??

[redthedragon]

should i like... make a post going "feel free to comment" or like. is the problem that no one wants to comment/my content isnt reaching enough people, or is it more like... yall dont know if you can comment??

bc i dont really know what the deal is on here lol

Comments

[yvannairie]

The likeliest answer is a lack of reach, tbh. I mean, nobody knows who you are and DW isn't viral the way Tumblr is (hell, there isn't even a proper search function for content, only interests). Getting your works to spread is done by posting them in communities dedicated to that kind of content, and you make connections by talking to people in those communities or on their journals.

You gotta have some networking skills, or a way to promote yourself in order to get some eyes on your work -- which is still the only reason I'm sometimes crossposting on Tumblr, to direct any potential readership away from my blog towards my writing tags over here.

Having a comment policy isn't a bad idea, though -- I've got one as one of my pinned posts if you want to have something to start off with.

[redthedragon]

Your pinned post was actually what I had in mind when I made this-- i've never seen one elsewhere

[yvannairie]

Well then, look down my journal and you'll see that I don't get that many comments despite having one, either :'D

[autobotscoutriella]

Yeah, I’d second the suggestion that it’s probably a lack of reach. I spent a ton of time joining communities and commenting on other people’s stuff when I first got here—that’s mostly how I got to know people and started interacting with them. I didn’t really get much in the way of commentary until I did that. Communities are really your best bet for getting stuff seen and commented on, since Dreamwidth doesn’t really have a tag search function. (Let me know if you need recs—I have them!)

Dreamwidth is also a little slower than tumblr in terms of when people see and react to things. People don’t post quite as often, so it’s not uncommon to get comments after a couple days; I usually don’t expect anything immediately. I just commented on a bunch of stuff in one of my favorite fic-posting communities, but I’d had those tabs open for a couple of days; I didn’t have time to get on the computer, and Dreamwidth isn’t ideal for phone use. (...I mean, I’m on my phone now, but it took me half an hour to type this up.) I’ve posted stuff in that community this week as well and I know it will get comments (I have a couple regulars) but it’s pretty unlikely for those to come in right after I post. Just a different pace, I think.

[redthedragon]

i'd actually love community recommendations- i haven't found any TF communities except the TF rare pairing community so far.

I've actually never used a slow paced social media before, honestly. The closest I can think of is like.... deviantart. It's definitely an adjustment lol

[autobotscoutriella]

tf-rare-pairing is probably the most active right now, though tf_speedwriting has semi-regular prompt posts (not a lot of fills, though). There’s a few more that are currently inactive, but would probably pick right back up with some regular posting.

I’ve actually had a lot of fun in some non-fandom-specific communities; fandomweekly does regular prompts that can be filled with short fics from any fandom (or original work if that’s your preference). There’s guaranteed to be some TF stuff in there for just about every prompt, since I write mostly in that fandom (quality may vary), but there’s also some fantastic original work and lots of fandoms to choose from.