Ahhhh, to post, or not to post. 'Tis the eternal readers question, with nary a sign to guide ones way. Do I have something relevant to say? Is it alright to post years after publishing? What will I say? Will anyone see it?!? Does anyone care?!? What if my comment sucks and everyone hates me?!!!?
With much angst and wringing of the hands and.... Erm, ahem.
Personally, I'd say even a little "thanks for the read" is cool whether it's 5 minutes or 5 years after publishing. Pick a couple points you like or don't like and say why. Wax poetic as you expound upon the literary merits, or.... Bare minimum I hit the kudos to show appreciation unless it blows serious expletive and I don't make to the bottom of the page lol
My personal failing is getting so caught up in a good story my only thought is finding out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!?! and zipping to the next chapter with selfish abandon! >> o.O << Mhm, you know what I'm talking about.
Still, it's cool to show our authors love, and thus this post to encourage, umm, encouragement lol
Hugs, happy reading/writing ^^
Jenna
Comments
i try to comment
Always, it is the only payment I can offer for what to me is a pleasurable time, Sometimes it is inane but usually it is my impression of the story, The more impressed I am with a story the longer it is likely to be. On the few stories I have written comments bring me great pleasure.As to payment , It sucks being broke all the time.
Indeed
Even the shortest comment shows a certain appreciation for the authors effort and in effect honours that which they've shared, imo.
And yes, being broke can certainly suck.
Hugs, Jenna
I comment
Perhaps not near enough. But I do try to at least leave a kudo on any story I read. Honestly if I had to pay for the amount of reading I do I'd have to vastly curtail my reading!
Grateful
I'm very grateful for all the awesome stories here and elsewhere. My resources are frequently limited so open forum publishing is one of the few entertainment venues I can rely on for relaxation. Kinda instills a sense of appreciation in me for even the humblest prose.
J
I try to answer every comment
I try to answer every comment that someone leaves. As an author, the comments feed my muse and keep her working. ;-)
ps, I even go back and look
ps, I even go back and look to see if older stories/chapters have comments.
Mhm
I've heard that about comments inspiring an authors muse =]
J
I normally don't comment as I
I normally don't comment as I've pissed off too many by not holding my tongue when something offends me but I give in at times if the author needs the uplifting response.
I know several authors who always reply but I don't unless it's a clarification and a valid point that needs addressing and gives me an idea.
Just about all authors read the comments but I know several who claim to never read them but really select who they respond to and snipe a retort or "clarify" their claims but really tell off the person for daring to question their writing.
If you comment and don't get a response, it doesn't mean what you said wasn't read and appreciated. You could PM the author if you need to, I do it with several when I don't want my comments misconstrued and get direct feedback from a question without looking like a fool for asking.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Thank you
I'm not sure if my comments ever rile anyone. It can be a fine line between saying what I think and stomping someone's muse into pudding, though; the ego can be such a fragile thing sometimes. But a little gentle encouragement or "thank you" can go a long way imo, so that's my aim for public comments ^^
PM's FTW! A one on one conversation to discuss a potentially delicate topic or a public forum under our peers potentially unforgiving scrutiny...? Sounds like a good way to save much embarrassment while learning someone's boundaries, so a definite 'yup' to that one.
Thanks for the great comment ^^
J
Reading comments
I won't say that I never read the comments, but I do try to not read comments until I've moved on from the story. When the story is fresh in my mind if someone makes a negative comment, no matter how slight or they try to couch it as constructive criticism, it's like them telling me my new born baby is ugly. Probably true, but it hurts too much. Better I should wait until I can read my own work with detachment and find some errors on my own before suffering the slings and arrows of the general public.
I never post anything that isn't complete. Unlike some authors who let comments encourage them and use some of them to guide the direction of the story, I feel the tale to tell is mine and what I include and what hits the cutting room floor is my domain. Likewise I won't offer suggestions as parts of the story are posted, unless the author contacts me and specifically asks for advice. A few have and I'm happy to consult and would prefer that I'm not credited for anything I offer beyond punctuation and grammar. The story, after all is theirs and the decision to use my suggestion or not is theirs, so they should get all the credit.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
Getting a comment on a story 5 years later
...makes me as happy as finding a $20 in the pocket of last winter's jacket.
An unexpected windfall!
I always comment unless what I would have said would've been nasty;
like when I read a story that offends my delicate sensibilities because
I thought all those warning tags at the top were just there as decorations...
~hugs, Veronica
What borders on pure insanity?
Canada and Mexico.
.
Oh no
Ohhh, to count the times I've misread or even skimmed the tags only to have a total jaw-dropping moment is like O.O
It's usually the "caution" tag that catches my eye and focuses my attention to really look lol And the sheer volume of tags available to choose from was something of an eye opener as well, so serious kudos to a well tagged story.
Hugs, J
I have to make a special effort.
I have dine and dash mentality... that is, an old dial-up habit of downloading the stories to my word processor and reading later. Back in the day, every minute online was a minute that I couldn't receive phone calls. So when a story took my eye, I'd cut and paste to my word processor. It's such an ingrained habit that it persists today when I have DSL and unlimited data. So, as I read stories (and sad to say that some stories get lost in the shuffle and end up languishing on my hard drive waiting to be read, sometimes for years) I have to make a concerted effort to go back a kudo or comment on the story.
I keep trying to remind myself to go back show my appreciation. My apologizes to the authors who've been denied their due by my lackadaisical response. I do how ever, when a story really excels, manage to PM the author for with a note of special praise. But still, that's often long after the initial posting.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
La la laaaa ^^
Omg, the problem was real with dial-up. I recall mine would drop the internet connection at an incoming call and any download would fizzle, at least until I found a download manager that could resume where it left off lol Thank goodness for broadband and smartphones - they have their quirks but are a definite cut above.
J
Comments?
"The only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about at the Big Closet" Ohso Wilde-About-The-Girl
Love, Andrea Lena
Re: Comments?
ROFLMAO @ Andrea's comment here. I have to say that I agree with her.
I love getting comments on pieces that I post here. I try to respond to most of them within a day or so, but occasionally miss them. I've actually only realized there were recent comments on a post because I semi-regularly check the My Stories link here.
As for posting on other authors' pieces, that depends on whether I feel I have something relevant to say that hasn't already been said. However, now and then, I will post an agreement to a comment someone else has made, sometimes adding my own thoughts to the reply.
as a writer, I always appreciate comments
especially on older stuff. its a nice feeling to know someone found a story you wrote quite some time ago and liked it.