As Powerone mentioned email responses consistently are outnumbered by ratings/reviews (R&R), and these by the number of hits. The significance to the writer in gauging his/her audience reaction reduces by the time you get to the anonymous hit score because there's obviously no way of telling if the reader actually read the piece or just clicked on the d/l.

Actually R&R and email are just like frosting on the cake, the original pleasure coming in the conception and crafting of the story. R&R and emails are certainly nice whenever they occur because they frequently hint at what the particular emailer/reviewer enjoys reading best. Assuming that others feel similarly, then it can help tailor future submissions to the tastes of the bsm library audience. It gives an idea of what provides the most pleasure and what does not, something it would be presumptious to assume.

And of course it's always nice to receive feedback.