hi!! i'm in the process of writing a fic that i plan to post on ao3 and i'm just wondering how you get readers and stuff. i worry that if i just post it no one will see but i'm not sure if there's anything i can do...
Hi! Firstly congrats on writing a fic! I hope you're enjoying playing with these characters and having fun with your story! Posting work can be a hard/frustrating/amazing/rewarding/confusing process so as much as we love readers (and kudos and comments!) it is really important to write because you enjoy writing and to write for yourself first. Be your own biggest fan! Write what you want to read!
I am not by any means an expert in getting readers, but here is most of what I have learned after many years of writing fic.
On AO3 the default is that all fics are listed in the order they were posted, so as soon as you post your fic will be at the top of the list! In an active fandom, there are usually a few people who check AO3 regularly and read any new fics that catch their eye. So just by posting, you're likely to get a few readers if the fandom is active enough (to captalise on this you can also pick a time to post when the fandom is buzzing e.g. when there's new content or a new season out).
If your fic is long, it's worth splitting it into chapters because each chapter puts you back at the top of the page on AO3 and gives you another chance to share that you're writing. (Also for me that's one of the better things about posting fic, getting to see people react to the story as it unfolds.)
What do I mean by sharing? I mean when you post fic, tell people in whatever fandom spaces you are in! A lot of people want to read fic but aren't checking AO3 every day so you have to find other ways to tell them about it. I posted on tumblr, and tagged 'young royals' and 'young royals fic' so anyone following those tags would see it. The great @hillerskalibrary I think finds most tagged fic so they'll share your story with their followers who are looking for fic. I know there's a YR community on Twitter so if you're in that, tell them you're writing!
Get chatting to YR fans in whatever space you're in, make friends and then you can not only ask them to read it, you can make them help you edit it! (This is how all beta readers are made, I'm pretty sure.)
For tumblr, if you like making graphics, having a banner or a header or something might help you stand out but it's more important to just make sure your post tells people what the fic is about so they'll want to take a look!
But it can be hard, and sometimes you don't get the reception you were hoping for. It's easy to look at the big super popular fics in any fandom and get disheartened when you've got less comments or kudos, but those kind of numbers depend so much on how big the fandom is when you post, what tropes people are wanting to read, who happens to give your fic a go, and if people start talking about it none of which is in your control. The trick is to enjoy the writing for itself, to write things you love and to find people to talk to about your ideas and your stories who will love them with you. (By taking part in the fandom, getting beta readers, etc.) I have fics on AO3 with less than 10 kudos that I love and think are great but that never found their audience, that doesn't mean it was a waste of time writing or posting them and I still love them for the fun I had writing, and the friends in those fandoms that I shared them with.
