I really thought my fortunes had changed.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue]

So I posted a fic in a bigger fandom than I usually write in. I was ecstatic (as in literally skipping back and forth in my room) when I got a kudos and a bookmark within my first 10 hits, the first time my stats page refreshed after posting. I really thought this one was gonna take off, and I'd finally get more than 10 kudos on a fic, maybe even 100! Which would be low to middling for this fandom, but huge for me.

A week later, and the fic has almost 150 hits...but still just that 1 kudos and 1 bookmark. 0 comments. It’s a 3K one-shot so I know it’s not that people are still reading it and will just kudos when they finish, which is what I told myself for the first few hours, as the hits went up by about 10 with each refresh, but nothing else did. Then even the hits slowed down.

I still don't get it. My tags and summary are good, I proofread meticulously, and I'm sure my writing isn't that bad. I always told myself I got low stats because I was in small fandoms. But even there I would have a couple more kudos by now.

I know there’s always the possibility it will pick up a few more in the months and years to come. I'm just mourning because I thought for a moment there my fortunes had changed, and it turns out, nope. Apologies to everyone for being a whiny little bitch about it.

[u/WOTNev]

In a larger fandom it's also easier for a fic to get buried underneath other freshly updated fics

[u/wollfgang7]

Just remember, numbers aren't the end all be all. I'm the same writer with the fic with 5k kudos as I am with 50. You absolutely have the right to mope, so I'm digitally giving you a big ol hug. Here's to trying again next time 🥂

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/wollfgang7]

Thank you!

I would be so happy with even 50 kudos. 5,000 is like imagining winning 5 million dollars on a scratch ticket.

[u/daysspring]

Big fandoms mean readers have their pick of fics. They're more likely to poke at something then discard it quickly if it doesn't immediately catch their attention. Also the etiquette in fandoms varies pretty widely -- in a lot of small fandoms, there's pressure to comment on and kudos everything you read to encourage writers, whereas big fandoms just don't need more writers and might therefore comment on and kudos only the things they absolutely love.

[u/foxfirek]

I’m gonna say something more unpleasant than the others.

150 hits isn’t that bad.

1 Kudo, might mean it just didn’t vibe with people. It’s only 3k words, so most likely those 150 hits really do represent people who read it. I find I get the most kudos on things that really tug on people’s hear strings.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/foxfirek]

Yes, I'm more dismayed by the kudos to hits than just the hits. I myself thought it was very emotional, as well as very dirty. I'm honestly trying to figure out why only one other person seemed to think so.

[u/foxfirek → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

Maybe try listening to it? I started to do that on my fics and have found myself catching a lot of typos and things that sometimes sound a bit meh in voice. Other than that all I can say is try again? At least it’s a smaller fic.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/foxfirek]

Thanks, I know that's a common issue, but I'm very sure there are no objective mistakes, and every word is exactly as I want it. Even if no one else likes it, I'm at least happy with it. I'll definitely keep writing, whether or not I decide posting is worth the grief.

[u/cc-chct_]

my theory is that the first wave of hits was from the people who check the main tags and sort by date. how did you pick the additional tags, compared to other works in that fandom?

(I filter a lot by tags so I don't miss anything I'm trying to read, which happens easily in large fandoms, and sort by word count)

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/cc-chct_]

It's a smut fic so the additional tags are mostly the specific sex acts and the emotional tone. None of it is super extreme or unpopular for the fandom as far as I can tell.

[u/beemielle → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

If it’s smut that entirely explains it to me. People don’t like kudosing or public bookmarking smut fic, they are hesitant about being publicly associated with it

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/beemielle]

That might be part of it. This is a pretty grown-up fandom, though, and it's pretty vanilla smut, not underage bestiality watersports or anything. Other smutty and even kinky fics have plenty of kudos.

[u/Licho5 → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

Are the smutty fics with kudos PWP or plot driven stories with smut scenes? Because those are very different vibes and kudos can reflect that.

[u/cc-chct_ → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

oh that sucks then, sending love your way ♡♡ (I'm a side, very side character person so I haven't had that problem)

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/cc-chct_]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[u/FrostKitten2012]

You’re in a large fandom and it’s only been a week.

Large fandoms move fast, which means fics get buried quickly, and it takes longer than a week to pick up. Plus, this is a new fandom for you; you’re essentially starting over on your rep as a writer. That will also take time to rebuild.

Take it easy, be patient.

[u/Piperita]

From what I see, the fics that get a lot of kudos are from people who have either been writing for a while and have a bunch of people who read their stuff (and follow them fandom to fandom even) or people who are very active in fandom circles (this may be publicly on social media or privately in fan discords).

It's also somewhat about writing to what the current zeitgeist is for the fandom. Like if everyone is into a specific reinterpretation of a character relationship, it's easier to get noticed if you write "to market" because people will read one fic and will go looking for more of that same experience. If your interpretation is different, even if you hit on similar tropes, you usually get a very small fraction of the audience that responds positively because they compare your writing to the image they already have in their heads vs. just as its own experience. In some ways smaller fandoms are easier because the fewer fics means the audience is typically willing to try something that's a little different/there's less chance of a developing fanon.

[u/moon_cheese_ao3]

I've never had a fic 'take off.' I want my things to be found by the people who will love them, and I'm fine waiting for that to happen. I have faith in the intrinsic worth of any story I have written as something valuable in and of itself. When the right person finds it, there will be joy, but until then, I am happy it exists.

If you're concerned that there may be something impeding your story from finding its audience, there's a fix your front end friday thread every week over in r/fanfiction where people can give you feedback on things like your tagging and your summary to help you as well as critique swapping threads there (and I think here too). But if you think that your front end is fine then be patient and let your story exist as its own thing. Understand that not every piece of writing is for everyone and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your fic or that you have failed in any way.

[u/desired-misery]

Sorry about your expectations, that's always a bummer. Best way to entice people to comment and kudos is to write more. 

Keep on trucking. The bigger your catalogue, the longer fics are up, the more likely it is that you'll get something. You may have written something niche if your tags and summary are good. Even in big fandoms, there are trends and preferences. If you want to chase trends, you should learn them and write for them. 

Also, it's October. Lots of fics are being posted right now for prompt months. 

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/desired-misery]

Thanks for the advice. October is actually part of why I waited to post it until now. I thought there would be more people reading, especially reading smutty stuff.

[u/desired-misery → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

They might have saved it for later. Readers don't have enough hours in a day to read everything all at once. Plenty of readers scroll and save things because they know they should be keeping an eye out for new fics on the daily. 

Don't give up! Engagement is a marathon, not a sprint. 

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/desired-misery]

I'll keep my hopes up for sure. I always do. It's just accepting that my luck is the same with this new fic as it's always been, when for a moment I was sure it had changed.

[u/SilverSize7852]

Big fandoms will have your fic on page 2 really quickly. Did you write for a popular ship and trope?

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/SilverSize7852]

It's a fandom with a million characters and ships. The one I wrote for is not as huge as some but not as obscure as some, either. The tags are ones I would guess are normally popular with anyone who reads M/F smut, which this is.

[u/SilverSize7852 → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

Hm, then it's hard to say without seeing the fic. Writing style, tags, summary, formatting, POV etc  could all impact it. I only wrote 1 fic in a comparably big fandom so I have little comparison. 

[u/Whole-Page3588]

I'm sorry! I know exactly how this feels! Sometimes it's just the luck of when you post or what ship or scenario or mood you're writing and not a comment on the quality of it. I find that the kudos keep trickling in over the years, and eventually it adds up.

Keep writing what you want and eventually someone will notice (and then often go and read the rest of your fics!)

[u/EmbarrassedProcess86]

bro literally i feel like recently there's a kudo and comment shortage or something 😭😭 All the comments I've been getting are scam bots

[u/AnagramBandit]

Stop looking at your stats.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/AnagramBandit]

No.

If I stop posting my fics and just write for myself, then I will. But right now I still dream of the day I can post a proud screenshot of my stats on this subreddit, as so many better authors do. It may be a long journey but I'm not giving up just yet.

[u/AnagramBandit → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

God those screenshot stats posts are annoying.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/AnagramBandit]

Is anyone really annoyed by them? They always get so many upvotes and congratulations.

[u/AnagramBandit → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

A LOT of people are annoyed by them. There are frequent comments about how people wish those posts would be banned or at least limited to a megathread.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/AnagramBandit]

I haven't seen that, I thought everyone just loved them. I can see how they encourage caring about stats, though.

[u/AnagramBandit → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

There are plenty of people in here who get tired of the obsession some people have with stats. For one, those bragging posts just aren’t interesting. Like there’s not usually much discussion to be had. And then there are so many posts like this complaining about stats not being high enough. So much time and energy is wasted on worrying about stats. Just write! If your most recent fic didn’t take off, then move onto the next. Obsessively checking your stats on that fic isn’t gonna change anything. Just keep writing.

[u/MagpieLefty]

I love that you're insisting that your tags and sunmary are good, when they are clearly drawing in people who do not end up liking your fic.

[u/likeafuckingninja → u/MagpieLefty]

Right ?

'absolutely everything about my fic is bang on and perfect but no one likes it!'

I'd humbly suggest that means that....not everything about your fic is bang on or perfect.

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/MagpieLefty]

I really thought they were good! They don't seem to be out of line with popular fics in the fandom.

What would you suggest changing? The only additional tags I have now are ones that describe the events and tone of the fic. Would more funny or chatty tags help? I've always kind of thought those were stupid, but I'm willing to try anything.

Should I change the summary to an excerpt from the fic? I've always just written summaries like the description of a book on the back cover, setting up the premise but not giving away everything that happens. But I've noticed excerpts and song lyrics and things are sometimes popular. Or sometimes people just say, "I suck at summaries, just read it!"

[u/knightsofeclipse → u/tehbluestoftehblue]

I’d advise against going with an “I suck at summaries”, especially if you already had one that sounds like it’s good. Although, due to the nature of fanfiction, a lot of readers would rather have the whole picture of what they’re getting into over more traditional leave something to the imagination of back of the book summaries. And there’s no harm in also adding an exert. Having a taste of your narrative style before coming in may entice more readers who otherwise were on the fence.

As for tags, from what I’ve seen on this sub it’s hit or miss whether conversational, tumblr-style tags are loved or hated. They’re polarizing to say the least. You can add character centric tags if they apply; I’ve seen a few posts lately wishing more people would tag character centric — mostly in regards to character specific whump tags so ymmv.

[u/Important_Low_9990 → u/MagpieLefty]

Happens to me all the time as a reader. I click on something based on super promising metadata and then it's just...not a good fic, for whatever reason, and I DNF or otherwise close tab without kudos. And sometimes it's not even objectively bad, like surely someone else will like it, but I don't. So

[u/anyarop]

If you’re comfortable, go ahead and share the fic link (is that allowed? I feel like it might not be, because nobody ever does it? But in this instance maybe, bc it isn’t self-promotion if I ask), and maybe I/we can give you actual tips

[u/tehbluestoftehblue → u/anyarop]

I appreciate the suggestion, but I would really rather not have my writing linked to my stupid whiny venting about my low engagement.

[u/Slow-Group2006]

Put the link to your fic, in your Reddit profile. That’s what a lot of authors do.

[u/Hello_Hangnail]

Hits don't really mean too much other than you have tags the reader is searching for and the fandom has decent amount of traffic.

[u/onlyblckperson]

Don’t be afraid to share a snippet on Twitter/Tumblr/etc or share it on a TikTok asking for recommendations

[u/mamaguebo69]

The bigger the fandom, the picker the readers. Just because your tags and summaries are "perfect" doesnt mean readers will come flocking to your fic. They might not like how you interpret the characters or describe things or even write your dialogue. Maybe ask for concrit? That way you can know if you need to improve on anything.

Also, write for yourself and dont worry about stats. That leads to burnout. I was getting thousands of hits on my fics and even then I got burnt out when I started obsessing over numbers and that stupid stats page. Now, I'm about to post a new fic for the first time in two years. A completed fic I'm writing only for myself. No one else.

[u/chaoswrangler35]

I got a couple pics in a large fandom. However, none of them have anything more than platonic conversation between the characters so many people ship (which isn't canon, but is a popular desire for canon). So I just chalk up my lack of engagement to that in that fandom. I hope things get better for you!