Anon who commented above about low expectations and writing for yourself here again. :)
This is a well thought out response. Regarding a poorly written fic with 40 comments vs. a long, well-written one with only a few, I think you also have to take fandom likes and dislikes into account.
For example, if I wanted to pander and get a lot of comments from people here, there are definitely certain types of prompts that clearly everyone goes nuts for (like stories about Stick, or Matt/Foggy fluff, or Foggy whump). And there's nothing wrong with those - I've filled a couple of prompts like that, and they can be fun. But if I wanted to write a great Ben-fic, or a fic that gets into Karen's complexity, or a Marci fic, I bet you I'd be lucky if it got half the attention that something more fan headcanon-y and frequently discussed would, even if it was epic and worthy of the show itself.
Sometimes people aren't there for the writing itself, so much as the concept, or the romance, or the straight-up smut. Which is fine, because it's why new, young, or amateur writers can feel so comfortable in the fanfic community.
I've found that as someone who generally writes PG or teen-rated stuff, and dislikes crazy AUs, and loves to explore gen relationships and stay canon, I'm just kind of stuck hoping that the rare people who are actually are into those types of fics show up. My favourite fics I've ever written that I'm the proudest of always seem to be the ones that people comment on the least. Which I have learned to be okay with, because I write fics that interest me and that I find fun to write. Otherwise it just wouldn't be worth it to me to do.
Doesn't mean that sometimes I don't spend the first couple of hours after a fic goes up on AO3 refreshing my inbox thinking "Why don't you love me?" though.
Re: Wanna commiserate?
This is a well thought out response. Regarding a poorly written fic with 40 comments vs. a long, well-written one with only a few, I think you also have to take fandom likes and dislikes into account.
For example, if I wanted to pander and get a lot of comments from people here, there are definitely certain types of prompts that clearly everyone goes nuts for (like stories about Stick, or Matt/Foggy fluff, or Foggy whump). And there's nothing wrong with those - I've filled a couple of prompts like that, and they can be fun. But if I wanted to write a great Ben-fic, or a fic that gets into Karen's complexity, or a Marci fic, I bet you I'd be lucky if it got half the attention that something more fan headcanon-y and frequently discussed would, even if it was epic and worthy of the show itself.
Sometimes people aren't there for the writing itself, so much as the concept, or the romance, or the straight-up smut. Which is fine, because it's why new, young, or amateur writers can feel so comfortable in the fanfic community.
I've found that as someone who generally writes PG or teen-rated stuff, and dislikes crazy AUs, and loves to explore gen relationships and stay canon, I'm just kind of stuck hoping that the rare people who are actually are into those types of fics show up. My favourite fics I've ever written that I'm the proudest of always seem to be the ones that people comment on the least. Which I have learned to be okay with, because I write fics that interest me and that I find fun to write. Otherwise it just wouldn't be worth it to me to do.
Doesn't mean that sometimes I don't spend the first couple of hours after a fic goes up on AO3 refreshing my inbox thinking "Why don't you love me?" though.