Is the title pandering? YES, but I needed to in order to attenuate the vibe of the rest of this post. It may come off as an attack, but it isn't! I promise!

Seriously, what motivates you to comment on a story? From what I understand some people just have nothing to say (which is fine), but I have seen a majority mention they don't because they want to avoid entering a conflict with the author through PMs (being attacked by them if a certain thing isn't "understood" well by the reader).

What is the main reason though? I am conducting some market research during my hiatus and want to know what would motivate readers to interact more, because, like many authors, I value it immensely (maybe even more than reviews themselves).

Does begging bother you guys? How much is too much when it comes to asking for comments, reviews, etc in the author's notes? Do polls interest you guys at all? Or is it the size of a story that demotivates/motivates you from interacting?

As someone who comments on every single thing that they read, I want to know how I can get readers to the same. Many of us see the follower/favorite number go up but is frustratingly disproportionate to the reader's engagement with the story. So, if you are a reader please share your thoughts and let me know.

I don't think there's any special trick to it. Write a good story. Write one with cliffhangers and foreshadowing that allows for theory crafting. Write one with jokes that people want to quote or twists that leave them shocked. People comment on stories if they have to say something about it or want to talk about it with others.

Other than that, I'd say really fast update schedules hurt comments a bit since it means there's little time for discussions to happen. And as a frequent commenter on stories I'm caught up with, I'd say that begging would put me off a bit.

I also try to comment on what I read. However, I'd say that for me, it depends largely on the time of day. I come home tired, pop open a story, and read it to relax. But sometimes writing feedback during these later hours can feel exhausting and I might not have much to say. So that is one reason.

Another is that in a particular part of the story, nothing interesting happens. It still moves the plot, but there aren't many things for me to say. Sure, I could point out some of the upsides of the writing, but those tend to repeat in the same book/larger story. So I wouldn't want to always comment: "Wonderful descriptions" when the writer already received such feedback.

And finally, I'd say that it's also often about cliffhangers. If you are reading a story and you are hooked, you usually don't want to stop to comment on it. You just want to continue and see what'll happen next. So that might also be an issue with commenting.


However, personally, I always try to provide some feedback on what I read. So there are mostly exceptions, rather than general rules. But perhaps you could add a post-chapter note, asking the readers to give you some feedback if they really liked or disliked something. I wouldn't say that's a bad thing.

When shrek isekai gets a new chapter i post 'thanks for chapter', to express gratitude the saga has not ended so far. good read! :D

Readers will comment more often if the story or chapter is interesting whether it's good or bad. It's that simple.

Or if you ask their opinion of something, but that depends on the question or the story/chapter itself.

Personally, I don't really like commenting since when I'm reading I'm usually also doing something else (walking, on public transport or cooking and just have the audio on) but I feel like people are more likely to comment if you space your updates, and add funny bits since you can't really have a cliffhanger after every chapter. Polls are fun, I don't really like it when the author asks for feedback (unless it's something specific) and yeah if there are more chapters I'm more interested in clicking next rather than leaving a comment. 

Mateusz Wrote: I don't think there's any special trick to it. Write a good story. Write one with cliffhangers and foreshadowing that allows for theory crafting. Write one with jokes that people want to quote or twists that leave them shocked. People comment on stories if they have to say something about it or want to talk about it with others.

Other than that, I'd say really fast update schedules hurt comments a bit since it means there's little time for discussions to happen. And as a frequent commenter on stories I'm caught up with, I'd say that begging would put me off a bit.

Hm. I was hoping for some insight from readers, but yeah I guess it is that simple.

HorribleWriter Wrote: I also try to comment on what I read. However, I'd say that for me, it depends largely on the time of day. I come home tired, pop open a story, and read it to relax. But sometimes writing feedback during these later hours can feel exhausting and I might not have much to say. So that is one reason.

Another is that in a particular part of the story, nothing interesting happens. It still moves the plot, but there aren't many things for me to say. Sure, I could point out some of the upsides of the writing, but those tend to repeat in the same book/larger story. So I wouldn't want to always comment: "Wonderful descriptions" when the writer already received such feedback.

And finally, I'd say that it's also often about cliffhangers. If you are reading a story and you are hooked, you usually don't want to stop to comment on it. You just want to continue and see what'll happen next. So that might also be an issue with commenting.


However, personally, I always try to provide some feedback on what I read. So there are mostly exceptions, rather than general rules. But perhaps you could add a post-chapter note, asking the readers to give you some feedback if they really liked or disliked something. I wouldn't say that's a bad thing.

Okay, makes sense.

TeaCup Wrote: Personally, I don't really like commenting since when I'm reading I'm usually also doing something else (walking, on public transport or cooking and just have the audio on) but I feel like people are more likely to comment if you space your updates, and add funny bits since you can't really have a cliffhanger after every chapter. Polls are fun, I don't really like it when the author asks for feedback (unless it's something specific) and yeah if there are more chapters I'm more interested in clicking next rather than leaving a comment.

Thanks for your input.

Hathnuz Wrote: Readers will comment more often if the story or chapter is interesting whether it's good or bad. It's that simple.

Or if you ask their opinion of something, but that depends on the question or the story/chapter itself.

But how would one know about the quality without any feedback? I guess silence speaks for itself, huh.

I think some people just like commenting as they read, and some don't. 

I can tell that some of my own readers take a social approach to reading and enjoy sharing their immediate reactions, asking questions, seeing other people's reactions, etc. 

Personally, I binge read for roughly an hour each night before bed. I do it as a solitary activity to relax, and any sort of social interaction gets me too hyped up to sleep. (That includes commenting, or even reading someone else's comments.) So instead of commenting, I tend to leave one long review when I'm in the right mindset.

As a reader-author both at the same time, let me share my reader experience.

1. I have been insulted by authors for posting a comment there simply to show support and my existence for reading that story. However, i have to clarify, my bad experience is not from RR. But it is from Tapas. I tend to leave some comments there since they have "like" system where readers able to "like" the comments and create the avalanche of "like" counts. Thus, posting comments there is a form of helping the author. But somehow the author took offence on my comments and ask me to re-read the work. I have been insulted twice and i never go back to read their works since those works were simply just average stories that somewhat caught my initial interest.

2. I do continue to post comments on RR, mainly on the thoughts i have. For my leasure reading, i post something came into my mind. A response.

3. Also on RR, I will leave detail comments if the author did ask for it on forum. And sometimes, have a swap with them. 

4. Yes, even on RR, some authors will rebuke the comments. And as a reader-commentator, i tend to stop read those works if the author thinks that i'm wrong. But i do appreciate authors reply a thanks to my comments. It makes me feel that i'm reading something right for me. 

5. I do not leave comments on those highly popular novels. Because too many comments, i do not think my single comments able to do much, either to motivate the author or to show my existence of reading that work.

Shomin Wrote: As a reader-author both at the same time, let me share my reader experience.

1. I have been insulted by authors for posting a comment there simply to show support and my existence for reading that story. However, i have to clarify, my bad experience is not from RR. But it is from Tapas. I tend to leave some comments there since they have "like" system where readers able to "like" the comments and create the avalanche of "like" counts. Thus, posting comments there is a form of helping the author. But somehow the author took offence on my comments and ask me to re-read the work. I have been insulted twice and i never go back to read their works since those works were simply just average stories that somewhat caught my initial interest.

2. I do continue to post comments on RR, mainly on the thoughts i have. For my leasure reading, i post something came into my mind. A response.

3. Also on RR, I will leave detail comments if the author did ask for it on forum. And sometimes, have a swap with them. 

4. Yes, even on RR, some authors will rebuke the comments. And as a reader-commentator, i tend to stop read those works if the author thinks that i'm wrong. But i do appreciate authors reply a thanks to my comments. It makes me feel that i'm reading something right for me. 

5. I do not leave comments on those highly popular novels. Because too many comments, i do not think my single comments able to do much, either to motivate the author or to show my existence of reading that work.

Thanks! This was great input!

expect roughly 10-20 comments per 1000 followers. its mostly a numbers game, the readers that comment are quite rare.

also, if you have author friends, or people you review swap with, they often leave comments while checking out your story.

I post largely out of encouragement! Like you said we see the followers, or favorites go up, but it's still not the same as that extra interaction from commenting. I read a chapter or a story and I know I enjoyed it, but I want to let the author know that as well so that I can hopefully encourage them to write more.

I’m new to the site and only have one reliable commenter so far, but I’m very thankful for that. Reading this thread, I didn’t realize how many authors attack the people who comment. I didn’t realize that was a thing, but it’s always good to know which behaviors to avoid. Sorry I have nothing useful to add.