Desire for more reviews?

I'm not exactly a review whore, but I'm not really getting a lot of feedback compared to other stories in the same section on ff dot net. (It's on my Troper page)

But I'm wondering is it OK to want for more views/reviews? I don't do the "review or I won't update" thing, and I never will, but I'm still a little dissatisfied here.

It's natural to want more reviews. Probably every fanfic writer wants more than they get.

It is, however, not considered very endearing or mature to whine about not getting enough reviews.

(I'm not saying you are, I'm just saying... don't.)

edited 3rd Jun '11 11:39:56 PM by bluepenguin

One small tip. Your troper page says "currently writing this" and you have to actually click to find out what "this" is. If you put "a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic" or even a little more detail on the type of fanfic, then some people who look at your page might be more interested in checking it out.

Don't sweat it, though. Four reviews after a week or so? My own Soldiers of Love has got one review after more than a year.

EDIT: that link works even though it's red. No idea why.

edited 4th Jun '11 12:16:11 PM by Vilui

It's just a law of nature that people, myself included, generally want their work to be read more than they want to read others' work.

What dragon says. I've been aching for more feedback from various things I've put on the internet for...about 4 years now.

Read my stories!

How about you give feedback on the works of other tropers on Troper Critique Club? Chances are people never heard of you and / or don't know that you are writing something.

Has ADD, plays World of Tanks, thinks up crazy ideas like children making spaceships for Hitler. Occasionally writes them down.

I think I'm weird in that I would take one long review over 5 "this is great!" reviews. It's a lot more gratifying to me when someone's reading your story through a critical, thoughtful lens, whereas pages of single-line reviews mean, at best, hey a lot of people enjoyed this.

Nothing wrong with wanting feedback though, especially if your primary aim is to entertain people. If someone says "I write purely for self-fulfillment and the reviews I get are just a bonus" then I'd believe them, but it's human nature to like positive attention.

You're not weird. Having reviews like that means that someone thoroughly appreciates your work and that's just a nice feeling in general.

The thing about making witty signature lines is that it first needs to actually be witty.

This is not always true. I'd rather read other people's work then have them read my work, due mainly to my total inability to take criticism.

OH reaaaaally now?

Read my stories!

Yep. I've been known to go into Minor Insult Meltdowns over overly-harsh critics. Since I only write to entertain myself anyway, I don't bother to try and publish any of my fiction.

Oh, you misunderstand my interest. People who are willing to slog through stories tend to be popular.

Well, at least they are to me.

Read my stories!

What's tough is seeing a writer and friend get far fewer reviews than they deserve.

I've got the same problem. I chalk it up to shyness; asking "Hey, read this and tell me what you think!" to veritable strangers can be difficult for me.

Then I remember it's the internet and slap myself a few times. Then the cycle repeats.

edited 5th Jun '11 10:01:18 PM by Seamus

I've got two guns pointed west and a broken compass.

I hate it when people who write good stuff get less reviews than the people who write crap and just get flames saying so.

Granted, they're not reviews, per se, but still.

My Fanfiction.net Page My DeviantArt Page

It's perfectly okay to want more reviews. My fanfics have a depressingly low review/hit ratio—I think my most blatant one was 1 review to 80 hits.

I've accepted that the more time it takes to write something, the less reviews it gets.

But I totally don't make superficial updates to bump my stories higher so more people will see them.

1 review to 80 hits? I'm actually about getting there. I don't take it to heart, considering all the stories I might glance over (and hey, even enjoy!) without leaving a review, mostly because I feel unhelpful if it's nothing but compliments, and "I didn't like this but I read anyway" is just unnecessary.

If you're talking about fanfic then... it mostly depends on the fandom, actually. Friend of mine showed me his old HSM story which was predictably pretty not good, 66 reviews anyway. Which relatively speaking isn't a HUGE amount, until you look at fandoms like Fire Emblem I guess (having glance/stalked your ffnet page, Sharysa) which is relatively modest? If your story's got reviews pushing into the 100s then it's an exception. At 40,000 words I've got 30 for one story, but if at least another person's enjoying reading it then I can't really complain, haha. I still totally understand the "more opinions would be nice" mentality.

I don't even wanna know what the review/hit ratio is for my stories. It's atrocious, I'll tell you that much. 3 chapters into my latest and I've gotten 2 reviews. Not great for the self esteem, and it doesn't exactly help me improve...

No one believes me when I say angels can turn their panties into guns.

Since I post here, all I can say is at the very least, you KNOW how many people read your story. I don't even know that. Makes you feel even more alone.

Read my stories!

It can be somewhat annoying when you can't get any critique on your work. I wold rather like to know what people like of my comics, but so far I haven't gotten any comments. I'm getting a bit annoyed that I do get comments and favourites on the other stuff that I do, but not the thing I think I would most need critique in.

Same here, I can't seem to get anymore reviews all that much. I do get alerts and favorites, but I'd appreciate some insight to why they decided to do so in the first place. Even if it's just, "Hey, I loved it", it's good enough for me.

"Liar liar on the wall, give the world to me..."

Yeah, I focus on favorites/alerts to make me feel better as well.

Yes, always.

I have one story I wrote earlier that I hope will make it into a horror anthology, and I have been dying for more feedback on it. I've already sent it in, but I could always use improvement.

The only reason why I like waking up is because I like falling asleep.

Heh, indeed. That does generate some sympathy for AHR, who apparently can't even get that...

As has been reconfirmed countless times here, the wish for more reviews is natural. In a way that is the entire point of any creative activity - to get, uh, acceptance, I guess. So, it's, well, psychologically fundamental. *shrugs* But what can one do about it, eh?

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic

For me, it's not just higher numbers of hits or favs or "reviews." Writing shouldn't be all about earning the highest score possible, as if it were a video game (though it's always cool to break records).

I want to know if readers experience a visceral emotional reaction to my work. I want to know if I'm reaching them. Really making them feel it. Sometimes, it's nice to be reminded that we're not just voices quacking into a void.

I don't count on reader reviews offering usable critique. That's what beta readers and editors are for. Though I am grateful if it by chance comes along. It's strange that so many writers, or at least fan fic writers, on the internet expect total strangers to blunder by at random and offer brilliant and insightful feedback. Readers don't owe anyone a writer's workshop, man.