My Advice to FiM Story Writers · 1:23pm Jun 18th, 2012
If you're reading this and happen to be someone thinking about taking a stab at writing your own fic for MLP:FiM I want to give you two pieces of advice for your consideration.
1) Have fun and be fearless.
2) Don't bother trying to submit something to Equestria Daily. It's not worth the frustration.
On the subject of the first item, it's the same advice I've given out for some time now to fanfic writers and fanartists alike. Do this stuff because it's fun, and do what YOU want to do; not what someone else wants you to do or what you think will get you attention because it might be "popular". Do what you want to do and don't be afraid of putting it out there. This fandom is amazing and you will get support, good criticism, and maybe even a few fans even if it's your first work.
On the subject of the second item... well, what else is there to say? Tarnished Feelings got strike one from EqD for a laundry list of stuff I can only qualify as nitpicky at best. The decision-making process of the pre-readers for that site anymore mystifies me. At this point I'm calling it a total fluke that Raiders of the Cutie Mark actually got listed. I'm taking one last attempt to see if A Simpler Time can get listed, but I'm not going to hold my breath on it. Besides, it's not like the story needs the exposure. And if (more like when) it does get shot down it'll be the last time I bother submitting anything to that site.
Speaking of Tarnished Feelings, chapter two is undergoing final edits here and should be posted a little later this week. Might be a little while before chapter three as I have a much needed family vacation ahead of me. I may also have another story that I'll finish up a first part of and toss up before said vacation, but I need to make time to work on it. Doesn't need a whole lot of work, I just need to just actually get around to it.
And on a final note, I do have some new story ideas that I'm starting to kick around, one of which would be another Simpler Time-style story. Just need to find the proper inspiration and characters to use for it. I have a vague concept in mind, but it needs fleshing out. This is all nebulous for the moment, however, and as always is subject to change so don't get your hopes up too much. More stuff is on the horizon, you amazing and fantastic people out there. Don't ever stop being the best damn fandom on the planet, guys and gals, and don't ever doubt that you are exactly that.
"Have fun and be fearless" is totally rad advice. As is "write for yourself". But there's also "always embrace every opportunity to improve". I don't know the reasons your story was rejected and I can't provide an opinion since I haven't properly read your other stories yet. And I have seen some stories get rejected for the most inane and biased reasons, as well as seen stories that have no business being there get accepted. But the vast majority of the time, if a prereader actually takes the time to provide feedback they are literally saying "these are the things that are holding your story back, quality wise". And that's advice no author who seeks improvment should ignore.
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In the case of Tarnished Feelings, I've been over the comments I've gotten back a few times and they still really seem nitpicky for the most part. The truly confusing part about this is at first I actually got two responses back from EqD pre-readers: one giving the story a first strike and the other saying it was good for posting. It was only after I was offered a third opinion that I got more "criticism" back, and it was rather more harsh to say the least. If what I'd gotten back were more general problems with the story or my writing style I would take it to heart, but when I'm getting back line-by-line breakdowns of why my story is bad laced with the occasional rather snide comment then it comes across less as criticism and more as just someone going out of their way to find reasons to turn my story down.
In the case of A Simpler Time, the only reason I was ever given for it not earning a feature was, and I quote, "It did not offer anything already covered by the source material." What's more, I still haven't heard back from the artist who originally drew the comic the story is based on for his okay to submit the story again so getting a second shot for it may not happen anyway.
I do always strive to challenge myself and try to become a better writer and I of course would encourage other writers, especially newer ones, to seek out good criticism and advice on how to get better. However, my experiences with EqD's pre-reader staff have led me to believe they are not a good source for constructive criticism. What exactly they're looking for in stories to feature on the site anymore is beyond my ken, so I just won't bother anymore. I do this primarily for fun anyway, and there certainly seem to be plenty of people enjoying my work both here and on other sites that host my stories.
Equestria Daily is the most over-rated website in the entire fandom anyway. The days of fics getting no attention without their spotlight is long gone.
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If the feedback provided is contradictory or confusing, you may want to keep an open dialogue with them for a bit of clarity. Try either sending them an email stating that you are looking to polish the fic but need a bit of clarification on what the issues were; or grab an editor, either from Ponychan or the Editors Group here, let them take a look at the story and the prereader notes and see what they have to say; or head to the prereaders thread on Ponychan's /fic/ board and have a chat with them there. The input you'll get from them during their free time might be less terse than while they're pounding through 50 submissions. Also, you can try to talk to one of the active authors who have many fics posted there, see what they can tell you about any similar responses they've received.
Then again, like OwlWBU says, you have much less "need" to get on EqD these days with the community surrounding FiMFiction, but "overrated" isn't quite right. After all, I only follow you, or even have an account on FimFiction, because of them. And the extra exposure is nice. And a lot of readers (myself included) avoid browsing for stories on FiMFiction, we just read what authors we follow post and what gets featured on EqD. Not willing to wade through all the badly written brony in Equestria, gore, clop trollfics and fics where no one bothered to consult a much needed editor.
The real issue is that EqD is far less likely to post a story than they were before. They have a story limit of up to 3 new fics posted a day, but in 2 years have gone from receiving a couple a day to dozens. It's gone from "a site that hosts the "good" stories of the fandom", to "a site that hosts a few of the better or more unique stories of the fandom". And unfortunately that means that stories that would get posted automatically a year ago now get rejected.
Don't take it personally, don't take it to heart. Getting a fic on EqD is something you should consider a side-hobby. Focus on your writing and your readers here, but tinker around and see if you can hit that bonus too. Because it is just a bonus now, not the end goal it used to be.
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This all helped remind me of what I told myself last year when I was just starting to post my FiM stories, that getting an EqD feature would be "nice" but wouldn't (and shouldn't) be a goal or a measure of whether a story's going to be successful or not. My readers are the ones who'll help me determine if a story will sink or swim. More exposure for my works is always nice, but I shouldn't torture myself overmuch about it.
Thanks for the responses and dialogue on this matter. I guess I was just feeling a bit punchy over the nature of the comments I got back was all. On the upside, I did finally hear back from the artist behind the comic that I used as inspiration for A Simpler Time and he gave me his blessing to try to get the story onto EqD again. I won't hold my breath on it happening, but anything is possible I guess.