Re: Fanfic C&C

     I refuse to call this a  spam' thread because it is so very germane to the
reason we are all here in the first place.  And, yes, it *is* important this get
discussed every now and then to remind everyone of that fact.
     First of all, I was quite surprised to see such  luminary' names responding
to this subject in the manner they did.  To learn that Caroline Seawright or John
Biles (for-crying-out-loud) have the same problems as the rest of us  mere mortals'
is a real eye-opener.  
     That said, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I have a small cabal of 5
or 6 people out there who actually provide valuable C&C on *every* story I post. 
I'm not sure why they do it, but you better believe I'm as grateful as I can get, that
they do.  Along with the 5 or 6 other miscellaneous responses I've gotten, I have to
admit my experience with this ML has been most reasonable.
     Most of the reasons there is so little C&C have been ably noted by Bryan
Ogawa.  Roughly summarized, they are: Name recognition, Lemon (or non),
Bigotry, Familiar surroundings, Controversial statements, and whether or not it is a
  dark/sad' bit of fiction.  While all these are certainly factors, I believe the main
cause lies more in a simple matter of  numbers.
     Taking White Wolf's count of 300 members, we can safely assume that at
least half fall into the category of  lurkers'; that is, those who like to hang around,
read some fics and enjoy the  spam'.  To expect them to actually post is somewhat
unrealistic as they usually are not into writing themselves and feel awkward or
guilty reviewing other people's works.  Some don't want to  unmask' with an
 attaboy' fearing they will get drawn into having to participate on a regular basis.
     Of the rest, more than 100 are caught up with: work, writing their own
stories, domestic hassles, travel, illness, or whatever else you want and simply
don't have the time to even give most fanfics a decent  read' much less take the
time to post a C&C to the author.  (Reality can be such an ugly task-mistress.  For
my part, I've had to download the stories onto a floppy, take it to work, print them
off on a high speed laser printer, and try to read them during lunch or whenever
things are slow.)
     That leaves us with  maybe 25 people who are potential responders.  Now
we come to the rather tricky part of the numbers; how to respond.  From my
standpoint, virtually all the fanfics fall into two categories; those that are so good I
feel almost embarrassed to soil them with my clumsy effort at praise, and those
who I can't bring myself to comment on because they are so bad I don't know
where to begin (And I *refuse* to say something stupid like: the whole idea is crap
- give it up.)  So, I usually do what I feel the majority does; nod appreciatively and
move on.  I suppose I could produce a  form letter' full of warm fuzzies and just
shoot it out whenever I read one of the good stories.  Just to let the author know I
read and appreciated their story.  (But, I suspect, they are looking for more (I know
*I* am) in the way of saying just *why* the story was liked.)
     On the other hand, I think some authors believe the C&C thing is a one
way street (write the story and read all the comments that come rolling in).  It
might be better if some time was taken by the author to engage those making the
comments in some dialogue to help flesh out the objections to specific points or
places where improvements can be made.  As those who have responded to my
stories can attest to, I make a point of replying to everyone who took the time to
write me and, at least, thank them for their time.  More often, I get a dialogue
going and come up with some really great ideas for improving the current story or
something I can use in the next.  I know it takes time away from writing and other
things, but I feel it's important if I want to keep people reading my stories and
responding.  Besides, I've met some really neat people this way.
     Sure, I'd love it if Caroline or John or one of the other well know writers
would say something about my stories (anything, really), but I realize they have
time problems just like the rest of us and have to restrict their ML activities to fit
their schedules.  So, I take what I can get and try to be happy.   I know there are
more than the dozen I've actually heard from out there reading my stuff.  And
believe me, I'm thankful for each and every one of you.

     - Greg

P.S. Caroline,  I *will* send you C&C next time.  In the past, your stuff has
been so damn good I've felt embarrassed to say anything (knowing I'm not in your
league and all).