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 Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:39 pm
So I’ve been having a bit of trouble with this particular aspect of writing on FFnet. I get reviewers, which is great, but sometimes a review is written in such a way that a response seems necessary. Some users have PMs disabled so responding that way is impossible and other reviewers who have it enabled have told me to not respond via PM (plus there is the issue of anon reviews).
Am I supposed to put a review response in a story chapter at the top or bottom in author’s notes? I used to respond via author’s note but found that to be a bit tedious as hardly anyone ever reads them. I guess what I’m wondering is if I should even bother responding to reviews at all. Is it polite or even necessary to respond to a review?
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Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:55 pm
I respond to reviews ofter (assuming there is actual content in the review to respond to). The most common medium that I use is PMs. That's what the PM function was made for and placing responses to reviews either before or after chapters can clutter a work (especially if you're responding to more than one reviewer). So, whenever I can, I respond via PM. If they reply back asking me not to PM them, then I just recommend they turn the PM function off so they won't be bothered. Its not your fault they don't like to get PMs.
In the case of Anon reviews, I mostly ignore them. If they aren't going to take the time to sign in, then its not worth my time to type up a response to their review. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule of mine. As in the case of an Anon reviewer that I know doesn't have an account on ff.n. Sometimes, people from here on Gaia will read and review my stories. In cases like that, I DO put the response in an A/N at the bottom of the chapter. But I try not to make it a regular thing.
As a reader, I have to say that I am annoyed by authors who feel the need to respond to every review they get at the end of the page. I think its vain, silly and messy. However, if an author posts only one or two responses to select reviewers on their chapter, it encourages me to review more and review better in hopes that I might be publicly recognized next time. (I'm vain like that.)
Ultimately, there is no official etiquette. Its just whatever you feel most comfortable with.
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:19 am
Bring on your torture, your bullets, your pains I find that once the review is written, the writer leaves it and forgets it. Another issue I have is on a particular story I wrote, someone complains about finding the thread between her dreams and reality. While I would like to sit there and say this is what is real, this isn't, it's foggy for a reason. So I don't respond unless requested, or if it's something I feel NEEDS to be clarified. And in my heart, things aren't the same.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:27 am
I find that people placing review responses on the end or beginning of their chapters is tacky, pushing for a higher word count without content, and it also seems like a shaming technique. Like, "Don't leave anything negative or mean or I will shame you in my story for all to see." It's better to just keep replies in pms and that's it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 6:24 am
Wow. Shows you how long its been since Ive last used ff.net (since recently anyways). I didnt think that by posting a review at the bottom it increased the word count. Unless they added it directly to the chapter itself and its content. Must be something new.
Anywho, my two cents. As grateful as I am to get positive reviews, I normally ignore them unless Im feeling in the mood to find out what it was they liked out the story. Then I go to PMs. The reviews that really bother me are the general "Its nice please keep going reviews. Then I honestly need to know what they liked and why. Its like they didnt read it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:30 am
Lethal Trinity Wow. Shows you how long its been since Ive last used ff.net (since recently anyways). I didnt think that by posting a review at the bottom it increased the word count. Unless they added it directly to the chapter itself and its content. Must be something new. When a reader posts a review, it has no effect on a story's word count. What we're talking about is when the author writes responses to their readers in the actual word document of their chapter (usually at the end). Because it is part of the actual story document, it does increase the word count.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:23 pm
Ah, then that makes sense. Thank you!
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:29 pm
Lethal Trinity Ah, then that makes sense. Thank you! No problem. ^^
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:08 pm
Renkon Root
I respond to reviews often (assuming there is actual content in the review to respond to). The most common medium that I use is PMs. That's what the PM function was made for and placing responses to reviews either before or after chapters can clutter a work (especially if you're responding to more than one reviewer). So, whenever I can, I respond via PM. If they reply back asking me not to PM them, then I just recommend they turn the PM function off so they won't be bothered. Its not your fault they don't like to get PMs.
In the case of Anon reviews, I mostly ignore them. If they aren't going to take the time to sign in, then its not worth my time to type up a response to their review. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule of mine. As in the case of an Anon reviewer that I know doesn't have an account on ff.n. Sometimes, people from here on Gaia will read and review my stories. In cases like that, I DO put the response in an A/N at the bottom of the chapter. But I try not to make it a regular thing.
As a reader, I have to say that I am annoyed by authors who feel the need to respond to every review they get at the end of the page. I think its vain, silly and messy. However, if an author posts only one or two responses to select reviewers on their chapter, it encourages me to review more and review better in hopes that I might be publicly recognized next time. (I'm vain like that.)
Ultimately, there is no official etiquette. Its just whatever you feel most comfortable with. Wow, I can't believe I never responded to this. I found this response to be the most helpful since you addressed all of my issues. Thanks a ton! It's just awkward to respond via PM to a review in which the reader asks a rather direct question, only to have the person snap at you for sending them a message. I've stopped responding to reviews altogether unless the reader sends me a message with a question. Now I simply thank my reviewers if I have an author's note of any significance to post.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 4:01 pm
In my stories, I just put in the end notes that I would like to thank those who have read and Beta my stories. Usually, I have too many Beta Readers to thank individually - plus, some of my Betas don't like having their name posted on the net so people aren't always pestering them to critique a story.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:48 pm
Typically, if someone leaves a review that requires more than a standard thank you response but I don't have a means of privately sending it, then I put it at the bottom in the authors notes. I try to make it brief and not put anything that could be a spoiler or seem abrasive. If it's reviews that don't require a direct response then a simple thank you to your readers at the end of the chapter is a nice gesture, but strictly speaking, not necessary.
Honestly, I've never had a case of someone getting mad about a PM response to a review. Usually, they are either ignored or a short conversation on the piece is started. And I normally respond to every review if I can, even if it's just a generic thank you for a generic review.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:06 pm
I don't answer my reviews but in my author's notes I tend to thank everyone for viewing, favoring, following and reviewing. That they are all appreciated and I love to read them.
But If there is an important question about the story, like if there is something they aren't sure on or didn't quite understand, I'll also give a brief answer in the author's notes for the viewers, in case anyone else is lost or confused.
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