Looking for new comments is addicting. They fell off all too quickly, so I grabbed a story from my [author] directory (there's more where those came from) and posted it. As a bonus, I think I figured out how to properly post the HTML stuff.
Well, sort of. It didn't like my indented paragraphs. Oh well.
Ray Drouillard <-- carrying sign that says "I Write for Comments."
P.S.
I wonder how many stories I have to post to see my name up in lights... I mean at the right side of the BC-TS page.
P.P.S.
It's getting late. I'm getting loopy.
Comments
Commenting on Comments
I wish more people would leave comments. It doesn't take much. Even one sentence would be nice. I've heard that some people are afraid of saying the wrong thing or can't think of anything to say. Just say you liked it, assuming you did. Please (write more) and thank you (for what you wrote) help too. :)
I'm afraid the harsh reality is that comments will usually remain sparse for most stories - sometimes even the most popular serial story chapters get fewer than 10. If I even get one comment, I try to be happy about it. Every comment is a treasure, a gem that sparkles in the night.
- Terry
Comment whore
Hello, my name is Anistasia, and I'm a Comment whore.
I don't write FOR the comments, but I sure do enjoy them. it's a high that we authoress' get when we post a story and check back later to find a comment or two waiting for us. On my Camp story, they are usually pretty good. on HaP, I've had a few that ripped my grammar apart, but that is how an authoress grows. Some of my biggest critics have turned out to be some of my favorite commenters. (Eric) ;)
It also is great seeing where people are guessing where the story will go. ;) (John in Wawatosa, Rachel, and Laika) ;)
anyway, Welcome and good luck
A.A.
Yeah write
I mean I don't care. I do it for the craft. The self satisfaction. The pure creative urge fulfilled. The...
'Scuse me'
What, I'm just getting warmed up?
'But'
What! I don't need damn readers.. and as for comments or worse still... votes....
'Um, excuse me...'
What?!!!
'Um, liars anonymous is next door.'
Oh... um, sorry...sheepishly slinks off...
Kristina
Comments are the only reward
writers get and are appreciated. Like AA I am a bit of a comment addict, and am disappointed when only one or two people take time to scribble a few words. I also like to think that my efforts to explore some of the issues faced by the community hit the spot, but can only be sure of this if people tell me.
Angharad
Angharad
I Don't See Anybody Disagreeing
I love comments. I get really miffed when no-one says anything. The number of hits tells you something, but a lot of them could be seagulls, and sometimes hits just don't reflect a story's true worth. Grover wrote a lovely little story a week ago which got only a fraction of the attention it deserved (IMHO). I particularly love some of the comments from certain individuals, for example John in Wauwatosa often has me enthralled with his involvement in a story, and a Laika comment is an adventure on its own and often has me saying, "Oh, is that what I meant?" and she's right too, but even the briefest remark is a reward in itself. It shows a reader CARED, so I agree with all of you and let us be the leaders here. I know I backslide but I try and I've promised myself I will also comment on the old (1, 2, or 3 year) stories I read, and while I'm tumping the thub why is everyone so mean with votes? That only takes a click,
Joanne
I feel bad if I don't comment
So many people have took the time to comment on my stories or my comments I feel bad when I fail to respond in kind.
Sometimes I comment in the extreme -- play Devil's Advocate -- to encourage debate but mostly I comment how I feel after reading a piece. I try to point out what affected me most and what might be improved on, but in a constructive way I hope.
Many people here, at Stardust and at The Crystal Hall -- Bob Arnold's (Praise be to Bob, the almighty Bob!) fine Whateley site – sent and continue to send me encouraging comments and even plot/character sugestions. Some point out errors in my otherwise impluckibble grummar and speeling and a few have complained about aspects of my stories. One in particular misunderstood me but it helped me to understand how that person might have been confused by what I’d wrote. As a result I tweaked the storyline to make it easier to follow and in many ways that seemingly negative series of comments helped me.
Please comment, beyond stroking our frail egos and giving us would-be writers a cheep thrill ... OH yeah BABY! Yes! Yes! Yes! ... your comments do help us improve.
AA , you must be a comment junkie, why the attempt at a name at the very front of the pack? And Joannebarbarella, you like my comments, really?
-- John backs away slowly from potentially dangerous psychopath and back into his safe padded room --
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Me, I Like Comments
Because they and a P.M. let me know what a reader thinks about a story. How else can an author tell if they are reaching the reader. Another sign of approval is the vote.
I don't know if I'm a comment Junkie or not.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
I don't check for comments once,
well more than once every 15 minutes, and at least once a day once a story/chapter has slid off the front page... And, while most of the time, I prefer the public comments (if I respond, maybe a 3rd person might want to read it), the private ones are sometimes the most personal and heartwarming.
I could probably use some of those (suggestions for improvement) comments... I certainly didn't get many on my first story or any of the short stories (maybe folks didn't care. I dunno...) But honestly, lack of comments on a chapter leaves me fealing (right or wrong) that I've done something wrong. And, it's really confusing when the votes and the comments say different things.
So, yes, I am also a comment junkie... It's one reason I tend to write so many inane & not very witty ones... Just to let the authors know I'm reading their stories. Maybe it's just because I'm new to this writting business, but somehow, I don't think I'll ever get jaded from getting to many comments.
Annette
At any one time...
...anonymous users outnumber registered users by six to one or more. The desire for anonymity is not terribly compatible with the desire to stand up and be counted, which is what comments equate to in the long run.
Add to that the fact that most people are uncomfortable writing anything, whether from the fear of displaying bad gramar, spelling, or whatever, and each comment one does receive probably represents a dozen or more who would *like* to comment but are reluctant to do so.
Be of good cheer and look at the read count rather than the comments, which will undoubtedly be far fewer than the number of people who actually liked your story.
Writing is an act of courage, since every writer puts their heart into an act in which one essentially strips naked and steps out on stage with all one's faults as visible as whatever strengths one can muster, in a medium in which one can't explain, can't apologise, and can't take it back.
I've written thick books containing many hundreds of thousands of words and which have sold many thousands of copies, were well-reviewed, and included my web site and e-mail address prominently displayed on the back cover, and most received less than a dozen or so notes from readers, and most of those were pleas for help with homework.
The royalties help, although they are surprisingly small for the amount of effort involved, but still....
Go figure,
Puddin'
-------------------
I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.
--- Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
So, if I ask you again...
... you'll tell me the same huh...
For all those anonymity desiring readers, BCTS provides a "guest" login that allows them to comment without creating a login that reflects who they are...
Some of the rest of us have also written things kinda long (multi-hundred thousand words). My longer efforts have all been non-fiction (well, I like to think non-fiction anyway), and targeted at solving a problem for a customer. Delivering one of those, you sometimes get SOME immediate feedback. The most disapointing one was a case where a customer paid (not me - my employeers) quite a lot of money for some extensive documentation (user as well as system). Then, they took the documentation and put it on a shelf, and didn't share it with their users/administrators. The users eventually got "bootleg" copies though. So, all was not lost.
Read count - that tells something. Though, even there, it leaves a bit to guessing - and serials will tend to have higher over-all hits than single shots, as they are repeatedly on the home page.
Grats on the royalty bit though.
Annette
Of course, but the name is slightly more subtle...
...and is here reclaimed. It has many layers of ambiguity surrounding it, and presents an interesting history, or perhaps herstory.
And thank you for your good wishes. I managed to get translated into Chinese and Romanian, amongst other languages, and most of my cheques come from foreign parts these days.
Cheers,
Puddin'
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
In full agreement --- Comments greatly appreciated
As someone else said for the amateur writer the only real reward is knowing that someone else is enjoying your work. I check, and the hit counts certainly provide some satisfaction... I can't believe that Jason's Story part 1 is at 2086 (but who's counting... ;) ) hits.
The vote counts definitely are a great idea, because they are an indication and are easier than having to say something, even it is, I liked (or not) this, please keep it up.
But I cherish the comments, and definitely appreciate them all.
Hugs,
Kristy
Readers are everything...
...and even royalties are just an elaborated method of keeping score. The reward for an author is saying something that needed to be said, in his or her opinion, and then seeing people pay attention. I'm not bothered by the vast majority of readers who don't write fawning letters of adulation (as they really ought to do) as long as people keep reading. Not everyone wants to be a cook, but almost everyone loves to eat.
Cheers,
Puddin'
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Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.
--- Hermann Hesse
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style