Note the publication dates. The newest fic? The one that I started posting 5 days ago? Is third when sorting by bookmarks and second when sorting by comment threads (and number two by bookmarks is meta, not fic, anyway).
With links to the fics:
Complementarity, Entanglement and the Uncertainty of Destiny —or— A Feminist Mage in King Arthur's Court (Merlin (TV)) (117055 words)Subscriptions: 137 Hits: 63536 Kudos: 2741 Comment Threads: 373 Bookmarks: 1494
Workflow from Google Docs to Ao3: A Primer (Archive of Our Own, Google Docs - Fandom) (6511 words)Subscriptions: 18 Hits: 16150 Kudos: 449 Comment Threads: 51 Bookmarks: 585
in case of fire, break glass (魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)) (48412 words) Subscriptions: 489 Hits: 9392 Kudos: 710 Comment Threads: 224 Bookmarks: 305
Rule Number Two (Check Please! (Webcomic)) (19245 words)Subscriptions: 22 Hits: 19203 Kudos: 1701 Comment Threads: 177 Bookmarks: 235
Lost in Translations (Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)) (10258 words)
The next most recent stuff I posted, which fell into the black abyss of the posting bug window.... well, if we just look at the first fic in the series...
Mitzvah (Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett) (24449 words) Subscriptions: 34 Hits: 1754 Kudos: 252 Comment Threads: 63 Bookmarks: 59
Note the number of hits. It just didn’t get seen. And the sequel did half as well.
Barukh (Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)) (25649 words)Subscriptions: 10 Hits: 873 Kudos: 146 Comment Threads: 49 Bookmarks: 12
The kudos-to-hits ratios aren’t that different. People who saw it liked it. There’s almost as many bookmarks as comment threads on the first in the series.
If I seem flustered by this, the Good Omens stuff was in a fandom that’s more personal to me, and while the Untamed fic is fun, it felt I put more work into the Good Omens fic by a pretty substantial margin.
My husband, who writes lyrics, says the ones he pours his soul into tend to get a few likes, while he’ll toss off a flip “Florida Man” verse and get a zillion shares, so I guess there’s a lesson in there, that sometimes the things that come easily resonate more.
Or maybe it’s the posting bug?
Anyway, not even the Merlin fic did as well when I first posted it as this one is. This is probably the first fic where I’ve managed to completely avoid the posting bug window. So every chapter gets seen by new people.
TL:DR I’m really happy with how the new fic is doing and now even more perplexed at how the last few things I’ve posted have not.
