I just posted a a story on fanfiction.net for the first time.?

Question

How can I bring more traffic to my stories? This is a question for those who are familiar with fanfiction.

Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Write fanfics in popular categories and comment on other people's stories.

Answer 2

Well some people shamelessly advertise on other fansites that are related to their stories (say a Facebook group, or even here).

For me I found that the more stories I wrote on fanfiction the more I had people waiting for other stories, so the more readers and reviews I had. But don't be surprised if your first story or two isn't as popular as you hope, they tend to get more popular the more you write.

Also, if you are going to request things like this, I would recommend getting in the shameless advertising. Post your user name (so that people know what to look for) your story title, what book/movie/whatever it is based off of, and a link to it.

Good luck.

Answer 3

The only way that I have found it is to shamelessly promote yourself, especially on the forums that support your fanfic

Answer 4

Here's what I've found helps:

-Have a good summary. Just a brief line or two about the plot, clean and concise. People just want to know what your stories about ... don't put things like "Review and review please!!" or "My first fanfic story!!" And most importantly, make sure your grammar's correct and there aren't any typos.

-Avoid long author's notes. In fact, if you can get away without using one at all, that's even better. You want people to immediately look at your story and read it when they click.

-Start your story in the middle of something, like a conversation or action scene. Don't start with a long paragraph of narration or an "info-dump." Don't bore your readers, give them a hook right from the get-go.

-Proofread. Make sure all your grammar, punctuation, capitalization. etc. is correct. If you're not sure you can do it yourself, get a beta reader.

-As for the plot, avoid cliches. Of course there's general cliches, and then there's fandom-specific cliches. You know, the same storyline over and over. Write something original.

-Stay in character, even if it means it slows down your plot.

-Avoid OC's / fancharacters. There's nothing wrong with them, but they simply get less reviews/ hits. People want to read about the canon characters. If you do use an OC, don't make them the focus of the story and definitely don't have them be a Mary Sue.

-Review other people's stories. Also, when you get a review, reply back to say thank you.

I've heard people say the best advice for getting more hits / reviews is simply to write a good story .. and that's probably true. Write the kind of story YOU would want to read. Chances are, someone else will want to too. Good luck :)