Accessible Fanfiction Apps for Blind iPhone Users

By Skye, 15 July, 2020

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi all,
I've been interested in fanfiction for a while, both reading and writing. I've read a few on the generic fanfiction websites, but I've never been able to post any of my own. I was wondering if there was any app for both reading and writing fanfiction that is accessible for the blind on an iPhone. I'm not too familiar with fanfiction apps, just the websites, which work fine for reading, but I want to know if there's something I'm missing.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Skye

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Comments

By Zoe Victoria on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi there, it’s so nice to meet a fellow visually impaired fanfiction reader. Currently the native fanfiction.net app is unusable due to accessibility issues, but there is a third party client you can use called fanfiction+ which I myself have submitted to Applevis. you can view its entry here: https://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/books/fanfiction-plus

You can also use the fanfiction.net sight as well, though the mobile sight is a bit more confusing than the desktop one. Archive Of OUr Own or AO3 as it is more commonly referred to is another popular fanfiction sight which is also an option. It currently doesn’t have an app, but its sight is one hundred percent accessible. I use both sights on the regular so if you have any questions about them or fanfiction don’t be afraid to ask. Reading and writing fic is a big passion of mine so it’s really cool to know I’m not the only blind person to be interested in it.

Edit: I just realized I didn’t read the part of your post that said you also wanted to write fics. Fanfiction+ doesn’t allow you to write fics, only read them and view the ones you’ve already posted, but it’s easy to do this on both fanfiction.net and AO3 on mobile (though it’s easier on iPad.) If Applevis will allow me I will post tutorials on how to do it on both sights and link them to you when they’re done.

By Skye on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi,
Thanks so much for your feedback! I downloaded the Fanfiction plus app and tried it out a bit, it seems to work pretty well! LIKE you I'm so glad I'm not the only visually impaired fanfiction enthusiast! I haven't actually posted anything because I didn't know how to do it, so your links will be very helpful, thanks!
I do have a question though. Can you post fanfiction you've already written that you have saved as either a Google Doc or a Microsoft Word document? Also, can you do it with an iPhone?
Thanks again!
Skye

I’ve finished my guide to posting a fic on fanfiction.net which you can find here: https://www.applevis.com/guides/how-publish-story-fanfictionnet-using-voiceover-ipad I think it’ll answer your first question.

To answer your second question, you <b>might</b> be able to post with an iPhone on fanfiction.net, but it would probably be more difficult than an iPad thanks to the captcha’s finickyness when it comes to playing the audio code. you also can’t write/manage stories from the mobile site so you’ll need to request the desktop one, but it’s more accessible anyway. For those reasons you might want to consider AO3 if iPhone’s your primary platform, (I won’t judge it was mine for a long time as well.) It’s arguable that AO3 is more accessible than fanfiction.net, but like i said before I use both and have even started cross posting my fics so they’ll reach a wider audience, though two of them are only available on AO3 for different reasons.

By Jessica Karim on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi,

It's so nice to here from other fanfiction writers. I'm not a fan of fanfiction.net, but I love AO3. I agree with the above commenter. I find the mobile sight to be very accessible. With regards to posting on your phone, if you use word or docs to write, I would just copy all the text of your work or chapter to the clipboard and paste it in. Feel free reach out on here if you've got any other questions. I'd be happy to help further.

By Skye on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi Again,
Thanks for the guide on posting fanfiction, this will be really helpful! Are you going to make one for posting to the other site you mentioned?
Thanks so much!
Skye

By Skye on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi,
Thanks so much for your response! In your oppinion, is AO3 better for reading, posting, or just both in general?
Thanks,
Skye

By Skye on Sunday, August 2, 2020 - 20:20

Hi again all,
Thank you all so much for your feedback! Do any of you know if posting/reading fanfiction works on the BrailleSense Polaris? I am hoping to get one soon and was wondering if that would be a better alternative to an iPhone. Is it, or do both work marginally the same? Also, if it can be done, how exactly? And does a site or app work better?
Thanks,
Skye

hi again, I just finished my guide to posting on AO3! Here’s the link: https://www.applevis.com/guides/how-publish-storywork-ao3-voiceover-mobile

like I said before you might find it easier than fanfiction.net to use, but I recommend you check out both to see which one is best for you. Using both like I do is also an option, it’s not against the rules to crosspost (publish the same story on both sites.) A lot of people do it, including myself. My user name is LifezVictory on both sites if you’re interested.

Hey, thanks for the AO3 guide! I'll try both out, but first I should probably create accounts on both haha. Is that easy to figure out? Do you have to create separate accounts for both? Also do you personally use one more than the other?

Hi again!

When creating accounts are concerned, both sights are accessible but fanfiction.net is easier than AO3. With it you can use your email, as well as create an account using various social networks.

With AO3 on the other hand you’ll need to request an invitation with the email you’d like to use for your account. Time to receive an invitation varies depending on how many people have requested one. I might be able to hook you up with one also, though I’ll have to look and see how it’s done. You might be better off requesting one normally.

Regarding which site I use more, I used fanfiction.net primarily for a few years, especially when I got into fanfiction at first. I actually only joined AO3 this year, wanting to know what the fuss was about. Then, I started using it a little more reading wise, but I usually just search for the kind of story I want to read using google then just click into whichever site shows up.

Writing wise though, I always post to fanfiction.net then AO3 as documents keep for a year before being deleted while drafts on AO3 only keep for about a month. It’s also difficult to paste into fanfiction.net from AO3 I’ve found, the formatting gets all weird. So if you plan to crosspost I suggest you do fanfiction.net first then paste your story/chapter into the chapter field, cutting the notes and pasting them into the optional notes fields if you have any.

Sorry for the long comment, but hopefully it helps.