#i also obviously chased interaction - i do the self promos and i encouraged people to come hang with me on tumblr

[sharkneto]

How do you become of the “big” writers in a fandom like TUA? It doesn’t seem like writing a lot gets me anywhere even if I do enjoy it

Luck. It's dumb luck.

My first advice is to not chase trying to be a "big writer". It genuinely is dumb luck. Focus on enjoying writing, enjoying/building the community around your fics/fandom, and try to not let yourself focus too much on those interaction stats. I know this is hard - we are all so addicted to that rush of dopamine and validation kudos and reblogs and comments give. We are all chasing it, it's part of why we share anything. But if you let that become your focus it sucks all the joy out of writing and then you have to take a break until you can get your head in a healthier spot about it and enjoy it again.

So, that disclaimer said, there are some things I think... help push luck in your favor, things I did to try and push community that translated to engagement. It's also about getting the right eyes on your fic, getting that one person to see and share it that starts a domino effect of more people seeing it (and maybe sharing it).

First is technical stuff. Get good at titles and summaries, summaries especially. You need people to want to click on your fic and to see what its about. I don't think I've talked about summaries before, and I'm not going to do it here outside of saying 1) Yes, I know they suck to write they're the worst and 2) that the goal of a summary is to let the reader know what to expect and to to pique their interest. It's the blurb on the back of the book when you're browsing, it's your shot to get someone to open it and give your story a try. Next, it's good you enjoy the writing process (that is the whole point!) because being technically good also helps keep people reading once they've opened your fic. People will read things they aren't necessarily interested in if it's well-written, and they will bail on things they like if it's too hard to read. But keep in mind that just being good isn't going to make you blow up in a fandom - some of the best fics I've read have had but a handful of kudos and comments on them.

The second is the social stuff. You have to find your crowd, your corner of the fandom, the people who will enjoy your fics. If you write Five but only Klaus stans are seeing your works, you're not going to go very far. Get good at tagging - on AO3 and when promo-ing on Tumblr. DO NOT take this as "put as many tags as possible so more people see it!". That's spam. Everyone hates spam. Don't be that person. Accurately tag your stuff so people know what your fic is. If it's what they want to read, they'll click on it - those are the people you are targeting, not every person in the fandom. Get comfortable self-reblogging posts when you post/update fics. If you're up for it, curate a community responding to comments on fics and encouraging asks on Tumblr (be careful with that and be ready to shut the inbox if people start being fucking weird - your mental health comes first).

After saying all that, my biggest point is to repeat that that "hitting it big" is dumb luck and fandom is fickle. TUA is in a lull between seasons right now and we all know the current struggle of artists and writers getting people to reblog things/interact further than a like/kudo. You're going to burn yourself out and stop having fun if your focus is on finding "fame" within the fandom, especially right now. I think the above stuff helped things take off for me, but I've been building my community for two years now and it was still luck at the end of the day. As you practice your writing skills, add to your library of fics, build your own community, things will get bigger organically.

#being a fic writer is a bit of a hustle if you let it #i hope this doesn't come across as me putting you down at all #but i also don't want anyone to quit writing and get discouraged if things don't take off - it's hard out here! #i also obviously chased interaction - i do the self promos and i encouraged people to come hang with me on tumblr #in my earlier author's notes especially #i think that's just human and an innate part of sharing things online - we are /sharing/ we want other people to see it! #and we want to know they enjoyed it when they saw it! #and it is genuinely a very quiet time in the fandom rn #fandom culture moves faster than it used to so people come when a season drops and then leave two weeks later for the next thing #which is sad - come stay! hang out! #outside of making your fic accessible via tagging and whatnot #finding a community i think is the biggest thing #not just for getting numbers on your fics #but just for having fun and throwing ideas around and whatnot #i found my people in the five corner of the fandom and through the Elliott's House discord #also kind of you to consider me a big writer in the fandom - i don't have a good sense for that sort of thing and where my place is #ask response #fandom #writing #long post