[ SECRET POST #3240 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3240 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 027 secrets from Secret Submission Post #463.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

I write a lot (a story a week/every other week, in a fandom that usually gets about 10 stories a day) and I enjoy writing. However whenever I publish a fic and it doesn't get any comments, or only gets a few, I feel discouraged from writing. Not in a 'i won't post another chapter until it gets 10 comments!' way but in a 'maybe everyone hates my stories and i annoy people by posting them so often' way.

How do you guys deal with it? because I can't shake the feeling that people would rather I stopped posting. It causes me so much anxiety I almost want to stop publishing what I write.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

Well, you sort have to decide what your goals are and what you want out of the experience. If you want more feedback, you might add a note at the end of fics to actively solicit it. (But if you do, be prepared for negative feedback and be sure that you can deal with it maturely.)

If you just want to write and have fun and think of comments as something extra that occasionally comes your way, then try to remember the fact that lots of people lurk/read, but only a small percentage of readers comment.

If you're truly worried that nobody's commenting because you suck, concentrate on quality instead of quantity. Take a good hard look at your own work, or find someone who can objectively assess it for you, or a good beta.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding all this advice, and adding on that putting your name out there more doesn't hurt, either. Not in an obvious, "post comments on other people's stories like, 'Look at my story, please!'" sort of way, of course, 'cause that's annoying and pushy.

But if you find stories you enjoy by other writers, never hurts to review when you can, even if it's a simple, "Great story!" sort of comment. Sometimes you can strike up friendships and conversations with other writers that way, and they might start showing more interest in your work in turn. It's not a foolproof method, no, but it's worth a shot.

And if you've already been doing that with others' work, then just keep doing that alongside whatever else you're already doing. Eventually more authors have gotta bite and want to return the favor :).

Course, if you're the sort who's rather shy and reticent to talk to others or leave reviews, that could pose an understandable issue.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

SA

I try to be very good about leaving reviews because I know I hate not getting reviews myself. I guess all I can do is keep writing and keep trying.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

That's great! Yeah, it might take a while sometimes, 'cause, as others noted, fandom interaction tends to run very differently nowadays in some ways, unfortunately. But I wish you luck regardless, and hopefully some connections can be made that way :).

I do sympathize with your situation. I love writing just for the sake of writing, too, but it is nice, when you put your work out there, to know someone does show some interest in it all the same.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

SA

I do have a beta. She's very good at pointing out things that don't work and making suggestions but still I can never shake the thought that they're letting me down easy.

I'm thinking this is more of a self-esteem problem than a writing problem tbh.

Re: self-doubt

[a_potato]

Where are you publishing fic? Do you still get favorites/kudos? And how many hits are you getting?

Something to keep in mind is that the current trend is for people not to comment most of the time. It's not really a reflection on you; it's just less common for people to show their appreciation that way. Also, if you're not getting a lot of hits, it may have less to do with the quality of your work and more to do with publishing at the wrong time, dealing with material that's less popular, or even just not marketing the fic well enough (my hits and kudos went way up when I finally went ahead and posted links to my fics on tumblr).

Apart from that, remember the nature of the internet. If there's someone out there who hates you and gets annoyed by you, they're going to tell you. If no one has so far, then odds are you're doing just fine.

The best way to deal with the feeling that you might not be good, though, is to focus on constantly improving. How can you better make that sentence pop? How can you better describe that scene? How can you better convey that emotion? Strive to create content that you feel reflects your best, that you can feel good about regardless of reception. And then try to top it.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

AO3 + my tumblr.

I think you might be right, because now I've started comparing my fic with other stories being posted around the same time and other people seem to be getting about the same number of comments as I do, sometimes less. Huh. Getting some perspective.

100% agreeing about constantly improving tho.

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

Keep in mind that in fanfiction, what gets views/kudos/favs/reviews the most is more about subject matter than actual quality of writing.

People will flock to their pet characters, ships, plots and genres and focus on those, and pretty much ignore everything else.

You might get some exceptions with some one-shots, but what I'm saying is that the popularity game here is more about pandering (as long as your writing is readable at the very least).

Re: self-doubt

[(Anonymous)]

Sadly true. Gotta love when your just-for-fun oneshot pwp with the popular kink gets three times as many comments as the multi-chaptered story you are passionate about.