What's the best and worst feedback you've ever received as an author?

[Eldoria]

What's the best and worst feedback you've ever received as an author?

Spoiler: Don't open it!

Me:
The best feedback I've ever received was constructive suggestions to make scenes more immersive for readers.

The worst feedback I've ever received was questioning and suggesting (or dictating) to change the plot, characters, and world-building just because they are weird or out of reader's taste after reading a single chapter.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

I've only received good feedback, never bad.
Maybe because I can handle mild to moderate constructive criticism.
But nah, never had someone be like: YOOO UR SHIT'S GAE AF FAM.
If I did receive that kind of message, it'd be funny anyway.

I likey all comments I get from @pangmida on SH
And I likey the reviews on RR for my zombie diary story.

Spoiler: Review

"To be blunt, this isn't the best writing in the world.

Yet...

It works so well in this story.

Maybe its the feeling that this is what an actual journal in a zombie apocalypse might look like. It really feels like an actual person surviving sat down and wrote this. I mean, nobody is actually going to be writing shakespeare level storytelling during a apocalypse.

The one line sentences, the cultural references, and the jokes build up a character that you don't even know, yet know at the same time. The reader doesn't know what Lindsay looks like. Or talks like. Or acts like. Yet using the diary, the character comes to life.

This is one of the most unique and interesting stories I've ever read on this site. This really is a refreshing take after all these LitRPGs and Progression Fantasy stories flooding the site."

 

[Bimbanana]

Best: When my readers fixing my grammars for me (in RR not here)

Worst: When a reader complained about a scene where a immortal husband (forever lv. 1) being beaten up by his demon queen wife (max level). Telling me if i dont like reading about a wife being beaten by her husband, i shouldnt write like that also. Like dude, where were you on the past chapters where all about a village being raided and women gets raped and killed?

 

[Tabula_Rasa]

Worst:

" i didn't read it."

*3 months later

"Oh yeah, I did say i'd give you feedback... erm... yeah...I think it was great. Anyway did you see the new trailer for..."

Best:
So this is want to want to do? Write stories? Are you sure? Maybe like.. don't.

 

[Envylope]

Most feedback I receive is alright. The worst feedback has to be the ones that would have been avoided if they read the tags. Like people complaining that there is yuri in a GL tagged story.

 

[Jerynboe]

I haven’t had any feedback that was so great that it caused me to go out onto my porch and just think about life for a minute. I’ve had a lot of good feedback but mostly it was about me not being clear about something so I went back and fixed it.

Worst feedback is unquestionably the people pissed off that my overpowered protagonists aren’t overpowered enough. Especially in my first story where the MC manages to take over the entire planet with colonies on other planets and across the multiverse over the course of several months. The magic powers I gave him in this power fantasy were that op when leveraged intelligently. But you see, this random nerd isekaied into a fantasy world wasn’t immediately a superspy/mma fighter/archmage and occasionally made mistakes or acted in a suboptimal manner in the first 30 chapters, so he was unforgivably stupid and weak.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

The best?

When @MFontana went through several chapters of one of my works, and did full-on breakdowns on them. He provided extensive feedback on that piece, helping me develop my skills in both writing and world-building.

If he ever offers to critique your work, I suggest you take him up on it; you will not regret it.

Edit

The worst? When someone keeps mentioning something my MC seemed to have missed back at the beginning of the story (I didn't explain something I considered obvious at the time, but looking back, I probably should have), and keeps bringing it up as they catch up to where I am now, even though I've already answered them with my reasoning.

 

[Eldoria]

If he ever offers to critique your work, I suggest you take him up on it; you will not regret it.

Agree. We need more polite and respectful people like him.

 

[mythosandmagic]

The best?

When @MFontana went through several chapters of one of my works, and did full-on breakdowns on them. He provided extensive feedback on that piece, helping me develop my skills in both writing and world-building.

If he ever offers to critique your work, I suggest you take him up on it; you will not regret it.

He is just starting to review mine... I'm excited!

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Best feedback(s) I received...

Spoiler: Very Long Feedback

And one very wong bad apple. (The worst review, courtesy of a retard from Retard Road Legends)

So, yeah, got a few good revs. But guess what, I'm always affected by the lonely bad and retarded review.

 

[Eldoria]

Best feedback(s) I received...

Dude, he wrote an essay (or fan letter?) for you. Lol

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Dude, he wrote an essay (or fan letter?) for you. Lol

Stekeblad is one great reader of mine from HoneyFeed.

Nevertheless, his best of the best review for me, which I found just now, is also the shortest.

Spoiler: The very best!

I think T.K. Paradox has already deleted his account here. Good thing I saved his feedbacks. Another person did give me a short review from here...

 

[FRWriter]

Best feedback(s) I received...

Spoiler: Very Long Feedback

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And one very wong bad apple. (The worst review, courtesy of a retard from Retard Road Legends)

View attachment 46498

So, yeah, got a few good revs. But guess what, I'm always affected by the lonely bad and retarded review.

Just report that Review, it will get deleted 100%.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Just report that Review, it will get deleted 100%.

Left Retard Road long ago, mainly because that 'reporting' often gets to nowhere.

It's not the review itself that is the problem; it's the people in that community. For this, I chose inner peace over proving something.

 

[FRWriter]

Left Retard Road long ago, mainly because that 'reporting' often gets to nowhere.

It's not the review itself that is the problem; it's the people in that community. For this, I chose inner peace over proving something.

Probably a wise decision.
Isn't worth it if the community is so toxic.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Probably a wise decision.
Isn't worth it if the community is so toxic.

Yah. Never looked back. If I ever returned, I'll bring a nuke.

HoneyFeed, ScribbleHub, Wattpad, WebNovel, Syosetu, Pixiv and for some degree, Kuupress, are the sites where I uploaded my works.

 

[mythosandmagic]

Left Retard Road long ago, mainly because that 'reporting' often gets to nowhere.

It's not the review itself that is the problem; it's the people in that community. For this, I chose inner peace over proving something.

I never felt welcome over there.

 

[FRWriter]

Yah. Never looked back. If I ever returned, I'll bring a nuke.

HoneyFeed, ScribbleHub, Wattpad, WebNovel, Syosetu, Pixiv and for some degree, Kuupress, are the sites where I uploaded my works.

You'll get the nicest, but also most biased feedback on Patreon.
Great ego boost.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

You'll get the nicest, but also most biased feedback on Patreon.
Great ego boost.

I also let my Patreon account lapse into oblivion.

I'm looking for feedback like those I already posted, but since no one has really read my works like that guy, Stekeblad, I gave up on finding peeps and promoting my stuff. Like I said, it's there. Read it or not, I'll just continue to write coz I'd like to tell a story than pleasing readers.

Think of my writing as something I do to have someone to talk to, because rarely does someone listen to my story irl.

I never felt welcome over there.

Very rarely anyone does.

I know a few people who fought for recognition, like @Corty . I know others who gave up on it. And as for me, I have no kind words for that community like they had no kind words for me when I was there.

Call it petty, call it immature, that's just how I deal with things.

 

[Th3Breadnought]

My only feedback has come from people I personally know who were willing to be beta readers, and a handful of comments on an abandoned fanfic: so major grain of salt, here.

But best feedback: incredible character voice and character dynamics, lean into it

Worst feedback: "What if you completely edited out this, this, this, and THIS and streamlined and sanitized everything into a very predictable, formulaic structure that would upset no one and be easily shelf sorted." I'm paraphrasing, but essentially good intentioned people who aren't actually reading what I've written on its merits and impact, but are instead evaluating it against something like a corporate industry rubric of "ought to and ought not to" rules that flatten and sand everything down in pursuit of broad appeal.