Sue's Rant: Fanfic Review Etiquette

OK In my head I am hearing the song R-E-S-P-E-C-T by Aretha Franklin It is a great song when I am in a bitchy mood

I have some things to say and since well this applies to my blog I can say them if you do not wanna listen that is OK you do not have to.

This post in response to some things I have seen happening around ficdom and I have stewed over how to put this so that people will listen and not view me as a raving Loon (i know too late)

SO here is what I came up with!

Have you ever read a chapter and you get to the end and you KNOW you want to leave a review but you really do not know what to say?

WELL here are some tips on what to say

First THINK

ask yourself

Did it make you cry or laugh

TELL THE AUTHOR

did you have a favorite line or part of the chapter?

TELL THE AUTHOR

Did a character do something that was really great?

TELL THE AUTHOR

THINGS you should not do in a review

DO NOT BE INSULTING!!!

telling the author they suck is not a productive way to get your point across! if there is something about the story you do not like there are several things you can do

1) stop reading it ...not all stories are going to appeal to everyone what I like I know full well that others might not enjoy and that is OK you do not have to read it!

2) IF you insist on continuing to read that is fine too however I want to caution you you on what you write to the author on the other side of your review is a person someone with feeling she (or he) has put a lot of themselves into the story so please THINK before you review

3) an old saying comes to mind if you cannot say something nice don't say anything at all (of course I have a better way to put this if you cant say something nice the shut the fuck up!)

I have a little story to tell you

Once upon a time when we were younger we had a friend of ours come live with us he needed a place to stay cheap so he paid us room and board well he was a very nice guy but he did not understand a few things about me

I do not like being told what to do

I have a motto if you can do it better then by all means go ahead and do IT

He did not like the way I did laundry for myself my hubs and my (then) 2 kids after listening to him try to give me directions on a chore I had been doing for 15 yrs I said FINE YOU DO IT

he was not fond of this idea because he did not want to wash our clothes but I said HEY you can do it better than I can GO FOR IT

One evening I was making dinner (speghetti) and he started to complain about the way I make it saying his mom did this and this and this

I handed him the spoon and walked out of the kitchen

So the moral of my tale is simply this

IF you can do better than the author at writing then by all means WRITE SOMETHING but do not tell them how to do it

The story is THEIR baby they have a plan and a vision and you as a reader either need to trust their plan and follow their vision or stop reading it

For those who are still confused about how to leave a review here is a little template that might help you

SUEs REVIEW TEMPLATE

WOW! That chapter was _________(great good terrific awesome)

When __________ happened it made me _________(laugh cry horny)

I am ________(anxiously patiently) waiting for the next update

SEE SIMPLE you told the author good things explained any visceral reactions to the story etc

NOW lets talk more about Respect

(Cue Aretha!!)

Pms or Reviews asking for updates

UGh this annoys me

Get a grip folks authors are PEOPLE they work have families many of them are students some of them do all of these things and MORE If you are unable to wait for an update patiently then read completed stories and not WIPs

I will again use myself as a good fan girl example (cause we all know I am really a saint! LOL) I have one story I LOVE I have been waiting for it to update since MAY of this year I have no idea why the author stopped writing I only hope that everything is going alright in her life and that when things calm down for her she gets back to the story but if she does not that is OK too because I have a ton of other fics I can read!!

OK my final bit on respect is about those who steal the hard work of others

I have many nasty things I could say for those who have done this but I will restrain the mamabear in me

I will say this

The stories are Fanfiction based on copywrited work BUT in the world of Au Human FF very little resembles the cannon SO this means the original creator of the FF has the rights to that work

SO

If you do not like talking to lawyers KNOCK IT OFF!!!

You are hurting yourself

You are hurting the author

and you hurting the fans of the story

and this is not a good way to make friends!

OK end of my rant I just wanted to get that all off my chest now I am off to the Walmart to buy some more Midol!! LOL

Sue's Rant: Fanfic Review Etiquette