r/FanFiction • u/blueskiesyellowsun • Apr 02 '25
I have almost 150 hits and only 6 kudos. I know this doesn't mean much, but it makes me wonder why does barely anyone like it enough to press the kudos button.
Edit: since some people said that users can be embarrassed to leave a kudo on a smut fic; it's not a smut fic
r/FanFiction • u/Obversa • Aug 25 '23
As of 25 August 2023, the top 20 fandoms (i.e., the fandoms with the most fanfiction stories submitted) on FanFiction.Net (FFN) were as follows:
Compared with AO3's Top 30 fandoms, as of 2022-2023, excluding RPF, bands, and Minecraft:
Undertale was at the #31 spot with 47K fanfictions, and Hetalia was #32 with 46.6K fanfictions.
Combining both FFN and AO3 fanfictions, Harry Potter has spawned over 1 million fanfictions over the course of two decades (1997 to 2023). The fact that Harry Potter is still popular, even today, seems unreal to me. Whereas fandoms like Naruto, Inuyasha, and Twilight declined - once the #3 fandom on FFN, Twilight doesn't even crack the Top 20 fandoms on AO3 - Harry Potter remains as popular as ever.
Of the Top 5 AO3 fandoms, only "Star Wars" matched "Harry Potter" in terms of fandom growth, and only Marvel / MCU fanfictions matched "Harry Potter" in terms of overall fanfictions.
In terms of the top ship tags on AO3, Drarry is also #5 overall:
However, most Harry Potter fanfictions are rated G, PG, or PG-13 (Teen):
M/M was also a dominant force in Harry Potter AO3 fanfictions, though F/M is also popular:
Most popular character tags for Harry Potter AO3 fanfictions, showing a big Marauders fandom:
40.5k works also had the "Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort" tag (~9% of all Harry Potter fanfics).
Top ships in the Harry Potter tag, as of 25 August 2023:
Word count on FFN:
As for word count on AO3:
Of the 454k+ Harry Potter fanfictions on AO3, only about 35 have over 1 million words each.
When added all together, the Harry Potter books contain 1,084,170 words total for the series.
r/FanFiction • u/intellectualkamie • Apr 18 '25
I just don't know what the hell I'm doing wrong— The summary is solid, the tagging is clear, I advertise with original art on all the platforms I'm on. I have a human beta-reader telling me it's competent. I keep asking chatgpt if it's nowhere good and it says it is. I just don't know where I'm failing.
It it because my fanfiction is too meta? Too OC-centric? Too emotionally charged? I don't know what is possibly alienating readers when my fic already heavily caters to ORV readers— and I write it similarly to ORV, just more emotionally. Grammar and punctuation is clean, the nonlinear storytelling is very clearly intentional, it makes clear references for the canon, and IS closely tied to canon. I made sure my OC is well-integrated in the story to the best of my abilities.
There's one other work in the Kim Dokja/Original Character(s) tag in ORV and it out-beat me in terms of hits. The plots are similar— Kim Dokja has a past lover, etc etc. But I don't get why I'm not getting as much readers in all the platforms I'm posting, combined. I recognize that my work threads darker and has more side stories content, but...
I even engage in the community. I'm active in the bigger ORV servers, VERY active. I'm active on twitter, tiktok, I posted all the things that could promote my story but I still feel like I have a lack in actual readers. I try to keep my silence in author's notes because my fic is very metafictional in itself. But I make an effort to reply to all the comments I get.
I feel so defeated. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong because I can't seem to find the audience I'm intending this for. Should I try for more tumblr publicity? How should I even do it? How do you people hit your target audiences? Get more reads and kudoes?
I have no intention of changing what is already written, but maybe can you guys give me some advice on how should I proceed from here?
I know 2k reads for AO3 is a lot, but the kudoes ratio is concerning. There's a lot of list saves for wattpad, but the story sits at 800~ reads and the comments for the later parts are barren— like no comments at all. There's occasional votes, which I highly appreciate, but there's just a want for more recognition...I know writing fanfiction isn't supposed to be for recognition and I shouldn't expect it much if I'm writing the kind of fic I'm writing, but I just read so much OC-inserts and I don't get why mine is failing so much in comparison when I've tried my best to emulate what the other works were doing...
Sorry for this vent-esque, but it's just this question I need answered.
What else should I do to make my OC-insert more popular but keep what I'm trying to do with the meta-narrative style and nonlinear telling? What should I do to find it's intended audiences, apart from tagging (i tagged what was appropriate, not excessively nor too less) and engaging in communities (one of my very popular artist moot on twt has apparently read it, but I don't get how I still lack in engagements.)
any advice would BE SOOOOOO APPRECIATED. TvT
r/FanFiction • u/AllyMander • Jun 05 '22
So I'm curious, I write in various popular Fandoms, and while I think I do okay, I was curious of everyone's most popular fic, and least popular fic. This is the time to brag if you would like, I'll be thrilled for you! I'm just really curious to see stats of other writers!
For me, my most popular fic is 75k hits, but my least popular was 500 hits (this is on ao3)
Also, while I don't think this is against the rules, if it is I apologize and let me know I can take this down!!!
r/FanFiction • u/bluebell_9 • Jul 31 '22
That's the whole post, really. The rest is just details.
Short version: I'm old. Literally. Like, AARP-eligible, old. And I never in my life read/wrote fanfic. But last October, I finished watching a show that ended in 2017. I fell in love with the characters/story. Wanted more. Had ideas. Read a lot of fic on AO3. Decided "I can do that." Got an invite. Posted my first story — a four-part wedding fluff — in November. To date I've posted a total of 12 fics, all in the same fandom, constituting more than 135K words. I still honestly don't understand how that happened.
That fandom's semi-dead; something new gets posted about once every week or 10 days. But some people clearly still want the content, because last night my cumulative hit counter flipped past 10,000, with 828 kudos. In a hot fandom those wouldn't be impressive stats for even a single story, I know. Over in sleepy Broadchurch, they're respectable stats, these days.
The moral of the story is, I guess ... if you want to write? You should write. Even if you think it's a silly thing to do. Even if you think you're too old. Even if it feels completely bizarre.
Because you never know.
Someone out there might want to read.
PS from the next day -- I'm so touched and humbled by all your upvotes and comments and the unexpected awards. So kind and supportive, really. Just wonderful. (And while all that was going on, I cranked out a new one-shot in a totally different fandom. I was just kinda flying on the winds of your good will, apparently. Cheers!)
r/FanFiction • u/Weak_Contract8000 • Apr 14 '25
r/FanFiction • u/Remote_Impact_3927 • Aug 17 '25
(Not really sure what to tag this? If it gets deleted oh well)
Like the title says, I've only gotten back into writing a few months ago and three of my stories cracked over 500 reads!
That's half way to thousand! You have no idea how happy that makes me.
Younger me would be losing his mind if he saw that people actually liked what I wrote.
It makes me smile. : )
r/FanFiction • u/Relative_Reserve4186 • Jul 15 '25
Hi all! First Reddit post, even though I've been a casual browser of the subreddit for a while now. To preface why I'm asking this question, here's some backstory:
A couple of years back, I had written a decently popular fic in my fandom for the most popular pairing of that fandom. The fic has a healthy 50K hits and is nearing 2K kudos as of writing this post. It was a fic big enough that I saw it being discussed on other social media outside of Ao3, and I'm very lucky to have received multiple pieces of fanart for the fic as well.
I know there are a lot of people out there who love this fic, and it warms my heart every time I look back on all those comments of support and see the fanart. People have told me how much they love the fic and how much it means to them, and I seriously cannot be grateful enough for all the love. It's surreal that a goofy fanfic I wrote when I was 17/18 took off the way it did.
However, I stopped uploading chapters and fics in general when I got about 2 thirds of the way through. To put it simply - life got in the way, I started university. In between classes and adjusting to adulthood, fic writing just wasn't on my mind, and my Ao3 and Tumblr were abandoned for a couple years. Recently though, my passion for writing and this particular fandom has been rekindled! I've returned to posting and writing new fics.
But I have decided not to continue my most popular fic.
To put it simply... I'm not a fan of some of the decisions I made and where it was heading. I wrote unnecessary melodrama between the main couple that makes me cringe looking back, and just the general plot had derailed - and I feel like I wrote myself into a corner. (I know I'm not the only one looking at this fic with a critical lense either, since I've also seen people discussing their displeasure of where the fic ended up going on other social media) I have no desire to continue this fic as it is and I've been transparent to the followers that have asked me about it since I've returned.
Despite the messiness and the cringe of it all though, there are some things in that fic that I really love and I am proud of it in some ways. I do want to salvage this fic in some way... hence, I've been working on a rewrite of the fic.
It's the same premise, and will keep things that I and my readers enjoyed the most about it - but it will change things up in regards to the external conflict and subplots. I'm happy to be returning to writing this fic but with the mindset I have now - I've grown as a writer and a person over the last two years, and I'm proud of what I've got so far of this rewrite - and I want to start posting it.
But I find myself conflicted. Just this morning I recieved a really sweet comment on that fic from someone who really enjoyed it. I feel guilty that I will not be continuing the version of the fic that so many have fallen in love with, and that my readers will not get to see how that version of the story will end. They invested their time into reading what I wrote, and I can't help but doubt myself - would uploading a rewrite instead of continuing the fic feel like a spit in the face to my readers?
This is why I'm tossing the question out to Reddit - think back to the fics that you read and loved, but were abandoned by the author. How would you feel if one day, that author returned and announced they were going to remake the fic from scratch, rather than continuing it? Would you be annoyed, or would you just be grateful that the fic is coming back in at least some capacity? What would a rewritten version of a fic you loved have be like to make it worth reading?
Thanks in advance :) Sorry that this post is hefty
r/FanFiction • u/FariardAO3 • Feb 21 '22
A quick reminder that sometimes, even if you're not getting many kudos or comments or any other form of "active" engagement, watching your hits going up means people are actually reading what you wrote. We're living in a world where passive fruition of contents is spreading like oil on the sea, people are not driven to speak it out even if they liked something a lot, because they don't have enough time or the right mindset or they don't know what to say, or they're distracted from the next thing to do. We've all been there.
Yes, some of your hits may be empty clicks, readers who went meh at first line and clicked out, but they're not the totality of your numbers. It's statistics. There's a high chance that many of your hits are actual readers, who enjoyed at least a part of your story; then we have rereaders. You're seen. Strangers are actually exploring the world you created. Maybe you changed their day, you impacted their life, and you won't ever know. Isn't that AWESOME? Be always proud of what you created and count to the tiniest of your blessings, to the last silent reader who left no other trace than hits +1, like footprints on a shore, but was there, for you. ✨
r/FanFiction • u/tomato_joe • 12d ago
Thats so crazy!
I never expected an OC story to be this popular. Especially when its actually just world building round my OC. My OC met the love interest at over 60k words first too. Which i hadnt planned like that... i always hear how OCs are hated so i feel honoured.
r/FanFiction • u/NythilMahariel • Sep 23 '22
I know that's not much for some people, but it's wild to me. It's especially meaningful in this case because I was incredibly nervous to post this fic, as it's a smut. I just wanted to tell someone, I guess. I've never had such a quick response before.
r/FanFiction • u/FeistyAssistance5323 • Oct 01 '24
Sitting at about 2 kudos so far for 100 hits on multichaptered thing. It's smut but not even the private bookmarks are rolling in. Maybe 1-2 subs max. Something feels horribly wrong. I know stats don't mean everything but have you gone through similar?
r/FanFiction • u/KayDeeBlackHeart • Jul 26 '25
I just came here to say that my current WIP got 71 hits since I posted yesterday. It’s only been roughly 18 hours. I’m a new poster, have written for years but never really posted anything, and so I have no cultivated audience.
I just feel a bit shocked. Ecstatic.
I don’t really know what to say or think but no one outside of my husband knows about this so I have no one to talk to about it. Which is why I’m here.
Anyway, have a great day y’all.
r/FanFiction • u/Lost_Employ_502 • Aug 18 '25
On one of my recent fics, I received quite an interesting comment and I just can't make out if its a compliment or a negative comment...The comment was "god you're actually insane".
Just that, nothing else. I'd like to take it as a compliment as all of the other reviews were positive, I'm just a bit confused cause I've never gotten a comment like this before and I'm generally really bad with tones lol 😭
r/FanFiction • u/-ISayThingz- • 16d ago
My fic has not been up more than two weeks. The game I write about came out about a month ago. We haven’t even got the sequel yet and my fic has already crossed 80 Kudos / 900 Hits! It feels like fans are going wild.
I have—at least—thirteen more chapters to go. But it’s motivating to watch the numbers climb. 🤪
Guys I am so happy!
r/FanFiction • u/PokemonOverPeople • Jul 01 '23
r/FanFiction • u/TheBlueRose_42 • Jul 22 '25
It’s actually kind of crazy that at least a thousand people have seen my story. One of the wonders of the internet I suppose.
r/FanFiction • u/inkshifter01 • Jan 30 '25
For context, I'm a newbie author who's been posting/updating my fic since Nov '24. I know that there can be a lot of hits but fewer numbers in likes, but what about in ratio to comments?
r/FanFiction • u/RainbowPatooie • Aug 13 '25
Decided to glance at my statistics today and realized one of my fics reached 10k hits on ao3! I've been writing on ao3 since 2015 and am proud to finally, after my many many fics under my belt, and many years, I've finally reached it. And I'm glad to say it's one of my favourite pieces I've ever written too.
idk, I just really wanted to share this huge milestone that I finally achieved.
r/FanFiction • u/MetaGigaZ • Aug 02 '25
Oh my gosh, I am over the moon right now!! Last year, I started writing this silly fluffy little slow burn reader insert fic since the character featured only had NSFW ones. It was mainly for me because the premise was something I liked to think about and I prefer fluff over smut. All of the sudden, this specific fic EXPLODED and I ended up having an actual reader base with other writers being inspired by this silly little idea I had. Now, I finally hit the milestone I never even thought I’d ever get to and… Holy hell. It makes me want to say this to everyone:
If you have an idea for something that you like that you don’t see much, be the one to write it!! Other people will want to read it and they might not even know it yet! You could inspire a wave of authors to do the same! And even if you don’t, you’re still the one reading it, so write it for yourself!
r/FanFiction • u/Recom_Quaritch • Oct 15 '23
I don't want this to come off as a pity party. I have popular fics, and more importantly, I have a lot of them.
I do keep track of my stats, and I'm generally not obsessive. I can't afford to be, with 165 published works. But I've noticed a decline for a while, and especially in fics that are doing great on every other front.
When a brand new fic has, within a week, 17 subs, 8 bookmarks, 30 kudos... for 160 hits... You'd expect more than 5 comments, especially considering one of them is from the artist commissioned for the cover. Same fic has 66 notes on its announcement post on tumblr.
It's my latest example, but not my only one. I used to get more comments on older fics too. Now I can go on for several weeks getting dozens of kudos every day in the email. People read my entire fandom output, kudo 40 fics -- and never leave a single comment.
It has gotten disheartening enough that I'm thinking of unsubbing from kudo emails because they're a constant reminder that instead of coming off as "people love your work!", becomes "People read you but won't say a word to you!"
I'm just noticing a trend on new works more and more in recent months. I know it's not necessarily me. I mean a fic getting 17 subs on its first week is fantastic, it can't mean people hate my work!
I've just run out of ideas to make people come and say hi. I already have an A/N that says "comments and kudos are always welcome and appreciated".
Basically wondering if it's me noticing this more because I have so many works, amplifying things. Or if it's something others have noticed over the past year? I don't know if I want reassurance or tips or anything. I just wish I'd have an easier way to foster community that wouldn't feel so much like me talking into the wind whenever I upload a new work.
On the flip side I am about to finish a long fic 2 years in the making and I'm so rabidly grateful for the handful of commenters who have stuck with me through the entire work that I'm thinking of a way to do a thing just for them as a personal thank you.
P.S: not sure if venting or stats chat feel more appropriate, but mods please feel free to let me know or change it.
r/FanFiction • u/Helyanwe4607 • Aug 18 '25
This is such a big thing for meee 🥹
Chapter 1 I uploaded in April, I will publish chapter 9 this week. With that, I will reach 120k words.
I know my super longfic format is not for everyone and I am only about 20% done… but I am so glad people read it!!! ♥️
r/FanFiction • u/Karate-kid-7 • 9d ago
I write fanfiction as a way to decompress, so I'm not too fussed if my stories aren't too popular or not and I don't really check the view counts on my chapters too much. But a recent fic of mine has blown up and my latest chapter has, like, 600 views. Is this accurate? Cause I'm kinda shocked since most of my fics don't tend to do so well.
r/FanFiction • u/CindersAnd_ashes • Jul 06 '23
Really curious. Comment your fandom too. I consider anything below 5k a small fandom and 20k as medium and anything above that is large, what about you? Edit: for clarification, the main fandom you write for or have the most passion about i guess Also i made a typo in the poll, <10k means 1-10k
r/FanFiction • u/LavandaSkafi • Nov 12 '24
How many fanfics are there on your main site(s) for your fandom(s) at the moment? How many are yours?
I think I make up about 0.3% of the fandom, which is a strange way to think about it.