How the heck to market a story?

[AnneOminous]

Well, maybe you've found your target audience then, a host of bots and spiders... rally them behind your flag and rule the world. Or check out threads like How to Better Market Your Story | Scribble Hub Forum in Writing Tips and Advice.

Thank you for actually trying to provide something to assist instead of just telling me to accept my gruel and be grateful.

 

[Tyranomaster]

I have a personal connection to the character. Ranma saved my life when I was a kid.

I wanted to tell a story. I've done that. And now I see that the story has *profound impacts* on people who read it - and their comments have in turn had a *profound impact* on ***me.*** And it has made me crave more. It has made me want to reach more people. It has made me think there are more people out there who *need* the impact my readers tell me it has had.

Nobody cares about the fandom on this platform. I'm hoping the new anime helps there. The three stories in my series are #1, #2, and #3 in the Ranma tag on SH, and their readership all sucks.

I don't need them to care about Ranma. I need them to care about the person I allowed her to be. The growth her creator refused to give her.

You've got major Savior and God complexes going on. You need help. I'm glad the character helped you through tough times. Everyone hopes their work does that, and you think yours has, and that's good. Though, you're essential worshiping a fictional character, and hoping other people worship them as well. You WANT Ranma to be real, and that you could make them better. At least that's how I'm reading this. *I need them to care about Ranma. I need them to care about the person I allowed her to be.*

Ranma is a fictional character. They aren't who you made them. They're who the original author made them. Again, seek help.

I struggle to believe that half of those aren't bots and spiders.

I have invested hundreds of hours, have a discord, and have put thousands of dollars into the story. Look at all the crickets I was able to buy with it.

This further indicates you might be suffering from delusions of grandeur. Again. Seek help.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Thank you for actually trying to provide something to assist instead of just telling me to accept my gruel and be grateful.

I'd kind of assumed you had checked there before and found it didn't work or would have tossed it out sooner.

 

[AnneOminous]

You've got major Savior and God complexes going on. You need help. I'm glad the character helped you through tough times. Everyone hopes their work does that, and you think yours has, and that's good. Though, you're essential worshiping a fictional character, and hoping other people worship them as well. You WANT Ranma to be real, and that you could make them better. At least that's how I'm reading this. *I need them to care about Ranma. I need them to care about the person I allowed her to be.*

Ranma is a fictional character. They aren't who you made them. They're who the original author made them. Again, seek help.

This further indicates you might be suffering from delusions of grandeur. Again. Seek help.

I'm on it, Dr. Anonymous Internet Guy, Ph.BS.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I have invested hundreds of hours, have a discord, and have put thousands of dollars into the story. Look at all the crickets I was able to buy with it.

And sadly, that's just how it is sometimes. Some stories hit and others flop. It might just be a matter of time or it could be where you're posting. Some other options I can recommend include posting chapters on related subreddits and tumblr tags around your fanfic. This may attract an audience of fans of the show quickly. Otherwise, I am unsure.

 

[AnneOminous]

And sadly, that's just how it is sometimes. Some stories hit and others flop. It might just be a matter of time or it could be where you're posting. Some other options I can recommend include posting chapters on related subreddits and tumblr tags around your fanfic. This may attract an audience of fans of the show quickly. Otherwise, I am unsure.

I'm posting *everywhere* I can think of - including in various and sundry Reddit cesspools.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I'm posting *everywhere* I can think of - including in various and sundry Reddit cesspools.

Then I'm afraid there is little I can offer in other advice. Check the thread Charles recommended as they will probably have a few more ideas. I hope it goes well for you.

 

[Ruti]

I just don't fathom that. Disney Plus and Netflix drop their whole series at once. Some people binge it. Some people watch slower. But nobody says "8 episodes? I'm out."

depends on what they are dropping. But one thing for sure is, when they batch drop, whatever they batch dropped does *NOT* stay relevant for long (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean)

since I'm assuming you want consistent readers, its better to spread it out so rather then having an influx all on one day, then little later on, you have a more consistent reader base (lower peak, but higher minimum) this also increases the time of which new potential readers may find you, since your higher up for a longer time. Not as high up, but you are likely to stay up during the times they can check, rather then during a time no one checks reading sites

spread out also makes it more likely people who haven't started less intimidated to start. Some (not all, mind you) may be scared off if a story frequently posts in large batches. There's also the time zone thing, and when to post (you'll need to figure that out yourself)

_______________________________________________

another thing: Tags used *MATTER ALOT* more then you may think (I don't know what you think)
since you have fan fiction tag, those who don't like fan fiction nope out immediately (some have it auto filtered on sites with the tag) without giving it a chance, which may result in much less attention then one may want. Doesn't matter if its only relevant for the very first chapter, they will just not start. This leaves those who want fan fiction, or frankly cant care less if its fan fix to try it out. Amongst those, are the ones who only read Fanfics of series they know or like, so the reputation, and knowledge of whatever you are a fanfic of then also changes your reader count too (Naruto fanfic fans will rather read the Naruto fanfic, then say, a bleach one, and will most likely ignore a fanfic of a series they know nothing about)

This further decreases possible new readers, leaving
Those who don't care about it being a fanfic/don't care about tags
general fanfic enjoyers
fanfic enjoyers of that specific kind of fanfic

Reminder that this is a view from a READER not a writer, so they may have different advice or knowledge on how tags attract readers. This is just based off my own reading bias, and how I choose what to read (I really gotta catchup on a bunch of em)

________________________________

Oh and the amount of comments/reviews really just depends on the community your novel has around it (whether made, or pre existing)
fluff novels on SH tend to have a lot of comments, while more serious ones may have less. Experience of author (as in writing experience, and how many different novels made and known) may also affect this

 

[AnneOminous]

Then I'm afraid there is little I can offer in other advice. Check the thread Charles recommended as they will probably have a few more ideas. I hope it goes well for you.

Thanks.

depends on what they are dropping. But one thing for sure is, when they batch drop, whatever they batch dropped does *NOT* stay relevant for long (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean)

since I'm assuming you want consistent readers, its better to spread it out so rather then having an influx all on one day, then little later on, you have a more consistent reader base (lower peak, but higher minimum)

spread out also makes it more likely people who haven't started less intimidated to start. Some (not all, mind you) may be scared off if a story frequently posts in large batches. There's also the time zone thing, and when to post (you'll need to figure that out yourself)

_______________________________________________

another thing: Tags used *MATTER ALOT* more then you may think (I don't know what you think)
since you have fan fiction tag, those who don't like fan fiction nope out immediately (some have it auto filtered on sites with the tag) without giving it a chance, which may result in much less attention then one may want. Doesn't matter if its only relevant for the very first chapter, they will just not start. This leaves those who want fan fiction, or frankly cant care less if its fan fix to try it out. Amongst those, are the ones who only read Fanfics of series they know or like, so the reputation, and knowledge of whatever you are a fanfic of then also changes your reader count too (Naruto fanfic fans will rather read the Naruto fanfic, then say, a bleach one, and will most likely ignore a fanfic of a series they know nothing about)

This further decreases possible new readers, leaving
Those who don't care about it being a fanfic/don't care about tags
general fanfic enjoyers
fanfic enjoyers of that specific kind of fanfic

Reminder that this is a view from a READER not a writer, so they may have different advice or knowledge on how tags attract readers. This is just based off my own reading bias, and how I choose what to read (I really gotta catchup on a bunch of em)

________________________________

Oh and the amount of comments/reviews really just depends on the community your novel has around it (whether made, or pre existing)
fluff novels on SH tend to have a lot of comments, while more serious ones may have less. Experience of author (as in writing experience, and how many different novels made and known) may also affect this

Yeah, I get it.

The difference with Jojo's Bizarre is when they dropped 12 episodes, they didn't then have 350 more to drop every day after that.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

I struggle to believe that half of those aren't bots and spiders.

You can look at different YT channels and popular videos, and you will notice that not a lot of people comment there either. Not a lot of people even like YT videos. I won't say it is universal truth, but amount of vocal people in various entertainment fields is around 10%. Anyway, here's two links from RR.

Running your story like the business it is. | Royal Road

Preface. I want to preface this whole guide by saying that I am writing this from a business perspective, and it is aimed at authors who want to make a concerted effort to transition their writing into a paying career, or simply are interested in the business side of writing. Furthermore, while...

www.royalroad.com

Running your writing like the side hustle it is | Royal Road

Running your writing like the side hustle it is Hi! Pull up a chair, grab a piece of avocado toast, find a place to park your latte, and welcome to writing in the style of a millennial who doesn't want to quit his or her day job. Side hustles are the millennial way – always have been, always...

www.royalroad.com

 

[AnneOminous]

You can look at different YT channels and popular videos, and you will notice that not a lot of people comment there either. Not a lot of people even like YT videos. I won't say it is universal truth, but amount of vocal people in various entertainment fields is around 10%. Anyway, here's two links from RR.

Running your story like the business it is. | Royal Road

Preface. I want to preface this whole guide by saying that I am writing this from a business perspective, and it is aimed at authors who want to make a concerted effort to transition their writing into a paying career, or simply are interested in the business side of writing. Furthermore, while...

www.royalroad.com

Running your writing like the side hustle it is | Royal Road

Running your writing like the side hustle it is Hi! Pull up a chair, grab a piece of avocado toast, find a place to park your latte, and welcome to writing in the style of a millennial who doesn't want to quit his or her day job. Side hustles are the millennial way – always have been, always...

www.royalroad.com

Yeah, I've dealt with those.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Thank you for actually trying to provide something to assist instead of just telling me to accept my gruel and be grateful.

Pretending to be a victim is pretty lame. Even the people who were telling you to accept your gruel gave you real advice. You just only accept the ones that are patting you on the back.

 

[Tyranomaster]

To bear further bad news, if you get too popular with the reboot coming up, you might find yourself on the bad end of a Japanese DMCA request. Japan has notoriously viscious copywrite laws.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Yeah, I've dealt with those.

There's nothing else though. Everything else are same as those two threads, simply paraphrased.

 

[AnneOminous]

Pretending to be a victim is pretty lame. Even the people who were telling you to accept your gruel gave you real advice. You just only accept the ones that are patting you on the back.

I don't want a pat on the back. I want actionable advice that doesn't involve shredding two years of tears.

To bear further bad news, if you get too popular with the reboot coming up, you might find yourself on the bad end of a Japanese DMCA request. Japan has notoriously viscious copywrite laws.

Oh, excellent, now Random Internet Guy is an armchair psychiatrist *and* international intellectual property lawyer. What's next, astronaut?

 

[Ruti]

The difference with Jojo's Bizarre is when they dropped 12 episodes, they didn't then have 350 more to drop every day after that.

Another thing you might not notice is that, batch dropping can sometimes be a bad way to get new readers. When finding new readers for your novel, it has to be consistently doing good and known, rather then having one big jump in relevance, then going back to relatively unknown. Most of the novels I'm reading (or have bookmarked for later) were those who had a short time of doing like, 2-3 chapters a day, then slowly decreased it back to their normal schedule (start like, 2-3 a day for a week, then once a day for a week or two, then back to their usual schedule)

 

[AnneOminous]

Another thing you might not notice is that, batch dropping can sometimes be a bad way to get new readers. When finding new readers for your novel, it has to be consistently doing good, rather then having one big jump in relevance, then going back to relatively unknown. Most of the novels I'm reading (or have bookmarked for later) were those who had a short time of doing like, 2-3 chapters a day, then slowly decreased it back to their normal schedule (start like, 2-3 a day for a week, then once a day for a week or two, then back to their usual schedule)

Thats the problem. For every person who says "don't batch drop X chapters", someone else says do. I'm so confused. My thought was to provide 11 chaps up front (as that is essentially "the prologue") and then 1 chap 3x a week.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I don't want a pat on the back. I want actionable advice that doesn't involve shredding two years of tears.

Sometimes that will happen. I deleted entire stories. Sending 100s of thousands of words down the drain, I've done it. You can do whatever you want. I don't wish for you to not gain readers, and I understand wanting to hold onto something you worked hard on. However, sometimes working hard is not the only thing you have to do.

 

[AnneOminous]

Sometimes that will happen. I deleted entire stories. Sending 100s of thousands of words down the drain, I've done it. You can do whatever you want. I don't wish for you to not gain readers, and I understand wanting to hold onto something you worked hard on. However, sometimes working hard is not the only thing you have to do.

Well, that's off the table for me. I need to figure out how to maximize what I have.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Well, that's off the table for me. I need to figure out how to maximize what I have.

Then potentially, you can try to re-upload. However, you risk losing current readers. I would do as Sailus said and stop uploading so many chapters.

One of my stories, I only upload 1 chapter a week, and it's approaching 1700 readers on SH. The same story, I mass uploaded chapters on RR, and it has almost no readers there. But I did that knowing it would hamper success.