Lack of reviews.

[SoftObsidian74]

But the thing that I hate the most is that you get a lot of views but maybe one or two reviews!

It is like everyone is reading the story, but they don't take the minute to leave a review of the story.

I try to review a story after I read the first chapter or the next few chapters that I read. I have never ever not reviewed a story.

I feel it is my responsiblity as a reader to give the author a review of their story even if it is a one-liner.

And most authors wonder if they should pull their story or leave it even if it is viewed a lot, the lack of reviews is a bit disheartening.

Beth

OH good...I was just gonna do a poll on this and I'm glad you already had one...I'm having that problem now...my story has a lot of hits but only a few reviews...I wonder if that means it sucks...I always review, so I don't know if folks feel shy about it or just don't have anything to say yet...but it is disheartening..

[Velvet D Coolette]

I think there's an aspect of 'do unto others etc.' as somebody else on this thread said. Trouble is, I'm bursting with ideas to write, plus I help out on a teens support messageboard, plus I'm building two websites, plus I'm a fanfiction moderator of a site, plus I'm a full-time worker, so I don't actually get the time to read (and therefore review) many fics at all.

But I think it's a very important part of getting noticed and getting more publicity for your work. It's always on my to-do list, trouble is, something else is always higher.

I'm vaguely annoyed at myself about that. But the intention is always there.

I mean, I'm dying for reviews too because I think I've genuinely got several good ideas going. But then, everybody wants to shine, don't they? They don't want to cast the light so much as be in it.

But, as somebody else still said, getting a review that really says something (I've got one that says, "I loved it! It made me remember the old school stuff and left me really warm and fuzzy") about your work it's tremendously rewarding. Especially when they say exactly what you've been trying to convey. Almost nobody does old school SatAM any more... It's all post Doomsday.

NNgghh... I'm going to have to leave some reviews, aren't I?

EDIT: Yesterday, this post ringing in my ears, I decided to actually read and review a couple of the most recent posts in Games > RPG's > Sonic and now I can say that,

a) I feel better about myself

I now have my fingers crossed in a more optimistic way for reviews

c) have discovered a writer who I'll genuinely look out for again

So this update is a call to arms for everyone to do at least one review, even if you only speed-read it!

[PretentiousArtWhore]

My opinion is if people want to make a comment, cool, if not,whatever. I certainly can understand wanting concrit and general feedback, which once upon a time I hoped to get when writing my early fics. I did get some nice comments,but far more views than reviews, which at first I found kind of annoying because I really wanted opinions to help improve my writing, sadly no one ever gave me any So now I just sort of put up what I write and don't hold my breath about getting reviews. (Of course right now I just have an intentionally bad fic and a quickie PWP on AFF, so I really don't expect any comments on them.)

[Xx....-Dark Vamp Writer-....Xx]

Yeah I know the feeling of writing and getting hits and 1 review and none at all. Hey I am a grateful person because I notice I get high ratings many hits and no new reviews. The only reviews I have been getting are from my friends who I personally tell "hey I have a new story." They read it and review it but it's like well I kinda knew you were going to do that. I like unexpected reviews I really don't like to tell my friends to go read them, kinda feels forceful. At least I know somebody rated my story I guess that plays a huge part in it too.

I think I am going through a drought of writing, it's very dry and I am doing a re-write which I think just totally fucked up my story. But it's all good I'll keep writing.

[Kanashii]

It is very frustrating for any of us. Sometimes yes it is a bit disheartening, I could understand if maybe one of my "sections" didn't get as many reviews as the others (since I write Original, HP Fanfic and Soprano's Fanfic) but man, I get alot of hits and then like very few reviews.

What is funny is those I DO get end up becoming great friends and fans of my work, but I am wondering am I just promoting my stories wrongly? Are they not what people like? Sometimes it makes you scratch your head...

If I get a good review from a fellow author I do try and read some of their works even if it may not be from a fandom I would normally read, because face it...We all (as authors and readers) do need to expand some.

But yes, it just leaves me scratching my head sometimes at what motivates certain people to review or not.

[hisbabybird]

It's definitely frustrating not to get any feedback on my tale, but I will admit that before I started posting stories on the archives, I never actually thought about reviewing other stories I read. A lot of people, I think, are either too busy or shy to leave anything behind, and while I'd love to hear some good constructive criticism, I figure that fact that I haven't gotten flamed yet is a good sign. 'Course, I can't help but gaze longingly at the few stories that have managed to get more than ten reviews. Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong...

[sris]

I have to admit I love reviews and I always wait for them, but I really don't get that many. And people don't even bother to push the rate button. I always write a review if I read something. Maybe not a long or a really good one, but still. If an author leaves me a comment I go and check his/hers profile and read a story or two (or more if I like them) and write a review.

[Maiafay]

I'm not hurting for reviews, but I find it's the fandom you're in that makes a difference. The bigger the fandom, the higher the reviews. Then the other factor is laziness, lack of time--or as some readers have confessed, they're intimidated by me, lol. This reaction isn't only for my, uh, aggressiveness, but the fact they have no idea what to say to me. So I get the hits, but not the ratio in reviews.

The other thing I do to garner some feedback is to post on LJ communities and advertise my story. That brings in new readers and hence, more reviews.

[Terri]

I do love the reviews I get, but at the same time I try not to be obsessive about getting reviews anymore. I just figure as long as I'm not getting flamed I must be doing something right. But then at the same time I think it's also a case of how not too many people are comfortable "admitting" they're on AFF - much less liked what they read in some cases

[Ginevra]

I don't grip over not receiving reviews. If I get say a hundred hits and/or one review per chapter of a multi chaptered fic, I consider that a success. My chosen fandom isn't the most active and some of the stuff I write is definitely for a niche audience. I do have a small, loyal following for my Nightcrawler-centric works. Those tend to get pretty dark.

Were I writing one of the really popular fandoms, like Harry Potter, I might be disappointed.

If you really love feedback, Live Journal has so far been really good to me. My buddies there never fail to comment when I post. But it is a much smaller audience.

[Orionshadow]

I find it confusing. I get reviews but not too many ratings. Which is better? Anyway, I love positive, well thought out reviews where people actually comment on the content of the story.

I review when and if I can find something positive to say. If I hate the story I will not review because I don't know what to say. I don't want to say "Your story makes me cringe."

[haruha_raharu]

What I find confusing is the seeming lack of any correlation between the number of ratings and number of reviews. One of my stories has exactly 7 of each, while another has 21 ratings with 11 reviews. Then another one has more ratings, 27, but much fewer reviews, 4.

Maybe it evens out over a larger sample size, though.

[Masamune]

only if the reviews are decently thought out... I like to know that people are reading my stories (and not just visiting the page and backing out), but I really can't stand too many 'WRITE MOAR!!! FASTRA!!!' reviews... Makes me feel a disparity between the effort I put into writing and what people put into when they read...

All I need is a few reviews every now and then. I don't need a great deal of them, and I won't pull stories if they're unpopular wiht reviewers... just my two cents

[IntHellsing]

I don't necessarily care about the number of views/reviews... But I do like to have SOME form of feedback. I'd be a bit put-off if I had something like 10,000+ reviews and no ratings or reviews. Lol.

[Helluin]

It's a problem anywhere, because more fanfic writers are here to post and share their work than to read. Conscientious writers ALSO try to read/review, because we know how it feels, but I suspect I'm not the only one who's a writer first and a reader second.

It's a particular problem on AFF because it's largely an archive for masturbatory material, and who's gonna write a review when they're doing that? Rate, maybe, but not review.

I once thought that any review was a good review, and I still mostly feel that way, since they are rare and precious commodities.

However, sometimes I'm a little disappointed when I rush to read an ACTUAL REVIEW from an HONEST TO GOSH READER only to discover it's just, "cool rite more plz". Encouraging, but I wonder if the person who wrote that would say the same thing if I'd written "They kissed and they fucked. The End."

I'm still grateful even for those, though.

However, I'm getting a little tired of the person who seems to be making the rounds of my personal blogs, websites, and fanfics with the same comment everywhere -- "INTERESTING BUT I DON'T AGREE" whether I'm giving a discussion of the role of Dionysos and Apollo in ancient Greek religion, or posting a transcript of a hidden cutscene, or writing a piece of fanfic.

Eh?

[Kettle]

I really hate it when a story has no reviews and no ratings! I'm like oh no, did all these people just read one line and then hit the back button?

[Orionshadow]

I really hate it when a story has no reviews and no ratings! I'm like oh no, did all these people just read one line and then hit the back button?

I would find that very frustrating. Actually, I do find that very frustrating. when it has happened, especially if there seems to be a number of hits.

I try to review if I like the story. It only seems fair that you let the writer know that you enjoyed their work.

[Becca Star]

I really hate it when a story has no reviews and no ratings! I'm like oh no, did all these people just read one line and then hit the back button?

I feel the same way... I never know someone is actually reading my story until I get a review...

I mean, I love reviews and everything but I don't think I'll hold out on updating for just one... well... maybe i would...

I donno...

Me personally as a reader I perfer to read stories that are complete just because I can't stand when an author never returns to finish a story or I'll forget to story and author and never finish reading when they update... I get forgetful at times basically...

I will try and comment on others work whenever I read, though I don't always get a chance to...

[Lost_Soul]

For me, It was lack of reviews and hits that caused me to pull all but five of my stories.

If I start reading a completed story, I will wait till the end to review.

If I am reading a long story that is a WIP again, I wait till the last chapter to review. Then I try to review as the chapters come up.

It is very fusterating to have hits but no reviews. I think people should have the knowledge to review stories they have read. Wouldn't they want reviews also?

And yeah, it is very frustrating to have a lot of hits but hardly have any reviews or none at all. I have 305 hits sense I published it on AFF Jan. 17, 2008 and have only 6 reviews! >_< Someone told me that's pretty good for the amount of time it has been up on AFF. So I guess I should count my blessings... ^^; ...I suppose that's good? I don't know, it's my first time posting a story on AFF, let alone, on the net. o.o;

For those who review my stories, I try to read at least one of theirs and review. Do unto others I always say.

::nods:: Very nice of you to do that. :3 I should maybe do that. >.>

[Kettle]

I don't mind not getting reviews (I have this theory that people feel weird about reviewing porny stuff which is what I write) but come on, at least rate the story. Just something to let me know you got to the end!

[Juno]

At first I was a little peeved that I was getting a fairly good number of hits for the original section of the site, and only got a few reviews, but now I've got more reviews than I've got ratings. To me, it shows me that even though I still only have 5 reviews, it's enough for people to actually write something to me rather than just click on a number.

The lesson is to be grateful for what you get, I suppose.

I also have the faith that if your story is good, people will read it and eventually it will gain reviews and regular readers which will boost its popularity.

[Keith Inc.]

"They kissed and they fucked. The End."

I loved that one.

Is there a sequel coming?

[Kanashii]

I loved that one.

Is there a sequel coming?

I liked it to, I give it 5-stars and a positive review....

I think the sequel is: They groped, fondled and fucked again. The End.

[Obsolescence]

One of my biggest pet peeves with reviews is when it's obviously a one chapter story and they ask you to 'add moar'. No it was a one shot, if I was going to write chapters I would mention it. But constructive reviews are what I live for, sadly, mostly I don't get those. But that's what I have an inner flamer for.

[Guest Monsterking]

Though i do think it is rather impolite not to let the author of the story your reading know how you feel about his stuff. I do However also feel that it is fine that people are reading it.

Here is the link to my story.

http://cartoon.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600091282

WARNING TO READERS: THIS IS LIKELY THE MOST TWISTED AND UNIQUE LION KING CROSSOVER EVER DEVISED BY ANY WRITER OUT THERE! SO DONT BLAME ME IF IT DISTURBS YOU!

Peace Out