Ah, the withholding chapters until you review me threat. I used to see that a lot when I first started reading and writing fanfic to the point that I thought that was just the normal thing to do. I think 99% of us have moved on from that mind set, but then there's that 1% who never really ventured out of that old school way of thinking.
I don't ever see anyone doing that at all but then again, I'm also just going by what and who I currently am reading and none of them do that. I think there's a difference between saying "Hey I'd love some feedback!" And "If you don't review I'm not posting!" The first one is kind of saying I want to know what you think of my stuff so I can improve or at least figure out what people like or dislike about it. The other one is just pompous, assuming there are a billion people reading your story and that's it's so great that if you don't get an update on it, you might possibly die. Those people don't even want 'feedback' they just want to hear how incredible they are! Which is why when people do that and you are nice enough to leave them 'feedback' make it real and tell them what they are doing wrong!
I do really think feedback is an essential way to keep fanfic going strong and I do understand why people get disillusioned when they don't get it, especially when it's something they're really proud of. I also know that to say we write for ourselves is all well and good but I think the second sentence of that overused term should be but I post it for the readers and the reactions I'll get.
If all we really cared about was writing for ourselves then there would be no reason to post it on the Internet for people to read and people wouldn't be checking read counts or be discouraged about number or lack of reviews. I know I get bummed if something I've worked really hard on gets no response and it does make me not as excited to write on it.
When I used to write so much that I had a ton of chapters waiting to post, I always still posted them whether I got reviews or not. For me though, if I am writing on something that I feel like is barely being read, I don't try so hard to update it. The sequel to Protect and Serve was a perfect example of that. It's not like I had the chapters done and was like "Well screw you! I'm not posting another thing until you review!" But instead more like "Why even bother finishing it because I don't care, I already know how it ends in my mind. If they don't' want to read it, I don't have to write it" lol <-- I think in that story's case though, people bugged me relentlessly to write it and for updates but when I started those people disappeared. That is one of my pet peeves! When people bug you endlessly for an update and then don't even bother to review. It's as annoying as people who don't respond to their reviews.
Wow, tangents abound lol sorry this is so long and blabbery!
