On feedback

[hils]

I'm just curious. What sort of response do you expect to get when you leave feedback for a fic? Are you happy with just a 'thanks' or do you look for something more personal?

I'm aware that unless it's someone I know very well or the feedback is very specific I just reply with a 'thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it'

Should I be doing more?

Comments

[muck-a-luck.livejournal.com]

Some long or very thoughtful comments might deserve a longer, more thoughtful reply. Or comments that ask direct questions that you can answer. But yeah, a comment that says, WOW, the seks was hawt! Can get a Thanks! Glad you liked it!

That's my two cents worth... :)

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if someone makes specific comments about the fic I try and give a more detailed reply. Generally I just get 'I really liked it' sort of comments :)

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the feedback. If I say "Great story, I loved it!" then I wouldn't expect anything other than a polite thank you. If I go on for pages and actually *talk* about the story then I would definitely appreciate a more thoughtful response, even if i don't expect one.

Also, authors who never respond to feeback will probably not get any from me.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I think it's really rude not to reply to feedback at all. I always reply in one form or another :)

I don't think I've ever had a feedback comment that's pages long but if someone makes specific points about the fic I try to respond to that

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I very rarely respond to feedback. Does that make me a bad person?

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are going to hell ;)

Seriously though. It's up to you. I just find people are more inclined to give feedback if they think they're going to get a response. See the above comment from mskatej

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

I think if I've taken the trouble to leave detailed feedback I'd rather have something a little more personal in reply. But I understand it's often difficult to say something back to "that was great"... *g*

[hils.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, if I get really detailed feedback I try to respond in a specific way :)

[bethctg2.livejournal.com]

I like getting a simple "Thanks" when I leave feedback. When people leave me feedback, I try to match the reply with the comment - more thoughtful replies for more thoughtful comments. "Thanks, glad you enjoyed it" is fine, in my opinion, because it's sincere. So many people don't leave feedback (good or bad), so I like to say thanks when someone takes the time to do it. :)

[hils.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I think it encourages people to leave more feedback if they think you actually read and appreciate the comments. I always reply to my feedback even if it's a negative comment

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

It kind of depends for me. Whenever anyone leaves detailed feedback, I try to respond in kind. There are days when I'm very blabby and tend to be long winded in my thanks, or if I 'know' the person well, I might respond with more. Even if it's just a thanks, I try to make it as upbeat as I can, hence my addiction to exclamation marks.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Heheh! Yeah, I think I'm pretty much the same as you. If I get detailed feedback then I will give a detailed reply :)

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

As others have said, I think it should be appropriate to the length/depth of the comment. However, I do always try to vary my replies because I think it appreciates the commenter more. If everyone just gets the same 'thanks!' it doesn't look like you're trying.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I think I might be doing at the moment. Must try and be more creative in my replies

[danceswithgary]

I think any feedback is better than none, in both directions. Often, I say 'Glad you enjoyed and thanks' or variations with more based on the details and familiarity with the person who commented. That's pretty much what you said. I'll leave feedback for authors who don't reply, but thankfully that doesn't seem to happen too often.

Basically, if I don't reply and acknowledge the feedback, I have no right to complain about the lack of it. :-D

[hils.livejournal.com]

Basically, if I don't reply and acknowledge the feedback, I have no right to complain about the lack of it. :-D
That's exactly how I feel

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

If I can find something more personal or interesting to reply than "Thanks"/"Glad you liked it", then I do, especially when the feedback is by someone who hasn't commented on my journal before, but sometimes there's just nothing else to do but show that you're grateful for feedback.

Giving feedback myself I don't expect anything (if the author has written something good, they've already done their part of the fannish exchange *g*) - but I always enjoy smart/funny/personal/interesting responses.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I need to put a bit more effort into my feedback replies :)

[ilovedoyle.livejournal.com]

i don't think so.
I have to admit I'm not always great at leaving fb, usually either if its a WIP that I NEED more of NOW, or a fic/author that I love and follow devotedly.

I also have to admit I don't always respond to fb; I'm more likely to do so on lj than if I receive it via ff.net or an email tho.

I think even a 'thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it' is appreciated.

[hils.livejournal.com]

FF.net makes it really hard to reply to feedback.

Strangely I tend to give a longer reply to feedback that is given by e mail. Mostly because I think it take more effort to send an e mail than it does to click 'leave comment' on LJ

[lexalicious70.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the relationship you have with the person leaving the comment, sometimes. Like if I know that person well, say, like if it was you, I might say more than usual because you'd know what I was talking out out of context of the fic. Does that make sense? I don't know. My brain is full.

And it's my turn to say how much I love your icon. I want to read it when it's done, Lex!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hehe! I bet Lex writes really hot slash ;)

[tariel22.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fic writer myself, so of course my focus is on leaving feedback, rather than responding to it. I try to be specific as much as I can about what I appreciate in someone's post or fic, because I think that's what feedback is all about. I don't have any particular expectations about getting a response, although no one wants to feel like they're commenting in a void. I totally agree that the response should depend on the feedback itself.

I will say that sometimes my response is limited to, "Wow, that was incredibly hot," because I can't get specific about what I liked without talking dirty, and I try to stay in the world of euphemisms and double entendres if I can! LOL! I just don't want to subject anyone to TMI.

For the record, I think your responses are great, and they do make me more inclined to comment in the future. You respond more than a lot of people, and I appreciate it.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I do worry about this stuff. LOL

[ender24]

that totally depends on the quality of the feedback. not necessarily the quantity, though sometimes of course, lenght also do say something about quality.
in other words, if i am short, you can either be short yourself, or dont respond at all, i dont mind. if i am long with my comment AND have some thoughtful things to say, or have questions, i would appreciate longer replies. if my comment is just long gushing...alas, feel free to rather use that time to write more fic, or do more art, than replying to me. I tend to be more like Val, i sometimes leave feedback to LJ and stories, where i know the authors have left fandom alltogether, or moved on to other fandoms. sometimes, the feedback is purely for selfish reasons, they are for me, so that if i ever want to rec a certain story/vid, i just have to look my comment up, and now what to write instead of rereading the entire story.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I tend to worry about these things a bit too much. LOL. But it's interesting seeing all the answers I've got :)

[gillo]

There's a difference between "what I expect to get" and "what I do" - a "Thanks" is all I expect, personally (I do feel a bit miffed if I don't get that much, though.) but I often leave something a little more if the person has left any detail. If they've just written "This was fun!", though, there's not a lot more to say.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus.

[selinamoonfire.livejournal.com]

danceswithgary was the one that told me that I should be thanking the people that read my stuff, so I'm not sure about LJ etiquette. No, I wasn't being bad :P I never posted fic anywhere that you could leave thanks to each person until I began posting on LJ.

I try to say thanks to everyone that reads. If someone say something that is elaborate I try to personalize my thank you or if someone sounds interesting, I'll talk to them to see if I want to friend them.

I just sort of follow instinct and hope no one is offended. LOL

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hehe! That's probably the best way to do it :)

[smockery.livejournal.com]

It's always nice to get feedback on anything--even feedback on feedback. :) I agree with everyone else who said something along the lines of just responding in kind with the tone/length of feedback.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I'm doing :)

[foxrafer.livejournal.com]

Most people have already said this, but a simple "thanks, I'm glad you liked it" is fine for me if I left a similar, simple comment. Even if I leave a long tome for feedback, if they still take time to say something in response I'm fine with that. It's when a writer can't be bothered to respond to feedback at all that I get ticked off.