We need to talk about comments, y’all.
Today I got this comment on a fic I wrote and posted last year.
It was a fic that a lot of readers dislike. This is not nearly the worst thing said in the comment section of this fic. What really stands out about this one is it’s the fourth comment left over several months on the same fic by the same reader. It was left in response to my own comment when the reader asked me to clarify and edit/expound on a few (major) plot points within the story:
I'm going to reply to this because it's gonna annoy me if I dont: I wrote a story I love and it's going to stand or not, without me explaining anything. What the reader takes from it, or emotions drawn by it are the reader's. Crit is never fun and franky wasn't asked for and no, I won't explain anymore. The readers can and should draw their own conclusions and emotions from the story as it was written.
I want to be SUPER FUCKING CLEAR here about the sequence of events:
I wrote a fic that’s 35k+. I spent my free time writing a story I like and shared it with fandom because I’m nice like that. And a reader requested I change it. Then demanded I change it. Then insulted me when I said no.
That’s like getting pissy when someone won’t take back and buy you a different gift. That’s what fic writers are. That’s what we do. Artists and authors are giving gifts to the fandom.
Unless you’re writing for a commission--to date something I’ve never done--you aren’t hired for this. Unless it’s a fill for a charity auction--this was not--or a reverse bang--this was not--no one else gets a say in the story process.
Lemme repeat that:
No one else gets a say in the story process.
You don’t like a fic, don’t fucking read it. I don’t care if you don’t read my stories. I write them for me and hope that other folk like them but at the end of the day, I’m gonna write them either way.
So why is this kind of shitty comment so fucking annoying, arei?
I am so fucking glad you asked!
Because if asshat reader is saying that to one fic writer--they’re saying it to others. And me? I’ve got a thick skin. I don’t care what people say about my stories or my characterization or if they want me to explain XYZ and change a huge plot point.
But a baby fic writer who just published their first piece and gets this commentary? That person cares.
The seasoned fic writer who is mentally exhausted and running on comments/kudos and coffee and hoping for a pick me up? That person cares.
The fic author who is convinced no one reads (Because let’s be honest, comments are hard to garner these days), who is thrilled because hey COMMENT? That person cares.
And maybe this kind of asshole comment is why they quit.
This is the kind of shit that makes fandom creators stop creating. It’s entitled and it’s rude and it needs to fucking stop.
We write for ourselves and we’re happy to share, but check your entitlement, dear readers, because that’s not cool at all. You are owed exactly nothing in fandom. Everything you find from artists and authors? Is a gift. Treat it like one.