dA Writers-Get Noticed

It's hard being a writer on dA. For every one writer, there are at least 15 artists, 10 of which are fan-artists. And why would people turn away from fanart, comics, and/or yaoi to read your poetry/prose? You have to give them a reason.

This tutorial will take you through a few steps which will hopefully bring your writing more attention, If you'd care to read:

1. REVISE!

I cannot stress how crucial this step is. Once you have your 1st draft done, revise for typos and grammatical errors. On the second time, read it out loud to revise for flow. Then check again for grammar and spelling. Read it again, revise word by word.
  
Can you create more impact with the same amount/less words? If you can, do it.
Now, here are a few things you should keep in mind as you revise.

          1a.Start BIG
          In most lit thumbs, the first 110 or so characters of your writing can be seen.
          These words need to be able to hook the reader's interest.
          How do you do that? Start BIG.  For prose (particularly stories), start with a dramatic scene, or in the middle of an action sequence. For example:

              "I would have died for you." She whispered hoarsely, clinging to his arm with the futile hope that if she gripped him tight enough, he could not possibly be able to leave. "I would have done anything. I would have gone in your place." _{(I would have died, © puppy-eater)}

        Do you want to read that story now?
        I bet you do.
Other things that work to hook people in to poetry/prose are strong/vivid/whimsical descriptions. Examples:

              i found god at the b o t t o m of a half priced
              bottle of beer and a quater carton of cigarettes _{(no escape buttons here. (c) dreamingyournitemare)}

              i am in love with/i'm a secondhand smoker/hello, sunflower _{(one final poem. ©skylarklies)}

              I want to be beautiful by math's standards;
              Not just yours, or any other idiot who believes that the heart is where true beauty lies. _{(Beautiful is superficial dear © puppy-eater)}

But now you're asking, "What if my thumb doesn't show text?" Ignore this step. You're going to need to do all the hooking in step 2.

           1b. The WALL OF TEXT
The wall of text is an occurrence where the writer has completely forgotten that such things as paragraphs exist. Instead, they post entire stories that are more than 7 pages and post them all on one deviation as a huge paragraph. This leaves the deviation as a wall of text, and the words stop looking like words and sentences and phrases, and instead start looking like shapes, bricks in a huge, intimidating wall. Nobody wants to read that. Very few people actually can, and everyone who can remember what a paragraph is becomes really mad at the author. Especially if they stick in conversations like this: "Hi, I'm a hugely annoying wall of text," "Oh, I'm not going to read you then, I'm going to read something that has proper paragraphs." There are no breaks, it just flows like a run on sentence, and nobody wants to read that. Nobody, not even insane people. So avoid the wall of text like plague. Look at this big paragraph. Did you even read it? Or were you intimidated by its bulk? I bet you were, because, as I said, nobody wants to read a wall of text, and even though this is a decidedly short wall, you're probably skipping it. Look, I'm teaching by example. How clever of me.

Did you read that wall of text? No, because that really should have been three paragraphs. So, now that you're probably back with me, I would like to remind you to avoid walls of text, start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes, and make appropriate paragraphs.

2. Presentation is everything!

Now that you've shined up your writing to make it the best it can be, make sure it can stand out from the page of other lit thumbs.

           2a. Titles
           Titles, like hooks should be interesting. Titles like, "PoNC-Chpt 9-pt 2" and, "Poetry Drabble 3" are boring. Avoid them. Instead for stories, give each story segment an interesting title. Look over your piece. Is there any particular sentence or theme that stands out to you? For the first title, I used, "PoNC-Rainbows in Her Eyes,"
When you do this, create a gallery for your story, and list the order of the pieces along the side, as well as linking the previous and next story segment in the Artist's comments, and your story will remain in order both for you and your readers.
the second is really, "1,000 hues of candlelight." That sounds more interesting than "Poetry Drabble 3."
You've got to admit, that sounds a lot more interesting. Names count for a lot, especially when you don't have a hook.

           2b. Literature tags
           I definitely suggest getting a literature tag to make your work stand out from the grey-green standard on deviant art. A good literature tag looks professional, defines the type of writing you do, and is eye-catching.
So don't scribble your name in MS paint. Think about it carefully.

           2c. Preview Images
         I've never used preview images, but they can work. When you use preview images, make it completely obvious that your deviation is literature. I cannot stress this enough. If you find yourself with 20 faves and 0 comments, it means people liked your preview image. I will have some examples of good preview images in the artist's comments. Please check them out at the end, and stick with the tutorial till then.

3. Be user friendly

The internet is a big place, and it's easy for your readers to be distracted! If you want them to read, you have to cater to their needs. This means you've got to keep things short, sweet and to the point! Make sure not to post anything that's longer than 7 pages in a word document (please note that I use double spacing and .5 indent, because this is industry standard in the publishing world).  If your readers like it, they won't mind clicking to the next deviation, but they will definitely be intimidated if they have to scroll a lot. And then they'll leave with all the precious feedback they could have given you.

4. Getting the most out of your artist's comments, and your attitude as a writer.

You've gotten somebody to read it. Great! First off, thank them in the comments. Second, ask some questions on their opinion. People love being appreciated, and the idea that you care about what they think. Questions really promote feedback.
Try to be open-minded to all comments. Even if you disagree, reply graciously. They thought your work was worth giving feedback to. They thought you had potential. That's a good thing! Another great thing about being open-minded is that it protects you from dArama and trolls!
If you bash someone who critiques you, it sends a message to others who would have given you feedback. It's a red flag, saying, "There's a mine here, don't step on it!"

Always be civilized, and remember that those who give advice usually can't solve all your problems. There are no all-powerful writing entities on deviantART (that I know of).

5.Groups and community

If you've already been following all of the previous rules, but you're still not getting any comments, it's probably because you're hiding in the little cave you've made for yourself on dA. Find a few groups to participate and share your work in! Remember to only join as many groups as you can participate in. Groups hate it when you simply dump your work, and I've found that if you actively participate in one group, you'll get the same amount of comments as if you dumped in 10.
 The more you participate in the community, and comment on others' works the more likely they'll do the same for you!