Do you have any tips on how to get people to read original stories on platforms such as Wattpad and AO3? I've written one in the past but in the end I lost motivation due to it not getting read/not getting any feedback.
I know the feeling. I’m very feedback motivated myself when it comes to writing.
-Make sure you’re tagging appropriately and that your summary is short, clear and concise.
-Cross promote your work. For instance, on Tumblr--with the appropriate tags.
-If you have friends that are in the same fandom--if that’s what you’re writing, or friends who are writers in general, see if one of them will read for you and provide feedback to soothe that part of you that craves validation. (Make sure you offer to do the same for them, it’s only polite.)
Unfortunately, a large part of getting comments and feedback depends on building a following and as I’ve found out recently, sometimes that’s not enough.
Just remember that a lack of feedback on your writing doesn’t necessarily reflect on the writing itself; exposure is a huge part and sadly, a lot of people don’t comment or leave feedback a lot of the time if they like something. Taking the “no news is good news” approach may help with your mindset when putting your work out there. More people are going to fire up their keyboards to complain and be hateful than to say nice things, as crappy and disappointing as that is.
I wish you the best of luck in the future and I hope this was helpful!
