Hmmm... waiting, waiting, waiting, and waiting some more

[lilithisbitter]

The hardest thing about posting a new chapter or new fic is waiting for that first review. I just posted a new oneshot so I'm all nervous about how people will like it and stuff. I'm patient though... the first review, waiting for it is always the hardest. After that, any other review is nice. But that first review... not getting it makes you wonder did anybody notice the fic or is it so bad they don't want to tell you or that first reviewer just hasn't come around yet. I'm patient, but it's always so hard to wait.

Comments

[asimaiyat.livejournal.com]

I hate that! Especially because I often finish things wait at night, and then post, and then can't. get. to. sleep. BECAUSE WHAT IF EVERYONE HATES IT OMG.

[asimaiyat.livejournal.com]

And I have no idea why I said "wait" instead of "late." weird typo.

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

But when the first person posts it and they like it, you can breath a sigh of relief because generally it's a good indicator of how people like it. Plus on FFN, you can see if they faved it, which mean they read it again and again, because they like it thiiiiis much. One of my friends always leaves me nice first reviews... she finds positive things and ways I can improve, plus she goes into depth when we're both on AIM, so she can explain better. I'm always happy to get reviews from shadsie.

[asimaiyat.livejournal.com]

Yeah. My friend joyshine is good for that, too. :)

A nice thing about Star Trek fandom is that it's huge and there are always people online to read and comment. My other fandoms are mostly tiny, so I got used to waiting for ages and not getting many reviews.

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

Some of my fandoms go through lulls where there aren't as many reviewers, but I still have my old faithful readers so that's always good. But I generally check the viewing gauges on FFN, so I know people have read the fics even if they haven't reviewed them. A review is nice, but not everyone has the courage to leave one.

[idioticonion.livejournal.com]

Ach, it's a nightmare at the moment. I usually post while the USA is asleep and even then, people don't review as much as they used to.

But hey, we don't write cos we can, right? We write cos we must!

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

I don't get people who hold their fics hostage. I just keep posting new chapters because I know I'll get a review eventually and the fic must go on. The muse demands me to keep writing. It doesn't care about review counts. It never has. Plus if you demand to have X amount of reviews, you don't seem to get the review you want.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

Comment crack whores unite!

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

Comments are my crack. It's like fan mail. Fan mail is a nice treat. I'm even happy by the "That was good, write more." ones. We shouldn't bash those because not everyone is a walking critic. Plus when someone finds a line they like, sometimes you get wowed yourself, because you forgot you wrote that awesome line, so you're all "Was that me?"

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

Seriously man. I've had to get used to the fact that I'm not always going to get tons of comments for reasons which may or may not have anything to do with the quality of the fic itself.

I love when I pick up a new fan and I can see them go through my whole back catalogue and leave comments.

Did you see the wench over at fanficrants bitching about people putting her in favorites without leaving an actual review? I'm like dude! You're a "favorite." That IS a review.

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Getting on a favorite's list is even better than a review. It means they'll always come back to read it. With a review... it's good for "It got a good reaction" but not much else. But a favorite... that way I can check out the person who favorited me and their stories. I've found new author's I like that way by looking at their stuff plus their favorites list.

I still get reviews on some of my older stuff, my oneshots mostly. It's not a flood of reviews like some authors get, but it's always a treat to see one in my mailbox.

Some people just gorge themselves on reviews. I'd just be happy with one, since somebody had the time and courage to leave one. Leaving a review is harder than it looks.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

I wish LJ had a similar mechanism to "favourites." For instance, if we could get a note whenever someone "mems" one of our posts, that would be cool

[lilithisbitter.livejournal.com]

That would be awesome or a way to look up who has it on memories, because if we do have one right now I haven't found it yet.