So, it’s been roughly a year since I wrote this. And i’ve come to the conclusion not much has changed in fandom. It’s gotten to a point where a friend and very prolific author in the same fandom has decided to quit a story because she was getting demotivated by the lack of interaction. And she’s not alone.
I cannot stress this enough: please support your content creators.
Please support your content creators.
Please support your content creators.
★ I’m afraid to leave a review because who am I to review?
You’re not the Washington Post. You don’t have to analyze a text and give a coherent review. Fandom, as a whole, isn’t like that. A review is just another word for ‘comment’. Comment to let your authors/artists know you enjoy what they’ve created and you’re longing to see more. A simple ‘thank you’ or ‘this was beautiful’ or a quote of your favorite paragraph would be enough. If that’s too scary, leave a heart or emoji.
★ Authors shouldn’t expect comments/kudos! Views/subscriptions should be enough.
You’re consuming work that takes hours upon hours. If I speak for myself here, a chapter can take me anywhere from 8 hours of work to 2 weeks, depending on what story I’m writing. That’s free labor content creators happily toss in to keep a fandom going. Did you know that most published novels are about 100k words? How often have you read a fic that is about that size? Those authors don’t make money off of this. It’s for the love of fandom.
So if an author tells you they appreciate comments, please comment on the chapters. I know it’s easy to read something and just click away when you’re done, but remember there’s someone putting those hours in and it’s easy to get demotivated when you feel like you’re screaming into a void.
★ Authors should write for themselves.
I’m speaking for myself here; although 99% of the people I know are like me in this regard, I’m sure there are people out there who truly write for themselves when writing fanfics. For me, it’s quite simple:
If I write for myself, I’m working on original works. Those works might never be published or even see the light of day, but those are stories I want to see (written) and I’ll do it (for) myself.
If I write for fandom, I’m doing it for the fandom. I’m putting in hours to ensure the fandom (ItaSaku in my case), will get new fics, hopefully stimulate others to write too, for the enjoyment of my readers and to interact with the fandom as a whole. Most of my time in fandom is spent either creating/sharing fics, or commenting on other fics to do my part and keep content creators motivated.
Most stories and headcanons I write live in my head. I don’t have to write them. I do it for the fandom.
★ But this story gets more reviews than other stories, why does it need mine?
Please don’t think in these kinds of paradigms. No author I know goes around to compare the amounts of comments they get with another. But if we see hundreds of people subscribed to a story and we get 10 comments a chapter even though we ask for feedback or comments, it stings and it demotivates.
★ Fandom is dying so it’s only naturel that you’re getting less comments.
It really isn’t. I’ve been around since 2005. I can easily compare the situation back then to what it is now. It’s the same amount of likes, the same amount of followers, the same amount of views, but comments have been cut to 1/10th of what it used to be.
Now there are multiple reasons for this:
Binge-culture: We’ve gotten used to consuming something (ie Netflix series) and just move to the next once we’re done.
Social media: We’re used to giving a ‘like’ or a ‘heart’ when we see something we like, and scroll past.
New people in the fandom: Newer people in fandom might not know that it is a courtesy to comment on the stuff you consume.
People don’t know what to say: If you don’t know how to articulate your thoughts after reading a chapter, no biggie. Just say ‘thank you!’ or ‘I loved it’ or even the ‘Can’t wait for more!’ will bring a smile to any writer’s face.
★ Readers aren’t obliged to leave comments.
Sure. And in the same vein, authors aren’t obliged to keep going if they feel underappreciated.
★ In short: please support your content creators. ★
If you have any questions on how to better support your content creators, or anything else regarding this, my inbox is open. Ask me anything. I’m here for you and I’m saddened to see authors quitting.
Let’s just ensure the fandoms we love and write/read in will still exist in ten years from now, and let’s do it together.
gracieabrams
2087
romaincrisis
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izzy806
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