#but sometimes it IS discouraging when barely anyone comments on a 6k chapter

[sayakae-ao3]

Today out of curiosity I checked my statistics and it turns out one of my fanfics has over 900 hundred subscribers and similar number of bookmarks (I think half of them is private which is fine) but on the last posted chapter I think only 5 people commented.

And sure, not all of those people who subscribed/bookmarked need to comment or leave a kudos, but I've been lowkey discouraged recently by how little engagement I had recently. I don't want to be entitled, and I write mostly to myself but I share my works for others, too. And I will continue writing for those wonderful readers who do comment but, I don't know, I just feel bad.

Once a reader wrote me a poem in their comment and I still remember it fondly. Another time a different reader made fanart to my fic. Those are wonderful moments that I will be cherished and which motivate me to keep going.

I don't read a lot, I prefer to write, but I started making sure that I comment on the stories I read or at least give kudos if I'm too drained for the day. It really isn't a lot and not every author responds to my comments but I just feel better knowing that I showed appreciation to the person who created a story that I loved.

Idk, fanfic writers are people like everyone else. Is it entitled of them to want to be assured that the work they pour into their stories is cherished and appreciated? I don't think so.

If you read the fic, leave the kudos. Leave a comment too, if possible. Just do it. It takes a few seconds of your time and it means the world to the writer.

Sincerely, me who just got told that my writing feels like watching a blockbuster movie. I don't care if they were sincere or not, I'll be thinking about that comment for the rest of my life and every time I feel bad about my art, I'll remember that someone once liked it.