bleachfanficfanatic:

This most definitely does not apply to everyone and to those
who already do this, I and other artists, writers, creators, thank you.

And even though I’m nervous, I feel like this is something
that must be said so if this comes across as whining or preaching forgive me.
PLEASE tell your fave blogger/authors/artists when you like, love, or even if
you dislike something they’ve created.

Most of, if not all of us, pour HOURS into thinking, creating,
mulling, tweaking, perfecting, stressing, agonizing and crafting whatever
content we put out. We are fulfilling requests with our free time to try to
make something to be enjoyed by the masses or by a person who requested it only
to have little to no one comment, compliment or seem to take notice.

Think of it this way: imagine you’re a singer, a comedian,
an actor (or what have you) on stage and you’re giving a performance. You’ve
poured your blood, sweat and tears into what you’re doing. At the end of your
song, joke, whatever the audience before you is completely silent, or maybe one
or two people clap, maybe cheer quietly. Sure, maybe they are smiling but you
can’t see that because of the lights in your eyes, the distance between you and
them. Maybe in their head they’re thinking, “That was great” or “I really loved
this part” or “That really moved me” but if they don’t act upon those thoughts
and emotions the artist will never know.

That’s what it feels like to us as authors/artists who post
something to over hundreds (some thousands) of followers and get minimal response.

It takes literally seconds for a reader to hit the like
button, re-blog, leave a quick note or even send a DM or an Ask that is thanking the artist/writer for their work that took hours for them to complete.

Art for art’s sake is fine, and by and large the majority of
us who create content do it because we love it, but everyone needs
reassurance that the people are there and are paying attention. I’m not saying everyone has to like everything, that’s not realistic, but the numbers just aren’t adding up and we, the creators, are starting to feel it. 

Imagine an author/artist strike; no more new content to
enjoy because the ones creating it got so tired of pouring so much of
themselves into something it seems like no one is paying attention to anyway. Because people are not bothering to thank them for things they requested. 

We don’t want/need false praise (at least I don’t) but we
need something. Even if you don’t
like something tell us (respectfully) so that we can grow and hone our craft.

None of us like begging for reviews, kudos, etc. so please
don’t think that is all this is. 

This is, like so many posts of the same
variety, the honest, heartfelt feelings of a writer who, for herself and all
the others like her, hopes readers will understand a bit better why we don’t
just want your feedback, we need it.
And we shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for that.

This is something I shared on my Bleach blog. Creators need to hear from their audience. Even if all you do is hit the heart button, that fuels us.