#mllebleue

[entrenous88]

herrhasen replied to your post “mllebleue replied to your post “Seeing fanfic commission posts but...”

Forgive me for butting in, but I'm almost certain it's because of the jump online. Not only that, but right now we're in this period of like, monetizing the things we do on social media IE Youtubers gaining minor celeb status for creating memes and making $$ for filming their cats. The tone today seems very much to be "how can I make money off of this" because of how accessible and widespread the net makes creative work?

herrhasen replied to your post “mllebleue replied to your post “Seeing fanfic commission posts but...”

TLDR I think it is a tone that exists because of social media, that has in turn extended to fandom and fanwork purely because fandom and fanwork exist online today.

I think that the mood around monetizing everything definitely plays a part in the shift to thinking it’s normal or no big deal to charge for fanfiction.  Though of course if a YTer’s meme goes viral or films their cat for followers/hits/ad $$$, they have created that meme/they own that cat.

To me -- and I get that this isn’t the prevailing reaction -- to me it seems starkly different with fanfiction in that we’re talking about writing based on copyrighted material.  You probably saw my post about Fair Use/not-for-profit fanworks//coming into fandom in the culture of disclaimers yesterday, so I won’t re-tread those points.  But I should probably note that when I came into fandom, it was allllll online stuff, and there was absolutely a virulent reaction against charging for fanfiction then.  

There’s been a sea change.  It is what it is.  But you know, I don’t dig it and I can’t imagine coming around to it.  

mllebleue replied to your post “mllebleue replied to your post “Seeing fanfic commission posts but...”

@herrhasen I agree that the jump online, but more specifically the jump to IG and YT that is a factor. Fics have been online since before the web, with usenets and BBSs (god I'm ooooold) so it's online monetization, not being online, that's the key factor, IMO

My guess is that you’re both mostly on the same page there (and I’ve just skimmed your more recent replies, and it seems to be the case).  @herrhasen​  your point about “internet as a job” you made in a later reply is well taken for broader context (I still feel ooky about it all, though!)

[entrenous88]

mllebleue replied to your post “Seeing fanfic commission posts but then I am a fandom old”

I'm fandom oooooooold. I wrote fics on speck for my friends in the 1980s, because we did not have access to zines and had no money to buy tie-ins. It all feels like the return of the bad old days.

Ah, so you were writing for a price then, I think?  I associate writing on spec as writing a screenplay that hasn’t been commissioned in hopes of finding it a home, so writing before purchase in a professional capacity, but I think you mean there was reimbursement - forgive me if I’m not catching your exact meaning.  

In any case, that’s an interesting issue for sure, that you and others perhaps charged for writing fics in the 1980s.  In terms of what was more widespread fandom-wise, it does seem many zines then and through the late 90s were sold at a price mainly to cover costs/materials/shipping rather than as payment to any fan creators.  But I wonder if some of the expectations and language about fanfiction specifically being not for profit were solidified when fandom went more fully online.  Thanks for the account!