Let's talk about... Reviews. Obsessedtwibrarian (OTB).

I wish readers could understand how important reviews are to writers. Fanfiction writers are amateurs. We do not get paid for our writing and trust me when I say this takes a huge chunk out of lives to write these stories. We enjoy it, yes, or else we wouldn't do it. But we all need some sort of validation for our work. Some authors say they "write for themselves and not reviews." That statement is just hogwash, pardon my bluntness. If one truly writes for themselves, then they do not take the time or trouble to post their work online. The only reason we post our writing is to share it with other people and get feedback! Amateur fanfic writers don't get royalty checks in the mail like established professional writers that let us know how popular our stories are. Our readers are our "royalty checks" in the fanfiction world, and the only gauge we have to measure our success.

Are reviews important? You bet! I actually changed the entire plot of one of my stories solely because of a reader's comment. The idea she suggested in her review was so astounding and so perfect for my story that I wondered why I never thought of it! I asked her permission to use it, she granted it, and because of that one comment, my story took an entirely different turn. (It was a change for the good.) So readers can make a difference, sometimes with the most innocent of comments.

As a writer, I really do not mind readers pestering me for updates. That is a compliment to me, because it shows that they love my story enough to be impatient for the next installment. When I get comments in which a reader explains in detail what parts of my chapter touched them, I just glow. It's an amazing feeling to get those kinds of reviews. If you're one of those "OMG, this was amazing" type of reviewers, I'd rather you not even bother. That tells me absolutely nothing. There isn't even any proof in that statement that you read the story! What was amazing? Give me details!

I have no use for flamers, absolutely none. Those kinds of reviews serve no purpose except to hurt or humiliate authors, and flamers have no place in any fandom. A good constructive review is one where the reader may simply state their confusion over a certain plot point, or ask a question to clarify something in their mind (which lets the author know that something may not be written clearly), or which nicely points out that there are grammar errors. All these things can be stated without getting ugly about it. Authors get defensive when reviews are ugly and hurtful, and I don't blame them for this. We don't get paid enough to take that kind of abuse!

Ultimately, if fanfiction is to survive, there has to be symbiotic relationship between author and reader. The reader silence in the Twilight fandom has become deafening. There is too much lurking on stories. The vibrant interaction between readers and writers has faded so much since the early years. I realize that the initial excitement of it is long past, but there are still readers around reading fics, and they need to review what they are reading.

One last note for authors: If a reader takes time out of their busy lives to leave you a thoughtful review, then it is imperative that you respond to that review! No excuses! To ignore reader reviews is the height of bad manners, in my opinion. I was once told by an author that she didn't have time to respond to reader reviews, that she was too busy with her real life, too busy to even acknowledge the reviews in her next update and/or answer a few readers' questions. I quit reading her story after that. 

 -  Obsessedtwibrarian (OTB)