll will shed some light on it for me and getting over people's viewpoint is always a good thing.

As far as the last part, about writing for yourself… I do see where you're coming from but that doesn't mean that reviews don't mean anything. I personally write because, well, it's what I do. I can't explain it other than there are ideas in my head that need to be written or they just gather and clutter up the cobwebs that reside in my mind. So I do first and foremost write for myself but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate that someone took the time out to read my fic and if they go even further to leave a comment that's a huge compliment to me. Reading takes a lot of time and effort and when there is a review that means that soemthing stood out to them and that I'm doing my job as a writer. They're still important but I'm not going to stop writing because of a lack of them :lol: But I always leave that option up to the reader.

Thanks for the well thought out comment!

Edited by Cai
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I review if there is something in the story that jumps out at me and I want to comment on it.

Like everyone else mentioned, there are some authors who ruin reviewing by holding their stories hostage or claiming that any view other than thier own is a flamer or troll. Personally I don't get the idea of flaming. If I read something I don't like I stop, close the browser window, and forget about it.

The main problem is that the more I explore this site the more conflicting views I get. In the fiction I read, the authors want any type of review but then on the forums all I read about is how they don't like the "I love this story, please up date soon" type of reviews. Sometimes that is all I have to say so what do you want?

The reviews that have suggestions of plot are borderline. Sometimes an author loses track of their own story and need/want some ideas. But other times an author starts writting fan service and then loses their own voice. Then if reads as if the story is written just for that one reviewer and not the masses.

The quantity of reviews have dropped due to the dropping numbers of members and people visiting the site. I have been around for about 6 years and have seen fandoms go from several new stories a day to nothing.

It is sad and true that if what you are aiming for is a large quantity of reviews then you have to fish them out by posting in an active fandom and have a generic plot with the most popular pairing. Fanfiction readers are like any other reader they are attracted to what they know they like and rarely experiment.(I understand this isn't true about everyone but a generalization) I admit that I find myself doing this.

With this being an adult site you also have to realize that the amount of users is limited where the others are for everyone.

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I review if there is something in the story that jumps out at me and I want to comment on it.

Like everyone else mentioned, there are some authors who ruin reviewing by holding their stories hostage or claiming that any view other than thier own is a flamer or troll. Personally I don't get the idea of flaming. If I read something I don't like I stop, close the browser window, and forget about it.

The main problem is that the more I explore this site the more conflicting views I get. In the fiction I read, the authors want any type of review but then on the forums all I read about is how they don't like the "I love this story, please up date soon" type of reviews. Sometimes that is all I have to say so what do you want?

The reviews that have suggestions of plot are borderline. Sometimes an author loses track of their own story and need/want some ideas. But other times an author starts writting fan service and then loses their own voice. Then if reads as if the story is written just for that one reviewer and not the masses.

The quantity of reviews have dropped due to the dropping numbers of members and people visiting the site. I have been around for about 6 years and have seen fandoms go from several new stories a day to nothing.

It is sad and true that if what you are aiming for is a large quantity of reviews then you have to fish them out by posting in an active fandom and have a generic plot with the most popular pairing. Fanfiction readers are like any other reader they are attracted to what they know they like and rarely experiment.(I understand this isn't true about everyone but a generalization) I admit that I find myself doing this.

With this being an adult site you also have to realize that the amount of users is limited where the others are for everyone.

I agree with you that some authors ask way too much from their readers or aren't clear enough with their needs... or maybe they should be happier with what they get. I personally think that there are many reasons why people don't review. I've had some people on the y! Gallery apologize before for not reviewing more but their English wasn't very good and they felt awkward leaving them (which I don't feel any apology is needed for that... seriously; I'm amazed at how many people can speak English and I'm barely managing to learn Spanish). That's one of a multitude of examples that I could give.

I'm just very curious to see what other people think on the matter. I mean, I could go on with this topic forever. Thanks so much for your input.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest oskalaboska

I'm a writer on y!gallery but the reason that I'm leaving has nothing to do with the amount of reviews I'm getting.

For me reviews are good but they're not the end all of the world for me. I basically writer as a way to unclutter my mind. I'm one of those people who gets an idea and it gnaws and gnaws until I have to put it on paper or go crazy.

I try to put out something that meets my high standards (as a reader) and reviews just tell me that I'm successful.

Now, I will admit that sometimes the lack of reviews are disheartening (on FF.net I have a story that's up to chapter 22 and only have 1 review) but I do take into consideration that I write:

a) for old, almost dead fandoms (Final Fantasy 8, Legend of Zelda)

B) crack or unpopular pairings (Chouji/Sai, NaruNejiNaru, Howard/Allen)

and

c) my characterizations are consider too out there are certain things that are fanon staples that my mind shies from. For example, passive, uke!Naruto, weak,oblivious!Iruka, emo!Neji (pre-Genin exam yeah but afterwards... :) )

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I'm a writer on y!gallery but the reason that I'm leaving has nothing to do with the amount of reviews I'm getting.

For me reviews are good but they're not the end all of the world for me. I basically writer as a way to unclutter my mind. I'm one of those people who gets an idea and it gnaws and gnaws until I have to put it on paper or go crazy.

I try to put out something that meets my high standards (as a reader) and reviews just tell me that I'm successful.

Now, I will admit that sometimes the lack of reviews are disheartening (on FF.net I have a story that's up to chapter 22 and only have 1 review) but I do take into consideration that I write:

a) for old, almost dead fandoms (Final Fantasy 8, Legend of Zelda)

B) crack or unpopular pairings (Chouji/Sai, NaruNejiNaru, Howard/Allen)

and

c) my characterizations are consider too out there are certain things that are fanon staples that my mind shies from. For example, passive, uke!Naruto, weak,oblivious!Iruka, emo!Neji (pre-Genin exam yeah but afterwards... :huh: )

Me too; I love reviews but I don't stop writing because I'm not getting any. And I'm leaving AFF once I finish up the fics I have on here for different reasons as well ^^

You have a y!Gallery account? Do we know each other on there B) I love the y!, it's my home away from home.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest oskalaboska
Me too; I love reviews but I don't stop writing because I'm not getting any. And I'm leaving AFF once I finish up the fics I have on here for different reasons as well ^^

You have a y!Gallery account? Do we know each other on there :lol: I love the y!, it's my home away from home.

Yeah, I have one but I don't have much there. While I was away from my computer, y! started their policing thumbnail policy , which sucked for me given that most of my thumbs where scans of doujinshi I own. So when RL slacked enough for me to get online again, later about 20 of my stories where deleted since I missed all their friendly warnings and since my computer was taken back to factory, I didn't have the on my harddrive anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love y!gallery. It actually got me to read some very good original fic (something that fictionpress has tramuatized me from). And the usage of artwork combined with the sidebar showing the newest submissions and random older ones encourages people leave their comfort zone. But it is aggravating to got through the process of submitting something just to have it taken down, or even being claimed as a plagiarist (which I'm not I just used to collaborate with my old roommate who isn't writing anymore).

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I try to review, but there are some issues. The first is that I only read fics for things I'm familiar with and interested in; often I'll check the site, find no new fics I'm interested in, and thus not review anything. Then there's the issue of what to say; this is where I get really frustrated. There was a fic put up where I gave an entirely positive review because I really liked the story. It was taken down and then reposted with the complaint that nobody reviewed and then taken down permanently. It's truly perplexing trying to figure out why a positive review is a bad thing, and yet on the other side of things, I've found that when I give people advice on how to improve, it next to never gets actually taken. Basic things like when to use a semicolon rather than a comma or advising them to at least use spellcheck, seem to be outright ignored. This puts me in a precarious position, where even though I've had authors grateful for my feedback, a majority of times it seems totally unwinnable.

If one group of people are able to write very good stories but don't want to hear how they're good, and another group of people need improvement but ignore basic, helpful advice that goes beyond just "Write better" or "I don't like this plot element, don't use it", and both groups complain they aren't getting feedback and leave, I start seeing it all as a lost cause. The end result is that the only people who miss out on my feedback are the third group who are grateful for all feedback. I love how people "looking to improve their writing" who actually need it ignore all help in that respect, and those who don't ignore all insistence that they're good. I begin to stop caring.

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