On reviews.
Feb. 13th, 2006 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusThese days I'm not very good about reviewing stories I read. I have a tendency to just stick them on a rec-list and make my contribution that way.
Should One Reply To Reviews?
When I reviewed my first story, the author graciously got back to me about a week later. (I think it was![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
keelywolfe but don't quote me on that.)
I was surprised because I hadn't expected a reply. I figured emailing the author was like sending a letter to the editor: into the Abyss, but at least you expressed your feelings. I wrote detailed reviews in the early days, several paragraphs (sometimes pages) of con-crit - and always sent a direct email as I wasn't about to critique a story publicly.
One author updated her abandoned fic with two or three chapters in response. Reviews really do have an impact.
It was so gratifying to hear from the author that I resolved to reply to every review I received, especially when I learned that not everyone did. It seemed... mannerly. I also found that once someone replied to my review I felt warmly about them and their stories.
Yes, I'm definitely in the camp that feels it's best to reply.
Must One Reply To Reviews?
Here's where I grow a little uncomfortable with the "respond to reviews or else" camp, people who feel not replying is the height of rudeness and deserving of punitive action up to ten years suspension of review privileges with internment in little cages where the author is required to produce fic on bread and water.
The division of labor between writer and reviewer is a tad disproportionate.
Writer:
Reviewer:
Being angry that the writer "didn't do enough" by not replying strikes me as unreasonable.
I'm reminded of myself in high school when my parents drove me an hour and a half to a school event after working full 8-hour days -- and I blew my stack because I couldn't go to my friends' party afterward. Pretty darned selfish, but I took my parents for granted and expected to be catered to.
Now most of us are more mature than I was at 15, and can see the inequity.
Strategies To Get Replies To Reviews
If it is important to you to have people reply to your reviews, then I believe in being pro-active. There are strategies to *poke* the author into replying.
Personal emails.
The truth is, especially with Big Important Authors, the personal touch counts. Take the extra few seconds to look up their email instead of simply clicking reply in an archive. That way they're getting the review from you and not fanfiction.net. There's a reason salespeople introduce themselves. People connect with a name.
Shotgun reviews.
Nothing says "I'm a devoted fan" like five reviews from the same person in a single afternoon. Very few people do this, but repetition works. The downside is that the author will often reply to several reviews in one email, but they will remember your name. (Hi Mathilda!) Yes, there's that name thing again.
Size matters.
Authors eagerly open their reviews and while a one-liner is appreciated, there's nothing like a satisfying paragraph or two. The shortest review I ever received was:
:). (I think I replied with: ;))
Interestingly, if your review is very long and loaded with valuable insights you can expect a delayed response as the author thinks about it. Then you're in danger of being consigned to the Drafts Folder -- (Icarus dodges food and things thrown by writers) -- but it's not that I want to discourage Mega-reviews. Hell no! It's just a hazard.
Depth matters.
A layered response comparing the author's story to Dante's Inferno and Ursula K. LeGuin, puzzling about the socio-political structure implied, will make an author think. It leaves an actual opening for conversation. Compare that to the next review that says, "Hee hee! I liked it. You hit all my kinks." That's a conversation killer. Imagine yourself at a party and someone says that. Wh-what can you say? A pat, "Gosh, I'm glad you liked it." Meanwhile, the person who mentioned LeGuin has left a door open. Whose email gets the faster reply?
Pissing the author off.
If you don't care about quality and just want a reaction, a nasty shot of accurate con-crit (emphasis on the crit) seasoned with just enough positive feedback to not be classified a troll will very often provoke a swift reply. Be sure to spell everything accurately, use punctuation that would make your English teacher smile, and ten-dollar words also help. You might get a response so fast scorch-marks are left on your couch. I don't recommend it, I hate negative reviews, but if you don't care about rewarding and encouraging the author and replies are your only goal, this is your best bet.
And that's the real question, isn't it? Why review?
Is the goal to get a reply, or is it to encourage the author? If it's primarily the latter, why be angry and punitive when you don't get that response?
A Final Word Of Caution
If someone doesn't reply to your review, don't assume you know why. There could have been a death in the family. They could have had a computer crash and had Outlook wiped. Your review might've just gotten buried in their in-box. Or a reply is sitting in their drafts folder and the author is feeling a little silly because it's been there for three months.
You can count on the fact that all reviews are read. And they are appreciated. That's a given.
Should One Reply To Reviews?
When I reviewed my first story, the author graciously got back to me about a week later. (I think it was
keelywolfe but don't quote me on that.) I was surprised because I hadn't expected a reply. I figured emailing the author was like sending a letter to the editor: into the Abyss, but at least you expressed your feelings. I wrote detailed reviews in the early days, several paragraphs (sometimes pages) of con-crit - and always sent a direct email as I wasn't about to critique a story publicly.
One author updated her abandoned fic with two or three chapters in response. Reviews really do have an impact.
It was so gratifying to hear from the author that I resolved to reply to every review I received, especially when I learned that not everyone did. It seemed... mannerly. I also found that once someone replied to my review I felt warmly about them and their stories.
Yes, I'm definitely in the camp that feels it's best to reply.
Must One Reply To Reviews?
Here's where I grow a little uncomfortable with the "respond to reviews or else" camp, people who feel not replying is the height of rudeness and deserving of punitive action up to ten years suspension of review privileges with internment in little cages where the author is required to produce fic on bread and water.
The division of labor between writer and reviewer is a tad disproportionate.
Writer:
30 minutes-to-an-hour to plot story
3-5 hours writing rough draft
45 minutes begging for betas
2-3 hours of rewrites on drafts
30 minutes of coding for website
Provide story free of charge, with maybe 10% leaving any sort of feedback
Total: 6.5 - 10 hours of writing time.
Reviewer:
30 minutes to read and enjoy story
5 minutes to reply and review
(Bearing in mind I used to spend upwards of an hour on my con-crit reviews)
Being angry that the writer "didn't do enough" by not replying strikes me as unreasonable.
I'm reminded of myself in high school when my parents drove me an hour and a half to a school event after working full 8-hour days -- and I blew my stack because I couldn't go to my friends' party afterward. Pretty darned selfish, but I took my parents for granted and expected to be catered to.
Now most of us are more mature than I was at 15, and can see the inequity.
Strategies To Get Replies To Reviews
If it is important to you to have people reply to your reviews, then I believe in being pro-active. There are strategies to *poke* the author into replying.
Personal emails.
The truth is, especially with Big Important Authors, the personal touch counts. Take the extra few seconds to look up their email instead of simply clicking reply in an archive. That way they're getting the review from you and not fanfiction.net. There's a reason salespeople introduce themselves. People connect with a name.
Shotgun reviews.
Nothing says "I'm a devoted fan" like five reviews from the same person in a single afternoon. Very few people do this, but repetition works. The downside is that the author will often reply to several reviews in one email, but they will remember your name. (Hi Mathilda!) Yes, there's that name thing again.
Size matters.
Authors eagerly open their reviews and while a one-liner is appreciated, there's nothing like a satisfying paragraph or two. The shortest review I ever received was:
:). (I think I replied with: ;))
Interestingly, if your review is very long and loaded with valuable insights you can expect a delayed response as the author thinks about it. Then you're in danger of being consigned to the Drafts Folder -- (Icarus dodges food and things thrown by writers) -- but it's not that I want to discourage Mega-reviews. Hell no! It's just a hazard.
Depth matters.
A layered response comparing the author's story to Dante's Inferno and Ursula K. LeGuin, puzzling about the socio-political structure implied, will make an author think. It leaves an actual opening for conversation. Compare that to the next review that says, "Hee hee! I liked it. You hit all my kinks." That's a conversation killer. Imagine yourself at a party and someone says that. Wh-what can you say? A pat, "Gosh, I'm glad you liked it." Meanwhile, the person who mentioned LeGuin has left a door open. Whose email gets the faster reply?
Pissing the author off.
If you don't care about quality and just want a reaction, a nasty shot of accurate con-crit (emphasis on the crit) seasoned with just enough positive feedback to not be classified a troll will very often provoke a swift reply. Be sure to spell everything accurately, use punctuation that would make your English teacher smile, and ten-dollar words also help. You might get a response so fast scorch-marks are left on your couch. I don't recommend it, I hate negative reviews, but if you don't care about rewarding and encouraging the author and replies are your only goal, this is your best bet.
And that's the real question, isn't it? Why review?
Is the goal to get a reply, or is it to encourage the author? If it's primarily the latter, why be angry and punitive when you don't get that response?
A Final Word Of Caution
If someone doesn't reply to your review, don't assume you know why. There could have been a death in the family. They could have had a computer crash and had Outlook wiped. Your review might've just gotten buried in their in-box. Or a reply is sitting in their drafts folder and the author is feeling a little silly because it's been there for three months.
You can count on the fact that all reviews are read. And they are appreciated. That's a given.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 10:11 pm (UTC)I know you didn't ask me this, but I want to answer -- for me part of the goal is to encourage the author, but another part is to make a connection with the author, to start a discussion about the story. For me that's what sharing fanfic is all about. Because of this, I tend to feel rebuffed/rejected if an overture is met with silence. I try not to get irritated or angry (because I don't know why they didn't reply), but I can't help feeling that future attempts to connect with that particular writer would be a waste of my time.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 10:46 pm (UTC)Ah, in that case a completely reasonable response. And no doubt your review reflects that, opens at least one topic for discussion.
One time someone was replying to comments in their LJ in a way that skipped over the people she didn't know and only answered her friends. That irritated me because it in effect shut people out. I felt quite ignored in that instance.
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2006-02-14 01:35 am (UTC)Well, I *hope* so! When I really love a story/writer I find myself trying to walk a line between eager/enthusiastic and stalkerish. My response to anything I like is to want MORE, and I don't want to be rude or demanding or in any way imply that the story as is wasn't pleasing, you know?
One time someone was replying to comments in their LJ in a way that skipped over the people she didn't know and only answered her friends.
That's just rude. I'm a lot like miladyhawke below in that my fannish interaction with a writer strongly colors my enjoyment of his/her stories. It seems both irrational and unfair to let that sway how I feel about someone's writing, but it happens anyway.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-14 05:11 pm (UTC)Icarus