Fanfiction.net Etiquette
Believe it or not, the way you present yourself can influence the type of reviews you get. Your bio, summaries, and author's notes can speak volumes about whether you're a dedicated author or just a whiny little kid. How you act shapes whether or not you get put on peoples' favorite authors lists, and in general how others see you as a person. Here are some ways to be repected in the eyes of your fanfiction contemporaries. Mostly they are don'ts!
- TyPIN' lYkE DIs is NOT ALLOWED. Ever. There is no excuse for sTiCKy CaPS, "2" for to/o and "4" for "for," especially in a story. My sister types like that, and she is just barely 11. Point being: stupid typing like that is not only hard to read, but it also makes you appear immature and undedicated to your writing. Even if you're just barely 11, type properly!
- Refrain from saying "no flames allowed!" If people want to flame you, they will, regardless of whether or not you tell them not to. I've seen people with little notes like "Flames will be used to burn such-and-such." If you say that, it's not only kind of funny, but it also shows that flames are not tolerated or cared about in a way that isn't self degrading.
- Try not to beg for reviews or say "I won't update until I get x number of reviews!" It gets a little annoying, quite frankly, and people won't review just because you tell them to. Reviews are nice, but sometimes reviews take time to write, and of course stories take time to read.
- Don't say things like "Don't tell me to fix my spelling/grammar etc. because I don't care!" That is perhaps the most juvenile of all the juvenile things you can do on ff.net. If you want to be a good author, you must learn to accept ALL reviews. That goes for flames, too.
- Don't make your chapters too long. The length doesn't change what people think about you, but the longer the chapters are, the fewers readers (and reviewers) you'll get.
- SPELL CHECK. Always! Too many errors makes people think you're sloppy.
- NEVER ignore constructive criticism (unless of course it's incorrect). People are taking their time to help you, so the least you can do is take their advice!
- Be kind in your reviews to others. If you must flame, be sure to at least give a small inkling as to why you are flaming, so the author can help themselves.
- Stay away from middle-of-a-story author's notes, especially if it's senseless commentary, e.g. (A/N: Awwww!).
- Never, EVER review your own story. It makes you look /terrible/, trust me!