okay just got done typing up a Long Ass Comment for a fic that i love and bc writers Live™ for comments but a lot of ppl seem to find it difficult/scary to write them, here are some tips from me, who has been on both sides of the fence:
- we will nut over literally any context for how u read our fics, nothing is too specific or embarrassing
- i once received a long ass essay about the exact circumstances under which someone read the new chapter including action and dialogue and i still treasure that comment to this day
- if u read the fic a few days ago and are still thinking about it, open that bitch up and tell the author “i read this fic a few days ago and i’m still thinking about it”
- THAT SHIT KILLS US I SWEAR
- do not worry about being annoying!!!!! oh my god i can’t overstate this enough you are NEVER being annoying by leaving comments. examples of situations in which comments are Not Annoying:
- commenting on every chapter
- this is honestly our fav thing, those regular commenters are the real MVPs and i’d die for them. it doesn’t seem thirsty or obnoxious to us it’s our lifeblood i pr omi s e u
- also this is guaranteed the #1 best way to get senpai to notice u, if that’s what ur after
- adding an extra comment w a thought/detail u missed
- adding an extra comment w a thought/detail u remembered from 4 chapters ago
- commenting during a reread (this is only ever flattering!!!)
- commenting an 800-word essay that takes several solid minutes to read
- this seriously never comes across as irritating, time-consuming, or trying too hard; the author is the one who wrote thousands upon thousands of words in the first place and we eat that shit up
- (ok i lied, there is one exception to this. the one thing that is annoying is demanding updates, especially if u do it on the same day as an update was published. this makes us sad, avoid this :c)
- but aside from that: comments, great, always!!!
- acknowledge how hard writers work. every time someone tips their hat to me for the effort i put in, it’s like the 12 hour binges, inability to think about anything else even while sleeping, longggg inspiration walks, and constant self doubt become worth it!!!!
- let us know u talk about our fics w ur friends…. this is like, the ultimate compliment……… i’m still lowkey waiting for the day someone pastes an excerpt from a chat log they’ve had about one of my fics because i Know it has happened and i wanna see it……………i wanna know what has been yelled……………..
- just say thank u!!! a simple thank you means so much more bc it shows us we have actual readers and not just numbers on a screen sfjdgslksg
An excellent guide!
Also, to elaborate on the demanding an update point, because I think a lot of people think they’re being encouraging when they do it:
There is a world of difference between saying something along the lines of, “Looking forward to seeing where this goes!” and “Update soon!” The first says you’re excited about the fic and will be there, eager, when the next chapter goes up–whenever that happens to be. It’s also, in my experience, usually incorporated into a longer comment and/or acknowledges that the writer has a life outside of fic that may delay the next update.
The “update soon!” comments, in contrast, tend to be much shorter–often just that, or something similar. “More please!” “Where’s the next chapter?” Things like that.
I can see how that probably comes from a place of genuine excitement. I can see how these comments probably are intended to communicate, “I love this fic and I would binge it if I could. It’s so good I just want more!” And when it’s one or two comments sprinkled across a fic that has a lot of other, less demanding comments, it’s no big deal.
The problem is when it’s a less popular fic, or one that doesn’t get a lot of meaty comments–when everything that author sees is just demanding an update, it gets frustrating. Especially for young authors, busy authors, authors with other projects going on–people who can’t update as often as they’d like to. If these people get swarmed with “Update!” demands, that fic is going to turn into an obligation rather than a release and, in the extreme, can make the author abandon the fic because the guilt of having gone too long without posting has sapped all their inspiration away.