Got a fic that isn't getting a lot of traction, less than I would think for it.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

I have this fic called The Talon Organization  that feels pretty promising, yet its getting a lot less attention than I would have figured. At first i thought maybe the story just wasn't that good, but it has six likes and someone put it in the hidden gem group, so at least SOME people like it. 

I'm thinking the problem may have to do with the title or summary, but I'm not sure how to remedy that. Any advice would be appreciated. 

[SFyr 1,982]

What's your current method of getting it noticed/out there more?

 

Also, could easily be divided by whoever likes the themes/tags you're using. For example, some may shy away from crossover, human, sad, or anything of the like; not a lot you can do there but it's good to remember you're not appealing to everyone, but the subsection of people that would be interested in your kind of story--and the more specific or non-general/niche it is, the smaller that division is. Which isn't to say it's not worth pursuing, just that you might have a harder time getting the same number of readers.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

What's your current method of getting it noticed/out there more?

 

Also, could easily be divided by whoever likes the themes/tags you're using. For example, some may shy away from crossover, human, sad, or anything of the like; not a lot you can do there but it's good to remember you're not appealing to everyone, but the subsection of people that would be interested in your kind of story--and the more specific or non-general/niche it is, the smaller that division is. Which isn't to say it's not worth pursuing, just that you might have a harder time getting the same number of readers.

Usually a fic gets its first bout of traction from first getting posted, and after that I usually stick it into relevant groups. One of the problems is it almost got no traction at all from its initial launch and I think the low view ratings might be hurting it. 

 

I figured that might be a part of it. It does have Dark/Gore tags, but It's still got a lot less traction than I would have thought for the fic. Like from what i'm seeing I haven't even broke triple digits. Perhaps this one might be a slow burner. 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Buck Testa

[SFyr 1,982]

@@Buck Testa, major moments like first upload do seem big, but I think I've seen quite a few fics only really catch on when they make the front page, or get posted somewhere/get picked up by something with a lot of followers. Just keep going writing it the best you can, and doing what you can to promote it; pretty much half of any creative job is learning how to market your work.

 

Also, I'm not really knowledgeable in what makes a fic successful, so I can't really comment too hard on that. Personally, and in full honesty, it's not a fic I would read because of the strong emphasis on canon characters in human form; I'm among the demographic that doesn't go for that in a story, which isn't to say the story isn't worth reading, just that I'm an example of someone who your fic isn't for. You might get a division from the dark/gore tag, but human would be much the same. You have a group of people you're after capturing the attention of, and if that group is smaller, you need to keep in mind it might be harder to get the same level of traction as a more general fic appealing to what fans of the show are already known to like (likable/upbeat characters, friendship, ponies, and adventure).

 

That said, I suggest not really letting yourself get discouraged or hung up on numbers. If you really believe in your story, as something you want to write about, and as something you think people will enjoy reading, then just go for it for its own sake. And if you can, sink your hooks in early; like, find out what makes your story interesting, why people should read it, and see if you can work it into the first chapter if not the first introduction they see.

(And don't forget to publicize when you can)

[Buck Testa 5,503]

@@Buck Testa, major moments like first upload do seem big, but I think I've seen quite a few fics only really catch on when they make the front page, or get posted somewhere/get picked up by something with a lot of followers. Just keep going writing it the best you can, and doing what you can to promote it; pretty much half of any creative job is learning how to market your work.

 

Also, I'm not really knowledgeable in what makes a fic successful, so I can't really comment too hard on that. Personally, and in full honesty, it's not a fic I would read because of the strong emphasis on canon characters in human form; I'm among the demographic that doesn't go for that in a story, which isn't to say the story isn't worth reading, just that I'm an example of someone who your fic isn't for. You might get a division from the dark/gore tag, but human would be much the same. You have a group of people you're after capturing the attention of, and if that group is smaller, you need to keep in mind it might be harder to get the same level of traction as a fic appealing to what fans of the show are already known to like (likable characters, friendship, ponies, and adventure).

 

That said, I suggest not really letting yourself get discouraged or hung up on numbers. If you really believe in your story, as something you want to write about, and as something you think people will enjoy reading, then just go for it for its own sake. And if you can, sink your hooks in early; like, find out what makes your story interesting, why people should read it, and see if you can work it into the first chapter if not the first introduction they see.

(And don't forget to publicize when you can)

Its not really that gorey of a story per say, but there is enough of it that I pretty much have to put that tag else I'll be misleading people. Nobody wants that. Problem is there really isn't a gradient on the gore tag that you can use like "Light gore, medium gore, gorefest" ect. Which means that my story is going to be in the same catagory as a really gore laden horror fic, which it isn't. 

 

I get what you mean though, not everyone is in the mood for that with their characters. Hopefully it gets some traction later on, cause I enjoy writing it. 

 

[SFyr 1,982]

@@Buck Testa, if you enjoy writing it, it shouldn't be a big issue. Do your best to make it an awesome story, let your interest shine through your work, and do you best to sell it to people~ All you can really do, and well, focusing too hard on numbers of views/comments/followers is probably just going to discourage you and distract you from writing. In time you might even build up a following, but it can take time for many.

 

(Also, I think the sex tag has a similar issue, and enough people know that gore = descriptions of wounds/death are possible; gorefest stories will be obvious from the introduction, as are those that are just on the realistic side.)

[Buck Testa 5,503]

@@Buck Testa, if you enjoy writing it, it shouldn't be a big issue. Do your best to make it an awesome story, let your interest shine through your work, and do you best to sell it to people~ All you can really do, and well, focusing too hard on numbers of views/comments/followers is probably just going to discourage you and distract you from writing. In time you might even build up a following, but it can take time for many.

 

(Also, I think the sex tag has a similar issue, and enough people know that gore = descriptions of wounds/death are possible; gorefest stories will be obvious from the introduction, as are those that are just on the realistic side.)

Thanks for the feedback, that helps quite a bit.