#replies about comments

[ao3commentoftheday]

I have a multi-chapter fic, and I got nice comments on the first and second chapter. For the other five chapters, I didn't get any comments. Is this usual? I kinda fear that it is because my fic is bad. I saw that some people subscribed to it though. Still, it kinda makes me a bit sad and scared I write badly... what do you say? And your blog is awesome btw <3

Thanks so much!

It doesn’t really mean anything except the people who are following your fic just aren’t really all that chatty. They wanted to encourage you and probably just have a hard time commenting so they only left a few. You can’t really know why they don’t leave more and it’s always a bad idea to assume you know what other people are thinking. You really can’t. 

Having subscribers is probably a much better indication of how much people like your fic anyway, tbh. I don’t subscribe to people or their stories unless I really love their writing.

Some authors have had success with linking the  LLF Comment Project to their work. It helps readers to comment and you might want to give it a try.

–Mod M

[ao3commentoftheday]

I’m writing a long multi-chapter fic currently, and I have a lovely user who comments on most chapters. I try my hardest to reply to every comment on my fic, but if a user is commenting on almost every chapter just to say they liked it, is the ‘normal’ thing to reply or not to reply? I’m unsure what to do about the situation.

I tend to reply. Sometimes it takes me a while, though. I had one lovely person about 2 weeks ago? (maybe more - gah!) who commented every chapter of a 36 chapter fic. I love them for it, but it’s also intimidating at the same time. I want to write back something as wonderful as they wrote to me - and I’ll probably have to at least skim the chapters in order to do so because the fic has been up for a while and I forget the details they’re referencing. 

That said, don’t set rules for yourself one way or the other. Do what you can and what you’re comfortable with. On some chapters an emoji is probably enough. On others you might want to write a paragraph of backstory. Maybe no reply is needed at all. Take them on a case-by-case basis. 

And of course, you can always just reply back on the last one and tell them how wonderful it was to get all of those lovely comments. Readers comment on the last chapter of a fic all the time, so I think most would be understanding if you did the same with comment replies :)

What do the rest of you think?

-Mod Pi 

[ao3commentoftheday]

I absolutely love getting comments from new people with whom I’ve never interacted before. Of course, it’s always nice to hear from friends and regular readers and I love them, but when some stranger comes along and praises your writing based on nothing more that what they’ve just read? It’s a total DELIGHT and makes my day.

Me too, anon. 

That’s the good stuff.

–Mod M

[ao3commentoftheday]

There's this fic I've been writing since last November that I've poured all my blood, sweat and tears into. I'm only 3 chapters away from ending it, and I get the feeling that nobody liked the resolution I gave it. I had people who commented regularly, but they all seem to have dropped off. Not gonna lie, it's a very shitty feeling and it makes me want to just downright delete it. What do I do to get back in the game?

That’s just kinda how it goes. Once the resolution is there, people’s comments drop off. That’s how it’s been with every fic I’ve ever written. It might pick up a little once it’s finished as more people catch up on reading it. Sometimes they wait until you’re done when you’re so close to the end because people like to binge it. 

I’d finish it out and see if the comments pick up.

–Mod M

[ao3commentoftheday]

I've just read the ask from the anon wondering if people don't comment on their fic because they (the anon) haven't been commenting on those people's own fics. I think it's possible in some cases, but not all. I agree with Mod Pi that there are a lot of reasons why people don't comment. However, I'd like to point out something: The OP admitted to not commenting much on others' work. So why is that okay, but people not commenting on anon's fic means that everybody out there is "that petty"?

This is in relation to this ask.

Good question anon. I don’t personally think that anyone should expect anyone else to comment on anything. It’s always lovely when it happens, but when those expectations come in, that’s where stress and blame and guilt come in as well. I’ve got enough of that in other areas of my life. I don’t want to bring that into fic as well. 

Previous anon: if you’d care to respond, we’d love to hear from you. 

-Mod Pi

[ao3commentoftheday]

part 1 of 2 So I like writing genderswapped stories of all kind and I always tag my fics thoroughly so it's explicitly clear that the fic has a character whose gender has been changed and who that character is. But every now and then I'll get a comment where someone tells me they dislike the fic specifically because it's a genderswap and will even say "you didn't need to genderswap this character, you could have used this canon male/female character instead"

part 2 of 2 and I honestly don't get it. One, I tagged the fic. You knew what it was when you clicked it. And two, writing a genderswap of one character and writing another character entirely who shares a few personality traits with them are not the same to me! I don't want to write some random character who is kinda like them, I want to write a different version OF them. It's not the same thing

As a roleplayer as well as a fic writer, I hear you, anon. 

Genderswaps are a big thing in the RP community with some people even having dedicated blogs to a female Bucky Barnes, a Stephanie Rogers or a Toni Stark. We sometimes play our characters as the opposite sex for a day or a single thread. It’s just something we like to play around with and I see nothing wrong with it. That’s a fantastic way to explore your favorite character and how their gender role affects their personality.

That said, it’s far more “problematic” in the fanfic community with some readers finding it weird or vaguely offensive. They get on their high horses and decide to “correct” you. I don’t know why, anon. They just can’t wrap their heads around alternate universes, I guess?

I suggest you moderate comments and delete those annoying people’s ignorant comments. That’s my best advice.

Keep writing what you want, anon. Don’t listen to them. You’re doing great and I applaud you.

–Mod M

[ao3commentoftheday]

I don't blame readers for leaving "bad" comments (like the infamous "update" ones), but it annoys me to see fellow authors doing things like this, because I feel they should know better. For example, recently I received a comment in a fic that was one line saying "that was nice", followed by a whole paragraph of the person talking about their own writing, and hinting that I should read it. It made me even doubt that they liked, or even read the fic, and just wanted to self-promote. Am I wrong?

You’re not wrong, anon. Self-promotion comments are getting more common, I’m afraid. I’m not fond of any negative comments, but I really don’t want anyone to start conversations about their fic in the comments section of my fic. That’s, imo, rude. It’s like they’re trying to snag some readers off your fic or something—or get you to read theirs, I suppose. It just makes me want to moderate comments.

If people want to talk to me, that’s what my Tumblr and Discord are for. I love getting to know readers and other writers, but not in a weird, one-sided way where it’s like they’re asking for a favor without even knowing me. 

Someone trying to horn in on my fic comments is going to get an earful from me on why that’s Not Cool. It’s like those people who respond to you saying something about yourself by starting to tell you all about themselves, but in a completely unrelated way. It comes off as incredibly egocentric, rude, and annoying. 

Don’t self-promote in comments on other people’s fics, guys. No one likes it and no one is reading your fics because of it. They may even be avoiding your fics because of it. 

If you like a writer and want to get to know them better, talk about their fic, and then contact them on Tumblr or Discord if you’d like to be friends, assuming they provide those ways to communicate with them.

I’ve made a lot of friends through writing and I’ve read a lot of my friends’ fanfic, but it’s always a relationship built on friendship and mutual appreciation for each others’ writing. 

–Mod M

[ao3commentoftheday]

Several commenters have told me by now that they stayed up late into the night to get caught up on my currently 70k word long slow burn. And honestly that's the best kind of compliment, because I've been there too with others fanfiction and to know that someone feels that way about mine makes the sometimes agonizing process of writing so worth it and fun. Thank you to those specific but also every other reader!!

Aw, yeah. I always love those comments too. When someone says they can’t stop reading to sleep or they burned through your 180K novel over one weekend. 

We love you, binge-readers. Thank you so much, all you readers, for making it feel so worth that agonizing writing process.

–Mod M