Works that are actually published in hardcopy are reviewed by critics who are usually qualified to give an opinion. The author's only feedback from his readers are the occasional fan mail and the number of copies sold.

The review system here helps us improve our writing and strokes or bruises our egos, but it is not the reality of publishing. I am grateful for the reviews I get, but I expect nothing other than the hits I receive to let me know if it was what the reader wanted or not.

But the number of hits here are not an indicator of the quality of the story. I have noticed that certain types of stories get more hits than others. After having read them, I realize that the readers are looking for certain content more than they are looking for good writing. On one particular occasion, I noticed that a mediocre story containing more violent acts got a lot more hits than another much better written story with much milder content.

Keeping this observation in mind, the reviews become more important. Those authors who write well but do not produce the harder content need to know that they are appreciated by those
who read a variety of material.