someone I follow on the bird app just announced they’re starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they’re reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic
I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS
I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there’s 10,000 other people that will continue…but if you participate in a fic “book club” server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?
the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don’t rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit “post”
this is directly related to this post I made about how fanfic authors now are treated like content mills, and not like valued members of a creative community who thrive on interaction. for the past decade, we’ve watched the fandom ecosystem disrupted over and over, as NSFW fan artists seek safety by putting their work behind paywalls, and self-conscious fic readers squirrel away their feelings in invite-only communities
an easy way to do your part to fight against the evils perpetrated by social media is to leave a comment on a fanfic you love
but don’t take my word for it – here are some responses that my fellow authors have left on this post:
The fact I had a fic that was fairly beloved and NO ONE commented on it because it was all being done in a fucking book club server made me want to scream.
I haven’t updated that fic in two years now.
I cannot express enough how imperative it is to show the writer how much you love their work. The comments don’t have to be novels themselves - even just an “I loved this so much!” Or keyboard smashing works wonders to keep the writer going. Please, we need to bring back supporting writers and artists now more than ever!!!
PLUS, plus…if people are talking about fic in private servers and not telling the authors, those people get the idea that the fic writer is “big.” Meanwhile the fic writer is sitting there, staring at a Google doc, struggling to find the motivation to write the next chapter, with 2 comments on a 20k fic.
They don’t feel big. They don’t feel appreciated. They don’t feel motivated. And they might stop writing or shelve their fic, never knowing that people were loving it in private.
Honestly this is the same for social media threads or even on this very app. If you can, tag the author. A lot of us have our socials in our AO3 profiles.
Feedback is lovely. Knowing what people like, what people enjoy in our writing, it’s so encouraging.
IF YOU BELONG TO A BOOK CLUB SERVER, THE CHANGE CAN START WITH YOU:
MAKE IT A COMMUNITY NORM TO GUSH ABOUT A FIC AND THEN COPY AND PASTE THAT SHIT INTO THE COMMENT BOX.
ENCOURAGE AND CELEBRATE SUCH BEHAVIOR AMONG MEMBERS.
GIVE BACK TO THE AUTHORS WHO HAVE GIVEN YOU SO MUCH
Like, it’s not even really about getting “repaid” so much as it is that we want to be part of the conversation and community too. That’s why we wrote and posted the fic - we want to have those discussions about characterization and omg that one moment in the last episode and etc. The fic is our opener. And when no one says anything where we can see, how can we be part of the discussion and community we want so badly?
I’m very grateful that I started writing fics mostly just for me before fanfic culture turned away from leaving comments on fics. I do not think 11 year old me would have finished that 35 chapter 55k word honestly not that well written let alone planned out fic that I was so proud of back then if not for the dozens of comments I would get within an hour of posting. Comments really do encourage authors to write more and think about their fic more. You might think that your individual comments don’t hold much weight, but the encouragement of a community can do wonders and there is no community until one person steps up. Why shouldn’t it be you?
