Curious Writer...

[Megina]

I've been working on an Original Story on Wattpad.
I'm a beginner by all means- But I was curious...

How does writing do here on FA?

Do you guys see a lot of engagement from your readers?

I'm struggling a bit with motivation... And feel that a little more engagement might encourage me to keep going.
Knowing that someone is waiting for that next update just really lights a fire in me ~
So I was debating putting my story up here too if it might help... o':

 

[Vakash_Darkbane]

I do ok, at least from what I can tell. I hardly ever get feedback, but I'm aware of what my faults are but can't ever get anyone to help me with editing. I know I get more watchers when I post stories and the view counts climb so.... It's hard to say. I don't really worry about my fans they had to wait 10 years for me to publish something and when I did they just flocked to it. So just post, it never hurts.

 

[Megina]

I do ok, at least from what I can tell. I hardly ever get feedback, but I'm aware of what my faults are but can't ever get anyone to help me with editing. I know I get more watchers when I post stories and the view counts climb so.... It's hard to say. I don't really worry about my fans they had to wait 10 years for me to publish something and when I did they just flocked to it. So just post, it never hurts.

I'm a beginner myself so not sure if I'd be much help editing ;v;
What kind of story are you writing ~?

 

[TemetNosce88]

The most-viewed thing I've submitted to FA is a story. It has about 5x the views of my most-viewed piece of original art. It received more comments than anything art-wise I've ever posted, even though half of those comments are me replying to someone.

The story is admittedly VERY fetishy and VERY NSFW. I'm not sure how that would skew the view count, if that's helped or hurt it.

 

[Raever]

1. How does writing do here on FA?

To me that depends on subjective view. There's plenty of writers on FA who make money from their writing, get watchers, encouragement, group up and collaborate, (etc.). However for every writer that does put in that effort, there are a couple hundred who don't and quickly leave for better avenues. Personally, I do alright because I don't write for others, it's for me to track things about my own characters and create a world that I can eventually bring to others in other formats (ex. a text based game, perhaps).

I will say that FA is not primarily the place to be as a writer, purely due to the website's current setup with how it displays it as an art form.

People on FA are much more interested in art, and the writing isn't really given a chance to shine due to how it's previewed and shown on the browsing page. All of them look very similar if you don't go out of your way to submit it in a "way" to get it to have it's own cover since the thumbnail is so small and uninteresting. You're better off just submitting art and then attaching a story to it, but not every writer has that time/energy/skill and/or money to bother with such things.

Spoiler: Photo edit for story example

For example, this is a cover I edited in photoshop for a story I'm writing:



It was edited from this commission: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38851042/

2. Do you guys see a lot of engagement from your readers?

Not really, not unless it's someone I've already spoken to or know well who wants to support me.
However as said prior, I write for myself. I don't submit my art out of scraps and I don't advertise it.
So in short, I'm not at all the person to ask. You might have better luck asking someone like xsini or another FA Writer who regularly submits and sells their work online. I think they serve as a good example of a successful FA writer.

 

[Megina]

The most-viewed thing I've submitted to FA is a story. It has about 5x the views of my most-viewed piece of original art. It received more comments than anything art-wise I've ever posted, even though half of those comments are me replying to someone.

The story is admittedly VERY fetishy and VERY NSFW. I'm not sure how that would skew the view count, if that's helped or hurt it.

Oh wow!
My story has some romance but I don't have plans for it to get into that 18+ area - Though I have considered writing some other "steamier" stories. If I get around to them I might try them out here on FA ~

Should writing on FA be specifically just furry characters or does that not really matter? If you know?
o':

 

[Raever]

Oh wow!
My story has some romance but I don't have plans for it to get into that 18+ area - Though I have considered writing some other "steamier" stories. If I get around to them I might try them out here on FA ~

Should writing on FA be specifically just furry characters or does that not really matter? If you know?
o':

Personally speaking, it shouldn't matter. There's lots of "Human-based Artists" on FA. There's even a group for them.
The only negative I see is that, because the website is mainly furries, you might not get as much attention from a majority of viewers.

 

[Megina]

Ooooo I see...
I do have a cover I put together but it's just something really quick. I'd like to reach out and commission a better cover design eventually, but just don't have the funds at the moment.

---

Do you think the characters not being furry would make a big difference?
Or should I limit stories I submit to FA for furry characters specifically?

Edit - You answered my other question already! Thank You!

 

[Kate Marquet]

How does writing do here on FA?

I write entirely within the Transformation sub-genre on FA so I can only speak to my experience there but I would say it's pretty positive. I've only been on the site for 2 1/2 years or so but I've got 171 stories up and almost a 1000 watchers, I've been booked for commissions for the past two years straight, and my Patreon is close to 100 supporters so you can definitely find some traction here. A lot if for me has been output level, as I write faster than some, and having a variety of stories. That said, even my most popular stuff never touches what a good picture can do in terms of favs/views/comments but there are certainly writing fans around here too. ^^

Do you guys see a lot of engagement from your readers?

Again, for myself only, I would say I get more DMs from people when compared to things like comments on stories. I find I get a bit more feedback on some other sites I post to more frequently (like DA) than FA but not by too much. I get my best engagement through my Patreon.

I rarely write furry characters (unless someone transformed into one) so that's certainly not a requirement for the site so much as finding the writing category to submit it too. Some other little tips I would suggest is always having a cover image that gives an idea what the story is about as I find I draw in more with clear titles and descriptions compared to using just a title or no image at all.

But it also helps engagement if you engage with people to. I still try to get better with replying to comments and things like that but it's always a good way to talk to your audience. ^^

And lastly, some of it will just have to come in time. I started writing just stories I wanted to and in three months I got my first commission request before I had even considered taking commissions. Building up an audience can take a bit but good writing and a few stories always tend to bring some people in.

Hope that helped at least a little. ^^

 

[Zehlua]

If you have an FA, I'll follow you!

 

[Megina]

If you have an FA, I'll follow you!

I do!

Userpage of Megina -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

Follow Me On Twitch + Twitter!. . ►► www.twitch.tv/Megina ◄◄. . ►► https://twitter.com/Meginya ◄◄. . . ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ ...

www.furaffinity.net

c':

It's mostly just art and adoptables right now.
No writing on here yet ~

 

[Traget]

I might suggest trying SoFurry as well, simply due to that site being a bit more targeted toward stories than FA. You might still struggle to get feedback, but it's another option.

 

[Vakash_Darkbane]

I'm a beginner myself so not sure if I'd be much help editing ;v;
What kind of story are you writing ~?

Actually, i've written an Entire Series at this point it's about 28 small stories. So i've been around for a bit. I basically write a furr star trek series.

 

[JuniperW]

People generally are going to gravitate towards art more than writing. Don’t let that get you down, I assure you there’ll be people interested in what you write, it’ll just take time.
I haven’t really gotten any feedback. At the same time, I’m aware nothing I write will be perfect, so I try and smoothen out the flaws as I post new chapters. Each new story is a learning experience!

 

[Faustus]

The story is admittedly VERY fetishy and VERY NSFW. I'm not sure how that would skew the view count, if that's helped or hurt it.

I'm willing to bet it did. You don't see many commission requests for stories here, but they're almost always extremely blue and feature at least one extreme fetish.

 

[Bllst]

It's tricky to get eyes on your writing, since most people don't just go looking for "stories," they look for stories connected to something they already like. For example, fan fiction, or a particular interest/fetish of theirs.

Even if they are just casually scrolling, it takes much more effort to get involved with a story than it does for a piece of visual art. I can glance at a thumbnail and get engaged enough to click and drop a fav in matter of seconds. A nice cover is definitely helpful in that regard.

 

[fernshiine]

I do quite well! I actually have my hands full with writing commissions and I'm working on them as I casually scroll FA.

Drop a good summary, I'd say, and talk about what the story is about. Someone like me is interested in reading good stories, especially animal fantasy. I find myself scrolling the main site of FA enjoying some stories often as well!

I've been writing for years, fanfics and such, though, so for me I have a unique way of marketing. Not as business-like as others. I think it depends on how you present yourself and your story.

 

[reptile logic]

I'm not especially active on any site, so I'm no expert on what works for gaining exposure for one's writing. I will say that it seems easier for more people to click on and get into visual art than for folks to take the time to read text. I have dabbled in NSFW stories but have not published any of those. I'm trying not to muddy my brand, so to speak, even if that might ultimately sell better. Maybe that doesn't really matter, but that's where I stand right now.

As far as engagement; again, I don't work as hard as I might to get people engaged. I will say that roughly 1% of all those who look at my work leave a comment of any kind. Most stay silent and hidden. That 1% is enough feedback for me to know that my work is good enough to share.

First and foremost, I write for my own satisfaction. I believe that to only write for the crowd is to lose much of the joy that I gain from writing in the first place. I do make money from my work. I manage to cover all of my costs, eventually, but so far nowhere near enough to pay my way in the world with my words alone. Advertising and constant exposure would certainly help; as well as getting more published works out there. My next novel is very close to going out to my beta readers for their input, so that will help a bit. I'm building a collection of short stories as well. I'm always busy, just not always busy at the business of literature.

My latest short story

 

[fernshiine]

I'm not especially active on any site, so I'm no expert on what works for gaining exposure for one's writing. I will say that it seems easier for more people to click on and get into visual art than for folks to take the time to read text. I have dabbled in NSFW stories but have not published any of those. I'm trying not to muddy my brand, so to speak, even if that might ultimately sell better. Maybe that doesn't really matter, but that's where I stand right now.

As far as engagement; again, I don't work as hard as I might to get people engaged. I will say that roughly 1% of all those who look at my work leave a comment of any kind. Most stay silent and hidden. That 1% is enough feedback for me to know that my work is good enough to share.

First and foremost, I write for my own satisfaction. I believe that to only write for the crowd is to lose much of the joy that I gain from writing in the first place. I do make money from my work. I manage to cover all of my costs, eventually, but so far nowhere near enough to pay my way in the world with my words alone. Advertising and constant exposure would certainly help; as well as getting more published works out there. My next novel is very close to going out to my beta readers for their input, so that will help a bit. I'm building a collection of short stories as well. I'm always busy, just not always busy at the business of literature.

My latest short story

I don't publically publish NSFW stories because...eh, I just don't. And people seem to find me when I put myself out there, or I find them and stuff of that nature.

People like my writing, though, and it's enough to make me really happy. Since I don't intend on living completely alone, any money I make from writing and stuff would be the spending money, not the bill-paying money. I, myself, am not big on materialism and consumerism, so I don't spend much on items. I buy from artists sometimes to support them, upgrade electronics every once in a while (every two years or so), buy books sometimes or takeout, and that's it. So I always have money left over. Of course, my situation right now is more complicated than that so I might have to hold out and use my money to help my parents instead for a while.

Granted, this is because I also am only moving out after marriage. I won't be the breadwinner and am more a housewife/writer person. I'm reclusive and I prefer to be at home writing, baking, cleaning, exercising, etc, and am not someone who can handle the harsher world.

 

[Punji]

So far I've only uploaded four short stories to FA myself, but they hardly ever gain much attention. I don't terribly mind though really, as the Reptile above said I write for my own fun mostly.

I've got at least one favourite on each of my works, so if that's any measure at all at least a few people actually read and liked them. My most viewed one is adult, no surprise there, but I think it's mostly because I accidentally made the title kinda clickbaity, though it makes sense given the context of the story. It's also pretty niche. I never get any comments either and the most views I've gotten on a single one is 176 as of this post. Hard to say how many people have actually read the full thing and didn't just skim it or click on and then off it.

It's fun to get favourite notifications though.

As for exposure, I think adding custom thumbnails goes a long way.

 

[Jaredthefox92]

I write more on Deviantart, but I have used other sites. Most of my work is not smut so FA tends to ignore it, well other than Amanda's BIG Day, but that story was filled with macro themes. As far as getting anything noteworthy out of my readers, not really. I don't focus on smut so I will never be popular on FA in regards to writing.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

I do okay in terms of writing business, but I usually take on projects and referrals from friends, which skews things. I think it helps to actively look for business in different anthology and tabletop roleplaying game projects in the fandom. It may also pay to segregate your furry clients and your nonfurry clients to different platforms, which I do.

 

[reptile logic]

^ Yeah, I sometimes forget the tabletop role playing game scenarios. Used to do a lot of those; they were my first paying gigs, regarding writing. Haven't written one of those since the early 90s. I'm sure I'm out of touch with the current games and rules. Likely best that I stay out of them, these days.

It is certainly another way to get paid for writing.

 

[Miles Marsalis]

^ Yeah, I sometimes forget the tabletop role playing game scenarios. Used to do a lot of those; they were my first paying gigs, regarding writing. Haven't written one of those since the early 90s. I'm sure I'm out of touch with the current games and rules. Likely best that I stay out of them, these days.

It is certainly another way to get paid for writing.

I would it depends on the genre; science fiction roleplaying games have changed somewhat since I've been a teen to accommodate things like a greater emphasis on computer science, a better understanding of astronomy, and the emergence of transhumanism as a concept. Fantasy, on the other hand, still largely adheres to the fundamentals of the genre, though there has been some conceptual evolution there too.

A lot of furry roleplaying game projects are constantly looking for credited writers and ghostwriters, though.

 

[reptile logic]

Good to know, thanks. This tempts me to research further into this.

It all comes down to available time. Work like this generally comes with a deadline. One has to ask oneself, "Can I budget the time to learn the rules and create the scenario(s)?" and "Will this make it harder for me to complete my other projects in a reasonable time-frame?"

It would be wonderful if this body didn't need maintenance care, like sleep. Some of my best work comes out when I should be sleeping.