Young Writers Society

So, I've had several people ask me, "How can I get more reviews?" and I've seen other people on both blogs and other places in the forums express their frustration in not getting reviews. So... the question remains. How can you get more reviews?

Here are some ideas!

1. Review, Review, Review!

This probably sounds obvious, but people are more willing to review your work if they see you reviewing already. So, get your name out there! Review something else... preferably a lot of things by a bunch of people. You will get noticed in a good way, trust me.

Also, generally if you ask someone who you've already reviewed to review a piece for you, they will usually be more than happy to do it, especially if you gave them a high-quality review!

2. If you do get a review, pay it forward!

Let's say snookimuffins reviews your poem. Well, why not look for snookimuffins's poem and review it? That way, she'll be more willing to review your stuff and you get to make her day! And she'll probably remember you better and be more willing to review your work next time.

2. Put a link of your work in your signature and be active in other parts of the website.

This is a little advertisement technique that can work wonders. If you make interesting posts or generally get noticed on YWS, people will wonder what exactly you write, and they will click on your links. This especially works if you post a lot in the Welcome Forum.

3. Make a novel-writing buddy.

The most common writing that gets overlooked are novels. So, why not make a novel-writing buddy? Basically, you trade novels and review each other's work as it comes out and motivate each other while you are still writing. It's awesome. So, why not form such a partnership with someone whose novels you love? It'll help you soooo much!

4. Post on WRFF.

You can post some requests in the fourm Will Review For Food to certain people. There are certain rules that you have to follow, so pay attention to those, but it's a quick way to get a review from someone!

5. Proof-read your work before you submit it.

I know... in the first four suggestions, it was all about how you can advertise, and now I am being critical. But, seriously? I was looking for unreviewed stories to review, and I kept going to the next work because the grammar was so bad that I didn't even want to touch it. Make sure you proof-read and spell-check your stories and poems before you submit them. That way, more people will be willing to help you out.


Those are my five tips! Does anybody have any other ideas?

Good tips! I'd like to add that if your work is a story, make sure it has proper line breaks. Those huge chunks of text make me turn away immediately.

Great job compiling the tutorial, Snoinky!
Lot's of useful info here

I'd also add two things:

1. Make sure your post is at a reasonable length. Too-long posts, no matter how well-written they are, are going to scare aware readers.

2. Post chapters and parts one at a time. Wait for a few reviews before posting the next one, even if you've already written seven, eight, nine chapters past that. No reader wants to feel obligated to read all those posted posts, and it's not fair to other writers on the site. Not to mention, it doesn't help you much as a writer to get told the same things for all the chapters you posted.

All such great advice!

Here's one--don't complain about not getting reviews.

People are more likely to do something when it doesn't feel like an obligation.

On a little more abstract and psychological point:
Gauge the market. If the forum you intend to post in is flooded by pieces with 0 and 1 review counts that have been posted in the last 24 hours, then maybe you should put your wants/needs aside for a second, do a little reviewing, and post at another time when the forum is ready for you.

Also! A good title to get people in the door. Something that you actually thought about and isn't just "I Love You" or "The Dream" or "Help me" or "Suicidal Thoughts" or "Untitled" or etc etc. For example, consider the titles of some famous books. Slaughterhouse-five. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Lord of the Flies. Love in the Time of Cholera. Sometimes the title can be the hardest part.

For novels, PM those that said they're interested in reading further chapters when you're finished. That way, they'll actually be able to know when you've written another chapter.

Also, I forgot where, but Kyllorac wrote an excellent article about chapter summaries, which not only can help those you've asked to review on their WRFF to understand the story at a glance, it also helps others who were interested in the title to know what the story is about.

Also, I forgot where, but Kyllorac wrote an excellent article about chapter summaries

Knowledge Base> YWS> Writing Chapter Summaries.

Good tips, all.

A tip of mine would be making friends on the site! It's an extension of point 3 in the original post, only includes other types of literature.

Also, post about the story in Writers Corner! Especially a longer novel. Then you're filling us in on your writing progress, and opening up a broader audience.

Oh! I got another one.

When PMing people and asking for help, make sure to actually link your stuff. I don't want to have to dig through your posts.

And I really agree with sargsauce. If someone says, "Can I have a review?" and I go to the forum, but there are about ten unreviewed works and that review has gotten three reviews so far, I will ignore it and start on the unreviewed works.

All such great advice!

I've gotten PMs in the past saying, "I've read some of your work and loved it now please review mine." If you really had read my work, why didn't you comment on it, or at least talk about what you liked about it in this PM? So, Stella's #1 Tip: Don't lie to potential reviewers

No, but really! Follow everything that everybody says above and you'll be set!

Permission to be cheeky?

Okay, I've mastered (heh) the YWS rush-hour, that is, I have discovered at which time there are a lot of members online. ;D

So try posting at one of those times (I won't tell you which time ), when you can be sure to get quite a few views. (Though it doesn't always work, so don't be too sure about this piece of advice).

[/cheekiness]

But the advice already given is very useful, so you can all ignore this post.

These are good tips especially the one about returning the favor when someone reviews your work. Even when someone just casually drops me a PM about my review either thanking me or asking a question about the review it shows me that they've read it and really thought about what I've said or they just appreciate it enough to thank me and I'll probably be convinced in future to write them another review because I know they'll appreciate it!

Agreed with Dreams. I like people who respond to my reviews, and tend to look out for their work in the future.

I find that if I say "Tear this apart guys!" I get a lot more reviews. I guess people feel like they can just be critically honest then, and they don't have to go through the trouble of having to find something nice to say if my work is trash.

Also, another baaad trick - sometimes I purposely put a little "I wondered were she was" or "There nev was a time like it" because I know the irrisistable urge to correct it will lead my reader down to the comment box, and the review just spills out from there :p

I usually don't review people who have started enough projects for me to notice that they usually give up after two chapters. Even if their work is good I get used to the disappointment attributed to it and just don't bother.