News

The Fate of the Flash Drive

The drive will come back

Is still UNKNOWN!!

That's right, y'all, the Long-Lost Flash Drive of Song and Legend is STILL with the computer experts. :P BUT IT IS COMING BACK, OH YES, IT IS.

Okay, even if... um... the worst happens (AND I DIDN'T SAY THAT), the next chapter of the essay WILL go up. Probably right after Jan. 26th, when the exchange fics are in.

But there's something coming up in the essay that I think is important to say right now. I was over at the forums, which, as you may know, aren't very active anymore. The forum activity slack has been taken up by the ffnet forums-- and they are WONDERFUL, and to tell y'all the truth, I just don't have the energy to try to revive the FIA forums. Later this year, I would really like to start a discussion there about the things we want to see in the original fic forums. But that's then, and this is now.

The point is that there are several threads about authors who disappeared and took their fics down. When I see those, I feel sad-- but NOT just because the fics are gone and we can't read them anymore. It's so much more than that.

(here's the big entire point of this entire post, so read read read it!!)

It's because authors taking down fics is a staggeringly bad idea for MANY reasons. And that's an issue that I will talk about in the essay. But please just trust me for now-- it's a TERRIBLE idea, not only for fans, but even more so for authors. If you're an author, and you plan to ever, EVER try to publish original work, there are no words for how you are hurting yourself by taking down those fics. I've been involved with both traditional and digital publishing for a long time, and I know... I could go on and on and on for zillions of pages and still not cover all the reasons. In the essay, of course, I'll do my best. ;)

In conclusion, I guess, that's a thought that occurred to me when I was reading those sad threads about the disappearing fics. I really feel an obligation to try to stop people from doing this. It's such a bad, bad, bad idea. So if you're out there, and you've EVER even thought about doing it... please don't. At least until you read that chapter of the essay. It's for your own good!!

P.S.: BTW, I will R&R every fic from the last couple of weeks! It's just been kind of nuts around here... ;)

Posted by Anise on Jan 06, 2014 07:33 pm (8 Comments)
Comments

I support you in this. The cruelest thing for someone new to a fandom is to have to hear about some great story that is no longer available or for someone feverishly searching for a beloved story that is gone.

The motive of the author is important to me. If they took down their work for some weird legal reason (like I have heard of fan fiction becoming an issue in custody battles) or they want to reinvent themselves, I have a degree of sympathy. If they are doing it because they want to get published, I feel that they are taking advantage of the community. Whatever, I hope people stop doing it.

Grizel @ Jan 07, 2014 11:47 am


Thanks! :) I really think you have some great points. (And fanfic and custody battles... I didn't even KNOW about that one.)The thing is... and I go into a TON more detail about this in the essay... that if authors are looking at self-publishing, there is just no greater way they could shoot themselves in the foot than by taking down fics and disappointing readers. There's literally not ONE single action they could take that would hurt THEMSELVES more.

It has a lot to do with how publishing has changed, and maybe even more to do with how it has remained the same. I hate to even get started, because it's a LONG explanation and has a lot of steps to it. But I'm just going to say THIS much here.

Traditional publishers simply don't do what they used to do, which was to promote/advertise books for authors. Every author I know who still advises this route was picked up by a publisher before the recent and ongoing paradigm change. The real problem, though, is that self-published authors always think this means that they need to become one-person advertising and sales departments, constantly making wild-eyed nuisances of themselves by "promoting" their books. I can't tell you how many authors I've know who try to do this, unendingly pestering everybody to death on Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Twitter, etc etc etc, and it simply does not help them. Nobody wants to hear from them ever again. Trust me, I've seen this happen... You can just FEEL the desperation, and it makes you want to run a million miles from anybody even TALKING about their self-published books.

But nobody is asking the real question, which is "HOW is anybody ever going to know that MY book is one of the FEW that's any good?" They don't know this from seeing that latest 'PLEASE READ MY BOOK' manifesto an author posted on FB. And it's not about "marketing" or "promotion"... I could live without EVER hearing those words from self-published authors again. Although I probably will. :P It's not about making money, not about selling something... but how you're going to share your work with a community. THE COMMUNITY BUILDS THE READERSHIP.

Now, let's say that we're talking about fanfic authors who had a lot of readers and then took their fics down for no good reason. And didn't bother to answer pleading emails trying to find out what happened, either. HOW do you think the community's going to feel about THEM?? How much do you think we're going to help those authors when they try to self-publish that original book, the one that'll be lost in the massive slush pile unless somebody has a REASON to know that it's good and to want to read it?? How much do you think anyone in the fandom will want to help the authors who behaved this way?

(Hint: The answer is NOT.)

There are authors just like that who I would never let on the planned ofic forums because their attitudes are beyond insulting and rude. I name no names, obviously. But I won't subject other members to that. NOT a good idea to get on Anise's bad side. ;) I don't show it very often, so when I do, it is not pretty.

So, anyway. There's a lot more to this argument, and I do mean a lot. But I think this is sufficient food for thought. ;)

Anise @ Jan 07, 2014 12:31 pm


I so agree with this! I just found out over the weekend that one of my favorite fanfic authors took down a bunch of her D/G fics that I loved! Apparently she wrote them a long time ago and isn't happy with the quality of the writing, so she took them down completely. Being a writer too, I understand it can be a personal decision, but... I just couldn't believe it. I loved those fics, I thought the writing was fine, and now you can't get find those fics anywhere. It just baffles me. I'm not super happy with some of my early writing too, but I would never take a fic down that I know people enjoyed just because of that- and if I felt really strongly about it, I'd try to make sure people could still contact me for it or something.

Jaden Malfoy @ Jan 07, 2014 12:56 pm


Thanks! :)

I know what you mean... I hate to see that happen. THAT having been said, it's a reason for taking down fics that I can actually see in some cases. Some authors will remove them, rewrite them, and then put them back up. The key, I totally agree, is for authors to still provide contact information so that readers can ask to see the fics privately. And I've known a couple that did exactly that, and I totally understand and respect their decision.

But when it comes to most other reasons for deleting fics... again, it's an author's right, but I don't have a lot of patience with the whole thing.

Anise @ Jan 07, 2014 05:25 pm


Hi! Well, I'm hoping the best for your usb drive -crosses fingers- and good things take time ;) and I didn't know there was a FIA forum on here! Silly me.

I have the same opinion about writers who delete their fics. I mean, I don't want to be rude but somehow I can't understand it. Pen-names were made for hiding identities, so it's not a big deal if a writer want to 'become big' and it's sad because many wonderful writers have dissapeared during the last years and some stories are getting harder to find. (My favorite drinny fic is no longer available but I have it on a file :P) but oh well, let's enjoy the available stories on here!

eaudetoilettex @ Jan 07, 2014 05:55 pm


YES!! Let's enjoy them all. :)

And that's really the purpose of what I want to say... to help authors to understand that if they want to be published, if they want their work to reach the wider community, the surest way to keep themselves from doing it is to take down their fics and alienate existing readers. There are definite exceptions, because there are a few good reasons to delete fics. But in 90% of all cases, they're just guaranteeing that they won't have wider success-- they've burned their bridges. The way that publishing works now means that existing fan communities are gold, and if authors trash them, they have ruined their own chances. Because if this can be gotten across, I think we'll see the number of authors taking down fics drop to *almost* zero. Not quite, but almost. ;)

Anise @ Jan 07, 2014 06:02 pm


I'm really looking forward to this part of the essay, Anise. I've never deleted a story from my account before, not even the awful Draco/Hermione story I wrote when I first became interested in fan fiction. And not only do I keep it because I don't HAVE any other copy of that particular story anymore, but also because people still like it, even though it's awful. :)

I had a handful of Dramione readers who read some of my DG work simply because they liked what I'd written of Draco/Hermione before, so I totally see the relevance of your reason. You're completely right. The best way to alienate your readers/possible fan base is to make them feel like they don't matter to you. If you plan to be a politician, keeping your fan fic up might not work in your favor, but if you want to be a "real" published writer, fan fiction should not be your dirty secret. I mean, look at all the "real" writers who essentially write fan fiction for Star Wars or World of Warcraft or whatever! What about the people who write sequels to Pride and Prejudice and whatnot? Totally fan fiction! Stop acting like fan fiction isn't "real" writing and throw away your shame, people!

Anyway... Is this the brunt of your "don't take your fics down!" argument, or do you have other reasons we shouldn't do this? I can't wait to read all of your thoughts on it!

idreamofdraco @ Jan 09, 2014 09:29 am


It's a BIG part of the reason, definitely. (And you've figured it out very well!) There are subcategories relating to this main point, for sure. But then, too, I would argue that even this huge point isn't the ONLY basic reason to nurture the community, and it's just as important for readers as it is for writers.

I think I'll save them for the OFIC board, because otherwise, I can see it all now... it'll go on for about a zillion pages right here. ;)

Anise @ Jan 09, 2014 05:04 pm