Favorite Fanfic Sites

[abhorsen.]

There are a few big fanfic sites out there, as well as a slew of smaller ones. Which ones do you prefer as a reader and/or as a writer? Why?

 

I personally publish on AO3, FFnet, HPFF, and tumblr.

 

While there are things I like about all of them, I think that AO3's interface is by far my favorite - it's the most user-friendly, IMO, and has by far the most options in terms of searching. I also like that you can include graphics in it (though I wish they appeared on the front page) and have pseudonyms still attached to your regular account. I have mixed feelings about the review system, but overall, I like that you can have a back-and-forth with people rather than only being able to respond once - even though the comments aren't used very much. My only major issue with AO3 is that it's got some really sketchy shit on it, though it's at least typically well-labeled.

 

I hate FFnet. It's got a terrible interface, editing is an enormous pain, and the search options are pretty minimal. However, I'll never stop posting there because it also gets by far the most traffic, and I've found that fans over there can be really loyal and responsive. I also do like the PM system that they have - it's been really useful for me in the past (and recently, haha).

 

HPFF is fandom-specific, obviously, which is a bit more limiting as I've started to branch out, but I've always appreciated some of the limits on what people can submit - see my feelings about AO3's sketchy shit - and I love the support for graphics. My major issue with HPFF is that the interface can be a little out of date, and the search options are really limited.

 

Tumblr is fun because it lets you branch out beyond full fics, and I've really enjoyed it for that reason.

 

What do you guys think? What are your favorites?

[zephyra.]

I voted for HPFF, AO3, and Tumblr. I do get on ffnet once in a while to read, but not as much as I get on the other sites. I think I mostly read from AO3 and Tumblr now these days. I have old stories under my favorites on ffnet that I like to go back and read now and then and HPFF has some of the best Harry Potter stories on the net. I love that AO3 is for fans of all different fandoms. I read a lot of Teen Wolf stories on there. I definitely agree about Tumblr and how you can branch out on there. I love the fact that people use plots and graphics/gifs together to put a story idea out into the world. The bad thing is that as soon as I see the plot I want to read the story and a lot of times the story hasn't been written.

[batsam]

I am loving ao3 a lot more than I expected I would!

 

I really, really like the flexibility of the tags, and how they are wrangled. This opens up a whole new world of finding the kinds of stories I would love to read, but before could only find with recommendations, and also helps me make my stories more discoverable by people who will appreciate them. I like that you can have comment threads on a story, for ongoing interaction with the readers. There's not much or a reviewing culture on ao3, but I expect most of our reviews will be based in the hpft community, and that feature will be very useful. ao3 also offers detailed stats of ranking your stories by hits, kudos, comments, bookmarks, and subscriptions, which the obsessively analytical part of my brain appreciates. The main thing I miss from hpff is having banners in the archive list, but I am glad to at least still be able to post them in my ao3 stories.

 

I posted my first couple stories on ff.net many years ago before joining hpff, but wasn't thrilled with the site. My feelings remain the same, but for now I am posting both there and on ao3. On ff.net I have twice gotten PMs about stories instead of reviews, which is a nice immediacy of readers connecting directly with the writer, though readers are less likely to click on a story without reviews. FF.net has more options than hpff for characters you can tag for your stories, though does not have the flexible content tags of ao3.

 

There is a big difference between ff.net and ao3 as far as views and reader interaction. Stories on ff.net tend to get much higher numbers of reviews, while the ao3 number is lower, but has a higher ratio of reader interaction. I have only had my stories on these sites for about a week, but here's an idea - of my 2,469 views on ff.net, I have a total of 4 comments, and 17 favorites, and 8 alerts (ff.net people have a strange habit of signing up for alerts on already finished stories), which averaged out amount to about one interaction every 85 views. Meanwhile, on ao3 I have a total of 449 views, with 31 kudos, 7 comments, 7 bookmarks, and 1 subscription, which comes out to about one reader interaction for every 10 views.

 

I think that one thing that helps this is ao3's kudos feature. A lot of people on both sites don't seem to habitually leave reviews, and kudos give a way for readers to commend an author without taking the time of a full review, including guest readers. Personally, I would rather know that a smaller number of people were really enjoying my work, than a large number of people were clicking on it but giving no feedback.

 

Also, the stories that get the most views on ff.net are of major ships (1,182 of those views are on my Harmony one shot), while ao3 seems to have more varied interests. My top stories there only have about 50 views each, but they are stories that I like, didn't expect to get much recognition, and am glad are being

The main thing I miss from hpff is having banners in the archive list, but I am glad to at least still be able to post them in my ao3 stories.

 

Okay, I'm going to go do something less Ravenclawy now.

[Lost Muse]

I voted for HPFF & AO3. I've always posted (and read) all my HP fan fiction on HPFF up until a few weeks ago. I like to publish there as I feel it's a good platform - the content rules are appealing and the overall arrangement of the archives is pretty good. I like the search function, the specificity and the details, and the editor used to post the stories. Also, really like the option of adding banners/CIs to the stories/chapters. Like the review system and favourite system as well. HPFF archives are pretty neat.

 

I've recently joined AO3 as well and started putting my stories on there. While the site's good, I think it still needs some polishing to reach the HPFF-archive-levels. Love the "kudos" option and the "tags". The search ability is pretty good too, and I like the freedom with content, especially in terms of reading fan-fiction. I wish the editor/formatting could be improved though.

 

I've never tried posting fics on Tumblr though I've started to share my AO3 ones there. FF.Net is good for reading (stuff that maybe you wouldn't normally read) but I don't feel comfortable regarding posting there. And I used to use Wattpad a long time ago for OF poetry and all, but I just sort of had a falling out with it as it didn't really stick.

 

In the long run, I definitely think AO3 is going to come out much smoother over all, and it'll be a great archive to post all the stories on

[lebensmude]

I voted for HPFF, AO3, and FFNet. HPFF was probably the first fanfiction website that I was on when I was younger and it's the one that I'm most familiar with (after many, many, many mistakes) I know how to work my way around it and I like how well it works with the use of graphics. To me, it's the easiest for me to use but I think that's mostly due to the fact that I've been on HPFF for so long. I like how close of a community HPFF is and how everyone knows each other, it makes it easier to get feedback on your stories and it's easier to get noticed on the site.

 

I also like ff.net and to be honest, I'm not really sure why, it's not easy to get reviews or noticed on the site just because there's so much fanfiction being put out but some reviewers on the site can be loyal and will come back and review every chapter of your story which is always nice. I like their PM system as it makes it easier to respond to reviews or to just send messages and I like seeing the statistics for my story. I'm not a big fan of how the summaries for stories show up on the site when you search (and how limited you are with character number) and the restricted graphic use because for me personally, graphics are more likely to draw my attention and get me to read a story. For that reason, I don't read a lot of fanfiction on ff.net just because I'm too lazy to read any of the actual summaries (which is probably why they have a small character count).

 

I was recently introduced to AO3 and I like how easy it is use the website. I'm still not entirely sure how to use the search filters but I'm slowly figuring it out. Like abhorsen said, there's some pretty sketchy shit on that site and I'm always a little afraid of what I'm going to come across. I like how clean the site looks and the way it looks when you're reading a fic, it's really pleasing to the eye. I like how easy they make it to cowrite stories and the series functions so that you don't have to add if a story is a sequel to something because it does it for you. I like the idea of pseuds so that you can have all of your stories neatly organized by specific pseuds.

 

While I use Wattpad, I'm not the biggest fan of it because the site is kind of a mess and the people on it can be a little . . . intense. I dislike the fact that unless you write something that's popular, you're probably not going to get noticed, and that it's not really a place you can go to looking to improve your writing or to help others improve.

[Kalkay]

My very first site that I posted fanfiction on was quizilla and I'm not even sure if they exist anymore to be honest. I then moved and started posting on HPFF which worked out well for me mostly though my stories never have gotten many hits. I recently made the move to AO3 and love it there! I find that they're a little less uniformed that HPFF was and give me lots of different options especially for tagging so that I can get my stories to hit as many audiences as possible which is fun. I need to poke around some more but thus far, loving it!

[lunarlumos]

I love HPFF mainly because you guys are all so lovely. :-* Also, I find a higher proportion of well-written fanfic on HPFF than any other site. On HPFF, I haven't seen a fic that's unreadable due to horrible spelling.

I also love AO3 because I have more flexibility with what I write and I'm not trying to pinpoint every warning/label I need. It's so easy to find fic for any mood. I'm more likely to encounter ships/plots I would've never dreamed of, which can be good or bad depending on the content.

[toomanycurls]

I love HPFF and AO3. HPFF has the whole community and well-written story stuff going on. The search could be better and having a fixed set of story attributes is a bit old-fashioned for data architecture. In that respect I much prefer AO3's site features and capabilities. I originally started reading there for the sketchy stories (they even make theme easier to find!!) but I think that the HPFT community tag will bring a new reviewing crowd to the site.

[galaxies]

I voted for HPFF and AO3.  I've been with HPFF so long that it's just a huge part of me and I'll probably never let go - HOWEVER, I have found a second home within AO3 that I haven't been able to find elsewhere.

 

AO3 is great, I love it, but HPFF will always be number one on my list!

 

I considered voting for tumblr as well, but it's not one of my preferred placed to post writing.  My fanart does well on tumblr, but my fanfiction goes on AO3 or HPFF!

[navyfail]

Right now I post on HPFF, ff.net, and tumblr.

 

I prefer hpff out of the three, mostly because I get the most views and readers there. Also I like how easy it is to edit and the unanswered review feature. And the fact that you can add banners to stories also makes it a favorite.

 

Ff.net took a while to like, months actually. It's confusing at first since it is so different from hpff. But I do like the the stats features and how there is both a follow and favorite feature. But I do agree with some that editing can get annoying.

 

Honestly, I kind of feel that posting chapters on tumblr is a hassle. Mostly because my chapters are usually more on the long side. But I do love how you can broaden you story with a lot of extras (graphics, quotes) through tumblr.

 

I've been thinking of posting on AO3 but I'll have to wait and see I guess.

[BellaLestrange87]

I post on HPFF, Ao3, and FF.net.

 

Ao3 is my favourite. I love the tagging features and how it allows you to filter your story search through anything. I also really like the statistics page and how I can see numbers for everything (I like numbers  ;D I just wish that there was a way to see who was subscribed to you. I really like the kudos feature as well.

 

I'm beginning to post my writing on FF.net. I don't really like it. Having to create a document that you post your chapter from seems kind of time-consuming and pointless to me. I do like the stats section, though. It's similar to Ao3 but different at the same time; I like how I can see where in the world people have been reading my stories (okay, I'm a nerd who likes statistics  )

[Stella Blue]

I am currently posting on HPFF, AO3, and FF.net. My favorite by far is HPFF - I love the community there and the culture of reviewing. People are really helpful and tend to interact more, and I feel like my stories are appreciated on HPFF. And I have the most readers there out of the three sites - though that could be just a function of how long I've been there. There also just tend to be really good writers there and I can always find good things to read!

 

In theory I like AO3 - the tagging feature is nice and the interface is easy to use. But I also have so few reads there, I kind of wonder why I bother. Aside from the few reviews that got cross-posted from ages ago on HPFF, I've only gotten 2 comments on all of my work combined, very few reads or kudos. I also have trouble finding anything to read there that isn't explicit/smut/sketchy stuff.

 

FF.net is just a frustrating site to use. I don't like the way you have to upload a document, spend ages fixing the formatting, and then upload that document to the chapter. Also hard to find stories to read there just because there are so many and there's not a lot of ways to look for something - it's like trying to find a wand in a haystack. ( ) And like AO3, there's not a lot of traffic on the stories. One of my stories has a lot of reads there, but most of them are at about 20 reads.

[banshee]

Out of all of these (that I have used) ao3 is my favorite. I love the search abilities and the tagging function. I love that if I want to read a Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Potter with 'Slow Build', I can filter that and find fics accordingly. I love that if you ship it, you can probably find it on ao3. However, I've found that getting readers on ao3 can be an issue for the Harry Potter fandom. I've gotten quite a significant less on my Harry Potter stories than other fandoms.

 

HPFF is my go-to for harry potter, just because of the level of talent on the site and the variety of Harry Potter fan fiction. I like that it has members that want to read your random pairing and that will actually love it. I don't like HPFF's search function. I feel like it's even went down hill since I first signed up for HPFF. There used to be a way to search keywords in summaries, which was nice for 'unpopular' pairings because authors could write the ship in the summary. With the new google search it doesn't pull up specific stories anymore, you have to search through the results, which I'm not a fan of.

 

I've never published full stories on tumblr, just random not!fic blurbs. I don't like reading stories on tumblr because it's either a giant block of text on your dashboard, or it's in a read-more tab and nine times out of ten the writer has a super small hard to read font in their formatting.

 

I've never used FFnet, but the few times I've gotten links from stories there they've been very poor quality, so I suppose that's steered me away from it.

[dreamshadow]

I voted for HPFF and AO3.

 

HPFF will always be my home. I can't remember how I found it a decade ago, but I love the community of the site, as well as the reviews.  The reviews tend to be much more insightful and helpful, although I haven't gotten a bad review on AO3 yet (mostly because they're from HPFT people, and we're awesome!).  I also love having the banners actually show up in the summaries and the "table of contents" look when you click on a story link.  It's really helpful for those long novels, and I love the chapter summary option as well. It's easier to break down those long novels and then clicking "read" when you're done with the chapter. Since I tend to read fic in spurts, this helps me keep track of what I've already read.

 

I also really like AO3.  I actually like it the more I use it.  Like others have mentioned, the tagging system is so helpful, and there's a LOT of variety of characters and ships there.  I haven't read too much fic on there yet, but in terms of writing and posting, it's really easy.  Or at least, it was once I discovered the "rich text" format option and that made posting a breeze.  The comment feature is really nice as well - I like that you can have more of a conversation about a fic than just a simple review, although it was nice to keep track of those answered and unanswered reviews on HPFF, rather than having them count towards the comment total - if that makes sense!

 

I used to post on FF.net, but I'm not as much of a fan of that one anymore. It just seems like more of a hassle, and I definitely got more views and reads on AO3 + HPFF than I did on FF.net.

 

I'm also not a big fan of reading on tumblr.  It's just all a huge block of text - I like it better for reposting aesthetics or quick blurbs of things.

[Selene]

I have works on FF.net, HPFF, and AO3.  I sometimes post drabbles and snippets on Tumblr, but not enough to really form an opinion on how I feel about writing/posting there.

 

I started on FF.net years ago before I found HPFF and I post there still mostly out of habit.  I read there more than anything now, but mostly fandoms smaller than HP.  The interface is clunky and frustrating, and when dealing with larger fandoms it is harder to wade through the muck and icky stuff.  It was nice in the early 2000s, but it hasn’t really evolved with the fandoms and writing community.

 

HPFF I will always have a soft spot for.  It was my home since 2004.  I loved how there was content moderation and you wouldn’t find the horrible things there.  Outside the queue at least.   The community was its life blood, and I love how you can have the banners in the summaries.  For a fandom dedicated archive, it was great.  The search leaves room for improvement, but the ‘tagging’ system I now feel is restricting especially compared to AO3’s system.  I feel like HPFF needed to grow with the community more than it had been recently.  We were all younger when HP started to become popular and many of us grew up knee deep in the fandom.  Where the rules and content restrictions were once welcomed with open arms, many seemed to feel they were a bit much.  I will keep my works on HPFF as long as it exists, but I may start posting more elsewhere.

 

AO3 is quickly becoming my new favorite place, and not just from a HP viewpoint.  I’ve been reading there for some time for other fandoms but never really set up an account until recently…ish.  Posting is straightforward and I love it.  Less clunky than FF.net and less frustrating than HPFF.  What can I say, I got in a fight with the editors all the time.    The tagging system is very nice, and there is basically a tag for everything good or bad.  For a reader, I love the history option of the account.  Any story I click on while logged in I can easily find again, and it will even show you if there are updates to that story.  And you can delete things from your history, so if you never made it past the first few paragraphs you can remove it from your history.   The kudos feature is very nice, especially since I am a terrible reviewer.  I can still show appreciation for the story.  And you can add images to the story…I don’t know how though.  Yes there be some interesting stories on AO3 but typically those are very well marked, either with the ratings or most likely the tags.  The authors are going to let it be known that story is straight up porn.  It seems hard to get reviews or feedback here though.  I like how you can interact with your readers, but getting people to leave comments or feedback seems like a struggle unless you’re exceptionally talented, post often, or have made a name for yourself there.  But I really really really love AO3.  Just…don’t judge the amount of Fullmetal Alchemist fics I read.

 

Holy crap I just saw Quizilla mentioned.  I forgot about that place.  Lord help me, I wrote Choose Your Own Adventure type stories there…for Yu-Gi-Oh.  I’m just gonna let myself out now…

 

[ImaRavenclaw]

I'm starting up an AO3, but as I haven't written anything I only picked HPFF! Occasionally I post a quick one-shot on Tumblr, but that was mostly before I found HPFF. Now I almost only write and read on HPFF, what can I say? Hogwarts is my home!

 

I love HPFF for the fact that it's impossible to accidentally stumble on explicit content. I love how all the chapters are validated, and also how everyone on there at least knows basic grammar and punctuation rules. We help each other out, and we really are a family. A big fat international Harry Potter loving family. Sometimes we don't agree with each other, sometimes we debate, but we're always there for each other. Especially since it's easier to get what everyone is talking about when your all on the site for that one fandom. I wish everyone had this amazing sense of community online.

 

Hopefully it ends up working out for me on AO3!

[beyond the rain]

HPFF for me! It will always be my home and has been for years - it has seen some of my best and worst work. I used to love the old wallpaper skin too. I briefly published a few things on FF.net a few years ago - but then I deleted them all. I kind of like the validating process, something about getting that message to say your story has been approved makes me really happy.

 

I also like the fact that it's specific to the HP fandom (i mean okay that much is obvious.) Like there's so many stories on there JUST for HPFF - and there's so many different parts of the HP universe uncovered on that site. My slight issue is that the ships are kind of limited, in terms of when you list what ships are in your fic. The amount of times I click other pairing, I'd love it if for the ships option instead of ticking other pairing and leaving it there, we could actually write it in ourselves.

 

Otherwise, the archives is definitely for me - I don't write anything other than HP anyway

[Alexis Black]

I tend to post on only HPFF and AO3. Like many, HPFF is familiar turf and I love how you can incorporate graphics. AO3 has a lot going for it with the kudos and tagging systems.

 

Occasionally I peek over at my FF.net, but honestly posting there is a pain. The only thing worse is editing. Ugh! As for Tumblr ... I have an account but I haven't used it yet. I know I should probably explore it, at least for my one-shots. My previous experiences with LJ (live journal), though, are what is probably holding me back.

 

I am surprised no one mention MNFF. They are one of the oldest HP-centric archives still out there. That being said, they aren't quite what they used to be in their heyday. I had an account there ages ago that I closed down during a prolonged hiatus. I have no intention of creating a new account, though, since my needs are met with HPFF and AO3.

 

All that being said, I'd love it if HPFT opened their own archive ...

[lostinthelightss]

I post on HPFF, FF.net, and AO3 and by far, HPFF is my absolute favourite. I like the banners option, I like the fact that the website is aesthetically pleasing, that it's all Harry Potter, since I don't write for any other fandom, and that the community on HPFF lends itself more to feedback for the writers. I also like the fact that you can have chapter summaries on all chapters and when you first enter a story you're brought to the list of chapters. Also the fact that you can check off which stories you've read.

[FireOpal]

I have stories posted on AO3, FF.net, HPFF and Tumblr, but the only site that has all my fic on it is AO3, and it's also my favourite by far. I love the layout, how easy it is to post there, the search and tagging systems, the exchanges hosted there, the laissez faire attitude (sure, this leads to some weird stuff, but I know the tricks to avoid the things I don't want to see), the organisation behind it...

 

That said, I'm pretty stoked about the coming HPFT Archive - I think it's going to be great!

[Shinicha]

Interesting thread!

I voted for HPFF here, because it's what I know best and what I did for years - read mainly, but recently also write a little bit.

It has its advantages - once you find your way around the search function it's very useful.

Also, because the stories are being checked before posted, the quality is usually very high.

Plus, after years, I just got very used to it.

What I never really liked are the banners. I mean, they ARE beautifully made in many cases, but it also means that you automatically won't look at stories without banners. I tried to, but my eyes just immediately wander to the ones with banners!

Since the forums closed down there seems to be a large part missing. I feel a little bit lost, to be honest, because although I was never very active on the forum, I often checked in and looked what other people had to say. Since the comment-function doesn't allow for a "discussion", but only one comment + 1 answer this feeling of communicating with other fans is now somewhat lost.

 

But thanks to this thread I seriously considered AO3 for the first time, and voilà got an account. It really is very easy to use and the tag-system is well moderated. I still haven't found my way around it to know where to look for what I like - I guess this will take some time. But I think I will appreciate it a lot in the future.

[panacea]

I prefer FanFiction.net over any of the other sites. It's simple and straightforward. I used to use HPFF but I find that it takes such a longer time to post stories up because of the validation process, it becomes a hassle for me.

[Illuminate]

I mainly post on HPFF and here, but I have in the past posted on FF.N as AvatarBliss. 'Joker' is on there, though I'm iffy about whether I will continue to do so. I think that the most loyal and like-minded people are on sites like this, and I think over on FF.N stories can tend to disappear into the ether

 

I'll always have a fondness for HPFF, but I really like that HPFT has more fandoms and the community is great here

[Elena]

I post on HPFF, AO3, Gluttony and now HPFT.

 

I have Author pages at Hawthorne and Vine and Fire and Ice and Granger Enchanted...and possibly one at Mugglenet...but I found their grammar nazis too hard to get by. I was rejected on a chapter that was Betaed 3 times by their own recommended betas...so I just don't post there.

[Oregonian]

I was glad to see that Alexis Black mentioned MNFF because it's the site where I started out and still participate.  I joined the world of Harry Potter fan fiction in 2012 and was dismayed by the sites I first looked at; they contained a large proportion of porn and of unreadably illiterate stuff which was obviously unedited.  So I kept exploring and found MNFF, which was much more to my liking.  Alexis is right in saying that they don't have nearly the amount of traffic that they did in their heyday, but the quality is good.

 

A couple of years ago I started posting on HPFF also, looking to extend my audience.  I only write HP--the Potterverse is wide enough to allow for an almost infinite variety of stories, great scope for developing and practicing one's storytelling skills.

 

So now I'm here because the forum on the other place self-destructed.  I registered for an account on the HPFT archives, but I'm of two minds about whether to post there because the white-on-black is difficult for me to read.  Anyone else notice that?