We all get them. It doesn't matter whether you are an author or not, eventually someone in your life is going to comment on something that you feel that they don't understand and shouldn't be commenting on. I have felt this recently with comments, because lately across all my platforms I get a lot of rather annoying comments.
I don't really care if people drop my story, but I do care if they drag it on in a post or comment about how I ruined my own story and that no matter what I write, I can't fix it. Usually this is because the story does not go the way that they want. But, as an author, your story is your story and you are the one writing it. It's frustrating because there are somethings in writing that aren't revealed immediately -- plot twists, hidden meanings, and such and so -- so when people judge your story so quickly its irritating.
I know I have dropped stories before because I got so discouraged and anxious from these types of comments. It's my own issue with self-esteem, but even now I've lost interest in those stories months later, and I fear I might lose interest in my favorite story to write right now because of a single damn comment. It felt like a personal attack, even though I knew it wasn't. People will be people, they will judge quickly and hate quickly, and we just have to deal with that, sadly.
So, I've opened up this forum thread for us to all discuss -- or vent, if need be -- the impact of these annoying comments; whether that be just a story of one of the annoying comments you've received, or ways you've found to deal with the hate, please feel free to share.
Depends. Since you use your story as an example, lemme use mine in regards to how i deal with comments
Basically if they say something about the story thats polite, like "hey i dunno the story kinda doesnt fit with the premise/title anymore" or "it changed a lot its nothing like i expected, you should have kept it how it was. I was looking forward to a good villainess story from the brother's perspective"
Then i explain how, "nah fam that shits so vanilla, i wanted to spice shit up, get crazy...was just supposed to be a set up for incest tho, just kinda dragged on...ahem. I admit i kinda wanted to see how much crazy shit i could pull off..." Which, i will admit again, is how we ended up with purges, inhuman experimentations done by loli fangirls, and drugs
Or say, "heh, fooled ya with the prologue and synopsis, didn't i? But things will get more in line with the premise later on...still gonna be crazy shit going on tho"
Like if they polite, then im nice too. I joke with them and reveal a few things so that maybe they read a bit more and decide THEN if they still wanna drop it. Or maybe what i said consolidates their opinion. In which case at least they dont waste their time.
But if they say "oh the story has gotten so shitty blah blah blah" and write paragraph after paragraph about how its so cringey and stupid and all that....well...
I mean hey. My main story, its a shit show. Its insane and yeah cringey at times, and no one gets how much of a flaming tire it is more than me
But like dude. You dont like the story. Why are you still reading it then? Taking the time to bash it like it personally offends you?
My story is mostly well received for the laughs and how the MC is pretty "unapologetically hedonistic" as some havve put it. Its just a story to have fun reading. No deep mysteries to unveil, no very deep thoughts going on.
So it normally gets good feedback butni dont tell those commentors who bash the story "well dude look at all my adoring fans"
Nope i just tell them "cool. Cool. So yeah fuck off then mate, what're ya doing here?"
I dont mind bad reviews or people dropping the story but if you write paragraph upon paragraph bashing the story like it fucked your wife then im gonna get pissy too. And thats just cuz you're being a loose, soggy twat.
And no one likes a loose soggy twat
I never would drop a story just cuz of comments tho. Only if i felt no one cared about it, and maybe not even then.
Either be nice or ignored it completely... show maturity and professionalism over childish insult in the form of comment...
Nah fam if its bad enough you gotta put that silly little cunt down tho.
Remember my dude, dont be nice to cunts. Dont merely ignore assholes. At least not when they keep farting and stinking up the place.
Feels like you're talking less about "annoying" comments and more about "discouraging/hurtful" comments. I don't agree with BenJepheneT's feelings, but those comments fall under "annoying" to him personally, but they don't seem to be what you're talking about in your OP.
Personally I never know what to say as a reader in the comments -- a lot of authors hate "thanks for/good work on the chapter" type comments, finding them generic and empty, so I get scared to write them. So what do you put? If the author updates frequently (multiple chapters over a day) or there are multiple stories you follow that update each day, you can quickly run out of creativity/energy to come up with new comments, and sometimes you don't have any kind of deep questions or insight to offer. You could make some kind of joke or friendly comment or banter, but you also don't want to come off as overly friendly or look like you have some kind of creepy parasocial relationship with the author... it's scary to know what to say, honestly.
So as a result, I often end up... not leaving any comment at all. So while I'm an author myself, on the reader side of things, discussions like this make me feel so nervous and anxious. It just confirms all my paranoia and insecurity about how my interactions with authors are being taken, and discourages me from trying even more.
On the author side of things, I'm toiling away in obscurity, so my stories don't get enough exposure to attract that much criticism or comment either way so, wheeeeee~
Yeah it does feel he meant more comments about his story rather than comments in general like what you find at kisssmanga or something
For those i get petty and mean because i dont tolerate stupidity past certain levels. If i see a comment bashing the story needlessly or for idiot reasons, i spesk up and put them down and explain how they are wrong while doing so.
Or if they seem to be judging a character or their actions without analyzing WHY they are why they are or why they did what they did, not being fair about it, then i also explain and offer my own theories to maybe add some perspective. But more nicely than when the commentor is just being a cunt