#posting advice

[floorboardchompingfridays]

Some Advice For People Announcing A New Chapter Of Their Fanfic on Tumblr:

“Hey guys, I wrote a new chapter, I hope you like it.”

Basic and nonspecific

You hope they like it? So… they might not like it? Ouch.

Sounds like you’re needy and desperate (lame 🙄)

“At last my plans and schemes have come to fruition!”

Seems like you did something cool and put a lot of work into it

Everybody loves a good scheme

Sounds like you might have an semi-nefarious plot going (intriguing 👀)

[winter2112rose]

The readers poll I did about reading unfinished stories, for me, revealed surprising results. I generally wasn't expecting the (albeit small amount of people) poll to reveal that readers don't mind if a story isn't completed before posting.

It must be something that just annoys me. I know the fandom is very quiet, but after four years working on stories two multi chapter ones. I'm sure you can guess one of those stories?

This may seem selfish or arrogant but I don't want to leave them in a folder never to be shared. At this point even if I just post them to say I did it for me. To help me get past the terror and nerves I get at sharing my work. With my change in career pending I need to get past that and fast!

So one day soon, if I feel confident enough maybe I will get past the felling of guilt/nervousness/uncertainty at posting a story that isn’t completed. Just so I can say I've finally been brave enough to share these stories that mean so much to me.

To those that do post their stories unbeta’d, not completed and go with the flow without a care. I admire you and thank you for keeping our little corner of fandom going.

But I’d also love to know how you do it?

What advice do you have ?

Rant over

Love a pathetic

❄️🌹

[thecagedsong]

So I feel like I've learned something about how to get reviews nice from readers. Two things.

Ask a question in the author end notes of the chapter. And not something vague like 'what can I do better' or even 'haha, did I do this scene right?' Ask about the story. Point out a plot point and ask "Hmm, blorbo's inferiority complex or blorbo's abandonment issues?"

Ask 'Oh-no! how is this wet kitten of a man going to get the ring back?'

Ask 'Okay, but is it really X's fault? Y's probably at fault too.'

Readers will pass through stories quickly, they are in reading mode. But when the author's note breaks the fourth wall and asks them 'sure hope the conversation that got interrupted wasn't important, your thoughts?' It pulls them out of reading mode nicely, by asking them to think about what just happened and put words to the feelings.

Your readers probably have really insightful, interesting, and funny things to add and talk about, giving them a concrete detail to focus on stops the 'where I even start to talk about this amazing story' issue that prevents people from leaving a comment. They know where to start, and since they are already typing, they know where to go.

2. Respond to your reviews like a tumblr ask.

Your chapter is now an ask game. They write "It was soooo funny when X did that, I'm dying." You write "If only he wasn't so emotionally stunted, maybe he wouldn't have done X, lol. One day he'll learn the ways of the samurai". You contribute specific details for the commenter to remember and engage with they see your response in their Ao3 inbox. (Assume they've read other stories between their comment and your response to their review, help remind them of your story so they can follow up)

I learned this one from Dulcito before seeing how well it worked for myself. It can be kind of tempting to say "thank you for the review!" and leave it at that, but answering that way puts an end on the conversation. Instead answer with a meme, a comment on writing a part they commented about, ask which part was their favorite, converse.

Even if they don't continue the conversation on that comment thread, it will remind them of the story when they see your response. They will know that you're willing to talk with them about a story they love enough to read fanfiction for. And if you leave enough interesting comments in your responses, people will start commenting more and seeing what you're saying on other comment threads.

I'm too young for the good old forum days, but I'm pretty sure this is what it's like. It's about a community. Frequent or scheduled updates help too, so it doesn't fall off the radar of your previous commenters. but my goodness I love my reviewers so much.

These tips don't guarantee reviews. Nothing does. But I've had a much better time posting when I've done these two things. I thought I'd share.

And if any of my reviewers for Dear Hero or The New Keith Route are watching this, you the real MVPs.

[gilbirda]

You posted some tumblr tips a while back and you seem pretty knowledgeable about the site in general. Especially in fandom spaces.

Do you have any advice for if your least favorite post get more attention than other post?

Like how do you interpret that and kinda dont get discouraged from blogging? And how to hype your other post? is 'bump' still a thing? Thanks in advance!

Hello! First of all I'm humbled and honored that you consider me knowledgeable! I can talk about my experiences around fandom and social media, but please I am no expert or anything.

It sucks when something you don't consider "your best" gets more attention than stuff you broke your back making.

I'd say my first lesson/comment/advice is that even the least favorite things are still something you did with your own hands and it rocks. That they get more attention doesn't mean that stuff you like more is worth less. You made something and pinned it in a public place for everyone to see and that takes bravery. My words may sound empty but all your work is part of you and has value just because of that.

Also, not everything is going to be a ~masterpiece~ — better to make 10 average art pieces and 1 masterpiece, than to obsess over perfection and never make anything at all.

Second piece of advice is that yes, 'bump' is still a thing! Don't be afraid to self-promote yourself. Yes, ad nauseaum. Yes, even if it's an old piece (specially if it's an old piece). Reblog and post your stuff at "prime time" aka, from the time people get out of work/school until they have dinner-ish. There are studies about this and I'm going by memory, but prime time is around 5pm until 8pm or so.

Third piece of advice is: be part of the community! If you want people to notice your stuff, notice other people's stuff!!! Tumblr is not a friendly place to many, and it does rely on reblogs to spread your work. If you want to be seen, put yourself out there. For that I'd recommend tagging things people will see (I saw you do poetry, so maybe check out the tags people will use for that?), follow and comment other artists, maybe join a discord community? If that's something you feel comfortable with.

Again I'm no expert, but I've gotten my fair share of situations like you describe. I'm happy with my work and I made it for myself first, but of course it's frustrating when people sleep on stories I poured my everything on when they give attention to a thing I did in 2 hours and half asleep. It happens. Doesn't make any of your work less valuable.

I hope this helps!

[ladybugsfanfics]

Congrats on the 500 followers! That's awesome! So, I just wanted to ask your advice-I just finished my first Hiddleston fanfic! :) I've been a longtime fanfiction writer but am new to sharing my work. What advice do you have? Thank you so much! I love your work!

Thank you! 

Oh, and that’s so cool. Please let me know when you’ve posted it so I can read it ^_^

Now, for the advice. (this got longer than expected so i put the advice under a read more 

So, I’ve only recently posted on tumblr and started on wattpad in like 2012 or smth. But I’ll keep this tumblr related and also some AO3 because that’s a great site for fanfics. 

if you have someone you trust (and that you know won’t make fun of you for writing fanfics and such) share the work with them first and get some feedback. 

Honestly, this is the one thing that’s helped me the most. I have my friend read over my work so that I know there’s a minimum of errors and also to get a feel of reaction. Make sure the person is honest and also that maybe you can take constructive criticism. Of course, it’s totally optional because you might not be comfortable with it, but I highly recommend it. After all, my friend was the one who made me realize i wanted to post my work and not just let it stow away on my laptop. 

interact with you readers (and other writers)

reply to comments, write an author’s note, have some updates (I’m bad at this, I know). Make it a community and you’ll get friends along the way, too. Ask questions, try to get to know them, have celebrations like the one I have now where your followers know they can reach out, and try to make sure they know you’re there (i wish I was better at this tbh). 

interacting with other writers may help a lot, too. They can help you reach out to readers, they can help with ideas and with so much, and they can become great friends. don’t hesitate to reach out to me, either ^_^

multiple platforms

here I’ll take ao3 into concideration, because honestly, having multiple places may get you more readers. At least you can link between them. A lot of people on AO3 uses tumblr as their way of interacting because it’s easier to talk to people here and the site has a way better sharing possibilty, after all, that is what the site is for. But, there’s also one thing I’ve noticed, which is why I currently post more here than over there. x reader have a lot bigger following scale on tumblr than on ao3 (of course you can post both places) and sticking to characters and pairing is bigger on ao3 (which again, you can post both places). 

of course, I totally recommend both sites (even if i use tumblr more). 

tagging

if you’re sharing your work, i guess you want it to reach others. the best way to do this is tagging. tag it with anything relevant. the character(s), the pairing, whether it’s fluff or smut (always tag smut, it’s really annoying if you don’t want it yet it comes up, some want to avoid this after all), i’ve read that tumblr only counts the first 20 tags and that the rest can be nice information but you won’t get the story on search results, so be sure that you’re tagging it with relevant tags first, at least. 

summary, pairing, style, warnings

before the story, give a slight idea as to what’s to come. make sure to warn people of eventual things they want to avoid; violence, smut, anything that can trigger people (if there is smth and you can’t think of it then, it’s okay, hopefully someone will let you know and then you can add the warning). the warnings are probably the things that’s most important, but hooking people with a summary is more than recommended

read more

use a read more! i cannot stress this enough, and you probably know it, but if you’re story is longer than 500 words, use a read more! honestly, one of the most annoying things is scrolling down your dash and not getting to the end because the story is so long. give it two-three paragraphs to let the readers get a taste of the story and your writing and then put the read more. 

honestly, this got longer than i expected and im not sure if this is exactly what you had in mind, but i hope it works and i hope you have a ton of fun posting your stories. don’t hesitate to let me know when you’ve posted it ^_^

hope this helps

SLEEPOVER

[impala-dreamer]

From the desk of Impala-Dreamer...

Some more advice you didn't specifically ask for...

Question: How do I get people to read my story?

Answer: Pimp dat shit!

When I first started, no one read anything. No joke...my first ever series has 3 notes. I'm not kidding. And please don't go read it, it's terrible. But anyway... It takes time to grow your blog and a reader following.

Best way to start is to TAG EVERYTHING. I'll admit, I hate tagging. I don't tag anyone unless they ask me specifically, and I'm still nervous to tag. But, if you don't do it...no one will see it.

Who do you tag? Well, anyone. Most blogs don't mind being tagged out of the blue, but if you are unsure, go ask. Some only read Dean, others are open to whatever. Just ask, they won't bite.

Also, if you are an SPN writer... Do yourself a giant favor and go join the @spnfanficpond. They are an amazing group that will help you get started with tag lists, fic reblogs, advice, finding betas, etc. I started with them and they are amazing.

Make friends. I cannot stress this enough. Friends are awesome on the friend front, but they also help you with ideas, and edits, and can boost your fics if they want. And... Hey, you made a friend! Sweet.

Also ... The hashtags at the bottom do work if you use them. If your story is Dean x Reader... Use #dean x reader. I follow #Sam x reader, so when someone posts with that hashtag, I see a thing for it. Use your hashtags!

Reblog! Reblog! Reblog! My fics get posted once and then I reblog for timezones every 5 or 6 hours so each fic is reblogged at least 4x. This way... If someone missed it, they may see it the next time around. I also randomly reblog old fics for the fun of it. You have new people finding your blog everyday, why not show them something they missed?

You worked hard on that fic... Be proud of yourself and show it off!

[deansdirtylittlesecretsblog]

Hey I recently decided to move over to tumblr for writing instead of Wattpad and I was wondering if you could give me any advice on how to start like do I need to do anything before I start to post chapters or what. I also really love your work. Thank you in advance!

Hmm, I can’t really think of anything you should do before posting. 

Some ideas for when you post: 

I’d be sure to tag it like crazy, every tag you can think of (ex: dean x reader, dean winchester x reader, etc.). You could check any of my work (not my early stuff, I was awful about tagging) but more recent stuff for tagging ideas. 

If you can submit to blogs like @dirtysupernaturalimagines or the like, definitely do it. That’s how I started. It gets your work out there, gets you noticed. 

If you are taking requests, I’d be happy to add you to my Authors with Open Requests list.

You could try tagging other blogs, though I recommend checking with them first.

Timezone reblog. Tumblr has users from all over the world. When I post at 6 pm my time, it’s 1 or 2 in the morning in other parts of the world. Timezone reblogging allows users in different parts of the world to see your work.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. I’ll add more if I think of anything. Good luck, Nonnie!