Xanthia's Rules for Happy Fanfiction:

1. Begin to post only after you have completed at least HALF of your story, then update once a week (or whatever) with a new chapter while you finish the rest.

2. If you must leave your story unfinished for an undetermined amount of time (yes, I know about RL and how it can affect your schedule), post a note telling people it's on hiatus. That way folks aren't waiting for your next installment to show up in their inbox.

3. Thank people for reviewing at the end of your chapters, not the beginning. Better yet, send them an IM telling them how much you appreciated their feedback (as time allows).

4. You don't have to be a good speller but proofreading is a must. I have fallen victim to that trap myself and was alerted to formatting errors and such that were really embarrassing.

5. DO NOT HOLD YOUR STORY FOR REVIEW RANSOM!!!

Why?

a. Not everyone out there likes to review a work in progress.

b. If you aren't willing to post, no matter what the feedback, don't post at all.

c. I guarantee at least one person will find it, read it, love it, and feel completely left hanging when you don't finish it. It's like starting the last copy of a great book and finding out there are pages missing.

c. Never underestimate who's out there and who's looking.

d. If reviews mean that much to you, if your very creative existence hangs on the praise your readers, you need to find another hobby. I suggest karaoke or stamp collecting.

And most importantly

6. Respect the creator's wishes when writing. If a writer doesn't want fanfiction of their work done, don't do it for publication. If a writer expressly does not want slash stories written, respect that. If a writer expressly does not wish stories to be done that do not hold to their canon, write ones that do.

Cheers!

Xan