Comments

Thanks Februs

I have tried the bit about saying what I didn't like. I just had formulated a respose to one, but when it comes to it, I am so much a product of my parents' thought "if you cannot say anything nice, say nothing" that I just don't feel ok with that type of comment. I get that it is totally my own problem, but I just think that authors should express themselves freely and when paired with appreciative comments, one from me as to how I disliked an element feels a bit churlish really. I may get over myself in time

Speaking as an author, I wish people wouldn't be like this. When I post something on a website that allows comments, it means that I want feedback. If there's a problem with my story, then I would really appreciate it if people informed me of that fact, so that I can improve my skills and avoid making that mistake again in future stories.

Granted, there IS a difference between constructive and destructive criticism. When pointing out a flaw, you should propose a solution or an alternate approach, rather than just saying why you dislike it. You should also be careful to phrase such criticisms politely, and to compliment the author on the things that s/he DID do well.

Constructive criticism would read something like: "I like this story (especially the funny dialogue, and the descriptions of the actual spanking), but it doesn't seem likely that his mom would have reacted this way; a bit more insight into her character might make this easier on the reader, as her motivations currently defy understanding. I also suggest using more synonyms and alternates turns of phrase; the wording got redundant by the end."

Destructive criticism is more like "this story sux becuz the characters talk weird and the scene is ritten badly & i think u should lern 2 rite bettar or stop posting lololol"

I would also note that you should avoid criticizing the subject matter or genre of the story. If you really dislike domestic stories, or nonconsensual scenarios, or F/M, then avoid commenting on stories of that type. If you're not the target audience, you don't have anything to say.

I'm an author here, and although I don't get many 'negative comments' (probably having more to do with people sharing your attitude rather than the merits of my stories), but I don't mind them IF they present constructive criticism. I would enjoy something like (this stinks," nor is it particularly helpful. For the critical commenter, I'd also recommend against criticizing a story simply because it has a theme you're not interested in. When I say something negative in a comment, I try to balance with a compliment. Bascially, everything SNM has said, I concur with.

Absolutely (IMHO)!

An author's posting of a story on a public internet site that allows and even encourages readers to comment on stories is an inherent acceptance of the possibility of criticism as well as praise. Being unwilling to comment meaningfully due to fear of hurting an author's feelings, that's often counterproductive because he/she might benefit from constructive criticism. Barring outright personal insults, I'd opine that a generally negative reaction to a story is nonetheless better than no reaction from a reader--it's somewhat similar to the old show-business cliche' that "The only bad publicity is no publicity."

Many authors (myself included) will respond to questions and criticisms RE their stories, generally via a personal pop-up message or possibly (if several readers have asked similar questions or made similar criticisms) as a comment replying to other comments--so an uncertain reader might end up having points clarified for him/her. If you're wondering why the woman spanked her daughter even though it was her nephew that cut off the cat's tail, why not ask about her reasoning? You might even influence the author's future writing--particularly if he/she is posting parts of a serial--with positive suggestions RE plotline and/or characterization.

I tend to write fairly lengthy, in-depth comments, so I occasionally throw the descriptors "fanastywise" and "storywise" into my commentary, thereby indicating to anyone reading a particular comment of mine that I do indeed remember that I'm responding in the Library of Spanking FICTION... --C.K.

As an author, I will happily take any comments that I can get. It's disheartening to post a story, see that close to 100 people have read it, and have no comments or just 1 or 2. You have no way of knowing if people like what you wrote or if you're just fooling yourself with your efforts. Even if all you have to say is "good story," at least I know you liked it. If you feel like saying why you liked the story, all the better, because now I have some feedback that can direct future stories. If you loved a character that you would like to see in other stories, then that might get me to write a sequel. I don't know about others, but I was one who always hoped the teacher would comment on the papers I wrote. It makes you know that they really read it and thought about what you wrote.

On the other hand, if the story is a complete dud, it would be nice to know that, too, but knowing why the story is a dud would be much more helpful. For those who believe in praise in public and criticize in private, you can always send the author a popup message.

I understand an earlier poster's concern of cliques. I don't see that here, but I have seen it in other places that shall remain nameless. Yes, you will see lots of banter between some of the regulars in the library, but guess what, they post and comment on what's going on, so naturally they're going to be in the conversation. I have never felt not welcome here, and I feel I have made some friendships with some of the people I have met who either responded to my stories or I responded to theirs.

I agree with almost everything that has been said so far. The bottom line (?!) is that we "authors" are vain creatures who like attention, and almost any kind of attention is better than no attention. Having said that, I should add that I usually post on another site in another language where the comments are mainly of the sort: "HOT!", "More!", "Love it!", "Sucks!", and it feels really good to come here and get longer and more substantial comments. But as I think there is no danger that these more elaborate comments will drown or disappear, I would be quite happy to receive a few additional "HOT!"'s, "More!"'s and even (an occasional) "Sucks!"'s.

There are many good things about this site, but in my opinion the best is the friendly and constructive atmosphere.

I go back and forth on the idea of constructive criticism. Sometimes I tell myself, "either say something good or leave it alone"; but there are times when I see a story that has many good points and could be a great story if the author had done this one little thing. And so I find myself compelled to tell him/her about it. If I do that you should know---I like your story. Otherwise I wouldn't bother.


Actually, Beth, the average comment rate for stories across the board is about 1-2%. You can calculate this for yourself. Divide all your comments by total number of reads or hits. Mine is about 2.4%. If you add "favorites" to that, It provides a pretty good metric for judging how you are doing.

That true statement is rather sad in itself. Hopefully we as authors and readers together will get this % up to around 5%, which to me is a reasonable goal over the next year.

I'm guessing that, over the past year, the percentage MAY be closer to 5% than to 1%, though not by much, because of the dramatic increase in commenting. The 'older' stories and 'view' have to bring the percentage down. And I'm betting that most of the comments (90%+ ?) are by no more than about 100 members.

When I first joined the library, I think a little over a year ago, I confess that I was one who did not comment, or commented very rarely. I'm not sure what exactly inspired my change of heart. Perhaps it was a message from Februs on the message forum, or perhaps it was me getting comments on my own stories, but I became a changed woman. I try to comment on every story I read now. My comments are not nearly so detailed and insightful as some, such as those by Crimson Kid (how does he have the time to write such good comments and write stories, too?), but I do try to say something. If nothing else, the author at least knows the story was read and created some thought in the reader.

You are right about a few probably making up the bulk of the comments. Looking at the stats page on comments will help you see that. And if you're really bored and look at the member pages, you will see that some readers have read several thousand stories and left only a dozen comments, if that many. I know that I will never get my comments to stories read down to a 1 to 1 ratio, but I am down to about 1 to 1.88.