Tag: Anonymous

I know that you said before you were an industry editor before? I’m kind of afraid to ask this, but do you (or would you) beta fics for other people?

YES, I DO! Nonny, thank you for asking! I have actually offered to beta for people before when they ask, though mostly that’s for mutuals, who I am already familiar with. HOWEVER, if you, or anyone else out there, would like to ask me any time to beta, PLEASE DO! I can’t promise that I’ll be able to do it, and if I can’t get it done in 48 hours, I’ll tell you so, but if I say no, it’s not because I don’t want to read your fics, or don’t like them. If you’ve written one of my notps or something, I will politely decline, or if I simply don’t have the time, I’ll also decline, but you can always ask, and most of the time I’m more than happy to take a look!

I realize that I have a unique set of professional skills in the fandom, and honestly, I love helping people polish their works.

Lately I haven’t been taking requests because they’re laying new internet lines in my area and therefore, my emails and replies have actually been disappearing into the ether, literally, so if I DO agree, it’s probably best to send it Google Docs so that I don’t have to edit it and email it back. Plus, it’s so much easier to add notes.

Long story short, if you ever want to ask for my help editing your fics, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT A MUTUAL, please do! I will always try my best to help if I can!

Do you check your fanfics alot when you post them? I want to post my writing, but I feel like I’d always be anxious about it? I would watch the hits and likes and wait for comments and feel bad if no one read it or liked it.

No, I don’t. In fact, when I first started posting on AO3, before I was on Tumblr, and before I was even in the Mass Effect fandom, I posted stuff and then completely ignored it. I didn’t even know when I was getting comments. I honestly thought no one at all would ever find my stuff and read it because there’s SO MUCH fanfiction out there. And I didn’t have any networks, nor was I active in fandoms besides just writing for them. I didn’t interact back then. So… it didn’t bother me. I just wanted to post my writing.

The internet does a lot to make us compare ourselves to other people, Nonny. There are those writers who get thousands of hits in weeks and always sit at the pinnacle of the fandom. But, there’s nothing wrong with not being that person. It doesn’t make you a worse writer, and it CERTAINLY isn’t a measure of your value. I mean, have you READ 50 Shades of Grey? I read a few chapters, and it’s fucking TERRIBLE. And yet, millions of people loved it. It’s trash. The number of people consuming it did not make it better. It just made it popular.

We’re fooled into believing that popularity is worth, and that is just not true. If you believe nothing else I say, believe that. I LOVE interacting with my fandom friends, so what I do is post a chapter here and on AO3. Then I ignore it until I get a reply or a comment on the fic. Then I respond. Sometimes I peek at the hits. Most of the time I do not. 

Because you know what? It doesn’t matter two farts in the wind how many people are reading my fics. The ONLY thing that matters is that someone, somewhere read it, and thought enough about it to comment on it. Even if it was only one person ever, that one person found something in what I wrote that touched them enough to take time out of their day, not only to read my words, but comment on them. Or give me kudos. Or a like. Or a reply. The rest does not matter. 

Here’s what matters: 1. Did you enjoy writing it? 2. Did you enjoy crafting the story from start to finish? 3. Does it have value to YOU? 4. Do you like it enough to share it with that one other person who will find it and love it like you did? Yes to all? Good. Post that shit and then forget about it. Set your email up to ping you if you get a comment or kudos. Answer that comment. Check every 2 weeks if you’re REALLY curious about the hits. And otherwise, ignore it. Feel proud that you COMPLETED something and liked it and got it out there. Be proud of it. 4 hits or 4,000 hits does not make it less of something to love.

Art is not a popularity contest. It is a balm for your soul because you have a story that you want to tell and you’re restless without telling it. Personally, I only check my hits when I post a new chapter or a new work. And I hardly ever check fics I posted more than a month or two ago. Why? Because I love them and I know they’re out there and I don’t care how many people see them. I just care that they exist.