so i have been thinking about reviews lately. do you always review? do you review stories that you don't like? do you read other's reviews?
personally i think reviewing the stories you read is very important. the only 'payment' authors get for posting their story is feedback. i don't consider myself an author but i have posted a couple chapters. i don't think i am alone in saying that when i get a review it literally makes me smile and brightens my day.
we read these awesome stories for free, i think the least we can do is take out two mins to type a couple sentences. here is a review i just sent this morning.
thanks for the update :) i have to say i was very surprised at how edward got jacob and bella to break up. i didn't see that coming at all. i feel so bad for poor bella... so i am anxious to see how long it is going to take edward's feelings to turn around. i wonder when he is going to start feeling the remorse we saw in the prologue... thanks for writing your story!
i timed it and it took me exactly 2mins to think about what i wanted to write and actually write it out.
as far as how often i review a single story...if i find a story that is complete, i usually review when i finish it. if something really hits me in the middle i will review that chapter. same thing goes for stories i find that already have multiple chapters posted. after i am cought up with the story, i review after every update. that way you can give feedback on how you like the story so far and also the author feels like they have readers taking the journey with them.
so the next question is; should you review if you don't like a story? i really don't have an answer for that. i don't. i have always followed the rule that if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. also, if you don't like it, you don't have to read it, so don't complain about a story you don't like.
i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and i know authors take their work personally. how could they not? different people have different preferences. so if you don't like it, there is somebody out there who does and that person can leave positive feedback.
now, if there is a story that i do like, and i have a constructive critique, i will always say how i feel and make sure i also point out all the postive things too. i don't think i should tell someone how to write their story. feedback is your personal feelings that you want to share. not something that you expect the author to consider while they are writing. its up to them if they want to consider your feedback, but not necessary. here is an example of a review i left that i would consider a constructive critique to a story that i really enjoy.
last question. do you read other's reviews of the story? sometimes i look at the reviews before i start a story to see what others thought of it. this works well if you leave a review and actually let the author know why you like her story....
so for those of you reading this post (not many i'm sure)...what do you think? do agree with me? do you review? leave a comment...or a review of this post :)
as far as how often i review a single story...if i find a story that is complete, i usually review when i finish it. if something really hits me in the middle i will review that chapter. same thing goes for stories i find that already have multiple chapters posted. after i am cought up with the story, i review after every update. that way you can give feedback on how you like the story so far and also the author feels like they have readers taking the journey with them.
so the next question is; should you review if you don't like a story? i really don't have an answer for that. i don't. i have always followed the rule that if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. also, if you don't like it, you don't have to read it, so don't complain about a story you don't like.
i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and i know authors take their work personally. how could they not? different people have different preferences. so if you don't like it, there is somebody out there who does and that person can leave positive feedback.
now, if there is a story that i do like, and i have a constructive critique, i will always say how i feel and make sure i also point out all the postive things too. i don't think i should tell someone how to write their story. feedback is your personal feelings that you want to share. not something that you expect the author to consider while they are writing. its up to them if they want to consider your feedback, but not necessary. here is an example of a review i left that i would consider a constructive critique to a story that i really enjoy.
a couple chapters ago you said in ur a/n that people complained about the multiple pov's. i can not agree that it is a bad thing. i do however think it may read smoother without going over the same info twice because it can get a little redundant. sometimes it even adds to a story to not have everything spelled out perfectly. but to i would never actually complain. if the reader doesn't want to get that info again they can just skip down. and maybe it is just my dirty mind but i will never get tired of reading the smut in any amount of pov's :)
this story has invoked so many emotions in me, good and bad. in chapter 49 during carlisle and edwards fight i could feel the emotions from carlisle. you can't agree with everything that carlisle does but you can come to understand why he may do those things.
another thing that brings out a strong emotion in me is the word slave. it is extremely hard for me to read bella and others refer to herself as a slave. it just stirs something inside me. but i believe that is something that makes this such a great story. it makes the reader think. i have since googled human trafficking and tried to find out what is going on in this world. it was very hard to believe that this kind of thing could actually be happening in our country on this type of level. i have definitely heard about the sex trade industry but for it to be on some type of domestic slave situation is very disturbing. i plan to really read up on that.
on to some lighter subjects; this chapter really brought me back to my inner hood. rosalie saying telling tanya she would cut a bitch was my favorite line so far! and i loved the ringtone edward has for bella. perfect. i can't imagine a more fitting song for his character. i like having some musical references that i can understand. so many fics mention and are inspired by songs that i have never heard of and i get lost. so having a little 2pac/jay z was appreciated.
oh and i am wondering about the relationship between edward and jacob. is it beyond repair. i think they both know that they were both in the wrong but will they be able to ever put that aside?
this story has invoked so many emotions in me, good and bad. in chapter 49 during carlisle and edwards fight i could feel the emotions from carlisle. you can't agree with everything that carlisle does but you can come to understand why he may do those things.
another thing that brings out a strong emotion in me is the word slave. it is extremely hard for me to read bella and others refer to herself as a slave. it just stirs something inside me. but i believe that is something that makes this such a great story. it makes the reader think. i have since googled human trafficking and tried to find out what is going on in this world. it was very hard to believe that this kind of thing could actually be happening in our country on this type of level. i have definitely heard about the sex trade industry but for it to be on some type of domestic slave situation is very disturbing. i plan to really read up on that.
on to some lighter subjects; this chapter really brought me back to my inner hood. rosalie saying telling tanya she would cut a bitch was my favorite line so far! and i loved the ringtone edward has for bella. perfect. i can't imagine a more fitting song for his character. i like having some musical references that i can understand. so many fics mention and are inspired by songs that i have never heard of and i get lost. so having a little 2pac/jay z was appreciated.
oh and i am wondering about the relationship between edward and jacob. is it beyond repair. i think they both know that they were both in the wrong but will they be able to ever put that aside?
last question. do you read other's reviews of the story? sometimes i look at the reviews before i start a story to see what others thought of it. this works well if you leave a review and actually let the author know why you like her story....
so for those of you reading this post (not many i'm sure)...what do you think? do agree with me? do you review? leave a comment...or a review of this post :)
March 5, 2010 at 8:05 PM
I agree with your comments about reviews completely! Thanks for writing that.