Guide: How to get C&C

Requests for information (such as weapons, maps, history, grammar, spelling, outlining, ect) for your writing. Or where to post useful reference sites that you have found useful in writing. Anything from information research to writing guides.

Guide: How to get C&C

Postby Sunshine Temple » Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:53 pm

Edit: Moved at Pat's suggestion.
I'm not sure if anyone needs this but here's some of the rules that I use to get C&C and prereaders. I'm putting this here because no other place fits better.
This was on the previous form and has been revised and reposted.

Getting reviews
First, your writing has to be good enough to start with that someone will not just read it, but stand it enough to comment on it. This requires your spelling, story, characterization, and plot to be at a point where it is coherent.
Admittedly this is a low standard, but it's worth mentioning.

Next, you actually have to post new material. Don't expect C&C if you haven't posted anything recently. People do go back and comment on something that they just found, but more will be inclined if it is new. That's just the way people work.

Make it clear you want C&C. It sounds obvious, but it makes it known that you're actually interested in readers want. Try to be serious. If your readers think you're joking they might not actually reply. May seem silly but I've seen that happen.

And if you get a review reply to it. This lets the readers know that their efforts of commenting are not going to waste. This is especially true if you are trying to get prereaders.
If an author begs for C&C and then complains about never getting it, how do you think that makes the readers who DID give C&C feel?

Do you think that that reader will be inclined to C&C for that reader again?

Remember C&C and reviewing is a voluntary thing. The reader actually has to get initiative to do this. Don't discourage them from doing this by a lack of effort on your part.

Trust is very important here. If a reader feels that their voice is not being heard, then the writer will not get any C&C from them. Never ever mock someone that's giving you C&C. Even if the writer thinks it's worthless don't reply in a harsh way and NEVER mock it in public.

That will do nothing but discourage other readers from reviewing. If a writer says he doesn't like "nitpicking" then say goodbye to getting grammar and spelling corrections. If a writer mocks someone for pointing out plot holes or problems in characterization... the same thing will happen.

This does not mean you have to reply or cater to flames or trolls. On the contrary, they will wreck things. These are best ignored. If especially egregious then one can post a reply.

It goes both ways. As the writer, don't accept comments from someone who is incompetent, arrogant, or annoying. Don't deal with people like that. They are not worth the hassle.

If it's in the form of email. Always reply to it. If it's just a short "That's great write more" thank them for their interest and ask them what they liked about it, and what they didn't.

If they reply (which is highly likely) then you've got more information about your fic. Keep a dialog with them and see what they think. Be polite, but don't push them, they're doing this of their free will.

As for FF.net reviews and the like... you can do the same or if you prefer just reply to the more detailed and better ones. Some FF.net reviews are not practical to reply too. Their system is a pain but if you want to get more detail to your review it's worth the effort.

The key here is to encourage dialog with the readers. Let them know that you are reading their comments on your work. That really helps because the reader feels that their input maters and is having some effect.
This really helps encourage more reviews and comments.

Forums, if properly populated and maintained, can be a very good place for public dialog on fics. Email and Messenger of course work very well too.

Reciprocity is good too. If a writer never gives reviews or comments or detailed C&C to other writers. How does he expect to get writers to review his work? Help whenever you can. Reputation is key here.

A note about author's notes. Do not use that to write a response to reviews of the previous chapter. That is a poor idea and distracts from the chapter. The author's notes should be as small as possible, and only address general thanking.

Email, PM, and forums are all much better ways to respond to reviews.

Prereaders
Now prereaders have a similar etiquette. They are volunteers who comment on your work. However as they do more work and have a greater influence. This necessitates a good working relationship with them.
Now how much influence a prereader has on your story, and even how much of it beyond what is publicly available they know.

Another thing about the prereader relationship is reciprocity. If your prereader has a project of his own that he is working on, then it's implied that you will preread that story.

That can be a drag, and if you have a real problem with doing that be honest and up front with your prereader about it.

Getting a prereader is best done not by asking for one in the end of your chapter but by asking a person who has given good reviews or C&C. Ideally a person who has given good commentary and is able to spot your mistakes.
Of course this person has to say yes when you ask them. Though if they have been an avid reader and reviewer to your fic, then there is a good chance.

You also want a prereader that is more of a 'yes man'. A prereader that knows he is nothing more than a rubber stamp to your ideas will be a lot less involved than one that knows his opinion actually matters.

But for C&C in general dialoging with and respecting the reader is key. If you offend a reader because of your actions then they won't ever reply to you. They might still read it but they'll never comment to you.

Summary
1) Make your readers aware that you want C&C
2) Dialog with those that give commentary
3) Make sure they know you appreciate their effort. Never ever insult, mock, or ignore them.
4) Don't ask for C&C when you're not going to use their efforts. If you want yes-men then say it. Don't whine about a lack of C&C when you have a history of ignoring and not listening to those that give C&C
5) Reciprocate. If you expect to get C&C it helps to give it. Find a forum, a chat room, anything and help others.

Don't just sit there expecting people to love your glorious work

This is for those that give reviews.
1) At the very least say three things: general impression, something good, something bad.
2) More information is always helpful
3) Your time is finite. Only give detailed reviews to writers that appreciate it. If the writer doesn't indicate that he listens or cares about your opinion then drop him.

What things have the other writers here done to help get C&C?
Last edited by Sunshine Temple on Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Sunshine Temple
User avatar
Site Mistress
Posts: 2136
 

Postby stratagemini » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:04 pm

There are a few more things that you need to do if you want C&C.
First make sure that the actual story is longer than the author's notes. I cannot stress this enough. If even 1/5th of your story space is actually author's note then a lot of people won't bother to give C&C. After all, why give C&C on a new chapter if there's barely any new chapter to give C&C on?

Make your plot interesting. The better your writing the more likely you are to get C&C. If you put hints of future events in previous chapter, if you develop characters exceptionally, if you have a very good premise for your story, these are all things that attract readers and promote C&C.

I can't emphasize this enough SPELL CHECK YOUR STORY! Nothing turns off readers (and thus possible reviewers) like repeated use of "Teh" instead of "The" and other stupid mistakes. Typos are acceptable if it's 1 for every 100-200 words, and even that's stretching it, but any more and your story is illegible.

Don't complain about Flames. Ignore them. If you complain about Flames in your story your readers are less likely to review. It doesn't matter if you have actual flamers or not, nor if those flamers are so horrible that they might cause lesser writers to flee to Mexico and abandon the internet entirely. If you complain about flames in the body of your fic it makes people much less likely to review. Ignore Flamers.

Write Long Fics. The fics that are most read are those that are the longest. It shows your dedication to writing the story if you reach over 100,000 words. Readers respect dedication, and more than that they enjoy reading long fics because they're something they can sink their teeth into that will probably update regularly. Also, there's more to comment on in a longer fic.

Don't Go Asking for Votes on Pairings! If you ask for Votes on pairings you'll get reviews, but you won't get C&C, you'll only get people posting those votes. Asking for Votes on Pairings also shows your audience that you haven't fully thought out your story, and can piss a lot f readers off.

WRITE A GOOD SUMMARY! I can't emphasize how important that is. A good summary is your Hook. It should describe the Overall plot of the story, not just what happened in the last chapter. You don't need to say *Chapter 50 Uploaded* FF.Net already has a chapter counter, and author alerts to do that for you. Don't write "I suck at summaries" because people will figure out that you also suck at writing and not read your fic. A good summary is essential, ask for help writing one if you must, hell ask someone else to write one for you, but you need a good summary if you want ANY Readers at all.

Complete your fics! Don't go around with 50 different uncompleted 1 chapter stories in your profile. Complete them. then mark them completed. It shows a lack of dedication to do otherwise, and most readers won't want to start a new fic that might be interesting if they know that it's going to be abandoned.

Unfortunately this last point of advice is true, even if it shouldn't be. If you want Reviews on FF.Net then post in poplar sections. You can have the best and longest Sailor Moon story extant on FF.Net and it might not get any reviews whatsoever because it's in the Sailor Moon section, which few read, and fewer people review. Of Course this is a double edged sword because although you might get massive amounts of reviews if you post in say the "Harry Potter" section, most of them will be crap just telling you to "Write More".
Last edited by stratagemini on Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
I See in Your Eyes, The same fear that would take the heart of me.
A Day may come, when the courage of men fails!
When we forsake our works, and break all bond of authorship- But Is Not THIS Day!
This Day, We WRITE!
stratagemini
User avatar
Moon Cat Advisor
Posts: 498
 

Postby B'man » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:48 am

A quick couple to add:
Do your research on the subject matter. If even one of the characters', locations' or even techniques' names is spelled incorrectly (e.g. Nakoda, Junseikyo, Moko Takabishi etc) it will put off a large number of readers.
The same applies to Japanese (or other countries, obviously) language or aspects of culture that you know little about, or simply use too much, out of context, or unnecessarily. I can't remember the amount of times I've seen - for example - Genma called a ronin by various characters totally unnecessarily and incorrectly, and felt like just leaving the page right there.
If your fics basically have the main character striking out, killing people, beating everyone up, and generally being able to do anything and get away with it (and even in some cases being treated as totally justified in the story), you'll probably get plenty of reviews from emo kids thinking it's the best story in the world. It's not, trust me. You're just giving them what they enjoy seeing - their most hated characters (e.g. Snape, Malfoy, Dumbledore etc in HP) getting theirs for no justifiable reason. If all your reviews basically say "WRITE MORE" or "You're a brilliant writer" with little else, you may have a story that just panders to the masses and isn't genuinely good prose. The few reviews left by those with taste will generally contain little but disdain.
B'man
Senshi Cadet
Posts: 92
 

Postby stratagemini » Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:29 am

Some addendums for posting to forums:

Nothing more annoying than having to ask for a link to past chapters of your fic. Authors who are too rude to give such links don't get as much commentary. There are a couple of reasons for this. It's damn hard to read a current chapter when you haven't read the past chapters. It's also hard comment on something that you haven't read. Though, looking at FF.Net, people do tend to do that.

Be grateful and respectful of your readers when they give you comments. If people correct your spelling and grammar incessantly, don't tell them that you don't care about spelling and grammar. Thank them, then run spell check before posting your fic. The only way to get them to comment on something different is to fix what they were commenting on.

Don't be confrontational. If you disagree with a reviewer, just say you disagree. be polite. thank them for reviewing and giving C&C, but stand firm in your stance and tell them you disagree, and tell them WHY. Without the reasons you have the possibility of coming off looking like a spoiled child or a fanboy.

If you do get a flame on the board. Ignore it. Your reviewers and loyal readers are more than likely to take the flamer to task. By confronting the flamer yourself you run the risk of starting a flame war and being either banned, or derided by your reader base.

Find a Board that works for you and your style. If you want to post snippets as you write them, there are boards for that (The FanFiction Forum is one such board) if you want to post completed chapters there are boards for that too (this Board for example). Find a board where ytou like the moderation team and the Admins. A board where you feel comfortable displaying your work to people who will read it, and a board where the type of C&C you get is the type you want. Not all boards are for all people. If they were then there would only need to be one board in the whole internet.
I See in Your Eyes, The same fear that would take the heart of me.
A Day may come, when the courage of men fails!
When we forsake our works, and break all bond of authorship- But Is Not THIS Day!
This Day, We WRITE!
stratagemini
User avatar
Moon Cat Advisor
Posts: 498
 

Postby Sunshine Temple » Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:28 pm

Because there are two guides I decided to expand the scope of Fic Research and move them to that subforum.

This will clear out clutter in the C&C board.
Sunshine Temple
User avatar
Site Mistress
Posts: 2136
 


Return to Fic Research

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users