If a bad review gets to be the most upvoted one, will you consider abandoning/restarting the story?

[Deleted member 45782]

Oh yes, it is "woe is me". But I thought it is fine to vent here. Unless it is not?

Its fine to vent Forest. You just have a habit of doing it all the time and it irks some, especially when it sounds like you wish for something better to happen, but the only thing you're doing at the moment is just talking how suck it feels. Its gonna continue feeling suck unless there's a change - and for you, that means not taking every 1 star or bad comment to heart.

 

[ForestDweller]

and it irks some

You mean yourself.

but the only thing you're doing at the moment is just talking how suck it feels.

You know, I'm writing my story too. I still keep a regular update schedule even though by all means I should've left a long time ago. It's been more than one year and this is not where I imagine my story would be when I first started writing it. Low ratings compared to the average of the site, top review being a negative one (on both sites, not just here), and a declining number of views instead of growth. Story's peaked like in September last year.

and for you, that means not taking every 1 star or bad comment to heart.

Speaking of which, I just got a new one star.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

You mean yourself.

You can say that, but pretty sure not the only one that feels this way.

You know, I'm writing my story too. I still keep a regular update schedule even though by all means I should've left a long time ago. It's been more than one year and this is not where I imagine my story would be when I first started writing it. Low ratings compared to the average of the site, top review being a negative one (on both sites, not just here), and a declining number of views instead of growth. Story's peaked like in September last year.

We know. We also know you keep saying you should stop it or drop it.

Speaking of which, I just got a new one star.

I think in some cases, one needs to count blessings instead of grievances first.
Count your 4-5 stars instead of each 1 star you get.

Look, do you get my point or not? You're gonna keep getting bummed about the 1 star ratings and bad reviews. Nothing is gonna change because you don't want to change. All I'm saying is don't give up writing and don't let those negative comments get to your heart each and every single time it happens. That is all. Simple as that. I don't get why we have to go a huge round about this.

If you hate the negativity and it makes you contemplate stopping all the time, then just stop looking at the negativity. Ignore it and keep going.

 

[ForestDweller]

You can say that, but pretty sure not the only one that feels this way.

Fine by me. I found a bunch of posts here annoying as well but I don't whine like you do.

I think in some cases, one needs to count blessings instead of grievances first.
Count your 4-5 stars instead of each 1 star you get.

That sounds like you're just lying to yourself, shielding yourself from the truth.

I don't get why we have to go a huge round about this.

Maybe you should just stop responding.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Fine by me. I found a bunch of posts here annoying as well but I don't whine like you do.

You're right. We both whine a ton. You do the same too, if you look at yourself in the mirror.

That sounds like you're just lying to yourself, shielding yourself from the truth.

The truth is not to always look at it half empty. You can be a pessimist but if it starts make you feel so down and unmotivated, then you might want to change a different perspective. Life is ups and downs. You don't just acknowledge what sucks, you also acknowledge what's good in it too.

Maybe you should just stop responding.

Alright fine by me. I'll stop commenting every time you talk about how you got yet another 1 star, another bad review, and why your readers are acting like this and this to you. In a way, this is also you whining about it.

I already gave you advice just as others have done. You can either improve or ignore it. For you, if you are unmotivated because of negativity, then just stop looking at negativity. Simple as that. Good luck with your writing and have a nice day, Forest.

 

[bigbear51]

No because I'm not a pussy that gets butthurt over poor reviews or hate comments or 1-star reviews. Nor do I ever felt the need to think of those random strangers on the internet as trolls when I don't know their intentions, or who they are. Nor have I ever considered crawling to the forums to cry about it either.

 

[EternalSunset0]

I wouldn't, but that's probably a result of knowing my series inside out in terms of how it will interact with the typical audience.

Even during the time when I was just helping someone out with her story, we both agreed on the general idea and reception that said story was gonna get. We both know it's not deserving of a 2/10 or something, but we also accept that it's also a long shot for it to be considered a... 9/10 or something in terms of the actual writing. When we got feedback that makes it out to be a masterpiece, it's such a happy feeling. If we got heavy criticism, then we understood. It didn't demotivate us mainly because we have accepted that the biggest fans of our work are just gonna be us and a very select niche when we published it on Wattpad.

I guess that attitude carried over to the present when I'm the one writing my own series. I know my story's ceiling in a vacuum, and while I may get bad ratings, I also am confident in my story's floor for me to be able shrug off every feedback that puts my series lower than said floor. As people said, you can't please everyone, and there really is not a story that's for everyone. SeaHiatus got it right with focusing on the positives for me.

Getting bad ratings does feel bad, but I don't think it will make me quit or do a hard reboot of the plot. Maybe a soft reboot or a version 2 once everything's done (heck, I have one in mind now on my series, but my focus is writing everything out first and seeing the whole story in an encompassing overview).

I guess it all ties down to attitude and contentment, I guess. I don't know you enough to probably warrant saying this, but lowering expectations can help. If you put your work down from its pedestal and all, it might help. Look around you and look at all the people beneath you.

Heck, I know a couple of people who would kill to have your readership and engagement, wrinkles and all, so I hope it's not all doom and gloom even though the past few months or so seem very like it for you.

Those last two paragraphs are probably unsolicited advise, but it is what it is. I guess I couldn't help it because on one hand, I want to help you, but on the other hand, seeing that attitude also makes me feel something. Probably not "irked" enough like the other comment said, but there's the feeling of "wow, he's being way too hard."

 

[ForestDweller]

but lowering expectations can help.

Honestly, I wouldn't have written a 600k word story if I don't have high expectations for it.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Honestly, I wouldn't have written a 600k word story if I don't have high expectations for it.

I get that, but what I'm saying is that you shouldn't expect to... I dunno if the right word is to "break the Internet" or "blow the community up" (in a positive way) with it or something. Since we're probably both anime fans anyway, we can't expect our works to be an Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, or Mushoku Tensei in terms of how big the fanbases have become and how they hype them so much in almost always positive light.

And for every MT, there are countless other Isekais that people don't care much about or have polarized reputations.

Chances are, safer expectations would be something along the lines of say... Shield Hero, or if you want to be more popular to the mainstream, probably Naruto or Sword Art Online. Popular shows that are still very polarizing.

 

[Ai-chan]

If a lot of people voted up on bad reviews on Ai-chan's stories, Ai-chan would think that either that story really sucks to make so many people agree to the bad review, or Ai-chan is a victim of cyberbullying.

If the bad review tells what is actually wrong with the story, then Ai-chan will try to see if Ai-chan can improve it based on the input. It is also possible that Ai-chan will take it down and reupload it after fixing the issues, depending on how petty Ai-chan feels at that point. If it's just "You suck, go rot in hell." then Ai-chan will report the review. If the review doesn't say what is wrong with the story, yet it has so many upvotes, then Ai-chan will start stalking that person.

Ai-chan used to be part of the group that brought down mangatraders. Some of those anons probably still remember Aoi-chan (that was Ai-chan's name in the scanlator community back then) and remember how mean Ai-chan could be. Yes, Ai-chan can be very mean. Ai-chan just try not to be mean these days because Ai-chan doesn't want it to rub on Ai-chan's baby girl or bring bad karma.

 

[ForestDweller]

I get that, but what I'm saying is that you shouldn't expect to... I dunno if the right word is to "break the Internet" or "blow the community up" (in a positive way) with it or something. Since we're probably both anime fans anyway, we can't expect our works to be an Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, or Mushoku Tensei in terms of how big the fanbases have become and how they hype them so much in almost always positive light.

And for every MT, there are countless other Isekais that people don't care much about or have polarized reputations.

Chances are, safer expectations would be something along the lines of say... Shield Hero, or if you want to be more popular to the mainstream, probably Naruto or Sword Art Online. Popular shows that are still very polarizing.

Ha! What are you talking about? My expectation is nowhere near that lofty.

Look, my previous, shorter story got talked about on other sites. It even got an entry of TvTropes. At least this story should get to that level.

Instead, it's just going downhill. Nowhere near rock bottom, of course, but if I had known this would be the result, I wouldn't have started writing it in the first place.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Look, my previous, shorter story got talked about on other sites. It even got an entry of TvTropes. At least this story should get to that level.

Instead, it's just going downhill. Nowhere near rock bottom, of course, but if I had known this would be the result, I wouldn't have started writing it in the first place.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. Explains the high expectations, too. Unfortunately, I don't think that I can help you any further besides sharing my opinion on your initial question.

I won't be an asshole and tell you to just deal with it or anything with regards to the last sentence, but it seems that your mind is made up already, so I think that it's best for you if you go on a hiatus or something. Or at least stop publishing online for a while as you regroup because it's certainly not doing you any favors mentally and emotionally.

 

[TunTun]

I somehow knew it was you who asked this question.

Yes, he is the only author who complains about declining views

 

[ForestDweller]

Thanks for sharing your perspective. Explains the high expectations, too. Unfortunately, I don't think that I can help you any further besides sharing my opinion on your initial question.

I won't be an asshole and tell you to just deal with it or anything with regards to the last sentence, but it seems that your mind is made up already, so I think that it's best for you if you go on a hiatus or something. Or at least stop publishing online for a while as you regroup because it's certainly not doing you any favors mentally and emotionally.

If I go into hiatus, I'll never come back. I'll forget all my ideas and move on.

It already happened multiple times before with all my other writing projects.

 

[TunTun]

If I go into hiatus, I'll never come back. I'll forget all my ideas and move on.

It already happened multiple times before with all my other writing projects.

Then goodbye

 

[Deleted member 45782]

If I go into hiatus, I'll never come back. I'll forget all my ideas and move on.

It already happened multiple times before with all my other writing projects.

Then goodbye

I know I shouldn't respond, but maybe just this one more time. I know that feeling that if you go into hiatus, you may never come back to it. It happened to one of my stories before and that's one of the reasons why I'm hesitate to fully write. And also why I hesitate to fully go on hiatus here. Because I may drop this completely.

While I do find sometimes its a bit tiring to try give suggestions and someone cuts certain phrases of the message to make it sound like its only negative when there's also some encouragement and advice within that message, I still would say good luck with your writing. Not like what TunTun says.
But good luck with your writing; hopefully someday you'll feel more happier writing your stories instead of always feeling like its demotivating you.

 

[Sylvie]

I got a bad review once. They put it as a comment on a chapter. Honestly, I was super super bummed. But I didn't reply to them and one day later, they deleted their comment.

I'm not gonna lie, I would probably restart if I had a lot of bad reviews. Like, if the majority of my reviews were bad. That hasn't happened, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't at least think of it.

Do not dwell on the review. As a person who has done this (not on your book), I assure you it was done in the heat of the moment and the reader would not have deleted it if they did not regret it. I did make sure to apologize to the author later and give her an honest review.

 

[LinMeili]

Do not dwell on the review. As a person who has done this (not on your book), I assure you it was done in the heat of the moment and the reader would not have deleted it if they did not regret it. I did make sure to apologize to the author later and give her an honest review.

I'm okay now since they deleted it!

 

[BenJepheneT]

I mean, it can't be good for newcomers to see it on the top of the list whenever they want to know whether your story is good or not.

See it like this: FIFA as a football game series has been HEAVILY shitted upon by the online gaming community, and yet they still ship by the millions every year, despite being literal carbon copies of the last iteration.

This isn't a comparison between quality and feedback, but as a representation between what you see and what you actually receive.

Very few genuinely read the reviews. Those who do are mostly those who are heavily committed into the craft, or are writing other things themselves. Most others just want their daily GL, gender bender fender fix.

Treat the reviews not as general consensus, but like album reviews on obscure blogs. Eminem's latest Music to Be Murdered By might be considered an okay entry by many, but that didn't stop it from shooting the rapper into being the highest-earning artist in history. Most aren't looking for deep lyricism or good storytelling; they're there for quick rapping and aggressive bars.

Take it from an alternate perspective; I have four glowing reviews in total regarding my story Caninstinct. And yet, I rarely pull above 20 views with each of my chapters.

So don't care about the bad reviews. If you're getting bad reviews, that means you're gaining such a good traction that you've managed to attract that crowd that's willing to deconstruct your work to tell others how bad it really is, which is a solid representation to how far of an audience you've actually reached for your story.

 

[gaylolis]

If I feel the review and the community itself is hostile like Royal Road, I will just take it off and post it somewhere else.

I write for a peace of mind and to share the fun, even if my subject maybe controversial for some, I just really love writing it.

When heated drama gets in the mix, I have no qualms to stop posting my story entirely,

That's why the most important thing is to find a community that works for me.

The second kind is, when is how the review is negative but the criticism is constructive, I will just take what works for me.

As for restarting from the beginning? I treat it as a personal journey and it's often surreal and doesn't make sense. I tried my best to make it, so no matter how screwed up the story, I will still able to continue given I have the motivation. No need to care about the specifics and write my heart out.

Even if I wanted to restart it, I'd rather just try to write it 'til it was finished. I don't just write for the story alone, but to experience the moment.

For abandoning, that's a different matter. Sometimes things cannot be perfect for me the entire time. I will lose my passion on certain things and ideas, especially after a long time passes.

If I'm considerate, I'll consider giving it a premature ending, but if I feel no one cares about my work, I can just delete it.

Does the negative review matter? It's more about the community in general.

If it's the top review, it can be a representative of their stance. While the gap between the second or third exist, it's only a part to determining the community's nature. Might be on the comments, the forums, or their discord. The staff member's reaction, the rules and guidelines, etc...

Like I said before, if I feel that I'm hated and unwelcome, I'd just go. I don't want to make any more enemies, if I couldn't instantly remove them for intruding on my life. Things like hackers and doxxers had always scared me.

I don't like friends that doesn't respect my time as well.

So yeah, being alone is cool, I guess. A quiet community where it feels I'm in control of my own work--it fits me best.

My experience told me, that before I posted my writing in a new site, I need to thoroughly research it. Though I'm lazy and don't really care much about publicity, that's why I'm cozy at that one site right now.