a guide to leaving feedback / interacting with fics.
recently in the kpop fanfic community, there have been a lot of authors that depart from their blogs due to the lack of feedback & interactions they receive on their fics. this could be due to a number of reasons, but since we are a fic-recommendation blog, we figured we would do our part in helping the community be more aware of a couple ways on how they can spread love on their favorite works and prevent more authors from leaving due to this specific reason!
please understand that is just the perspective of the admins of ficscafe. other people have different preferences and opinions, but we compiled information gathered from perspectives of an abundance of authors and this seems to be the middle ground / popular belief. if you have any questions or concerns, please drop by the ficscafe ask box.
reblogs + text response.
if we’re talking about the best way to promote authors and make them feel good, reblogging the fic itself and writing your feedback in the body of the post is the way to do it. there’s nothing better than an author clicking their notifications and seeing a reblog + comment on a fic they’ve written. it not only helps with promoting, but it also gives them an idea of how their audience feels about their work!
comment within the reblog vs. tags.
there’s nothing wrong with either of these! they both have the same purpose—promotion with feedback for the author. the only setback for tags is that if the author wanted to respond to your comment, it would require them to take a screenshot instead of reblogging with your feedback above theirs.
stuck on what to write in the comments?
easy! write literally anything pertaining to the fic. you can quote parts of the story where you felt a certain way, you can compliment the writing style, or you can discuss your thoughts on the fic. you can also talk about how much it impacted you, how interesting the storyline was, or even the uniqueness of the fic. literally anything. authors love hearing from their readers, and it motivates them to continue writing more !!
comments.
only leaving comments is fine, however, it’s not particularly the best when it comes to promotion. authors do love seeing how their audience feels about their fic–but it’s a bit discouraging when their readers comment but it wasn’t good enough to warrant a reblog. authors sometimes depend on their tags, networks, and pages like ours to help with sharing their stories, but it only goes to a certain extent. please reblog !! your reblog will be more helpful than you think.
likes.
probably the absolute worst way to express your adoration for a fic. tumblr is not like instagram—in order for the fic to be spread throughout the community, liking won’t take it far. liking a fic and leaving it as that is almost as if you’re hiding the fact that you enjoyed it. if you really did enjoy the content, please refer back to #1 as to which is the best way.
leaving asks.
this is sweet !! we understand that sometimes readers can be shy, but again, it has the same result as #2 comments. leaving asks means interacting with the author, and this can create an ongoing conversation and build a relationship with your favorite author. nothing is better (other than a reblog + text response) than seeing a little bubble above your inbox with a new ask.
donations.
this is probably the least popular action. there’s nothing wrong with authors asking for donations, but they shouldn’t make you feel like it’s an obligation or guilt trip you into doing it. donations should be within your means–but if you can donate and the fic was worthwhile enough to donate, feel free to do so! most authors have a kofi, but if they don’t, feel free to drop by their inbox and ask!
