Tricks for attracting *Comments*...

We authors almost all seem to want more comments, but they are very rare, does anyone know how to effectively encourage people to leave these priceless little notes?

 

Misspell everything. I've more than once wanted to leave a spelling-correction comment when it's particularily bad. (<- Joke)
Be offbeat. I commented on and favourited "Let's Fill Every Pair of Shoes We Own With Cum" despite it being so far from my kinks that I'd never fap to it. (<- Not joke)

 

These "quest" stories, where the reader chooses between several options, seem to attract the most comments (although most of them then are limited to "B. A. C. A. D." ).

But otherwise: Honestly no idea.

I feel it is important to reply to the comments that you do get, to show other readers that their comments matter.

 

Do grotesque stuff like transforming a woman into a sea creature...
https://chyoa.com/chapter/Your-daughter-turns-into-sea-penis.320914

 

Put up a will write for comments in the subtitle of your story. : )

Asking for comments or suggestions sometimes works. Especially if you are asking for opinion of where to take the story next. Every now and then someone might hit you with a really good idea.
Lots and lots of sex. Sex scenes get a lot of love and more votes. Obviously. Cutting it into parts can sometimes get people to comment what they want to see instead of just one straight foreplay to climax thread.
Commenting back if you do get a comments can help keep up the comments coming as dingsdongs suggested.

 

References!

I noticed that the occasional pop culture(or not so pop) references or a subtle meme will sometimes get a response. A sort of "Ha ha I get it".

Of course you probably want to be careful with it. Too much and people will get distracted by the references/memes. With great Memeage comes Great Responsibility.

Another thing that I've noticed that seems to work pretty well to generate comments(although not very productive ones) is to take a break from a popular story branch and you may get "Are you planning on returning to this" lines of comments. I get one every so often, because I have a fuckton of story branches that I need to complete and not enough time in the day to do it.

 

Yeah Easter eggs will sometimes work.

In general quest stories give limited real comments unless you include a lot of "write your own suggestions" questions.

Apart from that what makes people comment is a real mystery.

I have written chapters that I thought were excellent and that only got a handful of likes and no comments. On other chapters that I thought were just meh I got a tons of comments, some because people hated it and some because people loved it and wanted more.

I think always replying to comments and making it know is a good way to attract some.

My eldricht abomination of a story before growing to these proportions got quickly a lot of likes and a few comments and after I started replying each time I think I got a bit more comments.

Readers are a strange kind, I know I've been one. I lurked the site for months without even an account using browser bookmarks to find stories back, never left a like or comments and a 2 chapters story go me to write a follow up, that was 9 months ago and now....

You never know what your writing will inspire in people nor how they will react to it.

 

Has anyone ever tried to write a comment on his own chapter (preferably asking specific questions)?

 

I did for a time and it worked for short term. Asking for input was a great way of getting requests, but then you get to requests that you might feel unfamiliar with or uncomfortable doing. In those cases I usually try to convince the person to write their own.

I also have at the start of every story a disclaimer telling the reader what will get me to add more. I've got to change it to include Add Additional Chapters as the big thing to get me back writing a chapter.

 

Did on a few chapters. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. As far as I remember the people answering were always the same two, so it stands to reason that people that are already commenting are going to comment more and people that are not commenting will likely never do it. As I see it there is no way to make people write comments, they are either the type that does or doesn't. Unlike likes i believe that asking for them has next to no impact. Clicking a like button is easy, writing a comment is commitment.

 

If anyone figures it out let me know. Comments are so helpful about knowing what is working what isn't in a story.

 

Does commenting other authors works help attract them to your own to comment?
Examples: Advertising your own work in a comment or even just being friendly and giving them a comment on a story/chapter.

 

Never tried that, but I also doubt that is accomplishing any meaningful thing.

Author's are very aware of stories as most of us check this site multiple times a day. We are much more prone to commenting already, as we have lost pretty much every restraint once we started posting. When an author wants to critique or compliment you, S/he will and S/he will probably use not only comments but also these forums (Provided the story has a thread) or Private Messages.

Readers are the problem as with most things people (With right) are rarely going out of their way to do more than consume a product. Unless i ate at a bakery every morning I wouldn't go out of my way to compliment their bread and I think that it comes down to the same thing with stories. People who like a story and have the confidence to post on a porn site will write comments when they get attached enough to the story. Unless both points aren't fulfilled they will not leave a comment. Unless it's a troll or genuine 'This is fucking terrible' (Because sometimes things ARE terrible).

 

At first i wanted to write: "I agree with Funatic's assessment, that "us" author's are more likely to comment already."

But then i thought about the occasions, where i myself last commented on another authors story to give some feedback, and i can't remember it ;-) And thinking more about it, these occasions can be counted on one or two hands.
Sometimes, when i see a new / developing story, i'll write a personal message to the author instead, to let him know that i appreciate his/her story, and to offer a few directions on what i personally would like to see. But again, these occurrences can be counted on one hand.
Even a few posts on the story feedback forum won't save my crushingly sad statistic. :-(

That one could actually help in the long run! If we want to establish a culture of open feedback, we have to lead by example and inspire the best in people!

 

That i can whole-heartedly support. I pride myself on saying that I like to comment but I also don't do it as often as I should. Well, i also read here a lot less than I did a few months back...

But enough of my excuses. Yes, we shall lead by example. That is a motto that has always and will always be worthy of aspiration.

 

One thing I found that can get a lot of love is creating alternate branches for people who may like this fetish or that. If you have a branch that says maybe eat her pussy along with one that says like her anus it. The majority will pick the first one but those with a kink for rimming might give you a comment or two while the other may get a few likes but its nothing really special. At the very least they will give you more likes then you get for the pussy eating because it is less written by other writers.

If you ended a chapter where the man is about to do the woman doggy style and you say stick it in her pussy or up her ass. The ones rooting for anal sex will be more likely to comment. The first one will most likely get more views but the latter may get more likes.

 

I'm pretty lucky in that I can rely on a smattering of comments on a good amount of my chapters. I feel like the best way to encourage them is to cultivate those readers who actually put themselves out there and say something. Whenever I get a comment, I always make a point to respond to it as soon as I can. We've all seen chapters with a thousand views and only seven likes, and comments are even rarer, so those readers who actually go that extra distance are worth a bit of involvement.

Beyond that, it's all a mystery. I've posted around eighty chapters with maybe a quarter of them actually having sex in them but I still get a respectable response. People like jokes? I am not helpful.

 

What about "negative" comments? I.e. something like: "Sorry, i don't like where this is going. Why does the guy suddenly turn into an asshole?"

I personally so far kept the motto: Live and let live. I don't have to like everything. And for everything i do not like, there will probably be many people that enjoy exactly what i dislike.
But would you want to receive such feedback, or would you rather have no comment at all?

 

If a person asks 'Why is he SUDDENLY turning into an asshole' i would feel that that is valid criticism, the transition that I have written in that case is to quick and i should take this lesson to slow down similar developments in the future. Same for 'This doesn't feel like the same story anymore.' Which is fine when you actually wanted to change the theme but if you didn't you should ask what makes them say that.

A simple 'I don't like where this is going.' can mean so many different things though. Did the tone change to much, did the commentors favourite character die and now he kinda wants to drop the story but feel obligated to continue reading in case the character comes back, has the story changed so drastically that the original audience is now slightly alienated?

To answer your actual question though: In my opinion 'negative' comments are the most valuable ones. If you want to tell me my story sucks, okay, live and let live as you said but actually harsh but true criticism is the only thing that will show you your errors. As a matter of fact i would take one harsh comment that at least has some criticism to it over twenty 'Ey, this is great, i like everything you are doing here' anyday.

 

I dunno... I really like 'I love everything you're doing!' Comments.

Its a big lift.