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SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#1: Nov 11th 2012 at 6:48:34 PM

Hey, I've written a total of 7 fanfics, and 2 more are coming. The problem is, I've created a new crossover fic called Inheritance of the Slashers, and a fifth chapter is in production, but there are only 3 reviews!

How can I increase reviews for this story of mine? Most crossover fics I see have well over 10 reviews, even the ones with only 1 chapter. Please, give me some advice!

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#2: Nov 11th 2012 at 9:24:40 PM

Just keep writing, I guess. That's how I finally got reviews. Also, writing consistently for a fandom, specifically a popular fandom, helps, but that doesn't matter as much as writing for what you want to write. smile

Do not obey in advance.
Hyp3rB14d3 Since: Jan, 2001
#3: Nov 11th 2012 at 9:53:47 PM

Advertise your fic as much as you can. Spread the word, and ask readers who like it to tell their friends about it. Posting it in places other than fanfiction.net also helps get feedback, but will actually decrease the amount of reviews you get at fanfiction.net, since the people who see it will respond to it where they see it at.

LioneFortuna Since: Aug, 2012
#4: Nov 26th 2012 at 12:17:40 PM

Well, I did it just by constantly writing. Also, address your reviewers sometimes because it helps them want to keep on reviewing for every chapter, knowing that they're helping the writer of something they like, which means that in addition to any new reviewers, you keep the older readers that have reviewed already. But don't let them take the story for themselves though, just as a warning.

Another tip for crossovers is to work the two things you are crossing over together. Instead of just saying 'what if ____' and going off on that, try to meld the two. For example, there was one very well written Infinite Stratos and Armored Core fanfiction that instead of saying "what if (name) was an IS pilot and had an Armored Core style IS Unit", the worlds of Infinite Stratos and Armored Core were blended together, allowing fans of both series to enjoy it rather than the Armored Core addition taking over and being the main focus.

MrMallard Since: Oct, 2010
#5: Nov 26th 2012 at 2:39:29 PM

Yeah, just write as much as you can so you can grow your audience. Asking for reviews - nicely - is also an alright way to go.

IsaacSapphire from North of the Moon Since: Jul, 2009
#6: Feb 24th 2013 at 2:01:04 PM

Make sure that your description of your story is the best you can make it. That little section that people see before they actually click on your story? Put time into making it a really good, attractive representation of your story, not just yet another "I suck at writing these, just read it." because most people won't. You have just a little space to attract people into reading your story, make the most of it. Make sure that you have all the appropriate tags too.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#7: Feb 24th 2013 at 3:51:36 PM

There are two ways that pretty much guarantee you'll get reviews:

1) Get added to a popular collection/community, thereby getting lots of people to click on your story based on someone's recommendation.

2) Find a good forum community with a Review Tag. This is how I have gotten almost all of my reviews on my crossovers. The trade-off is that then you have to write reviews for people who probably only have one fandom in common with you. And unless you're really lucky (like I've been) Sturgeon's Law will be in full effect. The group I found for Mass Effect only has about half the writers who are in the 95% crap category. smile

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#8: Feb 25th 2013 at 1:59:32 AM

So far, I've found the best way seems to be to review other people's stuff. Then they go see what you've written.

Be not afraid...
FullParagon Since: Jan, 2013
#9: Feb 25th 2013 at 2:39:42 PM

Dang it blue, don't go scaring people off my stories now!

Anyway, one way to get reviews is to ASK for them. Sometimes, a simple "I appreciate all feedback, especially reviews!" is enough. Writing for a popular fandom does help, as does not writing crossovers and keeping things rated T or less. Pandering to the audience will also help you get views. IE, write a popular ship, use popular characters.

The most important part though is be good at it. If you are a bad writer, don't worry. There are lots of people out there who can help you increase your ability. Listen to their feedback and keep writing so that your craft improves. When I started writing fanfiction, I got no reviews, my work was horrible and I got depressed and nearly gave up.

Then I scrapped my old work, started writing a new fic and joined a community that supported me and helped me grow as a writer. Now I am much more successful review wise.

allboyband from Sunnydale, CA Since: Oct, 2011
#10: Jul 2nd 2013 at 1:09:44 AM

I would say just keep writing. I know that sounds dumb, but I believe there's always room for improvement, and I've seen people who have been writing for a long time get better. Once they have a very popular story, people start reading and reviewing their older works. Making your summaries interesting also draws in more readers, especially if you're writing about something no one else has done before. Maybe you should collaborate with someone else.

edited 2nd Jul '13 1:10:36 AM by allboyband

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#11: Jul 2nd 2013 at 3:51:52 PM

After six months of steady writing now, I think I'll add some more points to my previous post.

3) Update on a regular schedule, not randomly. Whether that's once a week, every other week, once a month, or whatever, make a schedule and keep to it as much as possible.

4) Get someone to beta your fic. Having good spelling and grammar makes it more likely that someone will read your fic past the first two paragraphs. The occasional mistake is ok, but consistently lousy writing is not.

5) Write a good summary. If you can't, ask someone to help you with it. Under no circumstances have a summary that says, "sorry, this summary is crap" or anything along those lines - if you can't write two sentences to describe your story, I'm not going to read two words of it.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#12: Jul 3rd 2013 at 11:06:29 AM

It's a game of self-promotion, i've found. Online writing is like owning a store: you could have the coolest store in the world and still go bankrupt if you suck at getting people in the door.

Like an above poster said, interesting summaries are important. People always want to see certain things in fics (shipping being the biggest draw, which got me trapped in that realm and pulled me rapidly away from Gen), or addressing topics from the story that compel readers (Ensemble Dark Horse with a mystery past, try to flesh it out, etc). If you're crossovering, focus on promoting how different characters from the two sides interact with each other.

Edit: All of this is presuming that your writing is good enough to merit reviews, obviously, but one can observe on FF.net that even poorly written fics, if they're dealing with interesting subject matters, will get reviews. It's the ones with awkward or spartan summaries, or that are clearly focused on uninteresting ideas (even if well-written), that are going to sink you.

edited 3rd Jul '13 11:09:06 AM by Ogodei

RN452 X-ALL! from Kakiland Since: Nov, 2011
X-ALL!
#13: Jul 3rd 2013 at 11:14:57 AM

"...even poorly written fics, if they're dealing with interesting subject matters, will get reviews."

Yeah, that's very truthful.

My work is here. Current main fic: Tengen Toppa Gurren Solvernia
swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#14: Jul 3rd 2013 at 3:46:25 PM

It's all about presentation (assuming the story is good). Rule 1: A good summary and a good title. Above all, there shouldn't be spelling or grammar mistakes in either of them. The summary should tell the reader what the story is about, but don't add too many fandom terms there. Rule 2: Never ever write either in the summary or the a/n anything negative about your own work, especially not in the first chapters. It will only make the readers think "well, if the writer isn't satisfied with it, than it can't be good". Rule 3: For multi-chaptered fics make sure that every chapter has at leas 1000 words, without the notes. Two reasons: Shorter chapters don't allow the reader to really sink into the story and a lot of experience ff-readers will just check the overall number of words and the number of chapters and when they see 10 chapters but only 7000 words (or less) they will most likely give your story a pass. Rule 4: Don't beg for reviews. You can write an encouraging note that you are open for criticism, but don't pout about a lack of reviews or hold the next chapter hostage until you have reached a certain number. Writers who seems to be more interested in review than in writing leave a very bad impression. Rule 5: Speaking of a/n, don't go overboard with them. The less you use them, the better. Especially don't do this thing with a fake dialogue about your fic as a/n, many readers see that as juvenile and are annoyed when they have to read through a ton of stuff until finally the story starts. Rule 6: Are there thematic lists in your fandom? If there are, it might be a good idea to ensure that your fic is on the list which fits the theme you are writing about. Rule 7: Just write. If you are good, people will find you sooner or later. If you aren't, you'll learn while you write. Rule 8: Especially for Crossovers: Consider that there might be people reading the story which are not familiar with all the shows you are referring to. Make sure to explain enough about the characters that they can keep up. Hope that helps....

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#15: Jul 3rd 2013 at 8:32:21 PM

I'm never a guy who gets so desperate I take stories/chapters hostage till an X amount of reviews comes in. There has been only one time in the history (as of yet) of Inheritance of the Slashers I had a big gap between updates. I also review other stories and because of that, make friends with people on FF. net and kindly ask them to check out IOTS, as well as being open to any criticism in my A/N's.

I'm trying to change my summary, since to be very honest, I kind of modeled it after the summary for Turn of the Tides, a Halo/Inheritance Cycle crossover by Captiosus (also one of my favorites). I struggle with making it sound unique, though, without it also having any corny one-liners. Any tips on that?

Maybe the rating (it's M) has something to do with it, but from my point of view, M is the perfect rating for it.

Should I also ask people from all corners of the internet to review? I mean, I am on a fan fiction forum...

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
HarryBCDresden Since: Jan, 2012
#16: Jul 21st 2013 at 4:07:33 PM

Makokam's Precocious Crush in the Kick Ass universe offers a bonus chapter to readers who review more than a certain percentage of the chapters over a certain amount of time. (EX: If you review 8 chapters out between 10 and 25, you get a bonus chapter) It seems to work, considering he/she averages over 20 reviews per chapter.

edited 21st Jul '13 4:08:31 PM by HarryBCDresden

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#17: Jul 29th 2013 at 8:40:39 AM

[up] So how do those reviewers get the bonus chapters? Does the author PM them the whole chapter?

Also, anyone here interested and want to review?

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
Dartz-IRL from NULL Since: Jul, 2009
#18: Jul 29th 2013 at 9:28:24 AM

I dislike review-whoring.

10 Reviews to the next chapter -etc.

It doesn't do anyone any good. Don't do it.

Wait. What. I typo'd and accidentally created a second profile? Fix it.
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#19: Jul 29th 2013 at 9:59:40 AM

[up] I do not hold chapters hostage for more reviews. And I am not trying to review-whore, I just don't understand how people find it so hard to type a 40-word review, or even something as simple as "cool" or "could be better". Even most of the people who are Favoriting and Following my story don't seem to bother.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
Dartz-IRL from NULL Since: Jul, 2009
#20: Jul 29th 2013 at 10:23:10 AM

5-10% of readers reviewing is lucky.

A whole cluster of views will be people looking at it... then deciding not to carry on. Or getting bored, or reloading the browser - or a dozen other things.

Or you can review other people's stuff.

Wait. What. I typo'd and accidentally created a second profile? Fix it.
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#21: Jul 29th 2013 at 10:39:34 AM

[up] I have reviewed some other people's stories and they have reviewed Inheritance of the Slashers in turn, and I keep good relations with those authors, but it's a small amount of people.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#22: Jul 29th 2013 at 4:03:24 PM

I dislike review-whoring. - Dartz
I agree, though I have no problem leaving an "I love reviews!" author note. Because it's true; I do like reviews. But my work on a story isn't dependant on receiving reviews or anything along those lines.

I just don't understand how people find it so hard to type a 40-word review, - Sci Fi Slasher
It's possible that a lot of people don't realize how nice it is for the author to get a new review. I certainly didn't until I had gotten a ways into publishing one of my stories. Before that, I wasn't good at leaving reviews (and I still don't review every chapter normally, but I do leave at least occasional reviews).

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Ellowen My Ao3 from Down by the Bay Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Crazy Cat Lady
#23: Oct 27th 2013 at 9:56:59 PM

I usually give really terrible cliffhangers and the promise that people who leave feedback get a preview a few days before the chapter is released. That's worked well for me, most of the time. cliffhangers in general, because readers like to leave a sign of " if you abandon this I'll hunt you down" and "holy shit did that just happen?" and " if you kill of my favorite character I'll cry/ please don't kill (favorite character)"

Got a degree in Emotional trauma via fictional characters aka creative writing. hosting S'mores party in Hell for fellow (evil) writers
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#24: Oct 27th 2013 at 10:51:46 PM

To me it is not about the number of reviews, but about the kind of reviews. I am always giddy when someone writes that the characters are IC and I love reviews which point out flaws.

Hyp3rB14d3 Since: Jan, 2001
#25: Oct 27th 2013 at 11:14:18 PM

I find that the number and types of reviews tend to vary on where you post your work. On fanfiction.net, you'll be lucky if you see a single review for every hundred people to view your work. On forums, however, you can expect anyone who has something to say about your work to do so. Spacebattles.com is especially easy to get reviews on. Just don't expect them to put kid gloves on; if people see something they don't like in your work, they can and will tear into it. This has lead to the majority of the retcons in my fic.


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