Writing in Unpopular Fandoms

So, I said I would try to blog more often, and this is a topic I thought might make for a decent blog post. A more accurate title might be "Writing in Fandoms That Are Not Popular" (because "unpopular" tends to have a more negative connotation, like being openly rejected where the fandoms I work in tend to be, well, just not paid any attention to at all!) BUT that's a less snappy title!

Anyway, in any given online community there will be things that are popular and well-liked and things that are not. Of those things that are not, some things are widely disliked and rejected, but even more things are just plain not given attention at all. This is either because said thing isn't known about or because it isn't cared about, but either way it happens. And that is totally fine! For the record, this blog isn't meant to be me complaining about how no one likes the things I like and my fics tend to get ignored and my themes tend to not be understood. I don't mind that really. I mean, it'd be awesome if there were more people here that shared more of my interests, but I completely accept that they don't.

I frequently wonder if I should post the fic I write on here, to be honest, and there are several that are exclusive to my Archive of Our Own account because I just don't see there being any audience for them here. Then, there are the many fic I have posted on here that I almost left as AO3 exclusives, but decided for whatever reason to try to share here. Those fics mostly don't get much love, and it makes me wonder if there was any purpose to sharing them here. I still don't really know, but I like the idea of sharing my writing with as many potential readers as possible, if it's writing that I'm willing to share at all, of course. Also, I enjoy being active on here, and part of that is posting my work, or at least a share of it.

But I mean, at the same time, is there really any point to posting my latest Quantum Leap fic when the majority of people on this website might not have even ever heard of the show? Is there any real reason to post any further stories of my M*A*S*H fic series when most people on this website aren't familiar with the canon material and aren't interested in it or my fanwork for it? Should I keep trying to promote my Glee fic series The End of the World as We Know It, when it barely gets readers and no one knows who half the characters are because that show hasn't been relevant in years? (Hell, even I am not really a fan of Glee! I just love certain characters and love writing about them!)

These are things I think about somewhat often. I don't really know what the answer is except to keep doing what I'm doing, and trying to use my best judgement in terms of what I want to share here and what I don't. For the record (which should be clear to anyone who goes to my "stories" page), I tend to share more than I withhold, and I will likely continue to do that in the future. Like I said, this blog isn't me throwing a fit or anything like that.

Does anyone else have similar experiences in this or in other communities? I'd love to hear about them and discuss them in the comments!
May 6th, 2017 at 06:56pm