When to reply to readers? And not be a ****?

[WinterFairy]

Hello everyone. I'm quite new at writing novels, including sharing them online.
And I can't help but wonder when is it okay for the author to reply to readers comments?

For I don't know... If a reader asks a question about the story like: Why is X so strong? This doesn't make sense?
Is it okay to reply and try to explain it? Or is that too much? Will one sound like a lecturing ****? Or an helpful author who forgot to explain this aspect?

Maybe the readers write questions for other readers to comment on? Or do they expect the author to answer their plot-hole theory or other good questions, for like, I've seen some pretty good ones that make me go!?

Edit: Thanks for all the good feedback

 

[Phantomheart]

Hello everyone. I'm quite new at writing novels, including sharing them online.
And I can't help but wonder when is it okay for the author to reply to readers comments?

For I don't know... If a reader asks a question about the story like: Why is X so strong? This doesn't make sense?
Is it okay to reply and try to explain it? Or is that too much? Will one sound like a lecturing ****? Or an helpful author who forgot to explain this aspect?

Maybe the readers write questions for other readers to comment on? Or do they expect the author to answer their plot-hole theory or other good questions, for like, I've seen some pretty good ones that make me go!?

When it comes to things they ask about regarding plot holes or things about the story that reveals spoilers (which are usually foreshadowing in my case hehe) I just answer with a “you will see soon (some cheeky emoji” or give them an explanation if they missed anything specifically that would lead them to a different conclusion.

 

[Ram5]

If they ask for clarification, then answer it to clear the confusion, if they ask for a spoiler, it's fine if you just ignored it.

 

[AliceShiki]

Hello everyone. I'm quite new at writing novels, including sharing them online.
And I can't help but wonder when is it okay for the author to reply to readers comments?

For I don't know... If a reader asks a question about the story like: Why is X so strong? This doesn't make sense?
Is it okay to reply and try to explain it? Or is that too much? Will one sound like a lecturing ****? Or an helpful author who forgot to explain this aspect?

Maybe the readers write questions for other readers to comment on? Or do they expect the author to answer their plot-hole theory or other good questions, for like, I've seen some pretty good ones that make me go!?

I usually like answering pretty much any comment I get, it's not really a necessity though, it's just something I'm personally fond of doing, I like getting close to my readers.

Regarding the how to answer the questions... Well, it depends on the question I guess.

If their question has an answer in previous chapters, then I point them to it.
If their question does have a proper in-lore answer that should be clear already, yet caused confusion, I tend to explain it and apologize that I didn't do a good job in portraying what I wanted, and I also make a note to myself to try solving that issue later on.
If their question involves something that will be explained in the future... Then I just tell them to look forward to future chapters~

That's how I deal with those things at least~

 

[RedPanda]

Well, I answer nearly all the time, but I only answer minor spoilers. If they ask for an important plot, I usually only answer with hints.

 

[UndyingEmbers]

I usually try to respond to comments for my stories most of the time. I don't answer if it's something that would require me to reveal spoilers, and I try really hard to not engage in exchanging comments if someone posts something extremely negative.

However, I always reply to people who are kind enough to point out things that sound weird or little typos that I tend to miss here and there. I'd really like to hear more about what people do as well. Interesting topic.

 

[yansusustories]

I normally respond whenever I have something to say to a comment. Otherwise, I often just like them to show that I've seen and was happy they commented. The readers probably won't notice since you're not notified about likes on SH (I think?) but if they do go through old chapters for some reason, I hope they'll feel appreciated

 

[DschingisKhan]

Living on both sides of this equation, I've always found it difficult to get a solid grasp of how readers are thinking of my work, so I'll often leave comments that contain questions about the developing plot, characters, world, etc. These questions aren't generally asked so they can be answered per se, but rather as an attempt to provide that insight for others.

I think ideally you want to answer the important questions, whether it be explicitly or implicitly, in text and at least consider answers for most of the rest (but don't feel obligated to put it in just because you thought about it; that's wasting words). Answering in comments is sort of a judgement call, but do always keep in mind that most people don't read them, so revealing important details only in comments should be avoided vigilantly.

 

[kira]

I usually like answering pretty much any comment I get, it's not really a necessity though, it's just something I'm personally fond of doing, I like getting close to my readers.

Regarding the how to answer the questions... Well, it depends on the question I guess.

If their question has an answer in previous chapters, then I point them to it.
If their question does have a proper in-lore answer that should be clear already, yet caused confusion, I tend to explain it and apologize that I didn't do a good job in portraying what I wanted, and I also make a note to myself to try solving that issue later on.
If their question involves something that will be explained in the future... Then I just tell them to look forward to future chapters~

That's how I deal with those things at least~

Excellent answer Ms. Alice. I will read your story! kira (Emmyy)

 

[AliceShiki]

Excellent answer Ms. Alice. I will read your story! kira (Emmyy)

*glomps* Emmyy-chan!!!! I didn't know you were here!!!!!

 

[kira]

Yup I love this site! I don't come to forum area often glad I saw you! Will read your story! I saw this thread title on main page and decided to check out how authors respond. I love my readers too so I try to answer any questions as best I can... I like interacting w/ them makes me smile

 

[AliceShiki]

Yup I love this site! I don't come to forum area often glad I saw you! Will read your story! I saw this thread title on main page and decided to check out how authors respond. I love my readers too so I try to answer any questions as best I can... I like interacting w/ them makes me smile

Teehee, I love it too, it's a really nice site~

And I hope you enjoy my novel! ^^)/