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[mare]

Hey there!

I came up with a little survey I was just going to post in the challenge board but I think it's kind of fun for everyone so feel free to fill it out! I know we have a survey place but I also think some of these questions would be fun to discuss so I put it here instead!

Reader/Writer/Reviewer survey


Name:

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter?

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it?

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond?

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews?

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback?

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter?

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories?

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you?

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all?'

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...?

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary?

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind?

[RokofAges75]

Name:  Julie

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter?
Usually, yeah.  When I read a story as it's being written, I review every chapter.  When I read a story that's already complete, I may not review every chapter but just leave periodic reviews throughout the story and one big review at the end.  I feel like like chapter-by-chapter feedback is more important to authors as they're writing the story than after it's complete, when a longer, more detailed review on the whole story will serve the same purpose of letting them know I read and what I thought of the story.

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it?
Both.  My reviews always contain my reactions to what's happening in the story, but I'll also comment on the author's craft if I noticed something special about the way they wrote it or, if I feel like giving constructive criticism, something they should watch for or work on.

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond?
I do look forward to the author's response, and most of the authors I review do respond.  There comes a point when I stop reviewing every chapter of stories by authors who never respond.  If they don't respond, I have no way of knowing they read my review, and if they're not going to read my reviews, why take the time to leave them every chapter?

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews?
See answer to question 3.

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback?
Absolutely!  I made my very first online friend through feedback.  It was actually her leaving me feedback - my very first piece of it for my very first story - and I replied, and we got to talking back and forth.  It turned out that she wrote fanfic too, so I started reading her stories and sending her feedback, and we became good friends and ended up writing a few stories together.  I've met most of my online friends through fanfic and that reader/writer relationship.

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter?
That depends on a lot of factors:  Who's the author?  How well do I know them?  Are they normally open to constructive criticism?  Did they ask for it specifically this time?  Am I reading the story for fun or for a purpose (challenge, awards judging, etc.)?  Am I invested in continuing to read the story?  Do I have positive comments to sandwich the negative between?  Is the negative thing objective or just my opinion?  All of those questions determine if it's worth it to leave constructive criticism or better not to comment on what I didn't like.  I usually don't leave negative comments unless the author has asked for constructive criticism, either directly or by submitting their story to a reading challenge.

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories?
Reviews are important to me, but they aren't everything.  It's not like I'd stop writing if I didn't get any feedback, but sometimes reviews gets me to write more.  If they didn't matter to me, I wouldn't be posting my stories online for people to read.

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you?
Definitely.  They give me confirmation that what I've written was worth posting and encourage me to write more.  Sometimes they even give me ideas!

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all?
Negative feedback doesn't really hinder my writing; it just gets me thinking, which is a good thing.  Just as I learn what works from positive feedback, I learn what doesn't work from negative feedback, and that helps me improve as a writer.  I can't always change what people don't like in that particular story, nor do I necessarily want to, but I can try something different in a future story.

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...?
I'll take either, but I guess my favorite kind of feedback includes a combination of both.  I love hearing what the readers think about the plot and characters, but it's also nice to get a compliment on my writing style.

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary?
It varies from story to story.  I'm lucky to have a small core group of people who will read just about anything I write, but beyond that, each story has its own following.  Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes they don't.  The biggest factor in determining readership seems to be which Boy I'm writing about, more than anything else.  Regardless of genre or plot, if it's not about Nick, I've automatically lost some people's interest.

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind?
Tracy and Steph are two of the most dependable reviewers I have these days.  They will read anything and always review what they do read.  Jen (JennayHeartsNi ck) has been one of my biggest supporters since the Broken days.  She doesn't read and review everything I write, but when she does read something she likes, she reads it again and again and lets me know it every time.  I got a two paragraph review from her on the end of By My Side the other day after her 4th or 5th time (by her count) reading it.  She'd already left me multiple reviews, but she still took the time to express again how much she enjoys that story.  That's dedication!  I even started my response with, "Jen, you are seriously the best reader ever!"  So I guess that's the one piece of feedback that sticks out in my mind right now.

[Carter-Orange]

Name: Steph

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter? It all depends on whether the story is complete or not.  If I'm reading as it's being posted then I'll leave feedback on every chapter, but if it's already complete I'll probably do it every couple of chapters.

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it? It's usually my reaction to what's going on in the story.

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond?
Yes, I do like to see the writer's response to my review, even if it's just a 'thanks'

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews? Ah, now this all depends on a couple of things.  If the author doesn't reply to anyone, then I'll still leave reviews, but maybe not as many because they aren't going to reply, so why waste my time typing one.  But if the writer replies to certain people and not others, then I might not even review at all.

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback? Yes I suppose so.  I've got to know people a bit  from reading their stories and feedback, same goes for my stories too.

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter? I'll only say something if it's for a reading challenge, or if the writer wants to know if there's anything which looks wrong, otherwise I won't say anything.

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories? I'd be lying if I said they mean nothing, because I'm grateful to everyone who reads and reviews my stuff, but I don't write just for reviews.

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you? It can do sometimes.

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all? I suppose it depends on how negative.  If I had a load of people saying "This story is shit", then I might have to stop posting it, lol.  But if I'm enjoying writing a story, nothing will deter me.

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...? I don't really mind, it's nice to read reactions (like the bot fly scene for example), but if I'm doing something really wrong with my writing then I don't mind being told so.  It all helps

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary? It varies as I've written in a variety of genres and I know that not everything is going to appeal to everyone.

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind? Everyone who gives feedback are great Hmm, something that sticks out...I think being told I was good at writing horror/gore as before that story I'd written mostly romance.

[mare]

Name: Mare

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter?
I really try to leave a comment on every chapter but sometimes when there's not much to say but 'good job,' I tend to skip over one here or there. Like both Julie and Steph said, when they are completed stories, I will sometimes review every three chapters or so, depending on the length of the story.

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it?
I really try to do a mixture of both. I find at the beginning it's usually about mechanics until I get sucked into the storyline, then it tends to be about the actual story. I do enjoy going back and forth and pointing out key elements when I see them.

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond?
Very much so! and yes, luckily most of the time they respond.

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews?
It really depends. If they never reply but then I see them whining about lack of reviews, It would be a catalyst for me to stop giving them.

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback?
Most of my best fanfic friendships have developed over giving and receiving reviews.

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter?
It depends on who it is and the context. If it's something I'm asked to read then I usually am more critical because I know that's what the author is looking for. If I'm reading something purely for the enjoyment, unless there is something so wrong I can't leave it alone, I'll usually not bring it up.

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories?
I think they are fairly important and a great motivator.

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you?
It used to back when I wrote constantly. Now, not so much, but I still smile and get excited about what people will think.

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all?'
Again, it really depends on the context. If it was something I was writing as I was posting, I might use what the person said to help improve on the direction of the story. If it's something older, I usually just shrug because at that point, what else is there to do? lol You can't please everybody as long as most people are happy with what they are reading, I am too.

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...?
I like a mixture but for my action and suspense I tend to like the ones where the readers just talk about the story and what's happening. I always take that as the biggest compliment as if they are sucked into what they are reading. Nothing pleases me more than seeing someone say they are automatically clicking to the next chapter to find out what happens next or when I am cursed at for leaving a mean cliffy! LOL

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary?
I have a bunch of usual suspects that tend to read all my stuff and I love them very much. Sometimes I'll get a review from someone else I have never seen and occasionally new stories will bring new steady reviewers but for the most part it's usually about the same five people all the time.

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind?
I'm pretty lucky with the people who review my stuff. Most of them leave really thoughtful feedback. Pammy tends to leave really thought provoking feedback to where I want to go back and reread things she's mentioning. I don't really have one distinct piece of feedback that sticks out but probably the first time I got a review from Chaos I think I fangirled lol

[FrickingKaos]

Reader/Writer/Reviewer survey


Name: Tracy/ DelphinaCarter

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter? Yes I do

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it? I comment on both, whatever catches my eye or interest, sometimes my reviews turn into a letter depending on what I liked about the chapter haha

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond? I really look forward to hearing the author's reactions to what I have said and most authors respond.

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews? I will still review but sometimes I am less inclined to review if they aren't answering feedback, it doesn't take long to answer. Especially people who complain about no feedback and won't update until they have a certain number of reviews, I tend to stop reading those stories.

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback? Actually, I have gotten to know most of you guys due to reviewing your work and I like that we can chat outside of reviews as well, makes it more personal and I look forward to it.

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter?  I do but I try not to, like if its constructive criticism I will write what I need to say. Some people really appreciate honest feedback, but I would never say someone's story sucks. If I don't like it I tend not to comment at all.

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories? It is to an extent because as a writer I want to improve and know what the readers like or don't like about a chapter. It is not about read or review count, but more so about how I am doing during the course of the story.

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you? Yeah but just seeing people read makes me happy either way.

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all? To be honest and not conceited, I have only gotten negative feedback one time. I read on twitter once upon a time that someone had called my writing shitty after leaving nice reviews, it made me sad and I actually couldn't get myself to write for a bit. I know my writing doesn't suck but I have also been told people won't read any new stuff by me because of infrequent updates. I wish I could write faster, but sometimes I just don't have time. I've been trying not to let these people get me down.

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...? I like when they comment but also leave some criticism as well, it helps me know what to work on.

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary? It depends on the story I write but I like that each story has different people reading sometimes, it's nice to have a bit of variety.

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind?

The one that I will never forget was the review Mare left me for Figured You Out. I teared up because here my absolute favorite author was reading MY story and even recommended it for others to read, that made me so happy that I will always remember her feedback. I remember looking so forward to her reading and reviewing that story and being nervous that other favorite authors of mine were reading too.


[/quote]

[mare]

Thanks, Tracy! That's so nice to hear!

[emilo]

Name:

1) When you review, do you leave feedback on every chapter?
No.  Sometimes I will even read a story all the way through and only leave one or two reviews.   I know that's bad, considering how I feel when I can see that my stories are being read and not reviewed.

2) Do you tend to comment on the story itself or the mechanics of it?
Both, but mainly the story itself.

3) Do you look forward to hearing from the author after you've reviewed and do they usually respond?
I do look forward to seeing the author's response, and I'd say it's about 50/50 whether they respond or not, depending on whose story I'm reading.

4) If you don't hear back from the author, does it deter you from leaving more reviews?
Yes.

5) Have you ever developed a bond with someone just by leaving them feedback?
I have noticed more of a connection with the writers I've left feedback for, but I wouldn't say I have a particularly strong bond with anyone on the site...yet 

6) When you have something negative to say, do you tend to let the author know or do you just skip saying anything for that chapter?  I try to stay away from negativity as much as I can.  If the story is such that I would have a whole lot of negative things to say about it, I don't tend to keep reading it.  Now, for the reading challenge, it's different because I think constructive criticism is part of it, but I still try to spin that as positively as I can.

7) As a writer, how important is it to get reviews on your stories? 
I'm a total review whore...lol.  I love getting reviews.

8) Does getting a positive review help to motivate you?
Absolutely.

9) How about when you get negative feedback? Does it hinder your writing at all?'
Well it's disappointing, and I tend to get a little down on myself because of it, but it also gives me a push towards improving as a writer.

10) What kind of feedback do you prefer? When readers just talk about the story in general or about your writing style, mechanics etc...?
I'd actually like to see a little more feedback on my writing style, mechanics, etc., because people usually tend to just talk about the story in general, but I love both types of feedback

11) Do you find you always have the same people leaving you reviews or does it tend to vary?
It varies, but I have a few faithful readers/reviewers that tend to show up a lot

12) Who are some of the best feedback givers you have had and do you have one piece of feedback that sticks out in your mind?
I was pretty stoked to see Jen (evergreenwrite r83) leave a review on my most recent story because I pretty much love everything she's ever written.  Tri was really encouraging throughout Falling In Love Again and was always sure to actually point out specifics instead of just "Good job, update soon," which tends to happen a lot. The reading challenge with Mare has been a lot of fun, too.  She is honest but encouraging in her reviews.  Oh, and LenniLuvsBrian and JennayHeartNic k always crack me up!