[ SECRET POST #5540 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5540 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



__________________________________________________



02.



__________________________________________________



03.



__________________________________________________



04.



__________________________________________________



05.



__________________________________________________



06.



__________________________________________________



07.



__________________________________________________



08.

















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 37 secrets from Secret Submission Post #793.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

06. https://i.imgur.com/vpOlsgS.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

What fanfic reader is looking at comments and going "wow, there are just too many people taking an interest in this fic, I shouldn't read it"?

Who does this? Do you ever do that for fanfic yourself? This fellow writer sounds like the weird one that's too focused on statistics here, then they're assuming everyone else is like them for some reason

[(Anonymous)]

You're not doing it wrong. The average reader really appreciates it when an author replies, even if it's just a "Thanks!" or a smiley.

About the only thing a high-comment/low-kudos ratio can tell someone is that the readers who like the fic *really* like it. Which can certainly lure a potential reader in, yeah?

Uhm... there are certainly reasons not to reply - some authors don't have the spoons, or time, or a given comment was on the rude side. If an author doesn't wanna, then that's their call.

But if the issue is who you're going to please in the way of potential audience-members...? I, for one, am always going to prioritise the feelings of someone who liked my fic enough to comment on it, over the feelings of someone squinting at my stats before they'll condescend to look at my work.

That's my feeling on the matter.

[(Anonymous)]

What? No.

On a single-chapter fic, if there's way more comments than kudos, I just assume somebody got into a long conversation in comments, and ignore the comments number.

On fics with a lot of chapters this isn't even unusual?? It means you have loyal readers??

[(Anonymous)]

That's bullshit. I got told the same thing when I started posting fic, but I genuinely do not care about stats or what the number of comments might indicate about my story. If somebody leaves me a comment, it makes me so happy and I want that commenter to know how happy they made me. That's what it's all about, IMO. What is fandom if not people squeeing back-and-forth?

[(Anonymous)]

You are doing absolutely nothing wrong. I like engaging with authors if I enjoy their fic enough to comment (most of the time i leave kudos), and I usually have a few questions for them if I do (things like "what inspired you for X?"), and if they don't respond I assume they aren't interested in chatting, and I leave them be. I am also a lot less likely to ever leave another comment on that author's fic, as I know they don't engage.

[(Anonymous)]

Outside of behaving like an entitled asshole or something, do people really judge how other authors interact with their audience? That's so weird to me.

I'd be like "holy shit! The author's interacting with me! :D" not calculating the comments to kudos ratio. Wtf.

[hey_hey_hey]

Couldn't you thank the people who have accounts via PM? I don't know if that's an option on AO3.

[(Anonymous)]

What. Who thinks this? That's ridiculous.

[(Anonymous)]

I've always replied to every comment I can unless I'm completely exhausted for a week or something (which has happened). Got in some good conversations down there too. Nobody's ever seemed to mind.

[arcanetrivia]

Huh? I almost never bother to look at numbers of comments or kudos anyway, but if I did, while I might think it a bit unusual if something has more comments than kudos (kinda depends on the length of the fic, like another person in this thread mentioned, since you can't kudos more than once), I would probably conclude 1. Wow! this fic must be really engaging if it's prompting people to actually comment that much and not just kudos! and/or 2. Maybe there's a long discussion back and forth between the author and a couple of people (like you can get on journal sites). Neither of these would put me off the fic in the slightest.

[tei]

People who overanalyze their fanfiction statistics and assume everyone else does the same truly have a special form of disconnect with reality.

Nobody gives a shit if there are more comments than kudos or vice versa, reply to comments if you feel like it

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think I ever pay attention to the comment count.

[(Anonymous)]

I know people who would give your fic a pass for having more comments than kudos. They’re idiots.

And it’s ridiculous the anxiety fandom generates about comments and kudos. You’re lovely for replying to everyone! This was the standard on message boards and LJ and it was a big part of building octal circles. If someone said hello to you on he street but you’d already said hello to several people before them, would you ignore them? It’s nice engaging with others and if you’re happy they enjoyed your stuff or grateful for their comments, it’s awesome to tell them that!

[(Anonymous)]

Me, you do you OP.

[(Anonymous)]

That's BS, OP. Replying to comments is kind and shows readers that you care. While I've been bad about it in the past, I've made the effort to reply to every comment in my current fandom, and I feel so much better for it. Also, it can open a conversation, and that's always interesting.

[(Anonymous)]

I do not understand the "more comments than kudos turns off readers" logic! Whoever told you that is a moron.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't look at how many comments there are compared to kudos, but I guess I would assume a story has more chapters so more comments?

I do sort by kudos sometimes in some huge fandoms (after narrowing down a billion tags, like if I want to read the most lauded hurt comfort threesomes), but comments? Nah.

[(Anonymous)]

I have never heard of that phenomenon. Huh. Now I wonder if authors sometimes don't reply to their comments because of that alone!

Please keep replying to your commenters, OP. If I leave a comment and an author doesn't reply, it makes me feel like they don't care. Other discussions on here have enlightened me about other possible reasons for this, but whatevs -- if they don't reply, I won't leave another comment. How do I know they even READ their comments? If I comment a lot and they do generally reply but miss one here or there, that's different... but if I see they never reply to any comments left by anyone, then nope, done!

I am SO thankful for every nice comment I get, even if it's just a "great chapter!" or an emoji. And getting into conversations with readers is one of the best things about posting fic on AO3. If someone really doesn't want to read my fic because of that, then... oh well! People who go by that rule are going to be missing out on some awesome fic. Their loss. (er, I mean in general, not mine specifically!)

[tabaqui]

This is sheer nonsense, OP, and you should disregard completely the person who said that. Comment back to whomever you like, however you like! If it works for you, it works for you!

I reply to *every* comment, emoji, whatever. That's what works for me. Some authors I really like to reply to anyone. It's all good. You do you.

[(Anonymous)]

(Cozy Werewolf Anon)

That is just such a weird attitude. Comments are one way to engage with other people in fandom. I met my editor by engaging in comments on my stories. I used to freaking EMAIL people back in the day to thank them for commenting on FF.net.

We've cut out so many little ways to interact with each other in fandom, don't let some elitist ... have no polite word... keep you from your fellow fans going squee! That's how you make friends. And if someone is paying attention to your stat count that closely, you probably don't want them reading your work or being your friend anyways.

Srsly, those who make stats a competition are exhausting. Keep on replying! You'll make someone's day. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Don't change a thing about your style or worry about numbers/statistics. if anything, a writer that I know reads and replies to me is what keeps me coming back/engaged.

[(Anonymous)]

That's complete bullshit, OP. Reply to as many people as you want.

[(Anonymous)]

They're your fics OP, do what you wish! I honestly don't think anything about a fic having a lot of comments. If anything, I think it's really sweet when a writer engages a lot with readers in the comments! It doesn't influence my choices on whether or not to read a fic too much, like I don't notice too much. There's no real way to gauge how people choose to read fanfics, so do whatever you want, OP!

[(Anonymous)]

As a reader I love it when authors reply. Like, a lot. Sometimes it's nice to know the writer is still in the fandom.

If I see more comments than kudos A) I wouldn't because I don't notice that but if I did B) I'd assume there are long comment discussions which can also be fun to read.

Honestly, I'm to busy filtering for tags/characters/pairings I like/dislike the kudos/comment count or ratio is pretty far from my mind.