After getting constantly snubbed by Equestria Daily, I'm starting to wonder if my fanfics are really bad. What is that some just don't like about them? More importantly, does it feel as if I'm doing something wrong? Maybe it's just the fact that it includes a character only I feel should be there and that they were made almost in reaction to something that just didn't happen. Who am I kidding here? I know that a lot here don't even seem to know to about my fanfics until after I mention them sort of like when a WNBA fan brings up the WNBA and so little outside of its fanbase know about it. Overall, I would like to know if my fanfics really are bad, which is why they aren't doing so good, and don't try to sugarcoat or tell me what I want to hear.

7806526
No. Your fanfics aren’t bad, don’t be ridiculous. I love them and I can really feel your passion for these kinds of stories, especially when Megan is in them. Just because you haven’t been featured on Equestria Daily doesn’t mean your fics aren’t good. It’s just that not every fanfic can be featured on the site. Heck, my most popular story Worthless has been snubbed by the EQD overlords multiple times and I still get comments to this day telling me how good it is. It’s a really great motivator to continue. You shouldn’t judge your stories based on whether they are featured on Equestria Daily or not as that’s just self-defeating.

Really, if you love them, and/or your readers love them, then that’s all you really need. Hope that helps.

7806526
If you were really horrible, I probably would have said something mean to you by now. As it is, I've never heard of you before, so you have that going for you at least.

7806526
Well, as you know I'll be reading and reviewing one of your fics in a couple of weeks, so I can't really make detailed comments about specific fics until then. Don't worry, when I get there I'll be honest. But for now, I can say a few things:

1) If writing your fics makes you happy, that is enough reason to do it. As I've said elsewhere, if anyone tells you you should stop writing, you can safely ignore them. Okay, with that in mind...

2) Yes, it probably is because of Megan that some people are put off. Most readers here want all G4, all the time -- with maybe a little G5 here and there. G1 is not as popular and it's not going to become as popular. There's nothing wrong with doing a G1/G4 crossover, but nearly every crossover (with a tiny number of exceptions such as Fallout: Equestria) is catering for a relatively small, niche audience. If you never write anything but Megan fics, you'll never get an audience beyond people who want to read Megan fics.

3) The reception your fics have got is not actually that bad. Destiny or Coincidence? has well over 1,000 views and several of your others are in the 700-900 range. Those aren't bad numbers for 2021-22 stories. And most of your fics have reasonable upvote:downvote ratios, which suggests the people who are reading are often either positive or neutral rather than negative.

4) As 7806530 says, I'd suggest not obsessing about Equestria Daily. Saying you're "constantly snubbed" makes it sound as though you think they should operate to your standards, and that isn't how it works. They're looking for stuff their readers will like -- it's not just a popularity contest. I imagine you've had some feedback from pre-readers -- take that seriously and be open to it, even if you don't agree with it all. Some very, very well-known authors here have had fics rejected by EQD over the years -- it's definitely not just EQD getting at you.

5) Putting an AU tag on a fic gives you a bit of licence to change canon characters, but that needs to be done believably within the story. The FiM S5 finale demonstrated some ways to do it. Changing them totally and justifying that with "it's an AU" isn't sufficient. This comment you got on Unexpected Arrival has a bunch of upvotes for a reason -- because it's talking sense.

So, overall? From the little I've seen so far, I don't think your fanfics are the worst, no. I do think it would probably help to widen your horizons a bit, to be more open to differing views, to stop worrying about EQD, and when you're responding to comments (which is a good thing to do) to avoid writing in one massive block of text. Finally? Enjoy your writing. As I said at the start, that is the main thing.

(Accidental duplicate was here.)

7806526
I have my critiques, but they're not the worst. Your fanfics could've been better as a fan of Megan Williams as a character.

I said it once and I’ll say it again. Give up on EqD and move on to greener pastures. Those snobs are not worth your time.

7806526
Equestria Daily? I told them to fuck off after they rejected my work the first time around. Honestly it's just no longer worth it to get "horse famous”.

In the end write as you please and move forward. In my case when fics like Fallout Equestria where popular was an age long gone by the time I started in earnest I realized that I could do better but that it would be for my own satisfaction.

[Adult story embed hidden]

7806538
This is how I look at what you said from my perspective.

1) I can't say that I'm not happy with doing fanfics especially when I get to express them the way I want to do them, which is what would make them unique in the first place.

2) Keep in mind that there have been Megan fanfics here long before I first came here, so mine are pretty much a revival of that.

3) I have also received alerts about those who have placed some of my fanfics into either folders that are listed as either "Favorites" or "Read it Later" along with some others that they have, which made me think I did something that was good.

4) In all honesty, I can't figure out why they tend to snub me, but I have been told that they are a bunch of snobs who set the bar too high in order to ever get picked, though it would be nice to see some of my fanfics get recognition outside of this website, but other times, it feels as if they are barely recognized here while other didn't even know about my fanfics until only after I mentioned them.

5) I won't argue with that critique entirely, but sometimes there is a difference between making critical remarks and acting like a snob or douche towards it, plus I did that fanfic to give what it would have been like if it really did happen in the show itself hence being an introduction that never was, and I still see it as a missed opportunity to this day even if others don't.

7806526

To be fair, even very good stories that got high on the feature list can be rejected by EQD (and forget about it if it's more or less average), although I don't know what they told you when they rejected your stories. I submitted 2 stories about 3 years ago, I think, that did pretty good rating-wise, but both were turned down, and one of the things a pre-reader from EQD said about them was that they both tended to "tell" too much. In the case of one of the stories, it sounded like if it didn't tell too much, it might have been accepted. Another story I wrote in 2020 managed to be a recommended story for 2021 Starlight Glimmer Day by I guess someone from EQD that read it on their own, since I didn't submit it. I didn't even get a notice and only found out when I checked the site just in case one of my stories was one of the recommended stories for a certain character's day.

However, I have heard that EQD can be biased though I'm not fully sure what they are biased about. Maybe they favor certain types of stories and stories they don't favor might have to really hit it out of the park at a level only the top writers on the site have the level of skill to pull off...or maybe, maybe,, they personally know someone from EQD and they managed to get a story accepted vie nepotism.

7807033
I have submitted some of mine for certain theme days, and they are never picked for some reason. The most I get from them is a response saying that it's under review. However, this isn't a guarantee that they will place it. Also, I think that's sounds more like some sort of auto-response that they just give to claim that they knew you submitted. Seeing that I don't make the cut, does sort of make me feel as if either I'm doing something wrong with my fanfics or that they really are bad. Rumor has it that they sometimes take a really bad fanfic just to make fun of it while the author back here isn't even aware of that. Then again, I had more of my letters printed in newspapers than seeing EQD accepting any of my fanfics.

7807116 If you want to publish on Equestria Daily, you have to meet exactly 2 requirements:
1. You have to be friends with the staff there.
2. Your story has to be about Trixie because she's the founder's fave pone.

Writers work on the quality of their stories, thinking that that would increase their chances with Equestria Daily, but that is not the case. You just have to know the right people and write the right ponies.

7807010

I have also received alerts about those who have placed some of my fanfics into either folders that are listed as either "Favorites" or "Read it Later" along with some others that they have, which made me think I did something that was good.

I'm picking this bit out of your review as it helps to illustrate a point: the things you need to do to have a bunch of readers who enjoy your writing, and the things that EQD will be looking for, are not always the same. Loads of people (including me) have had stories rejected by EQD that have still had a good reception by readers.

Imagine one day you want to be a professional writer. If you want to get published by Penguin, then you need to write something Penguin wants.* "But this is a great story and my friends love it" doesn't cut it on its own. EQD is basically a publisher -- if you want to get featured by them, then yes you need to know their standards. Not just yours, nor your friends', nor a different publisher like a newspaper's letters column, theirs. Not everyone will want to do that, and that's completely fine. But if you want to get onto EQD, then you will have to change some of your set approaches. It's either/or.

* I apologise to actual pro writers for the massive simplification!

7806616
Tbh if I were EQD and someone told me to "fuck off" when I rejected their fic, I would be kind of unlikely to look for anything else by that author anyway. More seriously, like me you've been around Fimfiction long enough to remember when getting accepted by EQD was a huge deal in terms of views etc on here. These days it makes a far lesser splash. Writing for your own satisfaction is a perfectly good approach. It's what I do too, and I'm happy.

7807033
If that was one of the themed lists from Whisper Key, those aren't the same as a full-scale story feature through the submissions mechanism. I've had a few of my fics in those themed lists and it went similarly to your experience. It's more like someone on here doing a signal boost on their blog, or the old "Seattle's Angels" group that used to write about stories they thought deserved more exposure.

I think I'll draw a line under it there.

7807118
In another group, I have actually talked with someone who posts regularly on EQD, and he told me that even his fanfics don't get placed there, so there is probably more to that.

7807129
In all honesty, I don't how they pick certain fanfics, but from what I've seen, it's most likely those that get a high number of likes to which mine usually don't get that much that end being a fad and then get buried when newer ones come.

Maybe there is a better way to understand how I feel about this. Do you ever work very hard at your job, but never get anything good out of it? I am pretty much one of those people who goes through that. I can still remember when they were giving out awards at work for those who worked hard, I never got anything despite being those who was always there and even had to fill for others despite that. In a way, seeing my fanfics not make EQD despite how much was put into them is sort of like that. Even here I know many who didn't seem to know about my fanfics until after I mention them. In a way I do feel like someone who mostly unknown and left in the shadows a lot. Perhaps, now I know why I make Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift feel like as if she made that song for me. To make it MLP related, I do feel like Luna in that fan made song known as "The Moon Rises" in that I do feel like the lesser light and tired of feeling that way.

7808062 EQD is subjective by its very nature. You aiming to get there is like you wanting a girl to love you. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. Don't throw your life away over something you can't affect. Besides, by getting on EQD, you'd get 200 views on your story and that would be it.

Be like J. K. Rowling. She got denied again and again, but she focused on making a good story. Her success would come one way or the other.

Just focus on quality. Perhaps you'll already be dead when you become horse-famous, but that doesn't matter. Quality alone should be your goal.

7808069
Knowing their standards, fanfics such as mine will probably never make it. Other times I don't know what is it that they are looking for, but I'm guessing it's not something I do. Nonetheless, I still do it for the quality, though I wish mine had some more love, because even fanfics that are left incomplete seem to get a lot more likes than any of mine do. However, I will admit that I was still surprised when I did that "Return of Megan Williams" series, it went longer than I thought it would not to mention that I even did some with G5 characters, which was even more unexpected. Much of that is because more ideas came to my head when I made that, which is the reason for such a length. As for JK Rowling, I was never into Harry Potter, but I won't ridicule anyone for liking it, and I won't get into her transphobic statements being a supporter of LGBTQ rights.

7806526 I know EqD looks like this great finish line and while I won't say run for it, I will say try to start small. No one just decides to run a marathon one day and does it, it takes training and growth.

So, why not have your first goal be, being featured here on FiMFiction?

7808305
I already do that, but even here they seem to be treated as fads for the most part as if they don't seem to resonate that much.

7808494 Now the thing to realize about here on FiMFiction is that stories are featured by how popular they are (based on views). While that is a challenge in and of itself, at least it's fairly non-biased, while in EqD you essentially have one person determining whither your story is featured or not.

7808497
The thing is that I can write a lot of stories here tomorrow, and they still won't go far. A lot of times I do feel as if I'm pretty much unknown. Other times I just feel as I'm always getting the short end of the stick. Whenever my fanfics don't make the cut, it does make me feel in a slump as well as think if my own stories really were bad. Then again, maybe it's like those who do target practice at a shooting range and miss the target by thinking that there is something wrong with the guns when it's really the fact that their aim is bad.

Seriously, are my fanfics really bad, and don't tell me what I want to hear?

7806552
Do you really think my fanfics are bad, and don't tell me what I want to hear just to make me feel better?

7810188
Im speaking from personal experience. The Lost Element is in the upper tier of HiE stories and they still rejected it.

7810284
Something tells me that you are trying to dodge the question that only requires a simple yes or no answer to it.

7810669
Then you have some self-loathing issues to deal with and that’s on you. I will not cater to your self pity.

7810673
If you do think that my fanfics are the worst, I will promise you that I won't act defensive or throw any fits in response to that.