Posting a New Fanfic? Do This to Get Comments 💬 and Kudos ❤️ on the First Chapter

If you put your absolute all into the debut chapter of your story only to get near silence in return, fear not! There is a way to set up your next fanfic for increased engagement on the first chapter, and that’s what we’ll be covering in this video.

Mentioned Links:

A little about me: my name is Cora (she/they) and I'm a creative writing graduate, professional copywriter, and self-proclaimed fanfic writer extraordinaire with over 10 years of experience here to help you live your best fanfic writing life! Subscribe to my YouTube channel for your fortnightly dose of dreamy fanfiction tips. 💞✍️

If you enjoyed this video and you're feeling particularly generous today, please take a peak at my Ko-Fi 😊

Want to follow me outside of YouTube, as well? Check out these links! 👇

Music: music box cover of 'Bolero' by Maurice Ravel. Cover by R3 Music Box

Logo designed by @illustratornow on Twitter and Instagram.

[CannonBall-]

I think one of the main issues with engagement is when a fandom is so small almost everything that is made for it is noticed by the original creators and almost no one else

[rowanspindlecreek]

I am in my 40s. I have been writing fan fic off and on since the 90s. Your videos are resources that I wish we had "way back then." Keep up the great work! Your advice is some of the best that I have seen or heard out there.

[kurtiseata]

i don’t write fan fiction (well i guess i sort of do, i write about my warrior cats oc’s. but i don’t think of it in a fan fic way) but i’ve been using your videos as background noise, and it’s actually making me want to start writing them

[OneOfFourLucasMains]

This video also proved extremely helpful to me! I'm planning of writing out my entire Earthbound fic and its sequel before posting it. Also, for the comments thing, I'm extremely sensitive to criticism and the like, so I don't want to enable comments.

[acsaudiodramas]

Thank you for your advice. You speak like a true expert.

The last time I was here, I revised the first 40 chapters of my fic. I began to tease my story a year before posting on three social platforms to tease people for tbe story. Posted either Screenshots from the show and drew fanart. I wrote different summaries - also for every chapter - and stayed active in the fandom.

Also there are 4 themes to my story, that are popular in the fandom. I put them in, because I like them too - not because they are popular - but they should help.

Problem is just, I'm not exactly a magnetic person. I mean, people thank me for feedback, like my posts but that's it. I don’t think, I could hype anybody. Now the first 11 chapies are on AO3 since 3 days - since this is like my fics pilot episode and think about posting 4 chapters every month now and focussing on producing more fanart illustrations for the best scenes in the story - and developing the longfic further.40 chapters are just season one.

[sparo_art]

I've just discovered your channel, having re-entered the world of fanfics a few months ago and I'm so happy ^^ I started writing for a niche where we are probably 30 but it's fun cause at least everyone is commenting on everyone fic <3 Can't wait to go through all your videos soon !

[magicinthemundane]

Another wonderful video! These are all such helpful tips and tricks! And your teasing snippets for The Light Invasion are beautiful. Thank you so much for all the advice you give. 💖💖💖👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[sirMYOMIN]

your channel is exactly what i needed!! im sure you've gotten a lot of comments like this already, however i am so thankful your channel is focused on the niches that come with fanfiction (As opposed to normal book writing)! the tips are GOLDDUST and youre so entertaining to watch!! the tip about summaries is honestly a life saver, and i went from a summary *actually* summarizing my fic (ive written lots of one shots in the past, but this is my first time writing a long fic so i was really unsure what i should do lol!) that i felt...uneasy about since it didn't really capture my attention. As soon as i used your tip a long winded summary was wittled down to: "Duke Wriothesley was supposed to kidnap a war criminal to prevent a worldwide war from erupting between Teyvat’s 7 great kingdoms…however he accidentally kidnaps the wrong person and now has the crown prince of his enemy sitting in his royal hall. Or: Wriothesley grabs the absolute WRONG person and has to deal/suffer with the consequences." i think it flows way better and it really captures my attention, and it was all thanks to your tips! i can't thank you enough! ^^

[BeachBerrylove]

All these were great points, great video! 

I always find myself putting down my work when it doesn't get the interaction I wanted it to, and judging the quality of my work via kudos. Listening to your video helps remind me that kudos don't always reflect quality, and that we should all feel proud of the works we've poured so much time and love in to, no matter how much interaction it gets. I still remember how terrified I was when I posted my first ever chapter last year, and now I can post so much more confidently, and that is my proudest achievement in fan fiction writing!

Though I'm a little scared to branch out into social media and try to promote my work (especially because my fandom operates mostly on Twitter and that place is terrifying, I've only just got comfortable with Instagram!), listening to your video makes me want to give it a go. Not for validation of my work, but just to share my passion with others and talk to some cool people. It's hard to talk to people in the fandom just through once in a while ao3 comments!😅


Thanks for sharing your video!☺

[stYOb]

Oh, here you are! I'm excited about the new video, I've been waiting for it :) Actually, I haven't used any of what you mentioned... but I think I'll use it. Thank you so much, your attitude and atmosphere are really motivating me ❤

[Cosymint]

I have a slightly big question:





How would I do this (2:14) for a mashup fic that has a pretty big ship involved while having the thought of “omg no one’s gonna like this!” popping up every now and then on Wattpad?

[tjcartoons]

Hey, I have a question:
What do you think about Script Fics, Or fan fiction that’s written like:

A: *smug* Well, well, well… looks like we meet again.

[SOLAR-gacha]

I know this video is kinda old now but umm for the 3-6 elements... does "attention wh*re version of [character name]" count?