Imagine yourself as a first time writer. You're writing here in web novel, without any expectations of popularity nor attention. You're just writing for the sake of writing, you're writing because you love writing and nothing else. But then suddenly, one day...

You were bestowed upon a contract and you thought, "Why not?" Since I am having fun anyway, why not try to earn money with my fun? That's two birds in one stone!

And so, you signed the web novel contract, received a feature and suddenly got... an influx of readers?!

Furthermore, these readers, most of them may be silent with only a few of them talking. But those few are readers who are proactive in asking questions about your novel! Some of them are praising you, some of them are complaining about the general direction of the novel, and suddenly...

You are now under immense pressure! This is the first time that you got so much attention from writing! You don't know what to do! But then... Your defensive mechanisms activate and you chose to... what?

Well, you chose to detach yourself from your reader base. You know that doing this is bad since this makes your readers feel hurt, but do you really have any choice?

Do you really have any choice when a single negative review, remark, or comment makes you feel like you're getting stabbed by a thousand needle and step on a lego at the same time?

No!

There's a well-known adage that it is impossible to please everyone, but you are someone that's easily demotivated by a negative review? But why? is it because you're a first-time writer that's trying so hard to please everyone that you're now changing the general direction of the novel according to the whims of the readers instead of yours, the writer?

Yes it is!

Now, what used to be a fun activity for you has now become cumbersome and tedious. Furthermore, since you detached yourself from your readers and writing is now a boring chore to you instead of being a fun activity.

The readers who are reading your novel will eventually notice that the story is getting quite cumbersome to read. I mean, if an author doesn't have fun writing the story that he's telling everyone. Why would a reader have fun when the author himself doesn't have fun writing it?

In the end, not only your readers lost interest at you, but you also lost interest in your writing and then?

Nothing...

It's game over...

Another talented, ambitious, and hot-headed first-time author has fallen...

The lesson here is that I want you, a reader, to understand that an author, once he/she gets sufficiently popular will eventually detach herself/himself away from the reader base. You shouldn't be offended by this change, because first... Since he or she is popular, she now has several dozens of readers that may comment at once.

Replying to them will definitely take time and it is also a gamble since one of those comments may be a negative one, dealing huge damage against the writer's fragile heart. Second, the author may be forced to change the direction of the story for the sake of the reader's satisfaction, which is something not really bad, to be honest.

It only becomes bad when the author gets forced to write something he does not want to write just so he could maintain his popularity and earn more than peanuts per day.

This is why you shouldn't be mad at the author for not interacting with you...

But sure, there's a caveat. If you're a new author that's still not relatively popular yet, or you can handle answering to each comment without getting unmotivated. Then sure! Feel free to interact with your readers, interaction is healthy for us humans anyway...

But my point is... Please don't be mad if an author doesn't interact with you frequently...

He's trying his best, you see...

    BlaccLotus

    If a young author, ignores his first reader and reviewer. This is also his right. Like the right of the reader to no longer read his novel.

    Everything is clear here. Thank you, it was interesting to read your position.

    This is the right choice - answer questions and comments or not answer. Everything is clear here.

      I wish people would actually comment on my story more...I rarely get comments at all. Sometimes it seems to me that almost nobody is reading my story.

      Dozens of readers suddenly commenting? Yeah...never happened to me. Anyway, most readers who comment tell me straight up that they are dropping my story because it sucks one way or another, so I would just reply, "okay, bye."

        TheAdventurer
        Another trend I’ve been noticing recently is that readers feel the need to express their enthusiasm by demanding that an author “must update quicker” or “needs to start releasing chapters already”, and “releases way too slowly”.

        The above mentioned demands are incredibly disrespectful; writers are not content machines. Personally, (do note that I am writing from the standpoint of an author that writes for free) I don’t owe it to anyone to create anything.

        I write because of my own desire to practice my English, and the experience is soured whenever readers feel entitled to snap their fingers and demand more content. It’s disrespectful, and in my own personal experience, it repels me from writing.

        Why not keep everything civil? Readers are under no obligation to read or follow stories, and, in retrospect, writers (who are not under contract) have no obligations to create content either.

          IMHO

          As a reviewer, I would like to receive an answer to my review and to the questions posed to the author. Since something was not clear to me. But the author may not respond to the review. Counting it (even if it is positive) is an unworthy answer. In view of the above-mentioned reasons, "TheAdventurer".

          This is one aspect.

          Second, if the reader urges the author, this is not respect for the author. Since the author is the same person and he has his own affairs, his own life in the real world. He writes as many chapters as he can. If the reader wants to get good chapters, he must learn to wait. A creative chapter is better than a formal one. I judge already as an author.

          As an author, there are comments motivating and there are destructive ones.

          In general, you don’t need to get angry either at the authors or at the readers. But anyway, there remains some kind of unpleasant aftertaste when you review a novel, ask questions, and in response to you - just silence. No thanks, no goodbyes, no answers at least some. Then what's the point of reviewing? It involves a dialogue between the author and the reviewer. A monologue.

          Although, probably, here the reviewer goes into the category of reader and therefore cannot demand anything from the author. And so all this unpleasant aftertaste will remain for him simply from his choice to write a review. This is the choice of the reviewer and his mistake, he wrote a review of the wrong person.

          Then everything falls into place and there is no regret.

          Tomoyuki every post ive ever read you make is about how every single person thinks your story is trash. Seriously? I looked and you have 2M views with a 4.3/5 rating. Stop seeking attention and only posting about the negatives.
          I'm not trying to be mean, but you're complaints and posts are quite pathetic, really

              I wonder whether it is because I started off as a fanfic writer back in the days when fanfics were of better quality than anything commercial (and when I was too young to match the big names of the fanfic community) and when we called "ships" pairings (and pairing-wars were real and bloody). I've had my share of real abuse. In fact, I would say I went through all the categories of abuse imaginable. From getting passive-aggressive criticism about how everything, from grammar to style, was an insult to the fandom I was writing for and to the characters I was using, to downright being dragged into pairing-wars.

              And how did I get rid of all that negativity? I answered EACH and EVERY comment kindly and extensively. I was known for my reply-novels. I could easily hit 2 000 words for a reply (I could also write chapters that were 37 000 words long - no kidding, I have proofs of that!). And I always kept a kind tone. People who insulted me I commended for their love of a pairing or of a job done well and also explained why I did not appreciate the tone or why I couldn't live up to their expectations, people who just demanded for updates I informed about things in my life that made me slow down with updates. In the end, I became known as the one fanfic-writer who replied to each and every comment, who sent personalized thank-you notes to new followers and favorites (did everyone reply back? No - but I made some lifelong friends like that) and all of a sudden all the "update fast", "you're garbage", "hah, that pairing never had a chance to exist" (I am being polite here - no need to tell you just how vulgar the insults I would get were) got replaced with long, thoughtful comments. And fans started talking about me too.

              More importantly, the relationship I developed with my readers, the hours and hours and hours that it took me to write my replies, paid off. They started caring about ME. Not just about their pleasure. About MY work. My readership grew and grew. But not negatively. The mean comments became inexistent (and I am telling you, writing fanfics for Naruto, especially for non-canon pairings, especially for popular characters can be bloody as heck). So did the time that replying to comments took up. And I never regretted it. Not once. And never will. That is my brand. I am the Replier.

              So, let me tell you something. Writing has become industrialized. The readers who read one of your stories, might not read your next story. Why would they? Your next story might not fit their likes. To them, the silent author is nothing but a worker in a Chinese factory, there to produce a product they will CONSUME. And when that product becomes obsolete in any way, they will buy the newer version of another product.

              The reason Apple became a product that has deeply loyal buyers who come back and buy Apple over and over again is because it took the time to build its brand (besides having original products and being at the forefront of innovation). It has a personality. It is known for something that transcends the product. It is known for Steve Jobs, it is known for being artsy and edgy.

              What is YOUR brand that transcends the fact you produce a consumption goods?! What are YOU known for?! For being a silent author? Millions of those out there. Your popularity of today does not mean that you be popular tomorrow. Ask great webcomic artists who faded after amazing popularity (I am looking at you, TUTU!). Ask great webnovel authors who had it all, from comic adaptations to drama adaptations, and were then never to be heard of again.

              And while you are hiding from the pain of criticism and insults in the writing world, you are still not avoiding them in real life. People are going to be monstrous towards you. Absolutely abject. And there is nothing you will be able to do against it (unfortunately).

                NingZuoYouXiaYu Thank you so much!!! This is exactly what I wanted to say (but I wasn't quite sure how to word it nicely). I personally find it so important that authors interact with readers, since it really teaches you how to take in feedback (and also, I just find it so nice to talk with my readers about my writing. It's just a very nice feeling haha).

                Anyways, your post was awesome, and I just want to applaud it. :clap: :clap: :clap:

                    yaoyueyi (Oh my God, the legend talked to me … When I think of amazing historical webnovels only two names pop up in my mind … Yours is one. Give me a minute to steady my breathing and not appear like a complete clingy, pathetic fangirl. Act normal, act normal, act normal)

                    The truth is, we do not realize how much readers actually care about our stories. We only look at things from our perspective. We do not see the excitement behind the "update soon, please", we only see the pressure. We do not see the commitment to excellency behind the "I think you should consider Grammarly", we only see the criticism. I feel that sometimes we assume we are a class apart (and above) our readers rather than just the same groupe of people fangirling/fanboying about something. About the same tropes, about the same genre, about the same historical period. Just that we have that itty bitty more courage to get out there and show our work to the world.

                    Sometimes, I feel authors are a bit self-centered. But then again, this comes from my being a fanfic-writer at heart. Whatever I do, I do from a fan-perspective. As you said, there is so much fun just talking about things we are passionate about with people who are just as passionate about it too. It often isn't about us, often it isn't even about our story, but about something greater that brings us and readers together.

                        NingZuoYouXiaYu Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa omgg you make me blush !!!! You are too kind, seriouslyyy.

                        I totally agree with you (again)! Maybe because I came from fanfic origins too? hehe

                        I even think of myself as very self centered at times & I'm seriously trying to change it & become a better person. Interacting with my readers helps a lot.

                        NingZuoYouXiaYu The truth is, we do not realize how much readers actually care about our stories. We only look at things from our perspective

                        I have to admit that I'm guilty of doing this a looot in the past. (Looking at some of the old responses I have seriously make me cringe because I sound so entitled/arrogant). I think what you said-- how it's about bringing these two groups of people (readers & writers) together-- is so true. You word it a lot better than I do though :joy:

                            i actually want my readers to talk to me to give me encouragement and tell me where I should improve .i am a first-time writer and have always had trouble sharing my writing. this is a major step for me. I barely even graduated from school. So I write how I talk. I would like for the readers to tell me which characters they like and which ones we can do without.

                              Snowin Because it's true? There are no positives for me to focus on at all.

                              Also, what story of mine has a 4.3 rating? Are you sure you got the right author? The only story I have that has a rating only has a rating of 2.3. Did you make some mistake?

                                  Tomoyuki OMG. Did you just delete all your reviews to get your rating down to 2.3 ?

                                  How come you have 12 reviews now? Are you mad?????

                                      whoknowwhat What are you talking about? I always had a rating of 2.3 and only 12 reviews. Nothing changed at all.

                                          Tomoyuki Whenever I read your post, I sometimes wonder if you're just asking people for sympathy (because almost all your posts are like self-pity galore) or if that's truly what you think of yourself (which is sad) or if you're just simply trolling us. 😅 Sorry if that offends you. 😣

                                              Sighgray It is truly what I think of myself. I have often been told by readers and friends that I don't deserve to live and I should just kill myself because I'm such a failure. They are correct. I have done absolutely nothing in my life that I can be proud of, I have not achieved anything I can confidently call a "success," and I recognize that I am a worthless human being who is a waste of space and resources. Ghosty and all the other writers are right. I am nothing but a shame on all the other authors here, and should just rid the world of me before I make even more people such as Snowin or ShaneM25 angry.

                                              The only reason why I haven't killed myself yet is because of my family, but I'm starting to reconsider because I have been nothing but a financial and emotional burden to them throughout my entire life.

                                                  Tomoyuki im not angry. Its just annoying and uncomfortable to see you always post the same things. If you truly feel this way, webnovel's forum isn't the place for you to tell yourself you're a failure. Talk with your friends and family. Talk with people that are close to you. You need a mindset change, and a goal to accomplish.
                                                  Obviously, its easier said than done but constantly telling yourself about your failures is worthless. You need a positive mindset; start by complimenting your success's and throw away the failures.
                                                  Im not an expert, so its just some words of advice. Hope that helps, Good luck.

                                                      Tomoyuki well, you definitely shouldn't listen to people on the internet, that's for certain. But I'm also another person on the internet, so you don't have to listen to me either
                                                      edit: that doesn't sound like a friend, just saying

                                                          Wow, I'm happy that this thread of mine has become such a healthy place of discussion. Thank you so much, everyone, for participating in the thread~~~

                                                          Snowin It is indeed pathetic. However, before you nag at him, you should first look at it from another perspective. Picture in your mind an ambitious writer trying to make a name for himself. He would reply to every comment, review, and would communicate with his readers. One day, he received a negative comment. 'It's normal to receive a negative comment.' He thought. However, a time came where he only received negative comments. 'This isn't normal anymore... Is my book... really that bad?' He thought. As the negative comments increased, he slowly started to believe the comments to be true. It's a psychological effect that happens when the more you are exposed to something, the more you believe it to be true. Thereafter, he started to believe that his book is bad. It doesn't matter if someone complimented his book as he would almost always regard that compliment to be false, that someone only complimented him to cheer him up.

                                                          I don't know if that is what Tomoyuki really experienced, but I myself could relate to what he's been going through (In fact, what I wrote above was my own experience).

                                                          In conclusion: Repeated exposure to negative comments could lead to an author to think that his work that he tirelssly created day and night, is nothing but utter garbage.

                                                          Maybe... the reason why Tomoyuki is always ranting in the forums is because he thought that if he did, he might see someone that has a similar experience to him as well. This is a forum for writers, and he thought that he has much higher chances of meeting a kindred spirit if he ranted in it.

                                                          But hey, that's just theory. A film theory!

                                                          (Sorry for the long post.)

                                                            Katie_Torres_3147 It's great that you, as an author, are ready to communicate with readers!
                                                            I am an author, reader, reviewer. Honest reviews are written to me, thanks to them, I can improve my writing, novels become more interesting. Therefore, I welcome the honest dialogue between the author and the reader.

                                                              Tomoyuki My friends have advised me to kill myself

                                                              You do realize that anyone advising you to kill yourself is not your friend? 🤦‍♂️

                                                              I read similar comments like this from you since I'm on this forum. At first, like many others I gave you some good advices, but self-pity like yours will lead you nowhere. At this point, I think you need help, maybe a therapy if you're not trolling here.

                                                              Even if every comment/review was negative, you could still take the constructive criticism part of it and ponder over what makes them react like this. Because I have seen garbage novels here with bad grammar being popular, and everyone (if you're not retarded and since you can write on this forum, you're not) improves over time if you really put the effort.

                                                                  Arkinslize Unfortunately, I have not improved at all for over 20 years...

                                                                  Also, I cannot afford therapy or psychiatric treatment. I don't have the money. And I can't ask more from my parents, I'm already too much of a financial burden on them.

                                                                    Tomoyuki

                                                                    Are you sure they are really your friends??? You need to be careful while choosing whom you want to be friends with. No one can ask you to do such cruel things...That's not normal!

                                                                    Writers are creators... You never had to put down your pen for what others say... I believe each writer's work is different and unique... So just keep trying and you will one day look back and think, how stupid I used to be... It happened with me often... Cheers!! Never ever stop writing for what others say, they cannot understand our joy in writing... When I publish even one chapter successfully, it gives me a great excitement which I could never get from doing anything else.

                                                                      Xincerely Well, it depends what the comment is. And also about your own personality. I am a complete introvert in real life, but love to write, so people would just get swarmed about why my stories are important to me, about how much their support meant to me, about my fear of disappointing them and hoping that I would always live up to their expectations. People in the fanfic world were often very gracious and replied back, reassuring me and appreciating my actually communicating with them.

                                                                      "Update fast please" - "Thank you so much for your kind answer. It makes me so excited to see that people are waiting for my story to update. I am so happy. You know, I am in the middle of midterms/exams/crunch at work, so I am dying :( I wish I could be writing more. I am so looking forward about what is going to happen in the next few chapters."

                                                                      "Lovely" - "Why thank you! I am always so afraid that my story will be unreadable/displeasing. I never really know how to convey my thoughts to the readership through the characters and happenings. For example, in this chapter, I had some difficulty with this, I feared this would not be realistic. Knowing that you guys are reading and supporting this work makes me so happy and boosts my moral. You guys just make me want to write more and more."

                                                                      "This is garbage" (I love that Webnovel shows your replies, this is a perfect occasion to do some low-key shaming) - "I am really sorry that this story made you unhappy. You know, as an author, I really want people to enjoy my work, to just bring people a little bit of happiness in this bleak period. I wish I could have done so for you. How would you go around this or that shortcoming? What are your suggestions?" Other readers will see that reply and think you lovely and so mature (and might just go in and shame the reader for you, and your hands remain clean - Am I a bit of an hypocritical Green Tea b*tch who makes others do the dirty for her? When the need arises, yes)

                                                                        There's obviously a writing world I've yet to fully experience. 😳

                                                                        I do get the occasional heckle for updates on another site, but it's usually cute and pleasant. Or spoken with emoji language.🤔😊😎🍒🌶️🍆🍒😈😜🌕😉 Like that. Cute.

                                                                        I guess I don't get the OP original stated issue because I've already set expectations up front. I'm a fan of the like button, and my behavior is consistent with that. So it's an expectation.

                                                                        And I generally write stories not many readers want to read anyway. My readership is very chilled or not at all.

                                                                        I guess, my advice here is, set expectations upfront. So readers are aware that you're the type of person not to really respond to comments, etc. Should avoid most issues of this kind. There's always gonna be one that will be pushy. Those to be handled case by case. Customer service skills can come in handy at those times. I guess.

                                                                        Being honest. What hurts me as a writer is the guilt. I'm a person with a huge inferiority complex so I can hardly care about insults and negative reviews (really, even if one said my writing is garbage I would probably agree with them). But just as I mentioned before, what hurts me the most is simply guilt. I feel guilty when I'm not writing enough chapters, I feel guilty when I still see readers supporting my stories despite my lack of releases. They make me feel blessed but at the same time guilty.

                                                                          MikXL_23 Your writing is not garbage, you write enough chapters and you should release at your own pace. Don't stress yourself out.

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