Many people here, and your own responses, have indicated that you've tried dozens of things. At this point, you're realistically maximizing maybe 10% more readers. If you're really, REALLY lucky, maybe you'll triple your reads in a few years.
I'm not saying to change anything or drop writing. I'm asking, what are you going to do if this is the maximum? You can't grow constantly, even if you find other, better guides and advice. What if this is the maximum?
Its almost like each different platform has a different set of rules and viewers who prefer different things
Have you ever considered that you might be overcommitted? It can negatively effect your writing.
And as I said numerous times, my intent had been to do 3 chaps/week after giving people just enough to hook onto at first.
If it's actionable, and not just "don't write the story you wrote" or "don't want more than you have".
Sounds like you're doing everything correctly then, but there just isn't a market for what you're writing. It's a reality all writers have to face eventually. It doesn't matter how perfectly you execute a story if nobody wants to read that particular story, or that particular execution.
And what about a series of books with 1M words where each one has meaning?
What bothers me is that I truly believe the story *can break out* of the Ranma bubble *without* filing off the serial numbers, if I could get people to give it a chance. And it's maddening that the platforms are *specifically designed* to deny me that opportunity.
I can't even get consistent advice on any one platform.Its almost like each different platform has a different set of rules and viewers who prefer different things
Perfectly fair to be frustrated, then. However you made an advice thread, not a vent thread, and so people are trying to give you advice when there is no advice to give.
Way to be helpful *after* 9 posts being holier than thou.
You should observe what works and emulate. Barring that, you should take advice from those who found success themselves. Advice from random people is... not the best.
It's not really the platforms. It's the readers. People don't want to give it a chance specifically because it's in the Ranma bubble. My thread that you'll read will point out that fact.
My first advice was helpful advice. Your initial question wasn't phrased to mean what you wanted it to mean. If your inability to write a targeted question is anything to go off of, then you should be real happy with your 350 readers.
Make your own platform. That's the only thing left for you to do really. No platform is designed to deny people opportunity, ok, maybe WN is. Every existing platform has established readerbase and unspoken rules, simple as. You can ignore them, but it will probably lead you nowhere.
Sure! I'm already cranking out 40,000 words a week, what's another few thou?
"How do I market a story?"
There are three fanfics on trending right now.
What fandoms? Oh. MCU/Star Wars crossover. With blatantly stolen AI art. Why not?
One of them is Stray Cat Strut.
SH doesn't deny fanfics any promotion.
What else do you want? You've tried easier ways to gain more traction, they failed. There is no more easy ways to get bigger. You either sink even more hours into it, or give up. Even if there is, and I highly doubt it, even if there is a super easy way to get bigger, only really big, succesful authors know it. And they won't share it with you. They don't need competition. But you can try asking every big authors, PM them. It will be better than asking us.
It's not that it's not applicable. It's that it'll tell you that you're already reaching your target audience. You've already cast the net wide, and caught all the fish your net can catch.
Pokemon fanfics trend on the front page on RoyalRoad all the time too. The site isn't biased. You've got delusions that your story is better than it is.