Up Close and Personal with yaoiChibi

Criticism vs Hate Speech

In light of another recent heated conversation, I would like to share my thoughts on what the reader thought was criticism and not hate speech.

Criticism, basically, is a comment that aims to give the receiver the different loopholes found in their work and is something the receiver can use to better herself. Hate Speech, on the other hand, are derogatory and/or rude comments that is meant to hurt the receiver with no real development in their work.

I know what fame brings. I am aware that there will be people who will adore my works while there are others who will criticize me. I can accept that both. I'm not a perfect author. I'm not the greatest writer in the entire universe, especially in Wattpad. I'm not stupid enough to believe that I am above all of you because I write decently and have a growing fanbase.

That's not me.

You think you're doing me a favor by trying to pull my feet back on the ground? Wake up and realize already. My feet are firmly planted already, they never left the ground, so you don't need to bury me alive.

Is it so wrong for me to be grateful for the followers that followed me? Is it so wrong that I feel happy when I see my followers appreciate my work by either following, leaving a comment, or voting?

You can't remove the habit of most authors to check the stats of their works. I do it because it reassures me that despite my crappy writing, people will continue to fall in love with my characters. And since I have ABSOLUTELY no experience in writing, I appreciate looking at the numbers to understand why a certain chapter has lower stats than the other. You'd be surprised to know that smut scenes are usually the lowest and it worries me that maybe I'm doing a horrible job that's why readers skip that part.

The rude comment that was left on one of my masterpieces was sort of a wake up call that haters still exist and they never left, just stayed silent. I know my Author's Notes are filled with stupidity and that's why I try not to do it on IMTA. But, to be ridiculed when all I was doing was be grateful is something I will not stand for.

You think you're leaving criticisms? No, you're not. Newsflash! I learned nothing from your comment, only that you are rude and obnoxious enough to leave not one but TWO rude comments. If someone waltz onto your book and left a message like that when all you're doing is be grateful, wouldn't you be pissed beyond reason?

Don't act all high and mighty on me. I have NEVER taken my readers for granted. At each thousand mark, I try to thank them for all their support, try to let them know that even though they followed initially for the smut, they stuck long enough to see my works.

How can you imply that I didn't work hard for my followers? For the reads on my books? For the votes?

All of that are important to me because they validate me as a writer. You, and anybody else, have no right to tell me my head is too big for my own shoulders. I've written so many times that I write for no one's entertainment but my own. That the reason I started writing was to satisfy myself.

I spent a lot of time and effort as well as imagination on all of my books and I do NOT appreciate it when people come and act like they're doing me a favor. You're not.

And let me just reiterate this fact if most of you have no idea why my smut chapters are PRIVATE.

At the beginning of the book, I wrote alongside the summary an Author's Note that contained a promise of explicitness. With that in mind, I wrote my very first smut chapter and discovered that when I tried to publish it, it was already labeled as restricted. The only way for me to change the privacy settings was to edit the whole damn page, taking away the explicit value I was going for.

I would like nothing more than you guys to read my smut as I am still not confident about it. However, Wattpad refused to publish it like that so I had no choice but to put it up as Private without editing the entire thing. I even said that it was not my intention to make a chapter so explicit you would have to follow me only to read mediocre smut.

And somehow, writing smut chapters that way stuck.

I gave my readers a choice. I never gave an ultimatum stating that once you follow, you can never go back or else I will block you. I'm not doing this for the follows, the reads, nor the votes. They're just bonuses. I'm doing this because I enjoy reading the comments of how my readers felt after the chapter. I get excited and giddy when I see them hurting with anticipation, especially if I left them at a particularly cruel cliffhanger. That's my entertainment right there.

Again, YOU have the choice of unfollowing me. I will not condemn you to Hell, not block you from reading my stories, not leave hate comments on your home page. You are free to do what you want because I am usually a passive author when it comes to people following and then unfollowing me and then following me again. It makes me wonder sometimes but, other than that, I leave them alone.

Think before you post.

If you know it can be misinterpreted, don't post it at all or find another way to kindly say it. I can and will tolerate criticisms if it can help me better myself as a writer. But I will NOT and NEVER tolerate hate speeches. That is an act of cyber bullying and I will not hesitate to report on your ass and block you from reading my books.

I will not sit back as you ridicule me like you know who I am as a person. That is not 'friendly advice', that is nothing more than a bully trying to sugarcoat its words.