19th on our countdown (the best vs the worst parts of being an aspiring novelist): commenting under a blog post vs. emailing or visiting the commenters' blogs to acknowlegde a comment
we've been struggling with figuring out the best way to comment on comments.
if you're a commenter, you might have realized this:
we always comment on our blog UNDER your comments (er, we hope, anyway)
we always email comments as well. er, nope, we don't. (but we've started to.) HOWEVER, thanks to Abby (yes, click on the word Abby and follow her. she's awesome) we now realize we've been responding to a non-address. (your name @ no reply blogspot [dot] com) which means we're responding to no one. oops.)
sometimes we follow you over to your blog to reciprocate a comment (we mean to do this EVERY time...and will get better at it)we're busy moms, writers, and bloggers. but we intend to respond to all of you.
on a personal level.
you are our friends. sincerely.
SO, how do you prefer to have your comments acknowledged?
a) comments under our blog post
b)comments under YOUR blog post at YOUR blog
c)email (only if you want this you have to check the box on YOUR blog's profile to SHOW EMAIL. then we will no longer email you at a no reply address aka your email out there in oblivion)
(also check out this post by YA author elana johnson on comments...#3 also helped us figure out our replying via email problem.
lately we've been trying to do all three, and we believe that is the best way. then all commenters can see our comments, plus we're sending a personal email and making that connection with you, and we're visiting you to see what your thoughts are that day. it's only fair and right after all.
time consuming? yes. can we promise to do all three every day? no. we wish we could. so, since we can't do all three all the time. which method is your favorite?
And if you have a chance, let us know how you connect. How did you find us? How do you know other aspiring novelists? How do you find followers? Who do you choose to follow and what does that mean to you?
thanks!!!!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI follow and post direct to blogs: otherwise I might miss upcoming events etc., if solely reliant upon e-mail posts/replies. Just my way of doing things.
Re finding blogs: follow recommended links, sometimes just go surfing through profiles on comments!
Re other novelists: look for likeminded writers and treat blogging as a social networking device. Twitter bores me: too much mundane chatter. Facebook, in my opinion better left for the kiddos: has the same juvenile feel to it as does Twitter.
Clocking up followers is one thing, getting a lot of them to reciprocate on comments another.
Hope that helps! ;)
best
F
Must admit I struggle with this whole thing, and the truth is time is limited, and I pretty much do the blog-karma thing. If someone makes an effort to comment on my post I'll definitely try and pay them a return visit. I'm not very regular though, definitely not checking on blogs every day!
ReplyDeleteComments to the commenter under my original blog post only. Yes, it's one of those oddities of blogging that the original commenter may not see your reply. But it's the only sustainable method I can keep up with!
As you know, I'm a fellow Crusader - that's how I met a whole lot of great aspiring authors!
But in terms of the whole follower thing, I think one of you made the point that commenters are much more valuable than passive followers. I'm definitely no longer in 'follower acquisition phase' as I really don't see the point anymore. But real connections to other interesting writers out there? I'm always up for that.
Hi Erica and Christy, my virtual friends, my preference is a). I always make it a point to check back whether my comment has been acknowledged, and the points or opinions I have put across responded to. I do that for my blog. I think that is basic courtesy.
ReplyDeleteHow did I find you? Via the Crusade, of course.
But I only comment on writers' blogs if the topic is general in nature like this one, and not if it is on writing per se, for obvious reason.
I follow blogs that I have interest in: farming,gardening,writing, the Arts, photography...
Thanks, by the way to you both for appearing quite regularly on my blog, even though it is not about writing. I really appreciate that.
I've struggled with this as well. I was also replying to "no reply" for quite a while before I realized it was going no where. And I feel like when I comment back on my comment section the intended person I'm responding to doesn't see it. Personally, I almost always forget to go back and look on blogs I've commented on to see if the author replied to me. I forget which ones I comment on most of the time!
ReplyDeleteCULT! CULT! CULT!
ReplyDelete(Mike runs screaming from room)
Yes, keeping up can be hard. I took yesterday to be offline, and we had 15 comments when I got back. Thank goodness there's two of us.
ReplyDeleteMegan - thanks for making us feel better!
Mike - no, you can not be our leader.
erica
WOW! That's dedication! I only respond within the blog on mind, though I DO try to get to the blogs of people who comments (to read and then comment on THEIR stuff)--depending how busy I am, this has fallen through, but I try. I tend to only email if I have somethign to say I DON'T want to say generally, but I do know that not everyone returns, so I know there is something missing out. I tend to only check BACK if I ask a question of feel I said something particularly clever, controversial or evocative. I like GETTING the emails fine, though I suppose it depends on what is said back on whether I feel it was necessary or not. And I have a couple friends that I can get caught up in a 10 day conversation, which is very cool on some levels, but makes me fear having TOO MANY of these--teehee.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good one! I prefer to have my comments answered/commented on, on the post where I made the comment. Is that as clear as mud?!
ReplyDeleteI usually only check back to see if my comment got a response if I think I posted something unusually witty. ;) That said, I don't obsessively check my inbox muttering "Why haven't erica and christy responded? It's been hours!".
ReplyDeleteSo, response under the original comment is cool. Dropping by and commenting on your commenter's blogs from time to time is cool. That nifty little widget in your sidebar is very cool; I might just come by twice a day! :)
I'm pretty sure I ran across you guys from the crusade, but it might have been a link from someone else's blog. That's mostly how I find other bloggers, is by following the rabbit hole until my husband insists that it's time for bed. And I follow ones that I think are interesting. Congrats, you win!
anyone works for me, altho' I hardly ever check back to see if I got a feedback comment.
ReplyDeleteFor now I definitely go to all my commentators blogs and leave a comment I am still trying to get used to the idea of follow up comments or replying them by mail
When I started, I clicked on the "recieve email notification when your comment as been commented on" or whatever that is, but it quickly filled up my inbox with EVERYONE's comments, not just the author's. So I stopped doing that, and honestly I don't have time to go back and check to see if the author comments on my comment. I like the email thing, so that's what I do. Sometimes I'll try to go and comment on my comments to the people who have the "no-reply" but I just was never sure if people actually check back to see if I've replied in the comments or not.
ReplyDeleteSo long story short: I like to email a response to those who have it set up, and I like receiving emails as responses to my comments since I don't really have time to check back on their blogs. And to be honest, I forget which ones I comment on (unless they're ones I"m a regular at like you guys, in which I comment almost all the time). Okay that was long, and hope it makes sense.
I'm interested tos ee what everyone else thinks on this too, because I think we all struggle with this issue.
It is an interesting question isn't it. I usually click on "subscribe by email", cause I like reading what other people say as well. And if I'm commenting on people's blogs who never respond, or don't visit mine and make comments, I want to know so I don't feel the need to comment on theirs either - life's just too busy.
ReplyDeleteI've only just turned on my email address in my profile and started getting reply emails, which I like as well. So, long story short, I always read and love responses to my comments :) And if it's a good response/raises a new question, etc, I'll even pop back a few times to continue the discussion ;)
On my blog, I try to respond to comments individually, though I'm often a few days late doing so. I'm debating whether I'll start emailing people - haven't decided yet...
Rach
So much easier to email people back on their comments! But those pesky little noreplies get me all the time! You guys are totally good at replying/reciprocating though so no worries!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS/FEEDBACK. I VISITED YOU ALL SO HERE I'M JUST DOING A GENERAL "I HEAR YA!" *waves to friends!*
ReplyDeleteI do still agree that comments mean more than followers. Although without the followers, who would comment, right? We'll heart you no matter what. Following back to comment on a commenters blog IS probably the best bet and most polite and best for keeping connections. BUT I do like to see what the blog author says to the people above me even if I don't remember to check back what they responded to me. Oh well, still a dilemma I suppose. but at least we're not alone with the struggle and we all understand that we have day jobs and families and manuscripts to write. Which reminds me...off I go! christy