#where I dont post the tags for tumblr promo posts --just the summary??!!?!

[takonxmz]

[PODFIC] Only two, hidden from the world by deuxjolras @threephasebird

Unexpected heavy snowfall traps Lán Xīchén and Jīn Guāngyáo in the Hánshì. Lán Xīchén suggests a new method of warming up his Ā-Yáo, and old feelings become difficult to hide.

[@evilhasnever's prompt for @xiyaogotcha4gaza]

🎧 Listen on ao3 here 🔊

here's a wip sketch I posted earlier

here are cover variants for the podfic (i used cover-a for image embedding on ao3, and cover-b for twitter and bsky promo post)

😅😅😅 I also subconsciously used bisexual lighting oops opps oops

[treeprince]

hello! ok 1. i love your writing <3 found you from ao3. amazing work *round of applause* 2. i wanted to know how you recommend finding fics / fic recs or promoting your own work? i have heard a lot of ppl say that tumblr doesn’t rly discuss fanworks like they used to and most of that discussion (esp with writing) has moved to discord but i feel like from an outside perspective its hard to stumble upon unless you have friends in the server? idk just wanted to get your thoughts :) have a lovely day!

ive been sitting here on this one all day like,

are... are you in the right place??? did u click on the right blog for this ask??? thank you?????? made my day and also got me v confused

but to answer your questions, ill do it in 2 parts: one for fic recs and the other for fic promos.

theres a couple different ways i look for fics, and im sure both of these are the most common, but the first is using ao3's filter system. i can pare down any particular thing im looking for in a fic with the filter system ao3 runs on, and the tag wranglers (bless them) have made sure that even the vaguely worded tags end up where they need to be under the larger umbrella tag its associated with. you can also peruse the bookmarks of authors on ao3 in their profile and filter those fics down to specific fandoms or pairings or even timeframes it was written!

the second is a combination of using friends recommendations- publically or in private servers- and fic recs on tumblr, usually thru the ship tag (if im following the tag, and if the author chose to promote their fic on tumblr, or a fic rec blog promotes it as some fandoms do)

it also depends on how large the fandom is when you come into it, and what specifically you are looking for, but if you have friends in that fandom who keep bookmarks of their fav fics or know of ones youd enjoy, id recommend going to them if the tag system isnt providing quite what you're after, as id trust a friend over anything else (word of mouth literally is the best promo)

there are also sometimes fic rec blogs, who's entire modus operandi is promoting works at large, so following a few of those (if there are any) can help bring new content to your door as well

as for promoting your own work, you really kind of have the world before you. make a link post on tumblr with a similar tagline to the summary and tag it accordingly. share the link in discord with friends or in fandom spaces. share the link on twitter and tag it so it gets seen. ao3 is not a social media website, so as long as you are the most recent post in the tag, youll always be at the top. theres no algorithms there like there are on other socmed platforms, so really the choice is up to you how and where you want to promote it! reblog the link as many times as you want! its up to you!

and youre not entirely wrong that discussion of fanworks doesn't take place on tumblr anymore, but it really depends on the fandom youre in. i follow several authors and fic rec blogs for one fandom who do regular fic promos of other writers works and gush about them, but in the way that youll see a blurb in the jacket cover of a book. its really just to keep the content coming back to the top here, and helps bring to the surface fics that didnt get a lot of readers in the first run, perhaps bc its an older work or a lesser known pairing.

discussion about fandom works themselves has turned private namely for the sake of reducing drama and hurt feelings in public spaces, and i dont blame them. ive been in ficbook clubs on private servers that were some of the best times ive ever had bc we were allowed to talk freely about an authors work without airing our opinions out for all the world to see, and frankly i much prefer that style of discussion over public ones, but thats me and i cant speak for everyone.

theres also just been a steady shift away from author engagement on socmed bc of how easy it is for them to get hit by negativity there. the culture just isnt the same as it used to be for fic writers as it was in the last decade. hell, in the last year alone, youd be hard pressed to find an author who hasnt experienced some kind of harassment over the course of their career on socmed, if we're being honest. my honest advice to you is: if youre following an author you like, and u want to know more about how they use their creative process, ask them! they may not all answer these days, but it doesnt hurt to try! just be polite, thats all anyone can hope for.

i hope this helps you anon, and thank you for the kind words! if you have more questions or are just looking to get recs, feel free to hmu!

[wildmountainkid]

Hello! I wanted to ask for advice on starting an RP blog, how to start one, and what a rules page is and how to make one

[ hey anon!! sorry for the late response aaa. im not sure if youve already made your blog but i thought that i should answer this anyway! this is a brief summary of things but if you have any other questions you can try looking at this blog or send another ask!

[ to make a blog, you should firstly get a… preferably good URL. mine… is not really a good example but hmm, i hope they dont mind me using them as examples but @wildchildfreecs​ is a very good url bc you immediately know what character that blog is about. of course, you dont need to get a url that immediately tells who that is but its just a nice thing to have! the other thing is a THEME, but you dont really need to care for a theme. tumblr’s rp community’s mentality is to have an aesthetically pleasing theme, but really, imo, all you need is a navigable theme with links to your home / ask / rules / about pages. ] 

[ a RULES PAGE is basically a page where you lay the foundation of what you do on this blog and how you’re going to run it. kind of like an information source for other rp-ers. for example, say… you’re going to make a gon muse, and youre not comfortable with rping / following other gon blogs, you should put it down. or things regarding shipping. do you ship with only canon muses or do you ship with ocs or do you not plan on shipping at all. or you don’t write smut at all or if you do, or you do it only for certain individuals. you can take a look at my rules page if you’d like!

[ a rules page is important for many people bc it tells them what you’re okay with and what you arent. which is why, i choose not to interact with blogs without this page bc not knowing whats okay or not can be pretty anxiety-inducing. ]

[ an ABOUT PAGE is also a great page to have. it’s where you put a summary of your muse, so that people know what to expect of your character. its especially important for ocs because people dont know how your character is like unless you tell them. their likes / dislikes / history / physical features etc. all these things will help the others in forming an opinion of your character as well as choose how to interact with your muse. i usually use them a lot as inspiration for starters – ie posts where you first begin a thread with another rp-er. you can take a look at my about page if you’d like!

[ even if your muse is a canon character, it is also good to have one because the other rp-er may not know your character, especially if they’re from another fandom. Like you have a HxH muse and the other is like… a Disney princess or something. Having one would increase the chances of getting an interaction with them, since they’ll be able to know your muse without watching the show. And also, everyone has a different portrayal of the same character so.. say someone’s Gon muse will probably be different from mine, so it’ll be cool to know how yours is different from others. ]

[ when you’re done with that, you can pretty much launch your blog! you need to MAKE A PROMO. there’s usually two kinds of promos, a easy low effort text promo post or a graphic promo (click links for examples!). they spread your blog and also you can check the people who are interested in interaction by looking at the notes. they accomplish the same things but ive heard that text promos are easier to spread. once you made the promo, make sure to tag it in the respective fandom rp tags, eg ‘hxh rp’ / ‘oc rp’ so that people can find it. ensure that these tags are within the first five tags. ]

[ andd we’re done. i hope this ends up being useful to you anon! theres also things like icons, the most common size being 100x100px. its not… necessary to have them but it’ll be good if you do! they can complement your replies and rps very well! ]