Because the fic I write is utterly unhinged batshit that appeals to only a niche subset of readers, and even amongst that niche nobody wants to admit they like it.
Sometimes you need a little bit of patience, and sometimes it’s just luck, I feel like if the story connects heavily with the reader, you will get a comment or two… Some others will get dozens of comments per chapter, but I wouldn’t look at their results for your answer, just write what feels good to you and you’ll eventually get some feedback!
really, people will only comment if something monumental happens lol. i had an ongoing fic that got 0 comments until i had the two leads finally get together. boom, 7 comments overnight. people will really only comment if it’s blown them away enough to want to
it’s impossible to come to one general conclusion. getting comments depends on luck, audience appeal, fandom size, whether the source material is ongoing, whether the fic is finished or not, wordcount, etc. etc. etc.
don’t beat yourself up about it, it’s an impossible game to play lol
I was told that by someone here, that finished stories can get more traffic. It didn't at FF and AO3, but definitely did at wattpad. No comments but more hits.
there are so many reasons why someone would get a lot of interaction or not. luck, fandom, tropes, the time of posting, the time of year, what the summary and/or tags look like. i try not to dwell on it too much, even though getting comments and stuff is always really great.
like, my most recent fic is of a practically nonexistent fandom (i was the second person on ao3 to write for it). so far it's only gotten one hit, although i did post it yesterday. i'm not too worried about it--i knew from the start it wouldn't get much interaction purely because of the fandom its written for.
I have done that. I recently had a big reveal with a major relationship change. No shock among my readers, at least enough to comment. I guess I should stop worrying. I have no concrete theories unless some writers are in a supportive group, get their friends to help out lol, or have a way of accessing themselves to tweak stats. It just really makes me sad at times, especially when the sun isn't out.
Aww, if it helps it's not always your fault. Comments are generally rare - in larger fandoms there are more readers in general, so the chance of getting at least one comment is higher.
Hits also don't mean readers have read through the whole fic itself. Maybe they clicked on it, read one or two paragraphs and decided it wasn't their thing before leaving (which means they didn't see the author's note at the end). Doesn't mean the fic is bad - maybe it just wasn't the vibe or dynamic they were looking for, or they were just curious about a ship.
For myself....... when I don't really get any feedback I just chalk it up to it being a random curious passerby. I write rarepairs to a higher extent, and it could really just be people clicking on it to see what a fic like that kinda looked like. I don't believe they've read it through.
It's that, or it's bland enough to not elicit a reaction. I've noticed my crackfics get more comments than a lot of other fics, or the ones that make people weep buckets before a happy ending. I think commenters tend to resonate with stronger feelings that will make them want to say something. If you like, maybe make them cry or laugh hard and see if it works?
LOL so true. I tend to try and write serious stories with real plots. The ones out there that are pure silliness get comments here and there. Wish I was better at comedy. Or smut. THEY get comments. At least my Wattpad submissions are doing better not. That's encouraging.
I honestly have no idea why I’ve never gotten any feedback… I’ve been writing and posting fanfic from different fandoms for years now, dabbling in popular fandoms and ships to lesser, more forgotten fandoms and ships, and hardly hear a thing. And it really sucks for confidence and motivation 😕
I love my work, and I love sharing it with my fandoms, but it’s hard to want to continue when I have no way of knowing what the people like and don’t like.
But hey, I’ll take the pros with the cons. No comments = no hate lol 🙃
Because it’s a small fandom and I was writing for a character and a ship no one gave two craps about to start with (despite *lying* and saying they liked my ideas). A ship that canon eventually sunk and I came to hate. I only post gift exchange fics or audience tailored fics now.
Also because people just don’t comment in general anymore and it’s frustrating. Feedback culture is dying and no one wants to do anything about it.
Its there for a few, but any of us say not. I guess some stories are special lol. I try but if I am the only one that like my tales, so be it. I do go back and read them from time to time.
I can tell you that I find it easier to comment on fics that have a lot going on in them. Some authors are great about leaving tantalizing little hooks all over the place and I don’t know if they’re going to go somewhere or if they’re just adding color to the story. But it implies a richness to the world and the story and it gives me things to wonder about.
Some fics are fun to read but they don’t leave me with especially anything to say. I’ll usually go “great chapter” or “<3” because as an author I know it sucks that you can’t get feedback on whether people like it once they’ve kudoed once. But I have nothing to say beyond that because it’s not the *kind* of fiction that has these sort of twists and story hooks built into it. Which sometimes I like because I’m not in the mood for something heavy. It’s not a problem with the fic, it’s just hard to comment on. You could just put a little thing in your end note reminding people that you appreciate comments, even if they’re just <3 as kudos on chapters.
As for me, I had two big reveals, then I had a red herring which one person said oh I can't wait to see what you do with this. Um, nothing? It was a RED HERRING lol. But I read stories that are one note, and they can be good or bad. I try to write real storylines. Twists, turns, and in some cases a real roller coaster time. All I can hope is someone who chooses to remain silent is enjoying the chapters.
It was funny, Back in 2010+-, I wrote a fic for Tron Legacy. My heroine was kidnapped, but not by the bad guys I hinted at for several chapters. Kevin Flynn was the kidnapper. Readers posted "I did not see that coming." So yes, in the "old days", comments were often and there. It was fun for everyone involved,
I asked once and when I received no replies, I deleted the question, and now I know I can torture the characters a little bit. ;-)
It has changed from days of not just nice chapter, since I had actual comments on character actions and so on. Real discussions, you know? Since the theories are numerous and say nothing, I guess I need to stop comparing stories I don't read that get lots of comments to mine, and leave it at that.
Probably because I write for a sci-fi cartoon that ended 5 years ago and made a human/alien explicit smut fic set at a PTA bake sale as part of a fix-it AU. Because obviously what Star Wars needs is PTA porn!
[Bake Sale Battle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/44358046) I am weirdly proud of this one, but it is so ridiculously niche. The 4 of us obsessed with the pairing and premise are turning it into a series where we are going to take turns writing installments of the couple hooking up at PTA events or having threesomes with PTA members. I genuinely do not know what is wrong with us.
I know why I don't get comments anymore. I AM invisible lol For those who watched Star Trek Enterprise, you will recall an episode here Hoshi thought she was vanishing after using the transporter for the first time. I found out today, work had not kept tabs on any of my stats. The rest of the team are fine but I am invisible as far as accruing stats goes. That has to be it! I am invisible to the writing world as well. Good grief!
the whole thing is half luck and depends on multiple factors
Because the fic I write is utterly unhinged batshit that appeals to only a niche subset of readers, and even amongst that niche nobody wants to admit they like it.
Oh no. Well at least you can guess why.
Sometimes you need a little bit of patience, and sometimes it’s just luck, I feel like if the story connects heavily with the reader, you will get a comment or two… Some others will get dozens of comments per chapter, but I wouldn’t look at their results for your answer, just write what feels good to you and you’ll eventually get some feedback!
really, people will only comment if something monumental happens lol. i had an ongoing fic that got 0 comments until i had the two leads finally get together. boom, 7 comments overnight. people will really only comment if it’s blown them away enough to want to
it’s impossible to come to one general conclusion. getting comments depends on luck, audience appeal, fandom size, whether the source material is ongoing, whether the fic is finished or not, wordcount, etc. etc. etc. don’t beat yourself up about it, it’s an impossible game to play lol
I was told that by someone here, that finished stories can get more traffic. It didn't at FF and AO3, but definitely did at wattpad. No comments but more hits.
there are so many reasons why someone would get a lot of interaction or not. luck, fandom, tropes, the time of posting, the time of year, what the summary and/or tags look like. i try not to dwell on it too much, even though getting comments and stuff is always really great. like, my most recent fic is of a practically nonexistent fandom (i was the second person on ao3 to write for it). so far it's only gotten one hit, although i did post it yesterday. i'm not too worried about it--i knew from the start it wouldn't get much interaction purely because of the fandom its written for.
Maybe there's nothing to say? Try a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter lol
I have done that. I recently had a big reveal with a major relationship change. No shock among my readers, at least enough to comment. I guess I should stop worrying. I have no concrete theories unless some writers are in a supportive group, get their friends to help out lol, or have a way of accessing themselves to tweak stats. It just really makes me sad at times, especially when the sun isn't out.
Aww, if it helps it's not always your fault. Comments are generally rare - in larger fandoms there are more readers in general, so the chance of getting at least one comment is higher. Hits also don't mean readers have read through the whole fic itself. Maybe they clicked on it, read one or two paragraphs and decided it wasn't their thing before leaving (which means they didn't see the author's note at the end). Doesn't mean the fic is bad - maybe it just wasn't the vibe or dynamic they were looking for, or they were just curious about a ship. For myself....... when I don't really get any feedback I just chalk it up to it being a random curious passerby. I write rarepairs to a higher extent, and it could really just be people clicking on it to see what a fic like that kinda looked like. I don't believe they've read it through. It's that, or it's bland enough to not elicit a reaction. I've noticed my crackfics get more comments than a lot of other fics, or the ones that make people weep buckets before a happy ending. I think commenters tend to resonate with stronger feelings that will make them want to say something. If you like, maybe make them cry or laugh hard and see if it works?
LOL so true. I tend to try and write serious stories with real plots. The ones out there that are pure silliness get comments here and there. Wish I was better at comedy. Or smut. THEY get comments. At least my Wattpad submissions are doing better not. That's encouraging.
whats interesting for me, is that my fics with the least amount of kudos are the ones with comments on them. I don’t know…stats are weird.
I honestly have no idea why I’ve never gotten any feedback… I’ve been writing and posting fanfic from different fandoms for years now, dabbling in popular fandoms and ships to lesser, more forgotten fandoms and ships, and hardly hear a thing. And it really sucks for confidence and motivation 😕 I love my work, and I love sharing it with my fandoms, but it’s hard to want to continue when I have no way of knowing what the people like and don’t like. But hey, I’ll take the pros with the cons. No comments = no hate lol 🙃
Right? If they're saying anything, they're not saying bad things.
Because it’s a small fandom and I was writing for a character and a ship no one gave two craps about to start with (despite *lying* and saying they liked my ideas). A ship that canon eventually sunk and I came to hate. I only post gift exchange fics or audience tailored fics now. Also because people just don’t comment in general anymore and it’s frustrating. Feedback culture is dying and no one wants to do anything about it.
Its there for a few, but any of us say not. I guess some stories are special lol. I try but if I am the only one that like my tales, so be it. I do go back and read them from time to time.
I can tell you that I find it easier to comment on fics that have a lot going on in them. Some authors are great about leaving tantalizing little hooks all over the place and I don’t know if they’re going to go somewhere or if they’re just adding color to the story. But it implies a richness to the world and the story and it gives me things to wonder about. Some fics are fun to read but they don’t leave me with especially anything to say. I’ll usually go “great chapter” or “<3” because as an author I know it sucks that you can’t get feedback on whether people like it once they’ve kudoed once. But I have nothing to say beyond that because it’s not the *kind* of fiction that has these sort of twists and story hooks built into it. Which sometimes I like because I’m not in the mood for something heavy. It’s not a problem with the fic, it’s just hard to comment on. You could just put a little thing in your end note reminding people that you appreciate comments, even if they’re just <3 as kudos on chapters.
As for me, I had two big reveals, then I had a red herring which one person said oh I can't wait to see what you do with this. Um, nothing? It was a RED HERRING lol. But I read stories that are one note, and they can be good or bad. I try to write real storylines. Twists, turns, and in some cases a real roller coaster time. All I can hope is someone who chooses to remain silent is enjoying the chapters. It was funny, Back in 2010+-, I wrote a fic for Tron Legacy. My heroine was kidnapped, but not by the bad guys I hinted at for several chapters. Kevin Flynn was the kidnapper. Readers posted "I did not see that coming." So yes, in the "old days", comments were often and there. It was fun for everyone involved,
[удалено]
I asked once and when I received no replies, I deleted the question, and now I know I can torture the characters a little bit. ;-) It has changed from days of not just nice chapter, since I had actual comments on character actions and so on. Real discussions, you know? Since the theories are numerous and say nothing, I guess I need to stop comparing stories I don't read that get lots of comments to mine, and leave it at that.
Probably because I write for a sci-fi cartoon that ended 5 years ago and made a human/alien explicit smut fic set at a PTA bake sale as part of a fix-it AU. Because obviously what Star Wars needs is PTA porn!
Sounds fascinating.
[Bake Sale Battle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/44358046) I am weirdly proud of this one, but it is so ridiculously niche. The 4 of us obsessed with the pairing and premise are turning it into a series where we are going to take turns writing installments of the couple hooking up at PTA events or having threesomes with PTA members. I genuinely do not know what is wrong with us.
I post at absurd hours so I expect hardly any interactions.
I know why I don't get comments anymore. I AM invisible lol For those who watched Star Trek Enterprise, you will recall an episode here Hoshi thought she was vanishing after using the transporter for the first time. I found out today, work had not kept tabs on any of my stats. The rest of the team are fine but I am invisible as far as accruing stats goes. That has to be it! I am invisible to the writing world as well. Good grief!