Thread by @pkjimim, why asking authors for updates can come off as rude, a thread: [...]

why asking authors for updates can come off as rude, a thread:

☆ disclaimer ☆
I can't speak for every author!! this is just my personal experience and opinion and some thoughts me and a few writer pals I've talked to have. also all of this is ~situational~ meaning the context around everything MATTERS. so with that being said here we go

so you read a whole wip of an au or fic and you reach the most recent update. you're invested in the story and you want to know what comes next so you qrt/comment/send the author a dm or cc saying smthn like this:

• when are you updating
• are you going to update
• updates?
• when will you update

• why haven't you updated
• please update

or even worse:
• this isn't finished?
• did u abandon this?
• are u going to finish this :(
• I thought this was complete...

and while none of these are ~directly~ rude in their literal language, it's the context and tone that matters soooo much and it can come off as dismissive and rude even if that wasn't your intention, and a lot has to do with the lack of content given with these responses

here are some of my thoughts when I read comments like this:

1. I have no idea if you're enjoying the story
2. this is very production oriented for something I do for fun for free in my spare time
3. does the story only have value when it's completed?

4. it's only been a week, why are you asking if it's abandoned
5. I have never abandoned a piece of writing and have said multiple times I'd tell you if I did
6.

7.

for me, the issue with these comments isn't the asking about updates, it's that they ONLY ask about updates. there is nothing about the last 200 parts of the au or 40k words they just consumed (for freeeeee

)

just...

"when is the next update"

there's nothing there to tell me how you feel about the story so far in those comments. some readers might assume that "oh theyre asking for updates! that means they like the story and are enjoying everything! that should be enough"

but that's an /assumption/ the actual content really doesn't tell you that. there is no tone or context to tell me one way or another.

I won't assume someone is enjoying the story and I won't assume they don't like it either from a comment that tells neither. because the comment is a neutral tone with neutral words.

....which for writers, apathetic and neutral reactions ARE negative responses

writers want to make readers FEEL something with their work. writing is an emotional art. it takes energy and love and care from the writers to create it, and they can only hope that the feelings they pour into it are reflected back onto the reader as they read it

some of the comments that make me the happiest are ones that tell me that my writing made them FEEL. that it made them laugh or it made them hurt or made them feel happy or comforted bc that's what I'm trying to do!! im trying to make you feel what the characters are !!

the reader MIGHT have enjoyed the au/fic so far!! but there is really no way for me to know that for sure when you comment this.

even if you add a tone tag to it doesn't help bc it only sets the tone for the question/comment, not the context of how you felt about the story

the time frame in that these comments also matters. for example, if I updated 7 hours ago and someone in my cc has already said "next update is when?" or, its been a week since I updated and someone asks "are u continuing this?"*

(*real comments i got this week

)

which goes back to thought #2 on how it comes off as production oriented

writers have said this before!! we have lives outside of here. whether that's school or work or personal things!! we do other things and have other obligations and hobbies like every person does

comments abt updates and updates only come off as if you're ignoring all of those other things we have going on and marking our only role as "update provider" :((((

writing is my hobby and I LOVE doing it. but I don't always have the time, the heart, or the energy needed for it. writing takes time, making edits takes time. I WANT to update because its something I love to do, so if I'm not updating I'm missing one of those components.

I'm either busy with life things, my heart isn't feeling the right emotions, or the energy and motivation to write or create isn't there.

or maybe I just wanted to play zelda today. that's fine too because I'm a person, and not a content making machine.

the pressure to keep writing is overwhelming. it's natural to get writing block every and it's normal to take breaks. it's not because I don't care about the story but because I care SO MUCH about it. I love my stories and want to write them well, and that takes t i m e

if I'm being 100% honest, asking about updates and saying nothing else really comes off as selfish to me. like to me it seems like they're only thinking about themselves, the reader as a consumer of (free!!!) content, and not at all about the person creating it

I know you want updates, trust me I do too! and I update as soon as I'm finished with them. I'm not hiding anything up my sleeve I just share when I'm done. writers have lives. and comments like this make it feel like you're ignoring that AND the effort and work that+

goes into each update or chapter.

These don't get made in an hour. hell not even a few hours. As much as I wish they would, they don't appear out of thin air onto my screen. the time you spend reading is only a fraction of how much time I spend writing and planning

it just doesn't leave a good feeling AT ALL yall.

MOVING ON.

other things you can say to Not Be That Person:

• "just caught up and I like it so far! im excited to see where it goes!"
• "I'm excited to see what happens next"
• "i love this! interested to see where things end up!!"
• literally any other genuine comment

the difference with these are that they bring a humanness into it. there is a bit of emotion and you tell the author what you're feeling and it makes it positive instead of neutral. it also doesn't use the word "update" and gives the author the option to elaborate on that or not

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