[ SECRET POST #5947 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5947 ⌋

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


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[Shadow and Bone]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 30 secrets from Secret Submission Post #850.
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]

07. https://i.imgur.com/ChZt91e.jpg

[feotakahari]

The Kudos button is there for a reason. If the story’s already finished, there’s not much more I can say beyond “I like this,” especially since fandom culture is against discussing what worked and what didn’t.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't have anything polite to say to this.

[hey_hey_hey]

I don't leave comments or kudos on the rare occasion I read fic, and this makes me less inclined to do so.

[(Anonymous)]

as a longfic writer, nah. nah to the max. comments aren't the only way people show their enjoyment. if you want engagement, make a discord channel or a blog or something. "engagement" in fic is reading it, everything else is candy-colored icing on the cupcake.

as long as my hits go up, idgaf. I'd rather hits and kudos than insipid "I liked it! write more!" on every chapter.

[(Anonymous)]

Uh, maybe there's a reason these readers don't engage with you. And I would posit that at least some of those readers are being polite by not leaving an honest comment - I have no idea about your story crafting skills, but that doesn't really matter because no story is universally loved.

[(Anonymous)]

I miss the days of FFnet where people seemed more inclined to show their appreciation for fics they enjoyed reading, instead of getting defensive and entitled about how the author is a terrible person for thinking that maybe hits aren't quite as encouraging as when a person took the time to write a thoughtful comment. Authors seem expected to crank out content for free, without a single jot of appreciation or encouragement, or they can shove it, apparently.

[(Anonymous)]

Assuming you're not trolling, you sound very bitter. Let me know how that's working out for you in life.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe they read it but have nothing polite to say about what they read.

[(Anonymous)]

As someone who only reads completed fics, these days I will only leave kudos on them. Why? because fanfic writers are getting more and more picky/annoyed over the feedback they get and you can't tell which way an author is going to take your feedback.

If you post on every chapter the author gets a ton of notifications at once, and they complain about that.

If you save the feedback to the end and write a couple of paragraphs about you liked in the entire fic, there are complaints about "people who leave feedback thats too long" but if you only write two sentences then there are complaints about feedback thats too short.

If you notice some mistakes (spelling mistakes or a continuity error) and point them out, you are suddenly the bad person for trying to offer constructive feedback.

Readers can't win, we are always giving feedback wrong. So the easiest thing in the world to do is to just leave a kudos. Which is also apparently not enough, but at least its an acknowledgement that we liked your fic.

[(Anonymous)]

Fandom culture has changed so much with even less space for dedicated communities - where for many you have to make stuff to fuel places like twitter or tumblr that reply on finding these fandoms via tags; which has made it easier to just scroll and consume and scroll endlessly in recent years.
Perhaps I'm getting a bit too conspiracy-theory here, but it does feel like its an attitude that gets brought over to places like AO3 where people are so used to just 'consuming content' that commenting is less and less of an incentive to interact because they already consumed one content and are ready for the next thing to consume after. (Of course it depend depends on the fandom itself as it does change depending on each individual one. It does seem more likely to have interaction from people who grew up on internet fandoms that did interact more or on really big fandoms where the chances for commenting goes up).

Its fucking sad that's for sure, and although I don't agree with the tone of your secret OP - I can't say that I'm surprised either. Hope you find your people through whatever method you need to do to enjoy your space.

[(Anonymous)]

This is such a bizarre take. I can guarantee that readers who filter for completed works aren’t going to miss you. All you’re doing is hiding yourself away from a larger audience, which means less chance for not only kudos but readers who might be willing to follow a WIP if they really like your writing or ideas.

Semi-related: I think the whole transactional mindset that’s swept fandom recently is just bonkers. I honestly can’t imagine thinking everyone who reads my fic is required to comment on it. I don’t even expect kudos. I write the thing, edit for SPAG, I post the thing, and then I move on. It’s there forever for anyone to enjoy or not.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeahhh, probably you are not a good writer and people have nothing good to say about your fic.

[(Anonymous)]

Lmao the petty

but as the author, you're entitled to write and engage as you please, just as much as the readers are -- we're all here voluntarily, right?

As someone who normally sorts out WIPs in general, I'd miss out on your fic. I like waiting until it's over, then I read, enjoy, kudos, and if I really enjoyed it, I'll leave a comment (maybe on more than one chapter at that! but usually just the last one).

However, whenever I'm ready a WIP, I usually leave it alone for a few months before I go back to check on it again. I'll try to leave some encouragement usually, but I totally get not commenting. Not everyone wants any kind of fandom interaction. And to some people, the fact you got a kudos is essentially "hey, I liked this". I know it's not enough for every writer, but the days of people commenting on your journal and having entire discussions are kind of gone? I've seen some authors interact more via tumblr or discord. Which is cool -- but too much for me personally.

[(Anonymous)]

Fanfics really are just situations of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I will comment when I want. I will kudos when I want. I don't particularly follow any writers TBH

[(Anonymous)]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say: Good for you, OP. If doing this is more empowering to you, then go ham. Spite is a surprisingly strong motivator.

I'm just so tired of people who bitch and moan about incomplete WIPs. Idk if this is my age showing, but I remember that people's attitude to WIPs used to be a lot more understanding and forgiving? That isn't to say that nobody back then didn't like WIPs, but like... They used to bitch and moan about it privately to their closest friends, which is a 100% the way to go when wanting to lament about fandom stuff, imo; we all have our moments in which we are annoyed by other people in fandom, it's entirely normal, but I feel like people have gotten waaaaaaaay too comfortable with being open and public about their personal dislikes.

And like not wanting to read WIPs just seems so... Weak to me. Idk if it's because I'm also a creative, but I love reading fics, complete or not. Even WIPs, if they are interesting and well written, are fantastic food for my mind! And they can help spark more ideas in me that I might want to explore in my own works!
But it feels like the vast majority of fandom nowadays is skewing more and more 'entitled', for lack of a better word: Fanfics aren't just works that are shared by fellow fans, they are 'content'. It may seems like a tiny difference, but this word applied to fandom works to me is a symptom of how the perception of said works has shifted and mutated in the last ten or so years.

There's this unspoken feeling of entitlement over other people's times and effort in fandom, and like... Yes, a writer themselves are not entitled to a constant stream of praise and feedback; some people are bad at commenting, or are shy, or they feel like they have nothing to add to the discussion; some writers act spoiled and are rude about receiving feedback that isn't up to their standards, all of this is entirely true, but...

Writers put hours of work into the stuff they make, and fandom ever since it was conceived to the way it now is in our modern era has very much hinged on the social 'currency' of feedback and interaction. No, writers are not entitled to comments, and no, they aren't entitled to everybody reading their wtories and enjoying them, finished or not, but well; if that 'currency' that is the lifeblood and backbone of fandom stops coming people really oughtn't to be surprised if their favorite writers stops writing. There's only so much 'writing for yourself' that people can do, before deciding that if that's the case, their stories might as well just stay in their own folders and never see the light of internet sharing.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, you do you, but you seem to misunderstand that it's simply a numbers game.

A lot of readers (I'm going to say 65% for the sake of argument) only read completed fic. So one you mark your fic complete, and it's on the top of the Ao3 pile as newly updated, suddenly you're going to get triple your potential audience. Which then obviously increases the number of people who will click on your fic then backbutton out of it if they don't like it.

Kudos and comments and bookmarks are real indicators of engagement. If you're watching your hit counters, all it's telling you is whether your fic premise, tags and summary are appealing.

To base how you upload your fic based on a high hits to comments ratio frankly seems a bit nuts.

[(Anonymous)]

OP, you're assuming that everyone who clicked on your fic also read it or has finished reading.
Sometimes I click on a fic because it sounds interesting but only read a few sentences before realising it's not for me (after which I don't leave anything) or I take a few days to finish a long fic.

Ofc there are many ppl who read and don't say anything as well but a click literally means just that.

I also find it odd that there is always such a stark distinction between writer and reader. I am both and I definitely don't always leave a comment/kudos on every fic I click on (even those I read) for various reasons. (I do try)

[(Anonymous)]

OP, hits aren't an indicator that someone read your fic, they only indicate that someone CLICKED on it so it's a useless metric to tell if people are actually reading your work. And frankly if the comment+kudos numbers are staying the same when your works are completed... you might not be all that good of a writer or are not giving the fandoms overall what they want.

Ultimately though you can't control people and while you might think you're 'sticking' it to random people online I can guarantee that your fic will still be found by the 'assholes' not paying you in comment-coins so your effort is for naught and your attitude will get you less engagement if you're public about it.

But you do you.

[(Anonymous)]

OP, You and "no-no WIP kudos" anon from a few days ago should get together and have a chat.

[(Anonymous)]

As someone with anxiety disorder and paranoia who can't comment ANYTHING with a username attached to them (hence why F!S is basically the only site where I write on), sure feels nice to be called a leech just because I don't have the courage to comment a fanfiction lol.

I know this is not the case you're highlighting on your secret, but still applies because I read fics and don't comment.
I'll probably read your WIP (I read WIPs of small fandoms) or completed fanfiction, but I'll never comment on it nonetheless. The most I do is leave an anonymous kudos. I sometimes leave more than one kudos because I read FFs using different devices and IPs.

Bonus: as someone else already pointed out, hits counting is an useless metric. It doesn't mean someone read your fanfiction.

[(Anonymous)]

Can you imagine getting to the end of a chaptered fic you're enjoying only to see an author's note that's like "this fic is finished, I'm just not marking it complete to spite this group of people!" LOL, I would click out immediately. It would sour anything I had previously enjoyed about the fic.

[(Anonymous)]

sorry, most of us are used to getting so far in an incomplete work just to realize it's never going to be updated again and we're reluctant to check out incomplete works because of it.

[(Anonymous)]

Whatever makes you feel better, I guess, but if you’re upset that people aren’t engaging with your fic then drastically reducing the number of people who read them in the first place sounds like the same kind of melodramatic self-own as shooting up a case of beer you already paid for because you disagreed with a marketing decision.

[(Anonymous)]

I wish more people would call out the idea that authors write for free, out of the goodness of their hearts, when most of them expect a payday in the form of priase and attention. I respect the authors who admit they only write for attention and if they don't get it, they'll stop. At least they're being honest.

And honestly? Those people could have clicked on your fic, hated it, and clicked out. So a lot of those hits could have been click-backs.