As an author who posts stories reasonably frequently on these boards,
I view responding to comments as very important. If I had all the time and energy I could possibly want, I would always post lengthy replies, picking out points people had made which needed responses, getting into discussion with readers and generally ensuring that everyone who had commented was replied to adequately.
That's the theory.
Sadly, I rarely manage to do all that, and I suspect the same is true for most authors. Sometimes, lately, all I've had time for is a very quick, impersonal thanks. And once or twice I simply haven't had time to respond to a comments folder and by the time I do have some spare minutes it feels as if it's way too late.
Do readers care? Do they notice?
A couple of times, when I explained on IRC that I couldn't post a new instalment because I had no time to reply to comments, I was told 'forget the comments, just post!'
Something reminded me of that today, and so I decided to ask this question. Readers, do you care? Authors, is replying to comments important to you?
Wendy
