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I don't comment on fanfics I read because
too much effort
I didn't like the story and don't have anything nice to say
I didn't finish reading the story
I left kudos. Why say more?
I liked the story but I never know what to say in a comment
The author doesn't respond to comments
What's a comment?
I always leave a comment
If you comment on some fanfics and not others, pick an answer that applies most commonly to when you don't comment.
You seem to know a lot about AO3, do you know how to engage more of your readers? I’ve been trying to get comments on my fics but all I get is kudos. I just want to know if people are enjoying my writing
Hi there! I definitely wouldn't say I'm an expert when it comes to AO3, but I find the fandom culture around AO3 to be really interesting, so I do talk about it a lot, haha. I've only been posting works there since 2019, though, and I'm sure folks who have been doing so for longer or have volunteered as tag wranglers or on the policy & abuse committee, for example, would know a lot more than I do. <3
But I'm really sorry to hear that you only get kudos and no comments on your fics! That really sucks. :( Like you said, you have no idea what those people actually think about what you made—just that they consumed it.
Honestly, I'm not sure I'm a good person to ask about getting readers to interact because I post both fanart and fanfics, which isn't super common, at least among people I know. I'm pretty sure that most of the folks who comment on my works followed me from Tumblr to AO3 back when I used to post art here. If I wanted to share nsfw images, I could only post cropped versions of them on Tumblr, so I would sometimes do that and link to the full image over on AO3. I suspect that's a big reason why I even have subscribers on AO3, haha. My writing certainly isn't better than that of plenty of people who also write for very niche ships and don't get as many kind comments as I do.
I also started out in my current fandom making art and writing about more popular characters until I quickly shifted focus when I found some that I like much more 😂 But I'm sure that quite a few people found my stuff because of those old works, and some of them probably stuck around.
Speaking of popular... This isn't something I do because I'm only motivated to make things that I like, but of course, there's always the 'write stuff for popular ships/characters' option. :/ Even now, when I happen to include fan favorites in my fics or art, all kinds of people come out of the woodwork to comment on them. And because I'm a contrary ass, that then makes me not want to create works featuring those ships or characters XD;;; But anyway, that is one option, haha.
A friend recently told me that they started asking little questions in the notes of each chapter of their fics, and that seemed to encourage readers to respond in the comments, so maybe that would be a good thing to try? I haven't tested it, so I can't say.
One thing I have tried that I think has made a difference is adding a blurb in the end notes of my works that I got from @longlivefeedback! They have a great template that you can customize and try out if you like (just make sure to read the bug fix part about curly/smart quotes versus straight quotes, since the curly quotes will kill your html).
One tried and true method to get more people commenting on your fics, of course, is to get to know people who also like the fandom/characters/ships you write about. Read some of their stuff or comment on their art or just chat about headcanons etc. And maybe they'll check out what you wrote.
(My caveat to this would be: do not do this with the sole purpose of getting someone to comment on your fics. I've had plenty of people do this to me, and it was so transparent that they had no interest in me as a person, but just wanted me to draw their OCs or scenes from their fic, or reblog their art, etc. Trying to manipulate someone like that just for your own gain is such gross behavior, and of course, I'm not saying you would do it, but it's common enough that I wanted to mention it 😓)
Okay, unsurprisingly, this got very long and rambling, haha. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I hope you get more folks interested in your writing!
I'd be curious to know if other people have advice for @sonofhighrock! :)
Les presento el Creador de Comentarios (beta) de LLF*
(Esto es una traducción de este post original)
El Creador de Comentarios hecho por @longlivefeedback es una herramienta creada para ayudar a que los lectores de fanfiction dejen respuestas en las historias y puedan comunicarse con los autores. Partimos reconociendo que comentar es una habilidad que se puede aprender y que existen muchas razones por las cuales una persona puede encontrar difícil o intimidante dejar comentarios.
El Creador de Comentarios de longlivefeedback esta diseñado para ayudar a los ususarios a aprender a comentar usando “andamieaje” instruccional, asi como también para quitar las barreras al momento de dejar comentarios, tales como síndrome disejecutivo, ansiedad, problemas de movilidad que dificultan escribir respuestas muy largas (especialmente desde el teléfono), fluidez del lenguaje, y funcionalidad al comentar desde un teléfono móvil en general... o quizás simplemente no estás seguro de qué decir.
[google sheets] [excel]
Al expandir estan las instrucciones y más detalles.
I liked your guides on leaving comments for fics, however I noticed that most if not all of it is geared towards whole works (by which I mean completed or abandoned works). What's the general opinion on leaving a comment for every chapter? I doubt it's helpful feedback for whole stories but I assume that it's good to do this for wip? Thanks for the, dare I say it, feedback ;) lol
I can only speak for myself, but I love when readers leave comments on multiple chapters. I’m in the midst of posting a chapter a day on a multi-chapter story now, and I enjoy seeing the same readers commenting multiple days in a row; it lets me know they are still engaged and reading the story. I also love when readers comment at various points in completed multi-chapter stories, kind of charting their reactions as they go. Again, it lets me know that I am holding their interest; that they didn’t read a chapter or two in a single sitting and then lose interest in coming back to the story ever again.
With all due respect, I don’t agree that the 101 Comment Starters is geared toward whole stories. The vast majority of the comment starters could be applied to a single chapter; in some cases, you might have to substitute the word “chapter” for “story”–which is why I’m assuming you feel like it is aimed at whole stories–but most of the comment starters address a single element or scene in a story.
In fact (since you specifically asked me for feedback! :), I’d gently challenge you to think about what you mean by “helpful feedback.” I think most authors simply like to know that their work is being read and appreciated by their audience. As I’ve noted before, posting a story is not an effortless act. There is first multiple steps of editing and revision to get it ready for an audience, then the summary and title to come up with, tags and metadata to formulate, the actual formatting of the fic for different sites, crossposting it multiple places, and then using one’s social media channels to let people know it exists. I generally end up setting aside the better part of an evening to post a new fic. So while, yes, I wrote it for myself, I posted it for you, and therefore, if you liked it, I don’t think that asking for acknowledgement of that is a huge ask, but my bar is also not terribly high. I just want to know if the people reading my work enjoy my work.
The reason I initially posted “101 Comment Starters” wasn’t because I think that readers need to write deep literary analyses of the fanfic they read; it’s because most readers aren’t saying anything to us and the more I investigated why that was, the more it became clear to me that readers felt like generic “I liked this! Thanks for posting it!” wasn’t enough but lacked the confidence to comment in ways that they (readers) felt were appreciated by authors. Furthermore, commenting is a unique form of writing that many of us don’t feel trained to do. (My research, which appeared on @longlivefeedback, can be read here for more details on this.)
Anyway, all this to say that the “101 Comment Starters” were deliberately meant to address just small parts of the story. As a humanities teacher, I know that synthesis across a whole text–describing how a character evolves or a theme develops across multiple chapters, for example–is a fairly advanced skill. I don’t think readers need to be that ambitious. Most of us, as readers, are familiar with that feeling we get when we read a passage we love, the welling of emotion at a turning point in the plot, the sudden avalanche of thoughts when an author presents a character or worldbuilding element in a way that illuminates the canon for us anew. So I’d actually encourage you to become aware of those moments and use them to choose a comment starter that shares with the author what about their work you found particularly effective or moving. (And, to me, as an author, this actually is helpful. I love knowing what specifically worked for a reader in my work so that I can continue using that technique in future stories.)
Tl;dr: Embrace the small and simple. Don’t worry if you won’t get hired for the New York Times book review on the basis of your fanfic comments. In a fandom climate where feedback has become more and more scarce, we authors are more grateful than you’d know for any effort on our behalf to let us know that our work is enjoyed.
Have you ever read a fic that gave you so many emotions, wrecked you and put you back together just to tear your heart out again, and you have nobody to talk about it with?
Tell the author.
Not only does it make the author happy (and it will, for days or more), the author may want to talk about the fic with you! They may have answers to questions you have, or share what made them think of that particular scene that had you bawling.
Commenting 101
Lesson 1: Find your catchphrase
"This was great!"
"Thank you for this <3"
"Loved this."
When in doubt, comment your catchphrase.
When you feel too tired/sleepy/overwhelmed/at a loss for words, just write 1 sentence down and you're done! The goal of this is not to be perfect. In fact, forget about perfect! Forget about needing your comment to be special, or that the author might not appreciate such a short comment. We're taking baby steps here and the most important thing you can learn this week is that something is better than nothing.
So start with something generic. Pick something short and sweet. Use one of the examples above. Leave it on every fanfic you read.
Let me repeat that for the people at the back:
Leave it on every fanfic you read.
Leave it at the end of that chapter you're reading. Comment on that fic you just opened. Just write those 2, 3, 4 words. Tell them LLF sent you. That we made you do it. Even if it doesn't feel great just leaving such a short sentence, do it. You can change it for the next fic. But start.
Start with something, even if you're not 100% happy with it. Don't worry about not getting it right the first time. You can iterate and change it up in the next fic or chapter you read and comment. And you can keep changing it up until you get something you're happy with. Even if it doesn't work out this week, there's next week. This will be your go-to sentence. Something that you can use without thinking. So keep it stupid simple.
Now, once you've started, you can stop and hit post on your comment. The only learning for this lesson is that you write something and develop a catchphrase for yourself this week. You can leave more than just your catchphrase in a comment, but it must be included in your comment.
And that's it!
I'll be asking how the week goes for you next weekend, and if you need more help getting started, my ask box is open.
Remember:
When in doubt, comment your catchphrase.
Something is better than nothing.
Goal of the week:
Leave your catchphrase on every fanfic you read.
And for the 10% of you who always leave a comment, I have a question for you:
Do you have a comment catchphrase?
Yes (put it in the tags)
No (reblog with a comment)
Other (please explain)
Many people have complained that the AO3 comment rate is too low and have proposed explanations as to why, but there's another under-discussed factor that might be at play.
Commenting 101
Lesson 3: Quote. Or paraphrase
Sorry about going MIA last weekend, but I'm back with Lesson 3 💪 But before we get into it, how are we doing with describing the indescribable and commenting in general?
Has this Commenting 101 series been helpful?
Yes! The tips have helped me comment more/start commenting. More please!
It's helping a little bit, but I'm starting to not comment again.
The tips haven't helped me. I still want to comment but can't/don't for reasons.
No. The Commenting 101 series is irrelevant to me because I don't comment ever.
N/A to me cuz I already comment, but the series is helpful & should continue
Not helpful at all. LLF should spend their time elsewhere.
I just found this post and have no idea what the Commenting 101 series is.
Other (Send an ask or put in notes?)
Alright. So let's talk about quoting bits of the fics and commenting on them in a comment. Personally, it's one of my favourite ways to comment because I find it easier to focus on a specific thing/sentence/paragraph/turn of phrase that I really like and gush about it to an author. By doing this, I can also focus on the bits of the story that I really really liked, and not worry about the parts that I didn't like so much. Win-win for everyone!
The one downside of this particular commenting technique is that it does take a relatively high amount of effort and is not as easy as a keyboard smash or entering a bunch of smileys and a catchphrase into the comment box. But hey. Some fics are worth it :)
So, here are some tips on how to quote while commenting:
Keep 2 tabs open.
Use a third party browser script that gives you a floating review box.
Paraphrase.
