Why do some writers make you subscribe to their stories first before you could read them?

Like, why?

I mean, it practically screams the author's desire for readership quantity over quality, that you'd have to coerce prospective readers into commitment just so they can read your stuff. I'm speaking my frustrations as a reader more than l'm speaking as a fellow writer. Yeah, okay, so it's just one extra click but what the hell? What's the point of even having this option? They'd probably just unsubscribe after reading the story. I'm being senile and pessimistic about the quality of writing solely judging by the fact that an author would resort to using this tactic. There are exceptions, of course, but because I don't see why any sane author would subject their readers to mandatory subsription especially if their writing is top-notch, i'd almost guarantee that those cases are rare (unless you're some kind of attention-seeking bastard who like your ego to be constantly by escalating 'new subscribers' notifications). High quality work would practically speak for itself and make readers subscribe.

How can I tell if a story is good or bad if they won't let me see it unless I subscribe to it? The foreword tells me nothing but the characters and the general premise, not the actually writing style.You could have the best story plot but if your presentation , well, the story's gonna too.

I mean, at least provide me with a small excerpt. What gets me is when I see an interesting concept, enough to hook me but not enough to make me a devoted follower (who would be with a small sample of text?). The premise seems interesting but I never did like to judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about it because I'm not curious enough to subscribe, no, I refuse to fall into this trap but the thought of passing up a possibly good story nags in the back of my mind. I hate being left curious because I'm filled with regret at the thought of having missed a good read. Then if I succumb to curiousity, I later find that my gut was right; this story is not worth the click. Do or don't, I feel damned.

So why make it harder for readers?

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dream_keeper88 #1 Jul 23, 2013 00:46:30

We still have a choice. Author can't prevent us from unsubscribing. So they lose readers too. Plus, it makes us more choosy now. If we don't like what we see in the foreword, we can leave. Others just subscribe for the sake of subscribing and then keep subscribed even though they are no longer reading. Also, unless the foreword is good, they lose potential readers.

Well, then subscribe, check it out and if it's not good enough, unsubscribe. It's that easy. When boss created that privacy option, I don't think his intention was to increase subscribers in a story but to add another layer of protection for the author. She knows who reads her stories.

True. We can just ignore if the author didn't give us enough meat or substance that would make us subscribe.

I really don't see it as hard. Coz that's what I do when I read fics, I still read the first few chapters, just that now there is an extra step, clicking the button which isn't that hard really. For me, that is.

Also, for those authors who completed their fics and are somewhat ashamed, they lock their fics so only those who subscribed to them can read it whenever they want and those new readers who would subscribe are those who liked it enough to do so. They hide it instead of deleting it. Not all subscribers are friends, so they can't choose friends-only option.

But if that bothers you, just ignore all these stories. There are many others that are not locked ^0^