[Poll] Best thing you can get from a reader as an author

Take your pick ⛏️

  • Total voters
    51
JordanIda

JordanIda

Active member
Joined
Jan 9, 2026
Messages
166
Points
43
I'd be happy with readers who actually read the book. From beginning to end. No skimming, no skipping. To simply read the thing. Sounds simple, I know.

On the Internet, in the Web novel era, vanishingly rare. Even among the readers who enthusiastically engage in robust comment exchanges, few of them read it. From beginning to end.

I've been on at least seven sites like this one, with e-novels. Everywhere it's the same. Far more skimmers and skippers than readers. Everywhere I've ever been. (I've been tilting at windmills for about three years, and over that span it's become much worse.) On Wattpad, I had about 30,000 "readers." Not viewers. Readers. How many truly read the books? Maybe 120. AO3 was maybe the best. I had about 80,000 "readers" there, and probably about 1,500 actually read the books from end to end. (I left AO3 when I realized I was competing for the most part against illicit p@rn.) Dumping AO3 was a shame. I had nearly as many readers as RR and this site have registered members. But even there, most of them skipped around. Loved the books, left great reviews, skipped to the end, loved it.... but didn't read it.

It's a shame. A real shame.
 
Last edited:
MFontana

MFontana

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2025
Messages
385
Points
93
Conqueror_Quack said:
You can talk about the best thing which made you the happiest from a reader if you want to.
Click to expand...
Okay... had to pull a Rumple with my vote. Couldn't resist.
In all seriousness though, I love to engage with my readers directly, and that means theories, fan-characters (OC's), cool fan-made stuff (fanart / fanfics), and all of the above really.
If you notice my foreshadowing, great.
If you spot all the layered references and easter-eggs, cool.
Sharing their theories, I'd love to engage with them on this. I'll confirm, or add some light on them (without spoilers).

The rest, well sure. Fawn over your favorite characters. Or make your own and tell me all about them.
I'm personally working on a step-by-step guide to create characters for the Elarian Chronicles setting as well, just for the additional fan engagement options it offers.

In truth, I'd be happy with any kind of engagement with the work, as long as it is honest, and in good fath. (Even if you don't like it, that's fine. I still want to hear from you, about what you don't like, and why.)
 
rainchip

rainchip

Active member
Joined
Sep 2, 2025
Messages
74
Points
33
JordanIda said:
I'd be happy with readers who actually read the book. From beginning to end. No skimming, no skipping. To simply read the thing. Sounds simple, I know.

On the Internet, in the Web novel era, vanishingly rare. Even among the readers who enthusiastically engage in robust comment exchanges, few of them read it. From beginning to end.

I've been on at least seven sites like this one, with e-novels. Everywhere it's the same. Far more skimmers and skippers than readers. Everywhere I've ever been. (I've been tilting at windmills for about three years, and over that span it's become much worse.) On Wattpad, I had about 30,000 "readers." Not viewers. Readers. How many truly read the books? Maybe 120. AO3 was maybe the best. I had about 80,000 "readers" there, and probably about 1,500 actually read the books from end to end. (I left AO3 when I realized I was competing for the most part against illicit p@rn.) Dumping AO3 was a shame. I had nearly as many readers as RR and this site have registered members. But even there, most of them skipped around. Loved the books, left great reviews, skipped to the end, loved it.... but didn't read it.

It's a shame. A real shame.
Click to expand...
Felt this in my bones. I’m guilty of it at times too, but these days I try to be upfront if a story does or doesn’t grab me. I don’t like faking engagement just for views. I also can’t really keep up with constant shout-outs and feedback loops. It’s exhausting.

And YES, it can feel like an unwinnable battle writing outside the most popular genres—especially when competing with smut/harem-heavy stories that are built for instant appeal. When I first joined SH I didn't understand the web novel environment and I learned quick. I'm just happy I got SOME views.
 
K

KennyCelican

Active member
Joined
Apr 22, 2024
Messages
42
Points
33
Honestly this was a hard choice, because all of these are good, but inspiring others is peak. I picked 'Fanart' both because I can't draw and because I get fanfic on the regular; one of my readers has been pumping out an ongoing crack fic AU in the comments over on RR for... About a year now I think.

But my favorite Reader thing ever? An email from a beta reader that started out with the words, "It's almost 2am. I finished. I hate you with every fiber of my being."

I sent an MS to a beta reader one night, they opened the email the next morning at like 8 AM, read a few chapters, then emailed me at around 10 AM saying they had work to do, but they'd read the rest later. Through that day, every few hours, they sent me another email saying they'd finished a few more chapters in their readthrough, but this time they really, really needed to put it down and get their own work done. The email chain ended with the email that started with the quote above, and yes, that's a direct quote.
 
AnEmberOfSundown

AnEmberOfSundown

Object in motion
Joined
Jul 26, 2025
Messages
139
Points
63
I've often thought that having an in-character AMA would be a lot of fun, but that would mean having readers that have thought about and theorized about the characters so 🤷‍♂️
 
Hans.Trondheim

Hans.Trondheim

Low energy is king!
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Messages
1,977
Points
153
Comments like this.
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