I was so very wrong, I am so sorry. I understand why people ask for kudos and comments now. It's so depressing when you have tons of reads and no comments or anything.
I didn't realize how upsetting it feels when you work so hard, research like hell, make sure to not be racist in your depictions of monsters, even do tons of research. Even doing things like the EXACT temperature that was there when it was that time period and people still don't care.
I apologize for all the times I said it's okay, I apologize for all the times I said it was okay and it didn't matter. I now understand how it feels to be unappreciated. Like God... if you hate it could you at least say "Hey I hate this" instead of just all the silence. I feel like that girl who is being given the cold shoulder and no one tells her why.
This isn't a cry for people to comment or anything, this is an apology for any time I made light of someone's suffering or feeling unappreciated. I am deeply sorry and I don't deserve your forgiveness but I want you to know... I understand now
Comments
Nothing to say but
Love you!
Love, Andrea Lena
That
Is very sweet, thank you ♥
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
The Best of Us
Insofar as I can tell, it happens to the best of us. Admittedly, I really wouldn't know, since I'm not really in the best of us. It's happened to me. Happens routinely in fact.
The story I mentioned and linked to in my blog -- the author definitely didn't appreciate nice long comments to her story.
-- Daphne Xu
I see
Well... I love comments, I always respond to every single one if I see them
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
Comments
You've commented on practically every story of mine. Very kind of you. Almost every part of my super-long story, even.
-- Daphne Xu
OH!
That's because I feel like when I'm reading a story, I want to give my reactions to each chapter. I want it to be my GENUINE feelings, not stuff I come up with after I've read more. It's just a thing with me *shrugs*
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
As a reader, I do this for kudos and comments.
When I first discovered this site (and others like it) I realized that the best way to provide authors feedback and to thank them for their work is to provide kudos and comments.
The number of reads does not mean much because someone who opened the page, read the first paragraph and closed it counts as a read. All it really means is that someone liked the title or was really bored. Once I realized this I started giving a kudo to EVERY story I read on the theory that if I liked it enough to make the effort to read the whole story then it deserved a kudo and the author deserves to know that. (This also helps me keep track of what I've read.)
If I seriously enjoyed the story, as opposed to just being interested enough to read it (and if I'm not reading it on my phone) then I also leave a comment. If I don't have anything specific to say then I still leave a simple "Thank you for the story". I am working on the assumption that, even if I don't actually say so, this lets the author know I found the story good enough that I enjoyed reading it and I think the story is worth commenting on. I also work on the theory that if enough people leave comments then it lets the author know that readers are finding this story really interesting and that they think the author has written a really good story.
If I'm doing a marathon read of multiple chapters that were written a while ago then I usually don't bother commenting on every one. For instance, if I had left a comment for every one of the hundreds of chapters of Somewhere Else Entirely then it would have left a massive number of "WillowD was here" type filler comments for future readers to plow through and would overflow the recent comments list on the front page of BCTS. But I do usually leave a comment on the last chapter (or every now and then) to thank the author and to attract the attention of other BCTS readers who pay attention to the recent comments list on the front page that here is a good story. I also go out of the way to say I'm reading this story for the second time (or third, or fifth) to make is quite clear to the author and other readers that this story really IS that good.
And I mostly avoid leaving criticisms, constructive or otherwise, unless the author asked for them. This isn't an author's constructive writing site. It's a place for authors to post their stories and a place for readers to read and enjoy them and thank the authors for writing them. It's not a place for readers to "improve" the author's writings.
Those are my thoughts on kudos and comments. And I invite others to leave comments, constructive or otherwise, on my thoughts on this.
Is there
Something wrong with commenting on every chapter? Is that actually against the rules or something? I had no idea...
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
Not
Definitely not wrong with me. It showed you were very much engrossed in the story. And you caught at least one thing that nobody else caught, including me.
-- Daphne Xu
You have to remember an old...
... saying that satisfied customer will just visit you again... some time... maybe. Dissatisfied customer will comment, write a blog post why (s)he is dissatisfied, file a claim to get money back even if the product was free...
For me personally... I started reading some of your stories. Several times. But it is still "not my cup of coffee". At the moment. It changes from time to time.
Truly? Nobody cares about Exact temperature when they like the story. It is a good bonus when you got it right, but who cares that vacuum should not carry "pew-pew" and "wroooommm" sounds in Star Wars? Lois McMaster Bujold gave one of the most scientifically correct descriptions of the battle in space in her Vorkosigan series. Who cares? It was nice to see someone who knows about speed of light, gravitational forces and vacuum. But space battles were only a very small part of the story.
And then I usually
And then the author has painstakingly written a very detailed space battle with gravities and speeds and Speed-of-Light limitations and all that. And then I usually gloss over it to get the feel of the action. I treat it like I think live radio broadcasts of field games are. Nobody is interested, in the exact speed and direction, but in the interaction of the players against one another and who is winning....
Anne Margarete
Some of us do care
- mainly because a scientifically correct space battle can also be a tool to show off the protagonist's qualities. And Miles Vorksig^W^WAdmiral Naismith ;-) *is* shown as a strategic genius.
Yes, you can get away with inaccurate depictions, but for some of us not only showing a fascinating space battle but also getting the science right without cutting any corners is like the icing on a cake. Just like the space scenes in "The Expanse". Finally no sound, inertia, weightlessness (with all those pesky little problems) shown right and sometimes even supporting the story.
Comments, nectar of the gods for writers
Writers do appreciate a return for their efforts writing and then posting a story. In this situation it isn't money but comments. As an ex editor, I try and offer constructive suggestions if needed. Such as move this paragraph ahead of the one above it to give the story more strength. Or reverse this sentence structure so the verb (action) is ahead of the noun (character) to have him moving before he speaks. Or just praise the author's talent at writing when they are good.
I don't expect anyone to adjust their story. What I wish is for them to think about the interplay between the scene, the actor, dialog, and action. The next story they write should be better than their last with more imaginary visuals coming from the story itself not making the reader input all that as they read the story. The best stories could be turned into a movie or play with very little rewrite. There is a balance between descriptive and dialog. Too much of one or the other dilutes the tale.
I had a perfect score in English. Consider all this is coming from a girl who failed virtually every single English class she took and that includes college. If I was anyone else I wouldn't put too much faith into anything I may have to say.
Write for yourself and if others enjoy it too that's a bonus but get the first part right and you'll never be disappointed.
hugs hon
always
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Yeah...
That's a good point
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
Comments certainly help motivation...
I will admit to being guilty at checking for new comments on stuff posted months ago far too often. It's just that every new positive review gives an extra boost in motivation to keep plugging away at the sequels and I just can't help it. Hopefully I'm not the only one!
I'd love to give comments to more authors on here but time for reading is limited so I don't read as much as I feel I should. That and I don't like reading if my brain is locked into 'editor' mode as being stuck paying attention more to sentence structure, dialogue, and word choice really detracts from reading for fun. :P If I do make it through a posted story or chapter though the kudo button is definitely getting clicked!
Keeping an eye out for comments.
One way to help look for new comments is to use the Home Page -> My Account -> Track feature. This page will note where you have posted stuff and if there are new replies to it.
As it was mentioned
It hapens to the best authors. I have a lot to say but I'm not good at it. I post this comment to show I care.
Comments & Kudos
Kudos and Compliments are a wonderful reinforcer. It gives you an incentive to work harder and write more. The person that says that you write for yourself is so correct, but when you get a compllment or constructive criticism it makes your day because you realize that someone cares. And that's important to the lonely writer that lives inside a bubble.
BUT, then you have the "helpers" that think that by giving you negative critism they are being helpful. No, it's not helpful and it's not kind. You can't simply say this sucks unless you say why. My favorite negative critism was the person from this site who wrote on one of my Amazon stories that the story was retelling the same story again. They had confused the fact they had read the story posted here on Big Closet ( a novella of 25,000 words) and when they read it again as a Kindle book (50,000 words) felt gypted that the novel was more of the same. This person gave me less stars than the story deserved because they were confused, not because they didn't enjoy the story.
So answer me this question (rhetorical of course). Should I stop posting here and deny my friends and readers a free sampliing of my work, or should I go straight to Amazon? I already know my answer. It is to keep on publishing here first regardless of my kudos or comments. I think that each story I publish here helps support the people I love and respect.