The Review Etiquette

Writing great reviews takes a surprising amount of effort. It’s easy to say “Great job” or “I loved this story”, but those reviews aren’t helpful to the author. Saying how amazing a story is or how much you liked it is definitely encouraging, but if you want to help the writer improve (and convince them to review one of your stories in return), you need to read their story with a critical mind.

Remember that a critical mind sees the good as well as the bad, and a great review includes both.

The best advice I can give you on how to write a great review is this: take notes when you read stories. Jot down the things that stood out—good and bad—and try to figure out why they caught your attention. This will give you a list of things to comment on when you write your review.

WRITING CONSTRUCTIVE PRAISE:

Make a note of everything you liked and were intrigued by. Don’t skimp on detail. Like everyone else, writers need to feel appreciated. The more you gush over their work, the easier it’ll be for them to accept your criticism.
If the story includes insights into characters, events, or settings that you hadn’t thought of, let the writer know. It’s always nice to feel like you’ve come up with an original concept.
Ask the questions that came to mind while reading their story, speculate over what’s to come, and discuss the fic’s plot points. The more interest you show, the happier the writer will be. (Warning: when speculating, don’t word it like this, “I hope [a specific thing] happens” or “I hope [one character] meets [another character]”. This can feel like you’re telling the author what to write).
Above all else, let the writer know that they must keep writing. Say that you’re looking forward to the next chapter or that you can’t wait to read more of their work. Finish your review with something along these lines to take away any possible sting from your criticism.

WRITING CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:

Before you say that you’d rather avoid giving constructive criticism because you don’t want to sound mean, remember that this will help the writer improve their storytelling. If no one ever tells you what mistakes you’re making, you’ll keep making them. Is that what you want?

If the answer is yes, then publishing your stories online is a bad idea. Even accomplished professional authors receive criticism for their work, and it’s a good thing. Constructive criticism helps us be better, and there is a way to word your criticism so that it doesn’t sound mean.

When you’re reading a story and taking notes, write down the things that you felt were unclear, the things that could do with polishing, and the things you would have loved to hear more about. If there are a lot of these, focus on the more noticeable ones so that there isn’t a long list of criticism.
If you point out spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes, make sure that the SPaG in your review is near perfect.
Your wording is important. If you sound too harsh, you’ll ruin the writer’s day and maybe even put them off writing. Make your criticism polite and friendly. Don’t use strong words like “I hate” or “you should have” or “it would have been better if”. Instead, overuse words like “might” and “maybe” and “perhaps”. You don’t want to drag the writer, kicking and screaming, to the same conclusion you reached; you want to lead them there gently.
Give examples of what was done wrong and go on to explain how the writer could improve. It isn’t enough to say “that’s wrong”. You need to tell the writer where the mistake occurred and how to fix it.

HOW TO FORMAT THE REVIEW:

I’ve found that the best way to format a constructive review is: compliment – compliment – what could be better – how to improve it – compliment.

It’s important to always start with a compliment (i.e. constructive praise) and then ease into the criticism.
You can add a quote from the story if you like, but remember to put it between quotation marks and tell the writer why that quote stood out. Don’t add too many quotes. The writer already knows what they wrote. They don’t need you repeating it back to them unless you have something to add.
Be sure to include another positive aspect after the criticism. If you have more constructive praise, fit it in at the end or tell the writer that you can’t wait to read more—or better yet, do both.
Remember: you want to be as helpful as possible, and that means going into as much detail as possible.

WARNING N°1:

If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

There’s a wide range when it comes to quality in fanfiction. You’ll find stories that are difficult to criticise and others that are difficult to praise. If you truly cannot find a single nice thing to say about a story, stop reading it and close the tab.

No matter how nicely you word your criticism, if there’s no praise to surround it, your review will sound harsh and will make the writer feel bad, which should never be your goal.

Keep in mind that the author may be young or new to writing or writing in a language that isn’t their own. If you feel a strong urge to help them improve, send them a PM and word it as politely as you can.

WARNING N°2:

No matter how helpful you try to be, some writers won’t appreciate your criticism.

They might send you a rude PM or call you out in their Author’s Notes. The thing to remember is that it’s their problem, not yours.

When you post something online, constructive criticism is an opt-out, not an opt-in. Meaning that you shouldn’t have to ask for it to get it, but if you don’t want it, you have to say so (and maybe not post your work online). If praise is all you’re after, either be honest about it or accept the risk that you may receive criticism.

Remember that the fault is never with the reviewer who is trying to help you.

As a writer on fanfiction.net (and possibly other websites), you’re an artist showing off your work for all to see. You shouldn’t expect only praise because your story will never be perfect, and you should be thankful for any person willing to help you improve it.

How to Respond to a Review:

There’s some debate over what the proper protocol for responding to reviews is, but most writers and reviewers prefer the more polite option, which is to always answer reviews.

If you’ve just made a lovely clay pottery bowl and someone sees it and says how good it looks, you’d thank them for the compliment. If someone else praises your technique and asks how you managed to make such smooth edges, you would enter into a discussion.

The same courtesy rules apply to reviews on fanfiction.

Do you remember that email list I talked about in the last WWN issue? Replying to reviews is how you grow that list. You want to build relationships with your readers so that they keep reading and reviewing your work. If someone compliments your pottery bowl and gets nothing but silence in return, it isn’t going to make them want to compliment any of your other creations.

Be sure to reply promptly to reviewers before they forget what it is they said about your work.

REPLYING TO SHORT REVIEWS:

For short reviews that don’t go further than “good job”, you can choose not to send a reply, or you can send a PM that is equally short—something along the lines of, “Thanks, I’m glad you liked it”.

Some reviewers won’t see the point in that reply while others will appreciate it.

The goal is to build your email list, which is difficult to do with short reviews, but there are ways of going about it. You can ask the reviewer what their favourite/least favourite part was, for example. Another option—but this one only works with multi-chapters—is to wait until you post the next chapter, and then PM the reviewer to thank them and ask what they think of this new chapter. Try to create a relationship between yourself and the reader.

You can send out a general thank you for all reviews in the Author’s Notes of your next chapter, but don’t list every reviewer. Your readers won’t appreciate a cumbersome A/N.

REPLYING TO GOOD REVIEWS:

Replying to good reviews is imperative.

Having read how to write a good review and perhaps written a few yourself, you know how much effort goes into it. Thanking the reviewer lets them know that their review is appreciated; discussing their review lets them know that it’s valued. Both are important and will make the reviewer more likely to leave you another review.

It’s important to keep the conversation going if you can. Good reviewers are rare, so it’s best to cherish them. Interact with them and see if you can become friends.

If the reviewer is a writer, review one of their stories. Like I said in my last article: that’s how this game works. It’s give and take or take and give. The transaction is important, and it will pay off. The alternative is losing that writer as a reviewer.

REPLYING TO CRITICISM:

If you’re not used to criticism (or even if you are), there’s a chance that it will upset you. The thing to do then is to take some time to calm down before responding. Leave it a few hours, clear your head, come back, and re-read the review.

The first thing to check is whether the review is constructive or whether it’s plain old flaming/trolling. The difference hinges on how detailed and politely worded the review is.

Examples:

“This sucks” = trolling.
“The flow of the last paragraph could maybe be improved if you …” = constructive.

If it’s a troll, you can choose to respond or ignore them, but if you do answer, there are things to keep in mind.

Don’t let your reply sound angry. This person wants you to react to them. Don’t give them the satisfaction.
Don’t beg for an explanation. If they didn’t have the common courtesy to give their reasoning in the review, they won’t do it in a PM. You’ll seem desperate, and they’ll have got the desired reaction from you.
Thank them. Rise above their pettiness and be the bigger person. Or, if you don’t want to be the bigger person, know that nothing will irritate them more than your calm and reasonable response when their goal was to hurt you.

If the reviewer isn’t a troll and is aiming to help you improve, don’t take the criticism personally. Instead, consider the review and ask yourself these questions:

Does the criticism stem from a misunderstanding? Did the reviewer misinterpret something in your story, be it a turn of phrase, a plot point, a character’s actions, the meaning behind their dialogue, etc.? If so, ask yourself if you could make your meaning clearer. Remember that if one person gets confused or misinterprets something, the chances are that they’re not the only one. If you find a way to solve this problem in your story, say so in your reply. Just saying you were wrong can sound dismissive. You could also ask for advice.
Is the reviewer suggesting a change that would be detrimental to the future of the story (e.g. removing a detail that plays a part later on)? If so, explain in your reply why this detail can’t be removed. However, do take the time to consider why they think the detail should be removed or ask them why. Maybe you didn’t incorporate it in the right way, and it doesn’t flow well with the rest of the scene/story.
Is the comment subjective and you disagree with it? If so, what are your reasons? If the reviewer gives details, examples, and logical arguments and you bowl up with only “I like it this way” you have the weaker argument and seem petulant. Ask yourself why you like it the way it is and arm yourself with logic. It is your story, and the final word is yours, but you’re posting it online, which means that you aren’t writing only for yourself. You have an audience, and like it or not, you need to be able to justify yourself to them.
Is the criticism too vague? Ask the reviewer to elaborate.

If after all that, you come to the conclusion that the review, although detailed and potentially helpful, doesn’t contain anything you can use, thank the reviewer profusely. Even if everything they said is wrong, they put in the effort. Make sure that your reply doesn’t sound dismissive. This person tried to help you be better, so be grateful and explain to them why you disagree, and then to soften that potential blow, ask for their opinion or advice on something else. Show them that you value their thoughts.