How to Post a Fanfiction to Ao3 (Archive of our Own)

Log in to Ao3. Do this by clicking/tapping the Log in button at the top right of the page. Then type in your username and password.

Press Post at the top of the screen and select New Work. You’ll find the post button directly to the left of where the log in button used to be.

Add a rating to your work. This required step tells a potential reader if your fanfiction is appropriate for his or her age range. Not rated means the author could not determine which rating is appropriate for this story and it is up to the reader’s discretion whether or not to read it. A general audiences rating means that your story is appropriate for all ages. A story with this rating should not contain any bad language, violence, or sexual content. If your story is not appropriate for even a young child then it should not be rated general audiences. A teen and up ages rating means that your story is appropriate for ages 13+. It may contain a few bad words, light violence or suggestive content, but absolutely nothing explicit or with gore. A mature rating means your story is appropriate for mature audiences, around 16+. This may have more violence, bad language, and suggestive themes. An explicit rating may be used for extremely detailed violence, but it is mostly used for detailed sexual content. If in doubt, rate your story either not rated, or choose the higher rating. It’s better to have something mild with a higher rating then to expose a child/young teenager to something he/she should not see.

Place appropriate warnings. These are extremely important, as it lets readers know when there is something potentially triggering in the story. It helps them filter stories that may be harmful to their mental health. Picking “Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings” tells a reader that one of the warnings does apply, but the author has not revealed which one to avoid spoiling the fic. This is not the same as No Archive Warnings Apply, which actually means none of the warnings occur in the story.

Choose a fandom. Type your fandom’s name into the rectangle next to this option. Ao3 will “guess” your fandom(s) as you type, and you can select yours once it pops up. Be aware that when using searching for a fandom that uses characters other than those in the English alphabet (such as French or Chinese) you may have to type in these different characters to find your fandom. If your device doesn’t have these characters, you can do a Google search for them and then copy and paste them in. Example: Search “e with slash” for è, then copy/paste it.

Pick categories. Categories focus on the types of relationships focused on in your fic. This step is optional, but it can help a reader find your story easier if they’re looking for a certain category. You can choose more than one category for a fic. F/F means a romantic or sexual relationship between two females F/M means a romantic or sexual relationship between a male and a female Gen means there are no romantic or sexual relationships in the story or that they aren’t the main focus of it. M/M means a romantic or sexual relationship between two males Multi means multiple types of relationships or relationships between more than two people. Other means other kinds of relationships, such as a friendship or brotherhood.

Add the ships. Now that you’ve noted the types of relationships in your story you can name the people in them. This makes it easy for readers to find your story if it contains their favorite ship, so don’t skip this step! You must type in or copy/paste letters outside the English alphabet for character names just like for fandoms. A ship with a / symbol denotes a romantic or sexual relationship, while one with an & symbol denotes a friendship or other relationship.

State the characters in your story. Sometimes readers search for their favorite character when looking for stories to read. It is up to you how many characters you want to list; some people prefer to only list the main characters, while others list every character in the story, even if they’re only mentioned or in the background.

Add additional tags. These give more information on what your story is about. Some examples of tags to include are: The genre. Is it a mystery, romance, or case fic? Something else? Does it have angst, whump, smut, or fluff? Readers search for these. Is it an AU or a crossover? Add that too. What roles do particular characters & ships play in the story? You could include tags such as "Background Alice", "Villain Bob", "Eventual Alice/Bob", "Best friends Alice & Charlie". How long is the story? Is it one chapter or multiple? The ending. Does your story have a hopeful ending? A happy one? A sad one?

Title your work by typing a title into the shown rectangle.

Write a summary. This step is optional, but it gives an idea of what happens in your story and of your writing style to readers, so a summary is recommended. Even copying a pretty sounding quote or the first line from your work is better than no summary.

Add author’s notes if desired. You can check the top box for an author’s note at the beginning, the bottom for a note at the end, or both. You then type your notes in the rectangles that pop up. Notes at the beginning usually introduce the story. You might want to include your inspiration for your fic or thank the person who suggested it. Notes at the end usually begin by thanking the reader for reading the fic. It may then provide extra information, such as word definitions/translations or clarification of confusing plot points. The author might also post links to his/her social media pages.

Choose your associations, if applicable. If your work is part of a series or collection or challenge, include those here. If it has multiple chapters, say so. If it is inspired by any other fanfic author’s work, provide attribution here.

Select the language your work is written in. Click the rectangle by the red text saying “choose a language” and scroll until you find the right one. Click it.

Choose your preferred privacy settings. “Only show your work to registered users” means that only those with Ao3 accounts will be able to read your work. Leaving this unchecked means anons can read your fic too. Comment moderation lets you review any comments on your fic before they get posted for the world to see. You can also choose who gets to comment on your work, whether it’s anyone, only people with Ao3 accounts, or nobody.

Type or copy/paste your fic into the large box. You can type your story here from scratch, but Ao3 doesn’t save your work. Many authors choose to type somewhere else that has a save function and then copy/paste their fic into Ao3 after they finish writing. You can choose the options Rich Text and HTML when you type your story. Rich text is an editor similar to Google docs or Microsoft Word, where a person can type and then change things like bold and italics with buttons. HTML is for those who know how to code and can code these things instead of using buttons.

Press post. At the bottom of the screen. Now your story is published for other fans to love and enjoy!