With around over 40,120 arcs live in the system (2,457 pages unfiltered search), it can feel like your arc is pretty insignificant. However, with the advent of keywords, this morass reduces to around 3,250* arcs. That's still over 160 pages. But there is still hope!
Hope comes with the new keywords. Although the developers have done their level best to hide these in the MA search mechanism, they do provide the best way yet to find an arc that might fit your mood. And on the flip-side, for authors to be found! And perhaps for an arc to reach that tipping point, where visibility gets you the 999+ plays previously limited to developer choice arcs and a half-dozen others. You too can get 999+ plays! Well, 999 divided by the degree of 'uniqueness' you apply to your category search...
Firstly, you could look at any one of your keywords to see how your arc stacks up against the others. There are 19 different keywords. Some categories are hotly contested - Custom Characters are the highlight of around 1,600 arcs! While "Rule the World" might seem like a logical place to go if you want to stand out (around 97 arcs), the rarest form of maliterature is actually... Romance. Just 70-odd arcs from the City's matchmaker-authors. If you get to page 1 in a category, there is a good chance you will get noticed. Of course, you'll get 999/19 = 50 plays in a few weeks, for an average category, if everyone started with a keyword.
You could look at pairs of keywords. As specialization goes up, you want to be chasing a significant niche audience. There are a few guaranteed page 1'er combos - such as the 14 "easy and challenging" arcs, 16 "save and rule the world" arcs, and even 2 "canon and non-canon" arcs. Thankfully, I found no "kid friendly, horror" arcs. That restores my faith in humankind.
For the ultimate tailored arc experience, you could search for three keywords. For most combinations, it is possible to get onto page 1 of any triple with some energetic marketing. This provides you the easiest way to feel famous, and chart your progress up the, uh, charts. It might even get you unsolicited plays in a few weeks - say, 999 plays of a front-page arc divided by 5,814 triple categories... uh... well, don't put too much money on the trifecta.
With around over 40,120 arcs live in the system (2,457 pages unfiltered search), it can feel like your arc is pretty insignificant. However, with the advent of keywords, this morass reduces to around 3,250* arcs. That's still over 160 pages. But there is still hope!
Hope comes with the new keywords. Although the developers have done their level best to hide these in the MA search mechanism, they do provide the best way yet to find an arc that might fit your mood. And on the flip-side, for authors to be found! And perhaps for an arc to reach that tipping point, where visibility gets you the 999+ plays previously limited to developer choice arcs and a half-dozen others. You too can get 999+ plays! Well, 999 divided by the degree of 'uniqueness' you apply to your category search...
Firstly, you could look at any one of your keywords to see how your arc stacks up against the others. There are 19 different keywords. Some categories are hotly contested - Custom Characters are the highlight of around 1,600 arcs! While "Rule the World" might seem like a logical place to go if you want to stand out (around 97 arcs), the rarest form of maliterature is actually... Romance. Just 70-odd arcs from the City's matchmaker-authors. If you get to page 1 in a category, there is a good chance you will get noticed. Of course, you'll get 999/19 = 50 plays in a few weeks, for an average category, if everyone started with a keyword.
You could look at pairs of keywords. As specialization goes up, you want to be chasing a significant niche audience. There are a few guaranteed page 1'er combos - such as the 14 "easy and challenging" arcs, 16 "save and rule the world" arcs, and even 2 "canon and non-canon" arcs. Thankfully, I found no "kid friendly, horror" arcs. That restores my faith in humankind.
For the ultimate tailored arc experience, you could search for three keywords. For most combinations, it is possible to get onto page 1 of any triple with some energetic marketing. This provides you the easiest way to feel famous, and chart your progress up the, uh, charts. It might even get you unsolicited plays in a few weeks - say, 999 plays of a front-page arc divided by 5,814 triple categories... uh... well, don't put too much money on the trifecta.
Don't forget to give keyword searches a chance!
Cheers, airhead
* assumes all such arcs use 3 keywords
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
Massively.com opinion poll: Please Help Save CoH!