So Many Hits and No Reviews...

[kaimono]

I have always enjoy writing as a hobby from time to time, and I really get excited about posting my stories online for people to read. I would have many questions regarding my stories.

Do people enjoy it or hate it? Am I being too long-winded in my descriptions? Should I cut back on my descriptions and increase the number of conversations? What am I doing wrong? Why are there so many hits count yet no replies? Should I continue writing a story that probably nobody reads?

I don't understand the psychology of readers. Sometimes I thought I had wrote a masterpiece, I was very happy with it. Even so long later when I reread that story, I am awed that the story was wrote by me. However that oneshot which I spent hours to write out was no where comparable to those I wrote in jest.

Maybe it is because of my style of writing? I begin as the type of writer who loves to describe the scenery, the emotions and the people. I believe it would help the readers to imagine better. Whenever I write with inspiration, the scenes constantly unfolds in my head like a book or plays like a reel of movie; I wish my readers could see what was in my head then. Then I started posting stories online and it got really depressing.

It is frustrating when I see other peeps' stories which consist mostly of just conversations and vague descriptions getting many replies while mine was left almost dead. I speculate on the possible reasons. Could it be I was too lengthy on my descriptions? So I cut back on them. Could it be I use too many big words? Maybe readers are here to enjoy the stories, not think in depth? So I start using very simple words. Could it be I am not cut out for humor? Could it be, could it be?

Over time, my writing style has changed countless times while trying to fit with my speculations of what readers want. Occasionally, I despised my writings. I wonder if I am suitable to write at all? Should I save everybody and myself the trouble and just stop writing altogether?

Sigh.

Thanks for listening to the rant of a depressed writer.

[Lore]

Ah, I know those worries. My own story is still pretty much new, so it hasn't had much exposure yet and it worries me sometimes when people won't review as much as they read. End the end, though, I guess it doesn't really bother me too, too much. Yes, I'd like to know how I'm doing with pleasing those who read my work, but at least the numbers for hits are consistently going up, right? Readers can't be a bad thing!

cx I really do hope you get some helpful reviews sometime soon, though. If you write yaoi/slash, I'll peek over it myself and see if I can help out any. I'm certainly not the best writer out there, but I'll help with what I can!

[Guest orleans]

You are not the only one; but I would not change my style just to please anyone. You saw what happened, you despised it. It's wonderful if you are happy with your own stories; don't let the lack of reviews depress you so much.

Sometimes I think people are just lazy; they read and don't think about the hard work behind. Then they hop to the next story in line.

I know it's very frustrating, and sometimes I already think of never posting again. But hey, I love doing that. And so do you, or not?

((Pssst, Perhaps look out for another forum to post your work; it worked with me just fine; while people on AFf.Net are not writing comments, people on other sites certainly do.) And no, I'm not saying Aff.Net is bad, not at all, only the readers are lazy)

[madlodger]

Well, you only joined AFF two days ago and posted about 1200 words. There is nothing in you bio which would help me to find any of your work, which is probably posted elsewhere. But you did get 8 reviews on two small chapters, which is a reson to celebrate, not to complain.

[LilRinnieB]

Sometimes it just takes time for the reviews to come ... when I first posted my story, I didn't have a lot of reviews, but that changed as time went on. I have some readers who have reviewed my story consistently from the very first chapter (which was almost a year ago!) but I've also picked up a lot of readers along the way. I have my story posted on other sites, but nowhere else have I had as positive a reaction as I have had on AFF - my readers here have been very loyal and generous with their opinions.

So ... the point of all that rambling is just my way of saying "give it some time." You might be surprised.

[RikuDrak]

I agree that you should not change your style and even further push the point that you should not try and please the general crowd on AFF because they seem to be god awful at choosing what is good and what is rubbish. Plenty of times I wonder if there ever will be a sanctuary for good writers and people looking for good reads, but that's a different story.

Overall, I think you should feel okay with your own work and don't worry too much about reviews and views (although I know people care about that a lot). The reviews will come eventually.

[LilRinnieB]

because they seem to be god awful at choosing what is good and what is rubbish.

Oh, Riku. Did you really have to follow up my post with this one? You really are terrible for my self-esteem.

But I agree with you about not changing your story to appeal to what you think the readers want. I say, write your story the way you want to write it and if no one appreciates it here, post it somewhere else. But I still think you have to give it time first.

[RikuDrak]

Oh, Riku. Did you really have to follow up my post with this one? You really are terrible for my self-esteem.

But I agree with you about not changing your story to appeal to what you think the readers want. I say, write your story the way you want to write it and if no one appreciates it here, post it somewhere else. But I still think you have to give it time first.

haha sorry *offers some chocolate bars as consolation*

I think I've seen only the worst of AFF and its people.

[Guest MortiferLascivio]

If I don't get any reviews, I just see it as the reader not having any complaints about the story. And I only change something if a reviewer has something constructive and well-thought out to say. If a reader doesn't like something about a story but doesn't wanna say anything about it, then hard cheese for them =D

[scottishfae]

If there is anything I've learned over my years of writing, it's that the more mature your stories get (and this is writing style, development of plot, etc--not just pr0n) then the less reviews you get. I remember when I first started I got reviews out the wazoo--but I look at those stories now and am just ashamed that I ever posted them. And now, while I'm much more proud of my stories, they definitely don't get the same amount of reviews, and I agree, it's very discouraging--but I think what it comes down to is that the "idiots of literature," as a professor of mine use to say, are much more abundant. They're not looking for the quality of the story, the depth, thought, and styles of writing put into something--they're looking for the bare bones of...well everything. I mean, there is a reason why newspapers are still written for an 8th grade reading level and that definitely applies to the Internet too.

But don't get too discouraged. There are people out there who appreciate good writing, even if there are few and far between. I also recommend looking for guilds in your area of writing to help celebrate those great fics in fandom. If there isn't one--then create one! And don't forget to make an example of yourself and reviews. I know I'm particularly bad about this, but try, if you can, to leave reviews for those who deserve them (in your opinion, at least)--hopefully that will build up the community to do it more and more.

[Lost_Soul]

I have always enjoy writing as a hobby from time to time, and I really get excited about posting my stories online for people to read. I would have many questions regarding my stories.

Do people enjoy it or hate it? Am I being too long-winded in my descriptions? Should I cut back on my descriptions and increase the number of conversations? What am I doing wrong? Why are there so many hits count yet no replies? Should I continue writing a story that probably nobody reads?

I don't understand the psychology of readers. Sometimes I thought I had wrote a masterpiece, I was very happy with it. Even so long later when I reread that story, I am awed that the story was wrote by me. However that oneshot which I spent hours to write out was no where comparable to those I wrote in jest.

Maybe it is because of my style of writing? I begin as the type of writer who loves to describe the scenery, the emotions and the people. I believe it would help the readers to imagine better. Whenever I write with inspiration, the scenes constantly unfolds in my head like a book or plays like a reel of movie; I wish my readers could see what was in my head then. Then I started posting stories online and it got really depressing.

It is frustrating when I see other peeps' stories which consist mostly of just conversations and vague descriptions getting many replies while mine was left almost dead. I speculate on the possible reasons. Could it be I was too lengthy on my descriptions? So I cut back on them. Could it be I use too many big words? Maybe readers are here to enjoy the stories, not think in depth? So I start using very simple words. Could it be I am not cut out for humor? Could it be, could it be?

Over time, my writing style has changed countless times while trying to fit with my speculations of what readers want. Occasionally, I despised my writings. I wonder if I am suitable to write at all? Should I save everybody and myself the trouble and just stop writing altogether?

Sigh.

Thanks for listening to the rant of a depressed writer.

LOL, I know how you feel. I have that trouble too where I have A LOT of hits but hardly any reviews, it drives me up the wall cause I want to know what people think of my work. I don't know if I should be happy for not getting reviews, cause then you will get the occasional flame that would make you depressed and hate your work. >.< I'm told that people who want to read something will find something to read and rather choose not to review it, feeling like it's homework or just a bother for them. Which does make sense. >.> I am hard on myself when it comes to writing a story or doing my art. I am hard on myself but I do try to perfect myself, and that doesn't hurt. Keep up with your writing, you should do what you enjoy regardless of what peoples opinions are. I know I do. But it does feel good to hear someone complimenting you on your hard work. ^__^

Edited January 27, 2008 by Lost_Soul

[shinigamiinochi]

I understand that this is a fandom site and so an original fiction won't have as many hits or reviews as a 'fan' fic, but it's still annoying since I put much more energy and creativeness into my originals than my fanfics. My hentai anthology has three thousand hits, but my novel only has seven hundred, which isn't that bad, I'm damn happy that one person has read it. However, I have seven reviews and they're all from the same person, who I love deeply, but I really wish that I had more constructive critisism than 'please write more' as I have never edited anything in my life and I need help doing so. Hell, I've never even had a beta! So, at the same time that I'm happy for having the tiny fan base that I have, I also wish that I had people helping me through the project.

[Lost_Soul]

I understand that this is a fandom site and so an original fiction won't have as many hits or reviews as a 'fan' fic, but it's still annoying since I put much more energy and creativeness into my originals than my fanfics. My hentai anthology has three thousand hits, but my novel only has seven hundred, which isn't that bad, I'm damn happy that one person has read it. However, I have seven reviews and they're all from the same person, who I love deeply, but I really wish that I had more constructive critisism than 'please write more' as I have never edited anything in my life and I need help doing so. Hell, I've never even had a beta! So, at the same time that I'm happy for having the tiny fan base that I have, I also wish that I had people helping me through the project.

As in helping you what do you mean? I don't mind helping you if you need any help. ^^ And sorry to hear that your originals aren't getting the attention you want it to have compared to your fan fics. -__-; At least you have readers, better than nothing right? ;3

[Guest YaoiSlut7]

Don't get discouraged. I've seen some great stories that get no reviews. I don't understand it, but I think it probably has something to do with the demographics of AFF.NET, lol. It kind of depends on what the story involves and who it's appealing to.

There's an original story on the site that has TONS of reviews. I mean, like a freaky amount. I always see people mentioning how much they like it. But I tried to read it and it was a trite, poorly written, grammatically incorrect bag of drivel. I can't really pinpoint what it was. I've seen better writers do similar topics and get less response.

So don't blame it on your writing. It's wonderful to get reviews, but hooking people can be tricky.

If you want to experiment with your ability, try writing something shorter and throwing it out there, just to get a general response. I think you'd be surprised how many more people will leave reviews.

And on a side note, pretentious, purple prose doesn't get reviewed much. I'm not saying you do that but if you rape a thesaurus every time you write, that can really affect review counts because people like to be able to understand what you're saying, you know?

Good luck, either way. Writing can be a roller coaster sometimes.

[Guest YaoiSlut7]

Oh, Riku. Did you really have to follow up my post with this one? <img src="http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif"> You really are terrible for my self-esteem.

But I agree with you about not changing your story to appeal to what you think the readers want. I say, write your story the way you want to write it and if no one appreciates it here, post it somewhere else. But I still think you have to give it time first.

Just because generally the people don't seem to be as good at deciphering great fiction doesn't mean your readers are bad at it. ^__~ I post two or three places and for a while I had less response on AFF, but now the response has surpassed what I receive elsewhere, and like you, my readers are loyal and wonderful. Does this mean anything about my writing style? Not necessarily. Does it mean I managed to lure in a larger group of fangirls with something that happened to pique their interests? Yes, definitely, lol.

So while I agree with what's been said, don't let that general idea get you down. It certainly doesn't mean you're actually a horrid writer. Cause look around. People who suck get praised, people who rock get ignored. It's not just here, it's all over. The internet in general, even society. I mean, sometimes I wonder why certain movies or books are so popular. I guess the trick to consoling yourself is pinpointing what attracts the masses. ^^;;

[shinigamiinochi]

As in helping you what do you mean? I don't mind helping you if you need any help. ^^ And sorry to hear that your originals aren't getting the attention you want it to have compared to your fan fics. -__-; At least you have readers, better than nothing right? ;3

Yeah, what I'm mostly looking for, is editing comments as I can't edit if my life depends on it, but I really don't want to get a beta because I'd have to go through them before I posted anything and I like to post my stuff the second I write it.

[Guest Savaial]

I like getting reviews but I've learned not to expect them. There are a lot of people who want to read but don't want to comment. A high percentage of them might just not be writers themselves and unaware of how writers like to get feedback. Regardless of how your work turns out, it is still work and we all like it when someone recognizes that fact. Negative attention is still attention. How long does it take to send a reply saying you liked or hated the fic?

While cruising around here I've noticed unreal averages. Three thousand hits and zero reviews?! That almost seems deliberately insulting.