Creepypasta Fanfiction Guidebook: Dos And Donts

This One Is For You- Readers

This chapter is for our fanfiction readers, because all of the responsibility does not belong to the authors alone. You readers are what keep the fandom alive.

So you many be wondering what I have to say to you. Well, it's really simple-

Stop being ghost readers!

The habit of being a ghost reader is a really bad habit that is not only killing this fandom, but every other genre/fandom in general.
Being a ghost reader means reading a book and not giving any feed back whatsoever.

No votes.

No comments.

Just your eyes.

There are three possible reasons that you guys might do this, and I'm going to address all of them right now.

1. You just don't like the book. Great. If you don't like the book, don't vote for it. But sometimes it helps to give constructive criticism and tell the author exactly why you don't like the book. I know this seems dangerous, but a real author would most certainly not attack you if you present your opinion in a calm and respectful manner.

Alot of times what authors need is someone telling them what they need to do to become better. If they have a reader to represent the public interest, then they'll be happier and continue to improve. (Note: This does not apply to changing a storyline. If you don't like the plot/ the storyline, then that is your own personal problem. If there are plot holes and other OBVIOUS issues, then feel free to express that.)

2. You're so into the book that you can't even stop to do anything. You must go straight to the next chapter!
Honestly, we're all guilty of this. But the problem with this is, the author has no way if knowing that people actually like his/her book.

Views aren't a good representation of how much people like your book. Because, people can read a book they don't like just for the heck of it. Those eyes mean absolutely nothing sometimes if there are no votes and comments to back them up.

Votes and comments are a true representation of dedication, and I don't care who disagrees with me. If your readers are dedicated enough to vote for your chapter, then you know they love your book. If they comment, then you know they're trying to support you.

Votes and comments can feel like the world to us authors. Not because of popularity or numbers, but because it makes us feel like somebody cares about our books.

Personally, for me, if a chapter has a quite a bit of views and no one has taken the time to vote for it, I'll assume that it wasn't very good.

Don't get me wrong. Votes and comments are not all that should be important to an author, but motivation is what keeps up going.

Take my book for example. I find that because I have so much support, it makes me want to write and update.

I've always been a firm believer in writing without an audience- meaning that I can work on something without needing votes or comments to motivate me.

But I've come to realize that this is significantly harder than when you have loyal people supporting you. Sometimes when you can't push yourself, you need just one person to push you.

Sometimes I'll have days where I think- This one dedicated reader really loves my book. I have to write the best update I can so that they can enjoy it. It's that kind of stuff that motivates authors to write books, even after they've lost interest.

Sometimes authors lose interest in a book because no one else is interested in the book. Suddenly, it feels like all the hard work has no meaning anymore if no one will even appreciate it.

My point is that, your eyes aren't enough. If you really love something, make it a habit to vote on it and comment whenever you can.

(Authors love comments. They're like drugs to us XD)

3. You just can't be bothered. I've said all that I needed to say under point number 2. You should try to make authors feel appreciated for their work. Put yourself in their shoes.

How would you feel if you took a total of 100 hours writing 50 well out together chapters only to have no one even care.

That stuff puts a lot of people off from writing. (Not that it should. Like I said, votes and comments aren't the entire world.)

But still.

It helps to vote and comment.