Tiers of fanfic accessibility:
1. Written for general audiences
2. Presumes familiarity with the source material’s major characters and the broad outlines of its premise
3. Presumes familiarity with the events of individual episodes/chapters of the source material
4. Presumes familiarity with a particular fandom AU
5. Presumes familiarity with a specific headcanon, joke or meme known only to those who’ve been following the author’s blog since 2012
(This isn’t a joke or a callout post - at least, not entirely. I’m certainly not saying it’s wrong to write anything above a 2 or a 3, but it does pay to be aware of what tier you’re on. There’s a big difference between intentionally writing for a particular audience, and unwittingly limiting your readership because you don’t have a clear notion of what you’re demanding of them.)
From a readers point of view, tier one is a dangerous one as well. Because if you’re an amazing author and I’ve read all your stuff for the fandoms I’m in, but you’ve got a oneshot for a fandom I’m not in, and it has a summary general enough that I decide to give it a shot, then I’m going to read that fic, because I want more of your writing, and I’m going to enjoy it and grow curious about this new book/show/movie, and then next thing you know I’ve downloaded 5 seasons of a show and I haven’t seen sunlight in three days
… this is so accurate.
winterfireice