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[Sin]

Soo.... my story has 4 chapters now 9000+ words.... and still only one review (thanks mare <3)

So what I wonder is, why is that the case? Is it because people can't be bothered to read through the whole thing because it's boring? Does it mean my story is just so bad and cringeworthy no-one reads it?
I see other stories get a whole lot of reviews...

I mean I guess my story isn't written the best, the big problem is tho, that I don't have a beta reader.... I am looking for someone to help me...

I just wonder if the fact I get barely any reviews means, that my story sucks ;/

[mare]

You're welcome

Like I mentioned in my review, sometimes it takes a while to build up readers. Most of the people who are lucky enough to have a ton of reviews are usually people who have been posting stories for years. I know when I first started posting, reviews were slow to come. Then I found a core group of readers who I am fortunate enough to say, also enjoy leaving reviews.

Unfortunately there are more people who do not review than there are that take the time to do it. If you just look at your read count, you'll clearly see that people are reading. You are over 200 reads.

Just as I hope you review everything you are reading (which is sometimes another way to get people to return the favor) sometimes if people see you have reviewed them they might be quicker to give your story a chance.

People suck lol I talk about it all the time. My mantra is if you expect reviews you should be leaving them as well. I see so many people complain about lack of reviews only to find out how often they are reading things without bothering to review themselves. We all love the feedback so we should all be giving it as well. It's a two way street. Everyone who posts stories on this site should be in double digits where it says reviews on your profile page. That number represents how many reviews you have left for others. We should all have high numbers after that and if we don't we shouldn't be complaining.

Sorry...I went off on a tangent lol

Don't give up! 

[Sin]

I know what you mean, but I left reviews on the stories I read... which admittedly aren't all that many because I don't like fanfictions with Original Characters... particulary not if they end up being the love intrest... that's just my personal taste...

I'm very picky with the stories I read....

so yeah I think you kinda put the mirror infront of me right there... I'm very picky about genre/topic and other things... and if I read and comment I usually do it on the weekend...

well I kinda halfway apologize for this thread too, I was frustrated and wrote it shortly before going to work... when I was in a bad mood anyway... I'm just not very confident in my writing style....

back when I wrote Harry Potter stories I had this amazing beta reader, who read the chapters first and helped me improve them.... she always helped me alot by simply motivating me... so I didn't mind getting no comments, cause I had hers (even tho I did get comments on my HP story but I did write german so it sounded better anyway)...

I guess I just really need a beta reader here too :O.... since writing german seems to be no option since the community to read the stories in any other language is really small

[Mistral]

I have the same problem as you. I have nô review for my fanfics

[mare]

Finding a good beta reader is tough. If you had jumped onto the site just a few months earlier, I would have helped you out. Now that school has started back, sadly I don't have the time. I know what you mean though, sometimes just getting feedback from that one person helps.

I hope you find somebody.

[Sin]

I have the same problem as you. I have nô review for my fanfics

If you got the same name on the page as in the forum I will have a look at them tomorrow (since now I already need to go to bed again since work .... )

I just quickly had a quick look at one of them... the first few sentences were already well written ... I will look some more tomorrow then

@mare: I understand that and I hope I find someone too.... it was easier in the HP fandom since I was there before book 7 was released and it was FULL of people ...

[Mistral]

Yes I have the same name.

[RokofAges75]

I understand the frustration with lack of reviews.  I have no complaints about the number of reviews I get on average, but I have been there before.  As Mare said, most people start out getting very few reviews (or sometimes none) and build up a reader base slowly.  Some are lucky enough to post a story that becomes a hit right away, but that is not the norm.

As far as your story goes, Sin, it looks interesting, so I would like to give it a try when I have more time to invest in it.  Personally, I have just been really busy lately and haven't had a lot of time to sit around reading fanfic.  If it were summer, I probably would have read yours by now.  (Several of us forum regulars are teachers, so this place tends to be more active in the summer when we're not working.)  I'm a Brian girl, and I haven't seen a full story about his vocal issues that, so that piqued my interest.

I will say, though, there seems to be a bit of a Brian backlash around here lately, so that might be another reason why you're not getting reviews - and obviously, that has nothing to do with you personally or your writing.  The Brian stories I've posted in the last few years haven't gotten many reviews either, compared to what my other stories typically get.  The site is very Nick-dominated - lots of Nick stories, lots of readers who only want to read about Nick.  But that's all the more reason to keep writing Brian stories - we could use some more of them!

[FrickingKaos]

I like the story so far. Will read it more tonight

[Sin]

@RokofAges75 Teachers? hahaha now  I can't help but imagine you guys sitting with a red marker on my story ... But yeah from what I know school schedules in US are quite different from here, where you only have one big vacation, where here school got several 1-2 weeks and in summer 6 weeks...  

I perfectly understand it... I don't work as a teacher, but in a Call Center for a bank (in shifts since we are 24h available)... I find a hard time reading as well unless it's weekend... I can read when I'm in a tram, but in the tram I can't comment, because I just hate writing on my smartphone. and since this week I will only have 1 day off I won't be able to write anything till end of september really....

and about that Brian hatred... I noticed that too and feel weirded out by it, since I don't understand the reasons. I mean many people seem to have problems with his family, dunno. They say he is egocentric.... I dunno I don't see this things and feel like people are interpreting too much into tiny things. I mean Nick is the one with the second reality tv docu about him... that's why I love tumblr there my whole dashboard is always full of Brian

*shrugs* My story is about both Nick and Brian... I wondered if pairing them up is the problem, since there seem to be very few stories on the site that romance them with each other... and it seems like some people left already (or gave up at least) cause their Nick/Brian romance stories rarely got reviews.

Well I do romance them with each other.... simply because I like the genre romance/drama and I think they make an intresting pairing... (and sry with pics like those I gathered on my page http://thinkaboutnessaja.tumblr.com/search/Frick+Frack I just have to write that kinda story xD)

But let me say it like that I would rather write a story only about Brian, than a story only about Nick.

@ DelphinaCarter: I am so happy, that you reviewed my story *smiles* And I hope you won't be put off by the romance stuff :O....

[KeepThisSecret]

I thought that I would quickly jump in and add my two cents to this conversation. Sin, as a new writer on AC myself, I know how intimidating it can be to post your first story. I was legitimately terrified that nobody would respond to my writing, and it did take me a while to get some reviews on the first story that I posted. Mare is right when she says that it does take time to develop a "following", but once you have a few readers hooked you can pretty much count on them to leave you feedback for every chapter.

Julie is also right when she says that the site is pretty Nick-dominated. There is definitely a lack of love for Brian around here (and in the fandom in general at the moment). Although, he is personally my favourite and I would seriously love to write about nobody but him. Haha! It just seems to be the case that more people are willing to click on a Nick or a group centered story. Your writing could seriously be amazing, but if you write about Brian less people will click on your story. It's a sad fact.

That being said, you should write about who you want to write about! I saw your story on the most recent page and I have to admit that I was pleased to see a story about Brian's vocal issues. It's definitely a touchy subject with a lot of people, and it takes some guts to choose to write about it.  I'm also guilty of not having the time to read at the moment, but I do want to give your story a chance. September/October are usually a bit nuts in terms of work, so finding the time is tough.

I would focus more on your read count than on the reviews at the moment. That's what I did when I finally got up the nerve to post my first story.  It made me feel good to see that people were reading even if they were not taking the time to comment. As long as your read count continues to go up with every chapter that you post you know that you are at least making progress and that people are taking the time to read your story.

Don't get discouraged! The reviews will come!

[julilly]

I was about to come on and reiterate everything those before me had just said. You do really have to build a fan base, let people get familiar with you and your work and they will start reviewing. I have a couple of stories that upon completion had zero reviews.

That being said Sin, your last comment alludes to this story being slash. I didn't realize it was at first, but that likely has a lot do to with the following. Once upon a time, slash was really big in this fandom. There were both male and female BSB fans writing a lot of slash and it really had a place, but in the last five years it has died - BIG TIME.

The more well-known slash writers are gone and there doesn't seem to be a market for it as much. Most of the new slash posted on AC is not very popular because there just aren't enough readers to support it. I suspect that the slash label has a lot to do with your current predicament.

[mare]

That is an excellent point. That being said, unless that's the main focus of the story, I don't even think that label needs to be present. Of course if it is really important to the story and especially if sex scenes are involved, it should be labeled that way.

[Sin]

I just added the Slash Label this morning tho (sry on phone longer post at home) the first 2 chapters didnt have it... I wont be adding detailed sex scenes I find that boring.... if there will be sex I will fade to black... its more about the romance/drama

[julilly]

That is an excellent point. That being said, unless that's the main focus of the story, I don't even think that label needs to be present. Of course if it is really important to the story and especially if sex scenes are involved, it should be labeled that way.

Eh, I dunno. I think even if they're in a romantic relationship without descriptive sexual content it needs to be there. There are people out there that wouldn't be okay with reading a story where Brian and Nick were partners.