Discussion: Fanmail

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 2:16am

With all the recent talk here and on Instagram with updates, trolls, anonymity I thought it was a perfect time to make a discussion for something I’ve wanted to do for a bit now: talk about fanmail. As always there are questions to answer.

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?

lanafrazer_episode · March 21, 2020, 2:21am

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?

Open, I don’t know I just leave it open.

What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?

Hm, I havent gotten any worst fanmail as yet.

What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?

That IS a good decision to close their fanmail, because you never know if a reader will send a hate/hurtful message. May never know if the author is getting tired of them sending the same messages asking for CC, etc.

Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?

Tbh, if I ever see a hateful fanmail, or any mail that have any negative stuff, then I would close it.

How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?

Block, Report.

Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?

I never left a negative fanmail before in my life, that’s all.

As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?

Yes, sometimes u can reach them through fanmail and sometimes on instagram.

What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?

To tell the author how I feel about his/her story. Characters, directing, plot, etc.

episodes_bylex · March 21, 2020, 2:39am

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?

2 are open, one is closed. One that is opened is the story I updated this week (but it was closed prior to the update). The other one is my finished story. The closed one is the story I am in the midst of updating. It’ll be updated this weekend, but until then it’s closed.

I actually just recently closed my fanmails for the first time. As someone who has massive anxiety, fanmail just multiples it by 20. When I hardly had any reads I was so excited to get a fanmail. But now when I see a new one I get a pit in my stomach because I don’t know if it’ll be a mean one. To be clear, I don’t get those often but the few times I have… clearly left a mark Lol. And I’ve noticed I usually get those on the ones that haven’t been updated. So that’s why it’s closed.

What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?

I don’t remember exactly what was said. But they were mad because they had to reread and basically called me a giant B. And finished with “it was getting boring anyways” LOL SO WHY ARE YOU SO MAD THEN?! Plus this was before I knew my stories were cursed with the rereading glitch. I hadn’t updated any previous chapters so I was confused. There’s a few others but luckily I don’t remember them

What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?

100% understand. For your mental health and creativity as a writer you have to sometimes

Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?

I think I answered this in the first question!

How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?

When it’s negative I think about it for the next week or so lol And change my reply to them like 50 times.

Positive, I get excited about every positive one I get! But I do love when they’re in depth about why they love my story.

Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?

No. And I’d probably send a DM on insta instead, if I ever did. But I would feel weird if they never asked for my opinion.

As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?

I don’t, and I should. Especially for hidden gems. Because when you don’t have a lot of reads, fanmail can help boost that motivation!

OreoBiscuit · March 21, 2020, 2:41am

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
Both lol. I left my fanmail on for the stories I am still working on and the ones I’m not, closed because I don’t want to see the same question will this story be continued? because I don’t know. I’ve hidden them from my profile however they’re still getting a few reads so it’s best just for me to close the fanmail.
What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
I’ve only ever gotten 1 negative fanmail which I received after my story was featured on the BHM shelf that my story was boring. I found it hilarious to be honest lol.
What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
I totally understand why they do it. Sometimes I do want to send a fanmail but find that it’s turned off. It doesn’t bother me because people can be really rude and annoying and sometimes the best solution is just for it to be closed.
Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
Well I have. I once turned my fanmail off for all my stories because I had a lot of deadlines and I was getting really stressed (like I am now lol). I didn’t want to receive and read fanmails of people asking me to continue and when the next episode would be out after I’d already explained that my stories were on hold because it just would’ve increased my stress levels. Honestly I hadn’t turned off my fanmail after the announcement but did once I started getting fanmails of the 2 questions when I asked for people not to send them.
How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
Well I’ve only ever gotten one so I don’t know. I think I would either laugh or be on the defensive depending on the type of negative fanmail that I would get.
Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
I have never sent any negative fanmail or any fanmail that could be translated to anything negative… I hope anyway lol.
As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
I love reaching out to authors in their fanmail if I’ve enjoyed their story although, I don’t reach out all the time.
What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?
I want the author to know that their story is really good, I’ve enjoyed reading and to kind of boost up their confidence and help motivate them because that’s what people’s fanmail do for me.

EliseC · March 21, 2020, 2:47am

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
Both lol. I’ve shut fanmail for older stories just because I got too lazy to reply and for some stories, I have quite a few fanmails that I haven’t even looked at because honestly, fanmail sometimes makes me really anxious.
I’ve also temporarily shut down fanmail in the past when the “When will you update???” got out of hand.
I plan on shutting down the fanmail for my new story when a certain plot twist is revealed because I know I’ll get a lot of hate lol.

What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
I’ve had a few calling me something along the lines of a racist white bitch so maybe those?
Or just ones telling me my story is stupid or makes no sense etc. The worst fanmail always came when a story was featured.

What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
No opinion. Do what you want. I think there are so many reasons an author might shut down fanmail. Sometimes the sheer volume of fanmail you get (if you’re popular) could feel overwhelming and you’ll never reply to them all. Sometimes you can get really nasty fanmail because it can be anonymous.
I’ll say that when I’ve turned fanmail off in the past, I’ve instantly felt relieved lol even though the majority of my fanmail is lovely

Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
Yes and I have as stated above.
Fanmail actually gives me anxiety. I’m scared to open it even though 99% of the time it’s nice. I currently have 59 unread for Hit and Run (fanmail off), 81 for Ghostwriter and 50 for Maternal Instincts. It’s been like that for months and I’m honestly just too scared to read it like to the point of actually shaking before I can click the button.

How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
Depends on how it’s negative. If it’s a constructive criticism then I’ll respond. If it’s something like “your story is crap” I’ll either block or reply with “cool” or something lol.

Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
No but I rarely send fanmail.

As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
No, but I don’t send fanmail as I don’t like that you can’t tell if an author has responded or not without actually checking. I’d rather just DM the author or leave a comment on their IG posts.

What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?
I don’t. If I really like a story, I’ll reach out on IG instead.

Briana_M · March 21, 2020, 4:13am

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
My fanmail is open. I used to close it everyday at 12am because of some of the disrespectful comments I received. Now since I haven’t received any rude comments through my fanmail at this moment in time, I’ve decided to keep it open for my readers who don’t have Instagram.
What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
"Fix the customization if not take it off."
What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
I don’t really have an issue with it because most of their readers will still be able to contact them through Instagram. I do know some authors who have their fanmail closed because they’ve gotten so much hate and disrespectful comments; that would cause anybody to close their fanmail.
Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
I mean…I’ve done it many times so I have to do what I have to do as an author to not allow myself to get demotivated by ignorant comments.
How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
To be honest, I get excited when I receive fanmail. However, when I get negative and hate comments, I do get upset for a second. I just feel like people have no right to hurt an author and their story; that’s not right. I vent to my friends about negative comments I receive, and they do make me feel better. When I receive positive fanmail, I get happy and feel better about myself as an author. Positive and motivational comments keep me going and lets me know that I am on the right track as an author.
Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
Nope. I always give constructive criticism. Often times, when I give authors constructive criticism, they do receive it and understand their errors more clearer.
As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
Nah.
What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?
When I get hooked and fall in love with a story, you know, I gotta leave some type of comment in the fanmail section to let the author know that I love their story.

amberose · March 21, 2020, 4:57am

Open. I don’t really know why… I mean, it just seems like the norm

I feel like you’re expecting people to share some of the negative feedback on their story, but tbh my worst was probably from this one guy who used to just tell me about random experiences from his life and he went into detail of various times he got into physical fights and got arrested and stuff and I guess they were the worst for me because… I didn’t quite know what to say back? And I didn’t want to encourage it either because it was irrelevant to my story. And furthermore, sometimes the details he went into were super graphic too, so I didn’t want other people to see that either, in case it was as uncomfortable for them to read as it was for me.

I can understand why some people do it. I just kind of feel sorry for them more than anything, because it must suck to feel your only option is to cut that off. Especially when not everyone who wants to send you a fanmail, is going to be rude or annoying. It just sucks that there’s never any warning that someone isn’t still accepting fanmail.

No, I’ve tossed the idea of it around a few times, but always left it open because I’d rather people send me fanmails, than DMs or PMs… which is what I assume they’ll do if I turn fanmail off.

I can’t say I’ve experienced that much negative fanmail, but how I handle it totally depends on what it is. If someone comments that they hate my spotlight story… well like, lol? What can I say to that? If it’s feedback that something I’ve written was insensitive or that they don’t like a certain character’s action, then I look into it of course. Almost nothing is essential to progress my plot, so I don’t mind editing something out or changing scenes/dialogue to be more accommodating for people who have concerns about something I’ve written.

I guess I have technically. I told an author that their hijab wearing character shouldn’t be wearing a sheer, crop-top. Does that count as negative? Or constructive? I said it in a nice way, I think. The author replied and said she was so sorry, she thought she had been doing a good job at representation but now she guesses not. It was a bit of an awkward response Anyway, she updated the story, I had to re-read the episode and not only had she not changed the sheer crop top, but she had actually changed the character’s mother’s outfit so that she was now wearing a singlet top paired with her hijab too

I wouldn’t say I’m apprehensive to send fanmail, but if I was going to bring up something in their story that I felt wrong, I wouldn’t do it via fanmail. The above example is the only time I ever did something like that. Now I’ll look to see if the have an account on forums and try to reach out to them that way.

If I like the story, lol

IsabellaMason · March 21, 2020, 5:02am

uuuhhhhhh… Ohh-kay

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:20am

Nah, just anything that kind of sticks out as a negative or just frankly annoying.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:23am

I’d count it as constructive.

It really does suck.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:26am

Same.
And to be honest I haven’t really had to deal with overly negative ones but I’ve gotten to where I almost don’t want to read new ones I have.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:29am

Honestly, I’ve gotten to where I just laugh most of the bad comments off.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:32am

Damn people need to calm down.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:34am

I’ve gotten fanmail about customization before and I find it so annoying sometimes. Like I didn’t have to let you cc the characters.

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:37am

Sorry about all the notifications, Amber but I forgot to respond to this. I honestly don’t know what I’d have done in this situation. It must have been incredibly uncomfortable.

Annieways · March 21, 2020, 5:42am

1. Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
It’s open, because I love getting feedback and since I don’t have Insta, this is basically the only way I can interact with my readers.

2. What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
I’ve only gotten one so far, but it said that my story was the worst thing the reader has ever read Tbh I know that that story wasn’t that good and I archived it since then, but after laughing it off, I left her a pretty sarcastic comment because while I wasn’t offended, the fact that she would say this to anyone annoyed the hell out of me.

3. What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
I understand it, especially if I think about popular authors. I wouldn’t be able to handle so many “when do you update” fanmail, and I’d get tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

4. Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
I mean, if I received hundreds a day, yes But that’s not very likely to happen, lol

5. How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
Since I have only received one negative fanmail so far, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it would bother me as long as the majority of my fanmail was positive.

6. Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
Nope, I think it’s called fanmail for a reason, and I wouldn’t message someone just to tell them that their story sucks. I did reach out a few authors on the forums when I noticed that their story was breaking the guidelines, and I thought they might not be aware of that. Otherwise I only say negative things about a story, if someone specifically asks me to give detailed feedback, and I do that in PM.

7. As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
No, I like sending fanmail, especially to small authors because I know from experience that it means a lot. Actually, I should do that more often, but sometimes I don’t have anything else to say other than “hey, great story”, so I usually just keep this to myself.

8. What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?
When I have more things to say other than “hey, great story”

Baleigh_episode · March 21, 2020, 5:53am

I should leave it more often too, tbh. It’s one of those things I don’t think about too much for some reason. Which is ironic because my attention loving ass loves getting it.

MTB · March 21, 2020, 9:24am

Open, I like to read what people think about my story and it always makes me happy to see I have a new one.

Well so far I only had 8 and none of them were bad, there was one asking if they could cc the characters which made me reconsider and add it, still I wouldn’t say it’s a bad one.

I mean it’s their choice.

I don’t think so, I can deal with negative comments and criticism. I guess if ALL of them were just negative maybe then.

I’d probably joke about it.

No, the only time I’ve send fanmail is to tell the author that there was an issue with cc lol. (I really should leave more fanmail though seeing how I get happy about it)

line123462 · March 21, 2020, 12:27pm

Is your fanmail open or closed? Why? yes, dont know barely get any
What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten? on my now removed story I got a lot of complaints over no cc. and one there was written like this I Am DysLeXiC So I CaNt wRiTe
What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail? fair. some people can be really mean. and some people cant handle it. I am properly one of those people
Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why? yeah if I started to get a lot of complaints
How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction? I havent really gotten any real rude. but I try to write something nice
Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such? I left fammail. some there maybe can be call rude even though that was not i was going for.
As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail? not really I love getting fanmail. but I never know what to write so its rare I send anything
What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail? I dont know

Bithi · March 21, 2020, 6:18pm

1. Is your fanmail open or closed? Why?
Ans:- Yes, my fanmail is open. I like to read fanmail, whether it is good or bad.
2. What’s the worst fanmail you’ve gotten?
Ans:- Honestly, I haven’t received any worst fanmail yet. If anyone sends me one, I won’t mind. Because maybe my story didn’t match with their taste.
3. What is your opinion of authors closing their fanmail?
Ans:- Sometimes very bad fanmail can demotivate a writer, so I understand.
4. Would you ever personally close your fanmail? Why?
Ans:- No, as I said before, I like reading fanmail.
5. How do you handle getting negative/positive fanmail/ what is your reaction?
Ans:- I can’t describe how happy I become when I see a positive fanmail. And for a negative fanmail, if I get any in the future, I will try to understand what made them to say so bad things about my story.
6. Have you ever left a negative fanmail? Was it constructive? Did the author view it as such?
Ans:- No. I am a good girl.
7. As a reader are you apprehensive about reaching out to authors via fanmail?
Ans:- No. If I like a story so much, then I will recommend the story in my recommend list.
8. What prompts you as a reader to leave a fanmail?
Ans:- Nothing. But a very good story will definitely encourage me to leave a positive fanmail.