What are the tips for earning comments and reviews?

[Rookieqw]

Good day to all, sorry for being a bother, but I need advice.

I've been writing for a little while, but readers almost never comment on my story, and I think it's because my work is boring or just bad quality, but I don't know for sure.

When I read novels by other writers here, I often see readers commenting and sometimes even arguing about the plot, so the problem must be in the way I write. Is there a way to learn how to earn readers' engagement in an honest way?

 

[ElijahRyne]

Sorry for being a bother, but I need advice.

I've been writing for a little while, but readers almost never comment on my story, and I think it's because my work is boring or just bad quality, but I don't know for sure.

When I read novels by other writers here, I often see readers commenting and sometimes even arguing about the plot, so the problem must be in the way I write. Is there a way to learn how to earn readers' engagement in an honest way?

I wrote two interactive stories one I got 50+ comments on and one where I had less than 5. It just depends on the readers you have, how long your story is, and how old it is.

I would say take the YouTuber way and put something akin to the following at the beginning/end of every chapter. “Was there something you liked in the chapter, something you wanted to talk about, and/or did you catch any errors? If so please leave a comment below, and if you enjoyed the chapter please leave a like and follow the story! Thank you!”

 

[Corty]

It is very much reader-dependent. Also, most readers 90%+ are silent readers, barely commenting. The only way to force them is maybe leaving author notes at the end of chapters memeing a little to initiate a conversation.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Cute readers comment moar~.

 

[unlaumy]

A simple foreword of "this is for today's chapter, hope you guys enjoy it" would dramatically increase the chance of your readers to comment. That is to say, showing your presence as an author helps them to see there's someone behind the story.

It isn't a foolproof method though, because many readers prefer to stay silent.

And don't forget that most don't even bother to create accounts in the first place.

 

[AmbreaTaddy]

Depends on the readers. I have a very nice reader (who'll recognize themselves since they're active here) who leaves a comment on every chapter as they read through it, to correct me on the little mistakes I make, since english isn't my first language

I also have two readers (who'll also recognize themselves) who sometimes leave me a comment to say they like my story.

So, if you see the statistics, I basically have 3 person commenting even though my story has more than 2K views. They just aren't a lot of people who comment, you have to be a super popular writer with thousands of views to even start to have a comment on every chapter. It is what it is.

The most important thing is : Is your story good ? Is it engaging ? If not, nobody will read and comment anyway

 

[Rookieqw]

Depends on the readers. I have a very nice reader (who'll recognize themselves since they're active here) who leaves a comment on every chapter as they read through it, to correct me on the little mistakes I make, since english isn't my first language

This is awesome!

The most important thing is : Is your story good ? Is it engaging ? If not, nobody will read and comment anyway

Since I have four views on chapter 128 (based on the statistic) and no one has commented for a while, I think your theory is correct. It is not well written and not engaging.

 

[Clo]

They just aren't a lot of people who comment, you have to be a super popular writer with thousands of views to even start to have a comment on every chapter. It is what it is.

Or you can just be lucky. I am far from super popular (I do have over ten thousand views), but I have 2~3 super fans who comment on all chapters.

 

[Daitengu]

I mainly read on my phone. Typing is a pain on the thing, so I typically won't comment anything. I feel many people think the same.

 

[Golden_Hyde]

there are times that I commented to highlight something and sometimes criticize that highlight, but most of all, I'd just read and scroll away

 

[ArlindoFrancisco]

The majority doesn't comment... it is what it is.