Tumblr Tips for Fic Writers
Ok, so ever since The Purge in December, it has been more difficult to get fics seen by potential readers. Here are some tips I have figured out mostly through trial and error but also by talking to other blogs here.
1. No hyperlinks. No links back to your masterlist. No links to previous chapters. No taglists. Any link in your post can potentially hide your fic from the searches. If people can’t find your fic in the searches you can’t build an audience. *edit: You can reblog your story with the taglist so people who want to be notified about it can be. Just don’t do it in the original post.
2. Use hashtags appropriately and use a lot of them. Tag the crap out of your fic. I tag general fandoms, characters, then ship pairs such as character x reader, character x you, etc. If your fandom has an abbreviated name tag both. Ex: GoT and Game of Thrones or Spn and Supernatural.
3. Use a “keep reading” bar. When you are posting on desktop and hit the enter button a selection of little gray buttons appear. The one that is a grey rectangle with three white dots is the keep reading button. For mobile, you’ll need to google how to do it, but I have heard there is a way. If you have longer chapters, like over 500-600 words or so, you have to use this button if you want people to reblog your story…and you want them to reblog. Most people will not clog their dash or their follower’s dash with a story that will make them scroll excessively. I’ve talked with several other blogs about this and we all agree that no matter how much we love the story, a keep reading button is essential.
4. Don’t sell your stories short. If an author’s note says “this is crap” “take my trash” “I suck but have a fic anyway” etc. Why would people read it? Most people I know will keep scrolling because 1. you already said it sucks 2. it’s passive aggressive manipulation. Let people decide for themselves. And let them go in with an open mind.
5. Have an easily accessible masterlist. I googled “How to make a masterlist link in bio on Tumblr” and learned how to do it. This is essential. If people like the fic they just read, they are going to want more. If they can’t find it, you may lose a potential reader, follower, and friend. You have to make your masterlist easy to find.
6. Participate in challenges and events. If you see someone is hosting an event for something, grab a slot. People who host these things typically have already built a good following. This is a way for you to interact more with the community and get your name out there.
7. After you post your own fic, reblog it. Reblog it with your reader taglist since they can’t go in the original post. Reblog it for timezones, not everyone is on Tumblr at the same time. Don’t be afraid to reblog your own story.
8. Since reblogs don’t show up in the searches…I make a post with the Title, Characters, Summary, and Warnings with an eye-catching gif and a lot of tags telling people that I have a new story and that they can find my masterlist in my bio. Now, this may sound dumb, but I get a couple new readers every time I do this.
9. This one is more for readers than writers. Reblog!!!! Please for the love of everything. Reblog. It is so hard to get our stories out there without it. If you love a story, reblog it. I can reblog my own story until I’m blue in the face, but it only reaches people that are already following me. Support your fave creators…fanfic, gifs, fanartists, moodboard creators, aesthetics, etc. Reblog their work.
