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[Shadow of Light Dragon]

I always yearn for cake. ;_; Maybe I'll settle for a chocolate custard donut tomorrow.



One day I will shake off the internet moniker of my youth! (Or maybe not. Sometimes names, like acronyms, do indeed stick XD)

[mousestalker]

Raonar wrote...

BTW, do you people want some cake?

Normally, I'd say yes. But I have cake. Anyone want some?

Modifié par mousestalker, 16 décembre 2010 - 02:45 .

[Sialater]

I don't actually pay attention to hits. I'm weird.

[maxernst]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

I always yearn for cake.

You want to be the girl with the most cake, like Courtney Love?

[Mahkara]

Sialater wrote...

I don't actually pay attention to hits. I'm weird.

I don't either.  I figure that a certain percentage of them are people who click on the story for like two seconds, read the first line, then hit "back".  I tend to care more about reviews, and even more about reviews where it's obvious that the person is actually reading the fic.

I got bored once, created a sock, found a massively long fic (Not DA), and without reading, blithely commented on every chapter with something like "Yay!" or "OMG, this is brilliant!" without reading a word (other than a few character names, that I think I included - like "OMG, what you did with character A was so sexy!!!").  I got this long response thanking me.

It made me laugh.  That said, I took it as a warning that people who write really vague comments may or may not be actually reading my fic (then again, I'm probably the only one who does this...maybe?  Probably the only one who admits to doing this, anyway.)  So tend to take a long review where someone really dissects what I've written >>> short review with "yay, lol!" > alert/favorite >>> hit.  As I figure that the first means "OMG, someone may remember this!" while the last may mean nothing other than a twitchy mouse finger.

[Sarah1281]

Sialater wrote...

I don't actually pay attention to hits. I'm weird.

The reason I do is because when you only get, say, four reviews on a story or chapter its nice to know that more people than that are actually reading it even though I guess its true that there will be people who click on it and don't actually read it. Really, if it weren't for that I don't think I could stay in smaller fandoms for very long because there's nothing worse than spending hours working on something and then having nobody care.

[Mahkara]

Sarah1281 wrote...

The reason I do is because when you only get, say, four reviews on a story or chapter its nice to know that more people than that are actually reading it even though I guess its true that there will be people who click on it and don't actually read it. Really, if it weren't for that I don't think I could stay in smaller fandoms for very long because there's nothing worse than spending hours working on something and then having nobody care.

Yeah, I agree.   And it's frustrating writing for other fandoms where I get half (or less than half) the number of comments I do in DA:O.  It's like, why do you not love me? Why? Why?

Kind of funny how fandoms suck you in that way...it's like a drug.

[Sarah1281]

Mahkara wrote...

Sarah1281 wrote...

The reason I do is because when you only get, say, four reviews on a story or chapter its nice to know that more people than that are actually reading it even though I guess its true that there will be people who click on it and don't actually read it. Really, if it weren't for that I don't think I could stay in smaller fandoms for very long because there's nothing worse than spending hours working on something and then having nobody care.

Yeah, I agree.   And it's frustrating writing for other fandoms where I get half (or less than half) the number of comments I do in DA:O.  It's like, why do you not love me? Why? Why?

Kind of funny how fandoms suck you in that way...it's like a drug.

Or if you spend an hour at most on some stupid one-shot for a fairly large fandom and it gets more attention than something that took far more time and effort for a smaller one.

[Mahkara]

Sarah1281 wrote...

Or if you spend an hour at most on some stupid one-shot for a fairly large fandom and it gets more attention than something that took far more time and effort for a smaller one.

Or you spend 15 minutes on a silly one-shot that gets more attention that something really awesome that you wrote in the same fandom.

A certain ffic writer and I started playing around with writing fake letters back and forth between characters in a blog thread.  I figured I'd post them to ffnet just to archive them (as I thought they were hysterical), and I think that some of them got more reviews than a lot of her original fic (which she works really hard on and is excellent, IMHO anyway).  Luckily, I think she saw it as amusing, rather than as a huge insult, but fandom can be really goofy in its preferences.

It's probably best not to worry too much about it...

[Sialater]

Mahkara wrote...

Sarah1281 wrote...

Or if you spend an hour at most on some stupid one-shot for a fairly large fandom and it gets more attention than something that took far more time and effort for a smaller one.

Or you spend 15 minutes on a silly one-shot that gets more attention that something really awesome that you wrote in the same fandom.

A certain ffic writer and I started playing around with writing fake letters back and forth between characters in a blog thread.  I figured I'd post them to ffnet just to archive them (as I thought they were hysterical), and I think that some of them got more reviews than a lot of her original fic (which she works really hard on and is excellent, IMHO anyway).  Luckily, I think she saw it as amusing, rather than as a huge insult, but fandom can be really goofy in its preferences.

It's probably best not to worry too much about it...

Exactly.  I work the hardest on Loved and Persephone Rising, but get more reviews on The Rescue and A Paragon of Virtue.

[LupusYondergirl]

Reviews are a funny thing.
A lot of people decide what to read based on what's highly/well reviewed. And while there is a logic to that, it means a story that happens upon a few regular or marathon reviewers will end up with an impressive number, and then more people will click on it because of that number, leading to more reviews, etc etc etc.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you, since I am an absolute sucker for reviews, hits, and whatever other metric they can throw at me. If we could get referrer stats I'd be all over that, too. But, I get less reviews on a chapter by chapter basis for my one-shots than anything else and I think some of those are head and shoulders above Apostates of Amaranthine. So I know reviews aren't the best way to determine what my best work is.

For me, reviews are where I see what chapters failed and succeeded just when compared against other chapters in the same fic. If I'm used to getting a dozen or more and one chapter only got seven, well, that's a sign a handful of people who would normally review didn't care for the chapter or didn't find anything interesting in it to comment on. Something clearly went wrong and I need to figure out what it was. They're not necessarily a gauge of how many people are reading for me, but of how my regular readers are responding.

I like alerts. Someone wants to be notified the moment another chapter (or story) is added... well, to me that's much more of a sign that you've caught their attention than a review. There are plenty of people who don't review, after all, even when they like something, and plenty of people who might review one chapter but then never read again.

Modifié par LupusYondergirl, 16 décembre 2010 - 06:54 .

[Mahkara]

LupusYondergirl wrote...

Reviews are a funny thing.
A lot of people decide what to read based on what's highly/well reviewed. And while there is a logic to that, it means a story that happens upon a few regular or marathon reviewers will end up with an impressive number, and then more people will click on it because of that number, leading to more reviews, etc etc etc.
 

Oh, yeah. I completely agree. When you see a fic that has 100K words, 40 chapters, and 10 reviews, you go "uh...no".  While those fics that have 100K words, 40 chapters, and 500 reviews you go "OK, so at least some people like this".

But it's not a perfect system.  One shots seem to be more ignored than longer pieces (even on a chapter by chapter basis).  Pairings definitely matter, as do characters.  And a reasonable number are posted somewhere else first, then to ffnet, so people review elsewhere and don't duplicate the review (I don't tend to, anyway).  So you do get some really great stuff that averages 2 reviews, and some pretty mediocre stuff that has 400 reviews.

[Tellervo]

I've found this to be both true and false, that one shots get less attention. My work on the kmeme gets significantly more attention than any of my serious work, and I'd consider all of those one shots with recurring characters. Anything I post here seems to garner more vocal attention, especially short stories. My serious fic is, well, extremely hard to judge. I have no idea what my stats mean on ff.net since they're all over the place chapter to chapter, but I'm assuming I have a relatively small but dedicated readership. However, the one shots I've posted around that are serious get very little attention unless grouped together. "Atiya Nagrano" and "Crowfight!" tend to get passed by, while "Broken Links" which is a compilation of short stories gets breezed through. So, it seems to depend on the audience--ff.net favors longer stories, other places around the web there isn't much difference because the audience is more concentrated.

[LupusYondergirl]

True- ffnet is better for longer stories. My one shots I've posted on people of thedas, knickerweasels, and even deviant art get much more feedback there.

[Mahkara]

LupusYondergirl wrote...

True- ffnet is better for longer stories. My one shots I've posted on people of thedas, knickerweasels, and even deviant art get much more feedback there.

I'll agree. I think that some of it is that ffnet really has a system for long stories - you alert, and get updated every time more is posted.  While unless you author alert, you don't necessarily know that the author has just posted more.  (And author alerting someone can be dangerous if they write for multiple fandoms/lots/etc.)

But on LJ (or other forums), it's really hard to just sit down, say, and read >10K words, so short stories tend to be more accessible (I think, anyway).  And while you can post updates to comms, it can get rather spammy with a long story.  And most readers probably don't love you enough to friend you (unless they are crazy dedicated, and also like your posts about your dogs or whatever...)

[Sarah1281]

Don't forget that some people insist on finishing their story first before posting and then publishing it all at once so even though it may be 40 chapters and over 100K, the review count SHOULD be considered more along the lines of an epic one-shot.

[Mahkara]

Sarah1281 wrote...

Don't forget that some people insist on finishing their story first before posting and then publishing it all at once so even though it may be 40 chapters and over 100K, the review count SHOULD be considered more along the lines of an epic one-shot.

Yeah, although I'm amazed that people can do that. I get bored without new ideas being thrown at me constantly.  Then again, I'm like a magpie, and write at most one chapter ahead of where I'm posting.  (Then again, my betas actually yell at me if I don't post immediately after I'm done.  OMG, Jessica, have some patience! Why do you care? You've read the chapter, anyway!!!!  <3)  But, yeah, different posting styles definitely screw with the word reviews to chapters. (Also, I think that really short chapters are often not reviewed individually by most readers.)  It's all a very complicated system. It would be fun to work out.

Like, ffnet reviews = (aX + bY + cZ + f + e)d with d = constant representing the quality of the work, a = length, X = time of day, b = popularity of pairing/characters, Y = time of the year, c = other work writer has produced, Z = number of chapters, f = genre, and e = an amalgam of other strange things.

[Sarah1281]

Yeah, I know that while I might be more inclined to read a story with lots of reviews, I'm much less inclined to actually review it unless the author responds to reviews so I know whether they'd really notice if I stopped reviewing.

[LupusYondergirl]

While part of my brain understands that, the louder part is screaming this.





There are so many things that could go into it. If someone else plugs a story in their notes, or has it in their favorites can make a difference, too. When one of my stories was mentioned in the notes of The Keening Blade my hits went crazy for a bit. Fanart, too. (especially Aimo cards).

It's all very... math-y.



I can't fathom writing an entire fic and posting it complete, either. but I have no patience.

[Raonar]

Ökay, this hasn't really happened to me before. Usually, while I write (or when I stay at a computer in general) I listen to music. This actually gets my muse going.

The PROBLEM is that, right now, I ca't seem to stop listening to this.... over and oer and over... And it's actually grabbing all of my attention and preventing me from writing.

The horror.

I think I'll have to let it play for about 20 more minutes, and THEN I'll be used enough to it to finally get back to writing... only by then it'll be midnight and I'll have to go to bed because I have work in the morning.

And the weirdest part is that I usually disapprove of listening to the same track or small group of melodies again and again, since I preffer variety... but I don't know, this just won't let me rest. Ah well...

EDIT

On the positive side, I decided to place it as the theme song for the CEF-DNM romance.

Go figure...

Modifié par Raonar, 16 décembre 2010 - 09:03 .

[Sarah1281]

LupusYondergirl wrote...
I can't fathom writing an entire fic and posting it complete, either. but I have no patience.

Ditto. And the one time I did finish up the last couple of chapters of something with a week, I still only updated once a week. Posting all at once...I can't even imagine.

[Mahkara]

Sarah1281 wrote...

Yeah, I know that while I might be more inclined to read a story with lots of reviews, I'm much less inclined to actually review it unless the author responds to reviews so I know whether they'd really notice if I stopped reviewing.

Yeah, I feel the same way.  Like, if the author always writes back a nice note after I've reviewed, I'm far more likely to keep it up as I know they care.  If I post like four long reviews and I never hear from them, I figure "why bother?"  and usually stop.

I'm also more likely to review if 1) I know/like the person from LJ, BSN, private chats on ffnet, whatever, 2) they review stuff I write (yeah, we all know that this happens.  But to be less review-whorish, I do figure that if someone likes my work, we probably have some overlap in interests, so tend to read theirs to see if we do. And figure that if I like their work in turn, it's fair to tell them as they were kind enough to tell me.  I'll note that I've had some reviewers who haven't shared overlapping interests, and so I don't read/review them as...honestly, if it's not my thing, I'm not going to read it/continue reading it.), 3) they genuinely seem to want concrit/seem open to changing the flow of the story (as eh, I like to matter), 4) I like their character/pairing/whatever and want to encourage more of this.  (Esp. true for really weird pairings.  I mean, I'm more likely to comment on a great Nathaniel/Sigrun story than a great Alistair/Cousland story as I'm damned curious as to where someone's going with the first, and don't want the writer to get bored and switch to Alistair/Cousland).  I'll also admit to sometimes writing reviews for people who have very low counts, as it's kind of sad, and I figure that it means more to them than someone who has millions of reviews already.

But time of the day also matters.  I'm more likely to be bold at night, timid in the morning.  Some days I don't feel like typing.  Others, I go on a bender and review EVERYTHING.  It's kind of goofy.

[Sarah1281]

So I just got a review and had to click on the story since I had no idea what said story was actually about.

Maybe I have too many? 

[LupusYondergirl]

I feel guilty, I'm so behind on replying to reviews.

Finals are killing me.

Or were. Since I'm done.

Which means that after a dozen years I'll finally be A COLLEGE GRADUATE.

*dances*



And I know what you mean about replying to unusual pairings more. I honestly don't even read any Cousland/Alistair stuff that I can think of offhand. Mostly because I'm more into postgame stories now and most of those stories tend to go the queen route. That just doesn't appeal to me. I know there's some good ones out there, but with that pairing the wheat/chaff ratio sometimes seems off the charts.

[Mahkara]

LupusYondergirl wrote...

And I know what you mean about replying to unusual pairings more. I honestly don't even read any Cousland/Alistair stuff that I can think of offhand. Mostly because I'm more into postgame stories now and most of those stories tend to go the queen route. That just doesn't appeal to me. I know there's some good ones out there, but with that pairing the wheat/chaff ratio sometimes seems off the charts.

I feel the same.  I just don't care about fluffy "I am the Queen!" cuddlefests.  (Although I  might read it if it was recommended and really interesting stuff happened.)

But I read some stuff, and it just feels like "this isn't bad. I probably should review, but eh..." you know?  While if I see someone who is doing some really unusual stuff, I'll probably comment just in that I want to see more weird stuff, even if their writing is sub-par.  Then again, I like the weird.  It is my OTP.