avatarSebastian Goldsmith

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of writers replying to comments on their work as a means to foster community and success on writing platforms.

Abstract

The "Writer's Riposte" article presents a daily writing tip focused on the significance of engaging with readers by responding to every comment received on articles. It suggests that there is a correlation between a writer's status and their likelihood of interacting with their audience, implying that high-profile writers often neglect this aspect of community engagement. The author encourages writers to adopt a practice of gratitude and kindness by acknowledging each comment, which not only reflects good manners but also contributes to the writer's success and the overall health of the writing community. The article is part of a series providing advice to writers, with previous tips including the importance of relatable content, attention-seeking first sentences, and the strategic use of headlines.

Opinions

  • The author believes that writers, regardless of their popularity, should actively engage with their audience by replying to comments.
  • There is an observed inverse correlation between a writer's celebrity status and their willingness to engage with readers and other writers.
  • Replying to comments is not just polite but also beneficial for a writer's success on platforms like Medium.
  • The article suggests that kindness in engagement costs nothing and can enhance the sense of community among writers and readers.
  • Previous tips provided by the author highlight the importance of various aspects of writing, including subject selection, deadline adherence, and the use of research and quotations.

Writer’s Riposte

Tip Of The Day — Day 18– Reply to every comment

Photo by Chino Rocha on Unsplash

This is part of a series of daily tips for writers, which is published to share ideas and suggestions on our craft. Everyone will have different advice on writing, so the tip below is just a personal selection which I hope you will find useful, and do share any of your own in the comments.

This tip is about the importance of replying to every comment on your articles, to thank the reader. It addresses something I see on Medium that reflects wider society. There seems to be an inverse correlation between the status of the writer in terms of their celebrity and follower count, and how much they bother to reply to comment, engage or read the work of other writers.

So to make a success of the platform, both to make it pay as a writer and also to improve the community, I would encourage you to read and reply to every comment. It is only good manners, and kindness costs nothing!

I hope you found this article useful, and do share any tips of your own in the comments.

Previous tips:

Day 17: Engagement

Day 16- Attention-seeking behaviour — the importance of your first sentence –

Day 15 — Keep it snappy — headlines — https://readmedium.com/keep-it-snappy-3689266dd2a0

Day 14- Subject selection —

Day 13 — Making time —

Day 12 — Deadlines —

Day 11 — Layout —

Day 10 — Niches for Riches —

Day 9 — Do your own research —

Day 8 — Choosing your subject —

Day 7 — Reverse engineering success —

Day 6 — Planning —

Day 5 — Location —

Day 4 — Dictionary and thesaurus —

Day 3 –Quotations

Day 2 — Mind your language — learning new words

Day 1- The Notebook

As always, thank you for reading.

To join a new Facebook group “Medium Matters” where writers can support each other and share articles.

Writing
Writing Tips
Self Improvement
Medium
English
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