Visibility

[shivver]

So, while I write mostly because I like to write and I like to write the stories I'd like to read, and I'm not writing to get an audience, I do like it when people read my stories. I mean, who doesn't? I post here, ffnet, AO3, Teaspoon, and deviantArt, but I was wondering if there are other fanfic outlets that I should be using, to get more readers? I would appreciate any suggestions.

There's some site - can't remember the name - I saw that's for aspiring writers and they concentrate on original fiction, and it looked promising, except that while they accept fanfiction, they seem to look down upon fanfic authors as a lower form of life. I wonder if I should be there?

I've also looked at Tumblr, and I really don't understand that site. It seems to be mostly for posting images? I've looked at a couple of fanfics on the site, and the font is so small and the layout is a narrow column, making it difficult to read. Is that a site-wide thing or the account owner's preference? Is Tumblr worth it for fanfics? (Side note: Yes, I know that my journal's font is too small. I tried to fix it, but no matter what I do, the theme I chose won't allow me to increase the font size of the regular text. I need to find a new theme that I like.)

Thanks for any suggestions!

---

My thoughts about fanfic sites (from both a writer and a reader POV):

fanfiction.net:

Pros: Huge audience, huge amount of fanfic, pretty good statistics-keeping
Cons: OMG the DROSS. How does anyone wade through this stuff to find anything good? Antique website design, poor tagging system, poor authoring system, poor, well, most things from the author's POV.

whofic.com:

Pros: Focused Doctor Who community, tends toward higher-quality writers and reviewers
Cons: Low audience count. Software is very basic. Poor statistics.

archiveofourown.org:

Pros: Well-designed layout and authoring tools, tends toward higher-quality writers and reviewers
Cons: Low audience count

livejournal.com:

Pros: Great community
Cons: Journaling software not really tailored for authoring. Difficult to search.

deviantart.com:

Pros: Good communities. Nice layout for reading.
Cons: Terrible layout for searching, previewing, etc. as it's primarily a visual-arts site. Really easy for your stuff to get lost among the visual dross.

Comments

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

I stick with the sites you listed here. I used to post to Tumblr, but it is too much of a hassle, as it is made (mostly) for images and sarcasm, lol! Usually I link offsite when posting there, too.

I don't know...I don't post to DA (I post to Dreamwidth instead), but I'm content with the sites I'm at and I really can't think of more that CAN be posted to. If I find any, though, I'll let you know!

*HUGS*

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thinking that Tumblr would really be a hassle, but on the other hand, it seems to be the place to be right now. Heck, even DW mentioned it in the show. But it really isn't designed for the written word, is it? Sigh - wish I had any talent for the visual arts. I can't even make good userpics. :P

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

There is an offical Who Tumblr, as well as a Twitter and a Facebook. But yeah, tis better for graphics, really. I'm not the best at userpics, but I give it a go, lol!

*HUGS*

[dm12.livejournal.com]

As a reader/commenter/follower:

FFN:

I can filter out and get pretty much what I want, but the tagging is a little outdated and sometimes deceptive (eg: If you're looking for a Doctor/Donna fic, what often pops up is fics where Donna is cheering the Doctor on for looking for/finding "the love of his life." You have to wade through tons of that before you get something with Donna as an actual main character.) Actually, most sites have the tagging problem. A major problem as someone who comments is that you can't edit your entry if there are errors, nor can you comment back except in private.

Pros include that you can follow a story or author and get notification when something new is posted. Also, you can PM the author if there are issues best discussed in private forum; I use that one with new authors as I help advise them on how to improve and resources available for that.

Archive of Our Own: It's nice for storing stories, you can edit your comments and see replies back and forth. You cannot follow a story or an author automatically. I do look on there to see what's new, but most people are busy with Real Life and it makes things better to automate. You also cannot message an author privately.

Live Journal: Lots of material, comments work well, you can send messages to authors or other members. It is difficult to filter, though. Also, writers should maintain a master list of their fiction so we can easily get to the story we want and read it chapter by chapter, like FFN or Archive of Our Own.

DeviantArt: fun to look at the pretty pictures; haven't really used it.

Whofic.com: I'll have to check it out! Thanks for a new site to look at...

Dreamwidth: I have looked at it, but people seem to start using it, then stop.


I do take a look at most of these sites; if your story is posted on more than one, sometimes I'll comment on them all, sometimes not. Trust me, I'm reading! I try to make meaningful comments, so you'll almost never find a short "Loved it/hated it." Actually, I've never said I hated anything. Writers work hard at their craft, and I appreciate every bit of effort and courage it takes to post. I will comment constructively only.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I've looked at Dreamwidth, and it seems to be using the same software as LJ, which is odd to me: if it's supposed to be tailored towards authors or artists or whatever, why use journaling software?

One other pro about AO3 is that it's still being developed, and I'm optimistic that they'll add features as they have bandwidth (can you tell I work for a software development company?). That's the main problem I have with FFnet: it's very obvious that their software is stagnant and will never improve and get the feature it so desperately needs.

You're welcome about whofic.com! I hope you find some wonderful things to read there!

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Silly me, whofic.com is actually Teaspoon! I do read, but rarely comment there for some reason. There are some really wonderful stories there.

So maybe a suggestion needs to be made to AO3 about some of the issues I have with it as a reader. Yes, I can tell you're working in software development.

FFnet did add those filters which even allow you to eliminate certain characters from the search. Still, it does seem to be somewhat antiquated.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I think that AO3 actually welcomes suggestions. They're a non-profit dedicated to "tranformative works" and their whole goal is to make fanfiction more accessible to both writers and readers, so if anyone is going to listen, it's them.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

I use the same websites as you do, so I can't be much help as far as adding good ones is concerned, unfortunately. Tumblr is definitely today's hype, lol. It is full of graphics, but I think that every form of fandom activity has its place there. I've seen plenty of fanfiction, though I haven't stopped to look much—I find the layout a bit ugly, too, but on some people's personal pages it ends up looking nice. I think it's only worth it for fics if you're already pretty active and can get a lot of followers. Also, I always found the feedback system weird—you don't really get comments, but people can give you likes and reblog your post (which automatically gives it more visibility) while adding a comment of their own if they wish. You don't have one place where all your comments are gathered as far as I know, so it's something to get used to.

while they accept fanfiction, they seem to look down upon fanfic authors as a lower form of life.
Haha, no, doesn't sound like you want to be a member of that!

I pretty much agree with your comments regarding the websites besides…

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the likes and reblog system on Tumblr is just weird. It's nice for visibility, but useless for reviews or having a dialogue with readers. Again, it seems to be designed for images and for short snatches of text. Maybe I'll post a couple of short stories and see how it works. Though it seems to me that it would get a bit messy trying to post multi-chapter fics.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

*nods* Yeah, I agree with all of that. Good luck with the short-stories experiment!

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Ha, I just realized that if I do start up on Tumblr, I'll be inserting myself into a huge community of Rose-worship. I don't know if I could stomach that. ;)

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! ♥ Is it? I never realized, which I suppose goes to show how little I actually am active. There is room for every community though?

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm exaggerating, of course. But I follow a few David Tennant blogs, mostly to collect images, and they are so full of Rose love, it's sickening. :) I'm sure there are other communities there. I just need to work to find them.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yep ;)

I follow River-loving blogs and blogs that posted very pretty graphics for the Moffat era mostly, along with a few ones for classic, Donna… But basically I just grab and follow whenever I see something that makes me go "ohhh, shiny". Which is why I generally keep away from Tumblr. Eats the time XD

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I think I might just stay away from Tumblr. The only thing I really go there for is halorvic - I just can't get enough of his art.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

I didn't know the name, but I googled him and I'd seen a lot of his stuff around :) But I'd only seen the cartoony stuff and I just stumbled on a sketch of the Master that left me with my jaw hanging open… ♥

But yeah, besides, sounds like Tumblr wouldn't bring you that much. ;)

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Halorvic is my absolute favorite. I love his art, his favorite characters (Simm!Master, Ten, Martha), his penchant for the audio plays, his love of Broadchurch and Olivia Colman, and especially his sense of humor.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

That sounds quite wonderful indeed ^_^