I've read some things on AFF lately where readers complain about Author's asking for comments. It made me a bit mad to read the things people were saying and I felt it was necessary to explain some things.

Let me use a different example in order to illustrate why comments are important to authors and why you should always leave one after reading a chapter.

For example:

Let's say you are a singer. You love to sing and write your own songs. It's your passion and you do it because that's what you love. You do not sing to get attention or fame. No, you sing because it makes you happy.

So, lets say you work hard on your singing and spend weeks writing a new song. You love your song and it makes you happy. Naturally, you want to share it with people. You're curious if they will love your song as much as you do, or if there is a way you can improve your singing.

You decide to sing your song at a local talent night in front of a crowd. As you sing, you're happy. You are excited to know if your song is good. Was all your hard work worth it, or do you need to worker harder still?

As you finish singing, you wait for the audience to react to your song. Will they clap, cheer, or boo and throw things? But, instead there is just silence. The audience just stares at you, unmoving or feeling. You can see them looking. You even know their names. You know they heard you, but they say nothing. All they do is stare cold and unfeeling.

You become nervous at their silence. You become confused and your heart sinks. Were you bad? Were you good? Why don't they say anything?

The silence is deafening! You run from the stage in tears, your love for signing scarred by their silence. Now, you are afraid to share your song again. You still sing because you love it, but only for yourself. Why should you share your passion, if no one cares about it but you?

If they had criticized you, at least you would have known they were listening. At least you would have known how to improve your song. But, they said nothing, as if you were not worth their time or energy.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?

Do you see how much silence can hurt a writer?

Take three seconds to type one sentence. It doesn't have to be anything insightful. Just one small sentence to let the author know you're still interested in the story, or if you liked or did not like the chapter.

Author's spend days, or weeks, working on a chapter. As a reader, you can show your thanks by spending ten seconds to write a sentence.

We do not write for the comments, or for praise, but the silence hurts us more than any critical word would. If all we get is silence, then we will still continue to write because we love it, but will not post it for you to read.

What would be the point in sharing, if no one cares?