Platforms: Learning Where To Post
The Writer's Ink
Chapter 1
The Platforms: Learning Where to Post
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The first thing on our agenda is getting familiar with fanfiction sites. Below I'm going to list a few of some of the most popular and well known fanfiction sites on the web, and discuss the pros and cons of each platform. This is mainly based off my sole experience in the fanfiction world.
At the end of the list I will also briefly discuss using a blog to maintain your fanfics.
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(1) Asianfanfics.com
PROS:
- AFF has a VERY large community, ranging not only from Kpop fandoms, but to other Asian fandoms like Jpop and Cpop.
- AFF is also probably one of the only sites known for their requesting communities, where you as a reader can request a trailer, review, or oneshot from another individual and vice versa.
- The commenting system is very nice and very fast.
- You can easily change your fic's poster every chapter.
- The reading interface that hosts your fic is nice and clean, making it easy to read and gives the fic an air of professionalism.
- There is an automatically generated Foreword page which contains a Description, Character, and Foreword section.
- AFF allows writers to fiddle with the different font and color elements of their pages within their fics.
CONS:
- AFF does have a lot of inexperienced writers, and therefore contain several low level fics.
- Most fics found here are the absolute definition of cliché, and are terrible examples to base your works off of. There are the occasional gems amongst the mountains of sand, but most are difficult to find.
- On the same note, the featured fics are usually undeserving of theur title, and it almost makes you angry to see such bad quality fics getting such an honor, but what happens, happens.
- AFF has a terrible editing interface, in my opinion, which is not compatible with common internet browsers like Mozilla Firefox.
- Writers cannot track their page views or page counts.
- You cannot reply to comments – you have to visit the profile page of the person who commented on your fic, and then leave your thanks on their wall.
- In the Foreword section you can only list the names of your characters under the Character section, meaning all character charts must then be inserted into the Foreword.
- The community is also unorganized in the sense that request and other service shops are usually lost within the mix of other stories and fics.
Overall your story will initially not receive a lot of loving by the general community at this site, and you might have to find readers yourself. Readers won't come to you, unfortunately >.< On a personal note, in the beginning my fic adventure here on AFF was unsuccessful, but as of late I'm getting some very nice feedback and support, so my opinions are beginning to change a bit.
(2) Asianfanfiction.com
PROS:
- Consists of a large range of different fandoms, including the popular kpop and jpop groups and also extending into dramas and includes various actors/actresses.
- Lots of challenges are available for readers and writers both to participate in.
- Very well organized, although on the occasion it can be difficult to find fics.
- It also tracks reviews received and your responses to those reviews. (Page views are also recorded PER chapter! :D)
CONS:
- There are not many readers on this site, and the few that are, are usually silent readers opposed to actual reviewers. Feedback is practically nonexistent.
- The site does not allow writers to upload huge posters of their fics, but only banners of reasonable dimensions.
- All of the writer's fics must be approved by the staff before it is available to be read by the public.
Overall my experience here was uneventful. I have but a few readers on this site, and sometimes everything is just too overwhelming and frustrating. I don't understand why my fics have to be checked by the staff either >.< I don't really understand the reasoning behind this.
(3) Soompi.com
NOTE: Most of the following comments also apply to independent fandom forums such as SHINeee.net for Shawols and Super Legacy for ELFs. I did however highlight/star the points that apply only to Soompi forums for your convenience.
PROS:
- *The forum has several good fics – legendary even for their incredible story lines and plots. They have a lot of good writing and talent for all to see.
- *They have fantastic challenges for BOTH writers AND readers. They are definitely worthy of being checked out, especially the Summer Gokon activity. (Though it is currently on hiatus!)
- *The writing range is pretty nice, and different from what one would expect since Soompi includes fics featuring both gasoo (celebrity and idol) and nongasoo (just regular people who aren't famous) characters.
- You have free reign to design your thread as you wish, from different fonts to different colors, but too many graphics, and graphics that are too large, will mess with the interface of the site and make your fic look unattributed and unprofessional.
- There is a thread located for writers and readers both to interact and get to know one another, and there are some incredible topics of discussion. It's like writing school, and everyone is very welcoming and friendly. You can learn a lot from the thread alone about the ficcing world! :D And the writers love to share their opinions and thoughts.
- The advertising possibilities are endless for your fics, since you can edit your signature accordingly to include both a banner and link to your stories (There is a LIMIT however!).
CONS:
- As of late there haven't been many readers on the forum, and therefore most stories don't get an initial response until well into the story itself.
- The forum isn't too well organized, and unless you update your fic often, it can easily be lost in the sea of other fics, and it is just as equally hard to FIND a fic as well.
- *The forum doesn't allow fics with heavy or PWP. It has to be an actual story with a plot!
- *There are also no (perhaps a small handful?) of or yuri fics. It's mostly for the common couple fics.
- *There isn't much new talent being welcomed into the community, since the readers are too busy spazzing over past classics.
- *Some of the more popular stories, regardless of the fact they ARE well written, contain cliches – SEVERAL cliches. Most fics are usually gang related fics or about drug abuse. The spontaneity is significantly...overlooked.
- Writers are usually forced to include a PM list, since readers cannot subscribe to their fic, and if writers decide not to include this list, most readers will look away and stop reading. Bookmarking just isn't an option anymore for them >.<
- A couple years back Soompi had a huge crash which resulted in the loss of several fics, writers, and even readers. >.<
I'm not a huge fan of Soompi at all. There are a few great, nice fics and writers alike, but my heart isn't happy with the site completely.
I'm also not very pleased with the independent forums themselves. I feel like they're missing something and the community is too small for my taste, even for popular fandoms.
(4) Livejournal.com
PROS:
- There are several communities to which you can post your fics, and each community corresponds with a different fandom. The possibilities are ENDLESS! There are even communities dedicated to independent pairings!
- Responses usually come fast, and I can promise that you will get AT LEAST one review within the first to second day. If you don't, then you’re doing something very, VERY wrong. That's how incredible the site is.
- Readers want to be your friend, they will even go as far as to sit back and chat with you for a while, and offer their two cents worth any time you ask.
- The commenting and notification system are great – everything is tracked quickly and efficiently.
- You have free reign over the attractiveness of your fic, and it's up to you to control the organization of your fics via the labels gadget, or creating a masterlist of all of your fics.
- Masterlists are your friend guys! EVERYONE on LJ usually has one, and they are bffs of not only the writers, but readers as well. I guarantee that writers with masterlist have a 50% higher chance of getting more comments and readers alike than those that don't. Sometimes a reader will be so taken with your writing style, they'll want to read ALL of your works! :D
- Readers put more attention on content and wording than they do to ANYTHING else. You WILL be judged for your writing. That is set in stone and can never, and will never, be changed on LJ. If your summary or cut isn't good, than that is enough for readers to look away....and that's the way it SHOULD be when it comes to good writing.
CONS:
- I don't love the livejounal templates for your journals, so I chose the basic white lj cut template for my fics to give them a clean and polished look (but it messes with my account and inbox display too much >.<). In addition, I've noticed that authors that use this template have a different air of professionalism when it comes to their fics, and readers prefer to read/comment more on their works as well.
- If you decide to join livejournal, do not forget to properly post your fics in a community, otherwise they will quickly be forgotten. Don't forget, follow the community rules carefully, otherwise you CAN and WILL be removed.
- When advertising and posting your fics, you cannot post graphics to the communities – this is against community rules, and will get you removed. I'm not saying to not get a poster or other graphic for your fic, but when it comes down to it, no one is going to notice.
- Sometimes the site does go down for maintenance purposes, and cannot be accessed for up to three days at a time >.< However, I have not heard of anyone having lost their fics to date.
Overall I've had a great experience with livejournal. There are a couple of elements I would like to change, but overall the community is great, the fics are VERY nice, there is a lot of room for growing talent, and goodness I just love it. I have so many favorite authors and stories here. This is a fantastic place for all to start. I would highly recommend livejournal to all of my readers and beginning writers.
(5) Fanfiction.net (for non-original characters and stories) & FictionPress.com (for original characters and stories)
PROS:
- The organization on these sites are refreshing – everything can easily be found, and from what I've noticed, it's all based on a proper labeling system. Thus, label your fics correctly!
- All fics are based on content and your summary. People read your story for the sake of the plot and story itself – they will not read your story based on how attractive it is, and although there are the ever present cliches, there are also the ever present non-cliches as well.
- You can favorite, subscribe, review, etc. each and every fic AND its author. The system is beautiful! The makers have definitely outdone themselves! And the interface is clean and easy on the eyes!
- Anything and everything is allowed, from PWP to to yuri! :D
CONS:
- There aren't that many Asian fanfiction writers (I believe there are more on FictionPress.com than Fanfiction.net) – there are but a few handful, but other fandoms, such as Harry Potter (on Fanfiction.net), have a HUGE database on the site. It's incredible! I love the fics here!
- This one irks me the most – you cannot edit your stories and/or chapters after you have already posted them. In order to edit your fics, you have to DELETE your current section/sections and reupload the changed one, therefore not only losing all your comments and reviews, but your viewers too.
Fanfiction.net is the first fanfiction site I found, and it's sister site, FictionPress.com, I found a couple of years after. The sites are great and I love them both dearly, even though they don't provide for my favorite fandoms.
Even though the communities for Asian fanfiction are small, they are growing, and there are plenty of other different communities available for posting as well. If you're just starting out on fanfiction, or maybe are a young reader just starting out/are curious, check these babies out (especially Fanfiction.net)! They are great sites and opportunities for you to learn. I have learned so much from these sites alone! So many memories! :D
(6) DeviantArt.com
PROS:
- Surprisingly enough this site isn't JUST for art, as in photography and paintings, but literature as welll. This site is very similar to Livejournal, since writers have to submit their writings to independent communities. The largest communities are of Super Junior followed by SHINee.
- Advertising opportunities are abundant in your signature where you can include a link to your story for all to see! :D You also get to include a poster in the header of your fic, which is pretty nice, if I do say so myself ;)
- The reviews and responses come fast – people love good writing on DA, and if you have what it takes, you'll be getting feedback in a heartbeat.
- The review/response system is fantastic, and you can also put people on your “WATCH” list (and vice versa) to subscribe to their feed.
- YOU ARE ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY INSPIRATION! Sometimes, and this is mainly directed at writers, we have trouble trying to find inspiration for our fics. Here, you are ALWAYS surrounded by tons of inspiration that you can easily check out and is displayed on DA 24/7. I get a lot of inspirational elements from here! ^.^
CONS:
- You can't play around with this puppy too much – it is what it is, and DA only includes the utmost basics for the literature category. You can't design your fic too much (i.e. font/color), but it's not really too much of a big deal in my opinion– people should be more focused on your fic's content anyways.
- It's also a little disorganized, and on the occasion it can be difficult to find fics, especially since there aren't that many to begin with.
Overall, I love this baby. I have the largest fic community here and I love all of my fans. I have so many loyal readers and get so much love that it usually takes me a couple of days to respond to all of the comments. There is a lot of purity and honest affection on this site that just warms your heart.
I have to give Vera, one of my ultimate besties in the fic world (who also motivated me to keep writing Last Snow XD), my thanks for introducing me to this site. I love it death. I also wish you could all meet Vera – maybe I'll ask her to write up a chapter for you guys, no? ;) - because she's incredibly warm and sweet. She's the best! I couldn't have asked for a better fic buddy myself.
(7) Winglin.net
PROS:
- Has a huge database of fics, ranging from so many different fandoms from various regions.
- There is an automatic Foreword that comes with each story submission.
- There are tons of readers on the site! :D
- You can easily display a very large and big poster at the top of your story, and can even decorate the background of your text.
CONS:
- Completely unorganized! There are too many fics to flicker through, and it becomes overwhelming very quickly.
- There is the occasional shut down for maintenance, and sometimes fics can/are be lost. >.<
- Readers cannot subscribe to your story, and there is a nonexistent responding to reviews system.
- If you decide to upload more than one story to the site, you have to create an entirely new account.
- There are no opportunities for writers to decorate their stories content in terms of font or color. This site only makes available the basics of the basics.
Overall....I almost hate Winglin? There was one fic on here that I REALLY liked, but that was years ago, and I believe Winglin lost that fic over time, and it is now no more. It's too much of a hassle to post on Winglin, and there are better alternatives available. >.< I don't think it's worth the effort in all honesty, and even though readers are still going back this site, they're also moving on to bigger and better ones as well.
(8) Blogspot, Tumblr, Wordpress, etc.
- Ok, now that we've hit all the big, fanfiction related sites, I'm going to talk a little bit about blogging your fics. Before I even begin I do want to warn all my readers to keep in mind that if you decide to blog your fics ONLY, you will not get a good response >.< The blogging community for fics is currently small, although it is growing, but it is still small, and readers have a hard time finding your site. If you decide to blog your fics, make sure to create a LJ account and post cuts in the corresponding communities to direct readers to your fics. This is very important!
- So what are the benefits of blogging your fic?
- Power. You as the writer are given ALL the power to adjust your entries and stories accordingly. There is so much room for you to play around in. You can design your fics as you wish, and the organization is fantastic. If you're a big writing fanatic, this will only HELP you, since everything will be in one place and most importantly: ORGANIZED!
- You can also edit the HTML of your blog to prevent people from plagiarizing your works! :D
- I also really like blogging my fics since I get to decorate them to my personal taste, which is a huge plus in my eyes. I LOVE designing. I'm a very artsy person, so anything like that is welcomed in my eyes, and the tutorials for decorating are endless!
- Even though writing has a lot to do with content, it also has a lot to do with presentation.
- (And if you so happen to not be such a great designer you CAN learn via the tutorials available, or you can simply use the templates provided/available.)
- In addition to all that has been mentioned, blogging your fics also comes with the advantage of being able to post different MEDIUMS with or within your fics, including pictures, music, videos, etc. I personally use a lot of pictures and music, my two favorites inspirational mediums. They are perfect ways deck up your fic and make it look attractive! ;) It also says a lot about the author!
- The only negative about blogging your fics, is that the community and amount of readers is small. But you can change this! I have found ways to increase your blog's readers, and if anyone’s interested, I'd love to write up a chapter explaining to you guys on how to blog your fics. Let me know if anyone is interested! :D
- WARNING: If you decide to blog your fics, DO NOT USE TUMBLR! Use a respectable, sturdy, and SOLID platform! Tumblr is too confusing and unorganized! >.< Don't use it. If you use it and I find out...I'm failing you on the spot. There is no room for discussion LOL What I say goes and Tumblr does not sit well with me.
- The best option is Blogspot, and although it's not my personal favorite, Wordpress is a very decent and good option as well. BUT DO NOT USE TUMBLR >.< DO NOT! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN! >.<
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So that's our list! :D (Talk about moody XD)There are a couple more sites where you can post your fics here and there, but most of those sites aren't very popular or well known, and I wouldn't encourage you to stray too far from this list.
(Wattpad, Mediaminer, etc. are not communities I would recommend for you guys to post at. Please stick to the list – you will get the best feedback and responses on the sites I have listed. If you do stray from this list, please stray with a guarded heart. I cannot promise you a good response >.< )
As you guys can see, I've included the URL for each of the sites above. Your job as students is to check out each and every link and experiment. See what's best for you and check out the fics posted at each site! Figure out what's on your level and what's not on your level. Also make sure to check out some of the more famous writers to see their level of writing and professionalism, and also check out the responses of the readers as well. In order to be a good writer, you must be able to write to your community accordingly, especially if you're just starting out. Don't forget to see how people view your fandom of choice either! :D
Based on my personal experience, again, SHINee and Super Junior are two of the largest fic fandoms, and both have incredible fics to boot. Most fics under these fandoms are very emotional and very descriptive. A lot of them are for more mature readers, with the occasional crack/humor fics in between. If you’re just starting out, these two fandoms are good places to start your journey, so check out their corresponding platforms!
There you have it everyone! The first segment of our fic writing journey! WOOT! :D This is actually a LOT of fun...LOL XD I'm definitely enjoying this more than I should XD I hope all the information I shared with you guys was beneficial.
If you have any thoughts or feedback, let me know! :D Also, if any of you guys decide to post/join the sites above, please look me up under the same screen name ;) I'd love to check your fics out keke.
On a final note, I can't wait for the next segment, which is where the lies will be revealed and where the truths will be presented: The Writer's Sins. (XD Oh goodness!) XD I will bare all for you guys to see, so please look forward to this chapter!
Oh, and if you have any questions or requests for later chapters, please drop a comment below and I will make sure to address it! :D
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On a final note, again, all that was mentioned above is based off my personal experience. I'm not trying to make anyone angry or upset by my words. I'm only trying to help out young readers/authors, and that is my sole goal. Please do not let my words effect you negatively! :D
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