>>76367525It's just the classic case of needing to make money off your art versus making art for its own sake, just replace money with (You)s. I think reader engagement is symbiotic, at least for me. Yes, I do write for my own creative endeavors but at the same time, I give my best effort in writing for the readers. A huge reason why I went from reader to writer was because I wanted "a slice of that pie" so to speak. Or rather, I wanted to wow people with my art. If Art is a method of expressing oneself then Art without an audience is just self-indulgence. If something doesn't get a ton of responses, then to me, it's a learning experience that something was off. I think the real mark of a good story is having it be recommended or repeatedly brought up. I didn't think much of the first story I wrote because of the initial responses but having people go "Wow I really loved this" or "I recommend this" much later on put it in a different perspective for me. People asking for more/a sequel/an update to your series is another. It shows that people really resonated with my story and that motivates me to write more. My first series was done purely on that impetus. So if there's a fic you read from the random roll or whatever, I think a post simply saying "To the author of X, I really liked your story." is worth more than the (You)s
I try and give a response to every fic I read, even if it is just "I liked it." Although sometimes with that I feel like I'm damning with faint praise. If you really want (You)s, make a decently sized fic. Little nuggets of prose are fine and all, but you're not going to get much back without more to chew on IMO.