Feedback from readers:
There have been a few blog entries lately around readers and the feedback that authors get. I have made some observations for whatever its worth. For every thousand people that read a story there is one that will take the time to comment. I think that is pretty lame for the free stories. I recently read a story that I really liked and wrote the author to tell her. She wrote back and thanked me but told me that she quit writing because she never got any feedback on her stories. All of her stories are scored in the 8+ range so obviously somebody besides me liked them.
More and more authors are not posting on sites like SOL because they can make some money posting on other sites. An encouraging word might be the thing that keeps them posting here for you, for free. If you have a criticism, most authors want to hear about it but instead of biting the hand that feeds you, it might help to frame your suggestions in a positive way or mention the things that you like along with the suggestions.
If you feel the urge, send an encouraging e-mail to another author that you might like to write another chapter or another story for you.
SD