Pastiche Pen and the Mystery of the 1,000+ Review Story

Pastiche Pen and the Mystery of the 1,000+ Review Story

It was Professor Plum! In the library! With the wrench!

The mystery is SOLVED!!!

Or not...

Today, we get to talk about the great big 1k Reviews Threshold. Not unlike my statement above, such popularity must seem completely arbitrary... why do so stories go big and others just... not? So, we've talked about this in extensive detail at this point. We've covered:

1. The Importance of Titles, Summaries, and First Chapters
2. Why You Need a Beta
3. Where to Post and how that effects Your Fic
4. The Ins & Outs of Community (in two parts)
5. Fandom No-Nos

But now we get to talk about the big, arbitrary mystery part of it! Really, I'm going to ramble on about word-of-mouth, because the x-factor in this equation is, indeed, word-of-mouth; however, to assist me in my investigations, I harassed a large number of popular authors, including: houroflead, rialle, americnxidiot, halojones, blondie, acireamos, angel/edwardzuckorocks, fiberkitty, withthevampsofcourse, daddy's little cannibal, ninapolitan, cdunbar, mischief-maker1, thallium81/Jfly, GinnyW, angstgoddess003, and bethaboo. All of these ladies have stories with review counts over 1k, so their brilliant advice and survey-filling out prowess is getting showcased for your benefit.

So, I listed a number of factors, which we'll go into, but here's what the ladies ranked:

1. Content (Most important)
2. Writing
3. Originality
4. Complete
5. Posting Speed
6. Lemons
7. Community
8. Genre
9. Format
10. Multiple Fics
11. Ch Length
12. Fandom Trends (Least)

What makes a story surmount the big 1,000 review mark?

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1. CONTENT

This has to with pairings, which characters you choose, etc. I mostly discussed this topic last article. But here's what our writers had to say:

Angel says: COH is a pure E/B story. It is close to canon and in this period of slash/non-canon pairings etc, it seems very well received. Many reviews note how COH makes them feel like they are reading a more “mature” Twilight.

Bethaboo says: Let’s face it. Everyone wants to read Edward/Bella. Period. No arguments. No exceptions. My two 1,000+ review stories were both E/B. After those finished, I started a pre-Canon Esme and Carlisle story. And then. . .*crickets* . . . I kept a few readers, but most of them decamped—even though I think that my writing has only gotten better.

Acireamos says: We did the canon relationships, and when we insinuated something different, our readers got worried. Haha!

So, as you might see. We have a pretty big consensus on the Edward-Bella point. That being said, there are non-EdwardxBella stories that gain large followings; however, none of those people replied to me...

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2. Quality of Writing

So, when I sent out this survey, I expected writing to be listed at the top. It wasn’t. There are two reasons for this. (1) I asked peeps to talk specifically about their own stories—but naturally they ignored me. (2) Peeps didn’t want to look like fatheads by saying, “oh, yeah, I’m Shakespeare a la pr0n!” Sorta funny, actually. Well, I’ll be the fat head and say that I think people read (my story) The Nymph and the Waterfall because it’s witty and hysterical as fuck. (Eh, still. Ugh. Yes, self-promotion always sounds bad…) Anyway, I personally do think writing is the most important. After all, folks like to read a story that entertaining, though-provoking, well-structured, and well-written in the sense that it has witty dialogue, ironic humor, a grand ole mystery under foot, etc. Or they just like word porn.

Rialle says: I didn't know how to answer this one without sounding totally up myself, but I can't really think of why else my story would be popular. It doesn't have any sex in it, it's not particularly funny... quality of writing is the only thing left, right?

Bethaboo says: I would love to be able to tell you that good writing is the single biggest reason that a fic becomes popular and receives a large amount of reviews. No can do. As for myself, I have not always found that this is true. Several of my fics are over 1,000 reviews. Clearly these are popular with my readers. This is by no means a good barometer of what fics are my best. I’m going to come straight out and brutally confess that the fics that my readers love the best are good, but by no means my best work. Go figure.

Ninapolitan says: I don't think my stories are quality per se, I just think that people enjoy the humor in them and honestly that's why I write them.

A few writers got on my case for not including characterization in the survey. In my crazy brain, I actually group characterization in with writing, and I think that's true, but it is also true that someone can use complicated, flourid language and excellent structure but still bore us all to tears--so what's that other factor that draws interest? Storytelling. The intensity of the conflict, the pacing, the mystery, and characterization are all features of a good storyteller.

Blondie says: As a canon writer I think that characterization is probably the biggest factor when it comes to popularity. Readers have high expectations for canon stories—the characters have already been defined. It's not that there's no originality to be had, but my readers aren't looking to make a new friend in the character, they want to catch up with a friend they already know very well. The draw for Dark Side of the Moon is the same as the draw for Midnight Sun—the desire to get inside the head of someone we know—or at least think we know. Even though the plot of my most popular story is already defined, (New Moon), but that's not to say I don't get to “play outside the fences.” But knowing the plot ahead hasn't been a negative, rather many readers commented on how they were looking forward to upcoming plot elements.

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3. Originality – groundbreaking

I don’t think originality exists in fanfiction (the devils in the details), so I let others talk:

Ninapolitian says: I think it's safe to say that most scenarios have been beaten to death so it's the way that you write them that draws people in.

Rialle says: I don't know really, because my format is quite common (Edward Never Came Back). However there's also an original side plot running in there, which might help. Plus, mine is quite old- there were less than 200 fanfics on Twilighted when I added my first chapter, so it was easier to be original.

withthevampsofcourse says: I mean, none of this is exactly original. We're ripping someone else's story off to begin with, but yeah… the wording really ought to be "non-cookie cutter" plot—and no, I don't do that.

halojones says: I think the best way to grab people's attention is with a strong first chapter that does something different. People are reading so many stories in ff-land, it's easy for everything to start sounding the same, especially first chapter setups. Let's face it, most setups ARE similar or familiar. But you can make it unique not by what you do, but how you do it. Instead of Bella and Edward meet-cute-ing with Bella blushing and tripping, make Edward trip her. Or have an onlooker blush watching them interact. Putting a twist on all the canon staples is a good start to individualizing your story.

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4. Finishing your effing story

My stories got big review boosts once I finished them. It’s another selling point when folks choose to recommend. Pretty simple.

Fiberkitty says: Once I had a completed story, it was as if I received credibility and trust. Readers weren't worried that I was going to abandon my stories.

withthevampsofcourse says: well, if there are people out there who only read completed, i wouldn't know. i have yet to complete a story.

On completing versus writing multiple fics...

Daddy's Little Cannibal says: You can have a hundred stories, but none of that matters if none of them are complete. A reader wants to know that they can start a story and be able to finish it. The worst feeling in the world is to get really into a story only to realize that you don't get to finish it. So I totally think that reader loyalty is about completing a story rather than having multiple stories. :)

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5. Posting speed

For your “speed” even to affect your review count, you should either have 1. a pre-written story or 2. a brilliant [mental] outline and the capability of popping out chapters every day. Most people can't do this WELL, so it's best to pre-write, and even if you think you're all bad-ass and fly, your story will still be better if you pre-write it. However, there are some caveats to this:

First Caveat. You never want to post all chapters at once. While some goodly fannyfickers will review every beloved chapter regardless, most won't. Why? Cuz they'll 1. get caught up in your story and forget 2. be lazy 3. be so absorbed by the events in the final chapter it'll cloud their short term memory of the earlier chapters.

Second Caveat. Daily posting doesn’t help short fics. Because if you have a seven chapter novella pre-written and ready to post, you will realize that seven chapters in seven days is such a short time period that word-of-mouth will probably not spread if you post daily. This was actually my decision for my novella. I posted weekly for the first three chaps and then posted the final four on two Saturdays and Sundays in a row. I am not alone in doing this. A great number of authors set schedules. A schedule allows you to have more time to do other neat fandomy stuff, like (1) having sufficient time to answer all of your reviews (2) post teasers on your forum thread (3) play on your forum thread.

Third rule. Long equals short. If you have a good number (15+) of chapters written, then it will probably be in your interest to post as frequently as possible. Why? Because readers are so completely grateful for the daily update. It's like Christmas on FF! This generates unprecedented word-of-mouth. Several of the most reviewed authors on FF do this or have done it, e.g. jandco, tara sue me, and (for the initial chapters of Wide Awake) AngstGoddess0003.

Also, if you take forever to update, your story loses momentum, and I (and others) stop reading it, because between your generic title and the fact that you haven't updated in three weeks, I don't even remember WHY I put you on alert, and I'm too damn busy and lazy to go reread and figure it out again. That's my rant.

Angstgoddess003 says: I think with WA it was just characterization and posting frequency which drew the interest. Posting daily won't help you in the short term, it helps in the long run. I posted daily with WA up to chapter like... 26(?), I think. I found it best to update in the early evening, except on Sundays where afternoons were always best. Saturdays are crap regardless. It's interesting how some of us get two influxes a day: 1.) when school is out; 2.) when work is out, 3-5 PM.

Ninapolitan says: I made it a point to stick to a Sunday posting schedule, both for me and for the reader, they knew when to expect it and I think that made a difference. jmo

Rialle says: I update about once every three months, if that. Mind you, that's only now I have a decent sized following. When I first started writing I updated relatively quickly, and I think that probably helps quite a lot in building up readership.

bethaboo says: Can’t deny that this is definitely a factor. Over my almost year long sojourn in the world of Twilight fic, I’ve come to learn that a large number of reviews or even “buzz” is all about building popularity. If you get your name out there a lot or you have friends that do it for you, or even both AND you follow that buzz up by cranking out regular chapters, then you’re probably going to get quite a few reviews—more every chapter probably. I think the stories that eventually get the most out of this are fics that are on a posting schedule. Everyone knows that it’s going to go up on the same day each week or every other week, or some other similar schedule. If the author can stick to this for long enough, then people are going to flock just because of the consistency, which I think is probably one of fanfiction’s biggest drawbacks.

fiberkitty says: Frequent posting endears you to your readers but it goes hand in hand with chapter length. Authors who give longer chapters are "forgiven" for a delay between posts. On active stories, I do my best to not go more than a week between updates. I do not think it is fair to my readers to wait longer than that. You shouldn't take on more stories than you can handle with your real life obligations.

withthevampsofcourse says: Dude, I never update. Like, ever. So many reviews are like, WHEN YOU GON' UPDATE THIS HERE BITCH, LADY?

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6. Lemons and Review spikes

halojones says: I don't really do lemons, at least not with a straight face.

[Oh, wit. Pastiche laughs.]

Ninapolitan says: My new story will not reach 1k because there will be lemons but it's going to take a while to get there. [Pastiche thinks Nina is being very modest…] Though I have written a lime, does that count? It's funny...go figure. Lemons are important; they're not the only factor though. I think it's all in context to the story and the author and what branch of readers you have. Plus if it's an "M" rated story with the genre of romance, I think people are more inclined to think that lemons eventually will be a part of it.

cdunbar says: There was never a question on whether or not I was going to have Geekward and Bella get it on. I write pr0n, it's what I do. Besides, awkward first time sex is a rite of passage that everyone who isn't a nun, priest, or Susan Boyle goes through. It should be documented and preserved for generations to come.

angel says: It's been twenty chapters without a kiss and the complaints are few. The readers want it but they support the story line before the action.

fiberkitty says: Chapters with lemons typically receive 1 1/2 to twice as many reviews as non-smutty chapters.

withthevampsofcourse says: Maybe in the beginning. I mean… the smut was how i got known, I think. But now… not so much. Grab 'em with fuckin', keep 'em with… err. I don't even know anymore. Sheer willpower?

Jfly/Thallium81 says: Personally, I think it’s the smut that draws in the big numbers. But, I’d rather have 20 reviews for a chapter -- 20 reviews that appreciate my writing or offer constructive criticism-- than 200 reviews of “OMG! THAT’S SO HAWT!!!” I don’t write a lot of sex, but I’ve noticed that the chapters with physical contact got the most reviews.

GinnyW says: It's a foregone conclusion, if the story is building up with UST, the moment that UST pops into full-blown lemons, the review count will skyrocket. However, there are plenty of stories (mine included) that are successful without the smut. Personally, I think that UST is more important that smut anyway.

So, what the ladies said about the citrus is interesting... I’m posting The Nymph and the Waterfall stats as an example. As you can see, there are certain “trends” in chapter reviews. For example, the climax of the story, chapter 29 (which doesn’t exactly have any smut) is second highest to the ending. But then chapter 16… Hmmm… I wonder what happens there? You’ll notice the reviews are never the same after that point, so yeah, the climax and “climaxes” will probably increase your review count.

Although my big note here is that repetitive lemons/limes cause this effect to disappear. Like GinnyW says, it’s about the culmination of UST.

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7. Community

Mischief-maker1 says: I think that having a "hook" is a good idea. I mean, Stripper Bella? A lot of people started reading Miami at Twilight just to see if I'd fall flat of my face and then got hooked. Certainly "pimping" out your stories, (or having a friend do that for you) helps, but I got over a thousand reviews before I even became friends with anyone that could blog for me or put me onto the Twilighted threads, so I think your story and writing are key. I've also started mentoring some young writers and beta'ing them as well, even co-writing on occasion.

cdunbar says: I know I've gotten readers from being on the podcast because they tell me. And being a prominent name doesn't hurt either. It helps distinguish you from the hundreds (thousands?) of other writers. Thus, having someone with clout in the fandom pimp out your story does WONDERS for your readership. This doesn't mean you should harrass big-name authors to read your story, but it's a fact that many people don't like. Just, in general, having someone pimp out your story by word of mouth (ie, forums) is great because the more places you're recommended, the more likely someone will take notice and read. That's why banners and a forum thread are important because one, visual aids draw the people in and two, repetition is a great way to make sure your story's title or your penname becomes a long-term memory instead of a short-term one. Beyond that, honestly I don't know why some stories thrive and some fail. But don't give up if you haven't reached your stride. I doubt we'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

rialle says: Comments Nope. Mine had a substantial readership before I started doing anything community-esque, in fact it was BECAUSE it was 'popular' that I was asked to do those sort of things/ had the confidence to get involved (e.g. TLYDF, Temptation).

withthevampsofcourse says: There is absolutely no way I would have been well-read without Twilighted. None. And now… I’m everywhere. It must be annoying.

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8. Genre

This is about knowing your fandom—and your demographic. The books are action/romance. Naturally, a great number of readers are going to be drawn to such fics. Also, know that most readers have strong opinions about what they like, whether it's angst, mystery, etc. Do not expect everyone to read your story, and don't be afraid to "pick a side."

GinnyW says: I would say 'low', however stories that tend to be tragedies or have no hope of 'happily ever after' tend to have lower readership and lower review counts, no matter the quality, and mine isn't a tragedy.

Bethaboo says: I don’t think that genre actually has much to do with it. I’ve seen stories that are fantastic garner a lot of reviews from all sorts of different genres. Actually, I’d say instead that a story will gain popularity if it does something to further revolutionize the genre it’s writing in. That could be mixing genres, that could be using a typical plot in a new way, which could even be addressing a particular subject in an in-depth way that hasn’t been really truly explored before.

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9. Format

Fan fiction is sorta annoying in terms of its visual options. The two sentences paragraph or line has no elegance on cyber-screen. Writers deal with this in different ways. For example, for Lukewarm Alphabet houroflead and ThisColony asked their readers to adjust their screens to 1/2 viewing. Very clever. The story looks so much better that way. Minisinoo replies to reviews on FF, and urges readers to go over to her website, where the story is formatted appropriately. But in a great number of cases, reading FF stories is rather painful. When you read a book, it tends to be a horizontal process, but when you read fan fiction, it's all vertical. Thus, on FF, the two sentence paragraph looks awful. Having either more line breaks (gallantcorkscrews, jandco, isabel0329) or conversely thicker paragraphs (AG, fiberkitty) seems to help readers follow the flow of the story. Although… whether readers prefer dense paragraphs or shorter lines is a matter of opinion.

Then there’s also the “serial” nature of fan fiction. Some shit works better in doses, and others best downed in one foul swoop on a full stomach. Mystery, cliffies, and angst take on new traits when they’re serialized versus combined.

Claire/Rialle says: Is there an 'I don't know' button? I guess you'd describe my writing style as dense, but I don't know whether that puts people on or off my fic. I think the dense/loose debate depends on what you're writing. Dense works well with angst, loose with smut.

Houroflead says: As an author, even with a decent amount of reviews (feedback) its still hard to answer the question of why someone reads my story or what about it attracts them/makes them stick with it. For example, formatting, which is incredibly important to me and I do get some feedback on, but I couldn't really tell you how important it is to the average reader of my story. So that's simply a guess on importance. I'd like to say its entirely important that a story be written well in order for it to be successful - but we all know that simply isn't true.

Bethaboo says: I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again (or many more times, probably). We all LOVE the really dense, super meaty style. The style where you find yourself reading a certain paragraph over and over because it’s so god damned beautiful you want to weep. But yeah, most of us don’t have time to read these stories. It’s a cold hard truth that we’re busy and those short one-liner chapters (I love that TZ calls them “shopping list chapters”) are easier to read quickly. You can burn through a couple of updates in no time at all and leave a few reviews easily. There’s nothing to really contemplate. It’s kind of all laid out there in the writing. The denser material? I’m totally guilty of letting a chapter “sit” in my head for a few days and by then I’ve usually forgotten to review. Whoops.

Cdunbar says: I tend to use cliffies without meaning to because it makes sense for me to end the chapter there, but it leaves people anxious for the next chapter. Plus, something has to happen in the chapter for me to spend the time to write it, be it going on the first date or talking something out with a friend.

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10. Multiple Fics

Yes, one hugely popular fic can help another “lesser popular” fic—or not.

cdunbar says: My first story has a third of the readership that RG has and I think that's because I found my 'voice' and style while writing RG. And DomEdward one-shots on your profile don’t hurt either.

AmericnxIdiot says: It's a little difficult to tell because I have two stories that are over the 1k review mark, and they are both completely different. "You Get Me Closer to God" didn't reach 1k until after my second story, "Cascade and Cyanide," did. Also, I don't think my second story would have gotten the attention it did if I hadn't written the significantly smuttier fic first. People love their smut. Oh, and recommendations from popular authors/blog recs/podcast mentions. That helps too.

Houroflead says: My second story (which only has 931 reviews so it doesn't meet your 1k mark) benefited GREATLY from being my second story. I just want to note that. The only reason my 1k story saw the light of day was because of community rec's. That is how I gauged it here.My second story (which only has 931 reviews so it doesn't meet your 1k mark) benefited GREATLY from being my second story. I just want to note that. The only reason my 1k story saw the light of day was because of community rec's. That is how I gauged it here.

withthevampsofcourse says: Well, it's like, the more you write, the more you're out there. I have many stories out there, but they all have a lot of hits. I am lucky that my first story is still well-read.

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11. Chapter Length

Longer chapter often get more reviews, simply because there is more content to provoke readers into reviewing.

mischief-maker1 says: Ahhh…the chapter length. Well, it depends. I have stories with short chapters, long chapters and OH MY GOD! long chapters, so I don't think that it's AS important. You can easily say what you need to in a 2 K update, but it's all the sweeter when it's 6 K. The readers enjoy it more, though, there is a fine line between long and TOO long for a reader and you have to toe it very carefully.

Rialle says: My chapters range from 3,000 words to 9,000 & I think that makes people enjoy them more, especially when they have to wait so long to get one! People like to feel that they're getting something substantial that the author has spent time on. It makes what they're reading feel less like fanfiction and more like a real novel.

Angel says:I have some very long chapters and some smaller. I do get “complaints” about the smaller ones, but this could be due to the fact they KNOW I usually write longer ones.

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12. Fandom waves

So, a fandom wave is when a certain really popular story starts an outbreak of similar stories. This was the case with Boycotts and Barflies launching AU-All Human in the fandom; The Teenage Angst Brigade launching a new wave of smut; and The Submissive unleashing a new wave of Sub/Dom fics.

withthevampsofcourse says: Baby, I don't ride trends. I start 'em.

acireamos says: There are a couple of library stories out now, but we were among the first to use that idea.

Angel says: I admit I felt a trend towards AU coming back and i pushed myself to get COH published as soon as I was comfortable. But I have been astounded by the reaction. Totally shocked.

houroflead says: Did nothing for me but can be the biggest factor for other people. If I were writing a D/s story right now I probably wouldn't even have to make it very good for it to be successful. But again, I gauged my survey answer with my own 1k story.

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The Results:

Pen Name	No. of 1k Stories	Writing	Speed	Ch Length	Format	Content	Genre	Lemons	Complete	Multiple Fics	Originality	Trends	Community
houroflead	2	2	2	1	3	3	2	4	X	2	1	1	4
rialle	1	3	1	3	2	5	2	1	1	1	3	1	2
americnxidiot	2	3	4	2	2	5	3	3	4	4	3	2	3
halojones	3	3	1	3	2	2	2	1	2	1	5	1	1
blondie	1	4	2	2	4.5	3	2	1	2	3	2	3	2
acireamos	1	4	4	2	1	3	5	4	2	1	3	1	1
angel	2	4	5	2	1	5	4	2	5	2	5	2	5
fiberkitty	3	4	4	3	1	5	2	5	5	4	2	1	5
withthevampsofcourse	3	4	2	2	3	4	4	3	1	4	3	1	5
daddy's little cannibal	7	4	4	4	5	2	1	1	5	1	5	1	1
ninapolitan	1	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	5
cdunbar	1	5	3	3	4	4	2	3	3	4	4	1	3
mischief-maker1	3	5	3	2	2	4	2	3	5	3	3	1	2
thallium81/Jfly	1	3	2	1	2	4	3	5	5	2	4	5	2
GinnyW	1	3	3	2	1	5	2	1	2	2	4	X	1
angstgoddess003	1	3	5	3	2	4	4	3	4	1	4	1	4
bethaboo	2	2	3	2	4	5	2	5	5	3	5	5	3
Pastiche Pen	2	5	4	2	4	3	4	4	5	4	3	1	4
Mean:	2.06	3.67	3.17	2.44	2.69	3.94	2.83	3	3.59	2.61	3.56	1.88	2.94
Mode:	1	3	4	2	2	5	2	3	5	1	3	1	2
Median:	2	4	3	2	2	4	2	3	4	2.5	3.5	1	3

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BACK TO THE BEGINNING

So, now that I've told you all of this, I'm going to go back to the grand beginning—where I told you reviews don't mean much of anything with regard to the quality of your writing or how you should regard yourself as an author. Because for the most part, it's all a heap of bullshit. Like big old ox caca.

If you're going to write, you should write because you want to write—because it's fun. You should write because you care about your characters. You should write because there's a story bouncing about in your head that demands your fingers attack the keyboard. You should write because it takes you to that happy place inside your brain, where the odd, vicious, scared, and corny can wrestle out life's puzzles in full abandon.

And yet, you're like, but I love my story soooo much that I want other people to read it!!!

Sigh. Thus, the reason I write these articles...?

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Pastiche Pen is a propagator of fanfic reader and writer love and a fellow believer in fandom hippie values. You can find her here. Go review her. Become her friend and others, because she would agree that it's all about spreading the love. But not that big, grossly gratifying inbred orgy love. That's just wrong.