Writing/Ao3 stuff

[shapinglight]

Haven't done one of these posts for oh, at least a week.

I'm still puzzling over the vagaries of reading choices on Ao3, and still feeling a bit grumpy on behalf of my revised version of Brief Encounter, which, despite three nice people leaving me kudos on it, has only had 26 hits altogether.



I just don't get why it's so unpopular, as opposed to say, Ennui, also a historical, also featuring Darla heavily (from her POV, in fact), and also posted with its original LJ posting date rather than the date I posted it to Ao3, so no easier to find. Yet is has 133 hits.

I dunno. I don't understand.

Apart from Ennui, the various short fics I've posted (minus the two historicals, :sigh:) are the most popular. I should get on and finish posting them.

In other writing news, I'm no further forward with my Spuffy Ten Years After story than I was last week, but I am on my third revision of the penultimate Spike/Giles season 7 story. Scary - especially as I tried starting the last one, wrote about 200 words and then got that brain dead feeling again. Have to finish it. Have to.

Ah well, it's still a while till December when letsgetitdone looms.

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Hey, imo people like what they like, and so I wouldn't tie yourself up in knots trying to figure out why it's not so popular. Readerships are funny animals. *g*

Oh and by the way I'm going to punch Wexina in the face If things carry on as they are on Slayalive. *g*

[shapinglight]

I suppose I feel a bit resentful on behalf of my story, which I think is better than the number of hits on it suggests.

I shouldn't care, of course. After all, it's just angsty teenage fanfic. Not a great work of literature like the Buffy comics ;)

[lynnalso.livejournal.com]

I have read it several times & certainly enjoyed it. Very clever and a good sense of "place".

[shapinglight]

Thank you. :)

I should stop harping on about it, I know. It's unattractive.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Not a great work of literature like the Buffy comics ;)"

*Snerk*

[avidrosette.livejournal.com]

Hi! Probably you've already gotten this kind of advice, but for what it's worth, here would be my suggestions for driving hits on your AO3 story:

1) promote the story with its new AO3 link on lj comms where readers who like that fandom and pairing might hang out
2) update all sites where the story currently appears with the new AO3 link - your website, this lj, your other lj, your dw, etc.
3) Add a note on all your lj and dw profiles with a link to your author page on AO3.
4) Whenever you mention the story in the body of an lj post - or anywhere - include the AO3 link to the story. (I see you've done that here.)
5) When posting to AO3, date the story with that day's date. Then make a note in the author's notes area at the top of the work text that the piece is an edited and updated version of a story that appeared in your lj, originally written "date," if you like. By dating the AO3 post with today's date, the story gets sorted to the top of the list of new stories posted in that fandom, giving it more exposure for anyone searching that way.
6) Make sure to list the pairings/main characters under those AO3 headings, and also include the pairing in the tags. Make sure to tag comprehensively so that people searching by fandom and within that by tag will find the story. If you are unsure how to tag, search around for other stories in similar categories to yours (whether or not they're even in BtVS fandom) and see which ones are easy to find using the criteria you would think to search on as a reader.
7) Tumblr considerations - the fandom and pairing info is particularly important because people have created tumblr feeds that continuously report on new stories being posted to AO3. That's the way a lot of people coming from tumblr learn about new fics - and that's a huge source of readers. The feeds can be for any new story in a fandom, or often, a story with a particular pairing. Here are a couple of examples of how these feeds look: ao3-feed-thor, ao3-feed-merlinarthur. There may or may not be one for Buffy yet. If not, anyone can set one up. Here are astolat's instructions for how to do so.

Good luck! Your outstanding stories deserve a huge readership.

[liliaeth]

I know the feeling, but honestly the amount of comments or kudos a fic gets often has more to do with the specific kinks (sexual or otherwise that a fic hits than the quality of the work)

[yourlibrarian]

This probably won't make you feel any better but this past week I finally got to reading a Buffy story that I'd uploaded to my eReader back in 2011. I'm sure it got there because of someone's rec though and given how much stuff there is to read streaming in from every direction that probably makes a difference.

One thing that occurred to me is that maybe you could add some of your work to collections? Here are open ones for Buffy: there might be some opportunities there.

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

Avidrosette gave some splendid advice. I realize that you have been used to getting far more reactions and comments to your writings earlier and that all were well deserved. I wish it was still like that but the fandom is not that big anymore and those who are active are mostly relatively new fans.

A lot of us probably don't know your fantastic stories and therefore I am all for following Avidrosette's advice. Post on Nekid_Spike and other still active sites. People don't know what they are missing but bear in mind that we are few and far apart.

Btw, personally, I would be thrilled if I got 3 reviews, lol.

However, when all is said and done concerning this particular story, I don't much care for Darla and I tend to shy away from Darla oriented fics.

I do realize that I might grow to be fascinated with her if I finally sat down and watched my Angel dvds but I haven't and I don't know if I will.

But as I love your stories as a general rule, your post made me go read it finally and as it turns out, I did like it. It fit canon nicely which I always appreciate and it gave a nice insight to Darla's, Spike's and Dru's lives without Angelus.

You are a terrific writer - and what are we left? 40 active readers? And about 8 percent of us take time to write a review? I'd say it's a success these days :)

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

I vote for Sue's advice. And just to be clear, the issue is about what drives readers and feedback, it's not about the quality of your writing. That being said, I sympathize with your frustration.

[shapinglight]

Hi, love.

Thanks so much for all the good advice. I will try to make myself promote my stuff more on LJ and remember to link through to the Ao3 post. I suppose I didn't do it when I posted a lot of stuff on Ao3 a while back because they were all old stories. I also made the mistake of posting them with the date I first posted them to LJ rather than the date I posted them on Ao3. I'm not sure whether I should just go back and change that. Dunno. What do you think? I did change it for Brief Encounter, but as far a I can see, it made no difference.

As for Tumblr, I dunno. It's not a site I care for. I do have a Tumblr but I never use it. I'll have to investigate.

Also, sorry about the whingey nature of this post. I'm not actually dissatisfied with the amount of hits/kudos etc I've had on Ao3. I just couldn't understand why this story, in particular, and compared to other similar stories, appeared to be so unpopular.

[shapinglight]

'Twas always thus, I suppose.

[shapinglight]

That's a good suggestion. I actually did write one of those stories for a collection that's already up on A03. However, when I try editing the story to include that, even though typing the collection name in the search box brings up the name, when I try to post it just keeps telling me it can't find that collection.

Weird.

I can see all the other fics in it and I haven't made a mistake with the name.

It's called Buffy is the Hero, Damnit!, but when I click on that, the site is putting it in two separate collections called 'Buffy is the hero' and 'damnit' and then saying it can't find either of them.

[shapinglight]

I wish it was still like that but the fandom is not that big anymore and those who are active are mostly relatively new fans.

This is true. I get the impression that newer fans are less inclined to leave f/b. I've come across several instances of people discussing my fics, or saying they'd read and enjoyed them, but they never left any comments.

I do realize that I might grow to be fascinated with her if I finally sat down and watched my Angel dvds but I haven't and I don't know if I will.

B-but why not? AtS is a terrific show. If you've never seen it, I can quite understand why you don't care for Darla. Darla in BtVS season 1 is a caricature of the character she became on AtS.

As for f/b in general, I'm not actually dissatisfied either with the f/b I get these days on LJ or with the amount of hits/kudos I get on Ao3. I try to be realistic and remember that the fandom is very old now and has shrunk a lot. I think I've just got wound up about this particular story because I couldn't understand why it was so unpopular compared to others.

[shapinglight]

Ah, it's only really frustration about this one fic. I just couldn't understand why it was so unpopular.

There are others that haven't had that many hits, and I think I usually understand why (the pairing/description doesn't appeal/they're gen fics/whatever), but I'm particularly fond of this story and always have been, so I feel upset for its sake.

Very silly really.

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

B-but why not?

OK - that does it. I can't live with causing Shapinglight distress or stuttered responses. I will make sure I watch Angel starting tonight.

[yourlibrarian]

Unfortunately since I don't have any fic of my own, I don't have any experience posting to collections. But I'd suggest opening a Support request: http://archiveofourown.org/support If there's actually a bug in the process, they'll want to know that, and if it's just an error they can give you instructions for any other fics you add later.

[shapinglight]

That's a good idea. I'll do that.

[shapinglight]

Yay! How are you getting on?

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

I've watched most of season 1 by now and liking it so far :)But I still haven't seen Darla, though...

[shapinglight]

She doesn't turn up till quite near the end.

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

I just watched 'The Prodigal'.

Wow, so the stories about Angel(us) killing his entire family were not just the result of petty fanfiction writers.
(Picks up my dear William/Spike and pets them. Yes, you're nothing like that man, my sweets!)

And Darla was very intriguing.

[shapinglight]

And Darla was very intriguing.

Yay! She also says one of the most important lines in the whole show in that episode - the one about how when you become a vampire all that you were informs all that you are, and how Angelus can never defeat his father now.

Talk about twisting the knife.

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

That very line was excellent and very intelligent and very evil.

We also got a bit more information about vampires such as fledges hurt when they emerge from their graves.

That Darla though... She inflicts psychological pain rather exquisitely and in such a very sweet, malicious way.

[shapinglight]

Yes, she and Angelus make a wonderful pair really.

In the being very evil sense of the word 'wonderful' anyway.