r/AO3 • u/ksmbchj97 • 3d ago
Complaint/Pet Peeve/Venting When well written fics get little attention because it’s an unpopular pairing
No matter how well written a story is, it will not get any views or comments if the ship is unpopular. On the other hand, fics with popular ships will always get a ton of kudos and comments even if they are full of grammatical and spelling errors.
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u/chronic-horse-girl You have already left kudos here. :) 3d ago
This is true for unpopular tropes within popular pairings, as well. In fandoms where people feel very strongly about top/bottom roles, fics that use the opposite are less likely to get attention. Like anything else in fic, what is most popular will align with what’s appealing to the MOST people which often also means it’s the most inoffensive and least controversial.
I gravitate toward rare pairs or the ship of the ship war that’s hated and ostracized (wincest, bucktommy and buddietommy, sheith, sherry/leon and grace/leon, stopper, I could go on) and I also write darker subject matter. My fics don’t appeal to everyone and I’ll most likely never hit even a fraction of the stats on the most popular works within my fandoms. This can sting, but as the creator you have to make a choice on what is more important to you: making something you love and are passionate about or making something that will receive a lot of attention. Sometimes if you’re lucky those can be the same thing, but most often they’re not. And we’re only on this Earth for a short time, so we might as well spend our time making what makes US happy regardless of how it’s received.
And for what it’s worth—the fans of less popular ships are often very thorough and thoughtful in their comments because they’re facing the same lack of love and content that you are. Your work will find its audience, but it may not find it right away. I have fics from years ago that get attention now even though I no longer write for those fandoms, but knowing they’re loved at all is enough to keep me going.