Getting your work out there: Fanfiction, LJ and more

[MaineWriter]

One of the things fanfic authors deal with is the dissemination of their work and readers deal with the issue of finding it. What are options available for dissemination, pros and cons, etc? I thought maybe we could begin a discussion of this topic.

I'll dive in with Fanfiction.net, since that is where I first started posting my story (ALBFS). I discovered fanfiction.net by reading Human Interest (MadLori's story) there. I sort of assumed it was the only place on the net for fanfic stories. Now I know I was wrong in that regard.

Fanfiction.net is one of the oldest and most well known of the fanfic sites. It is also the largest. A few years ago they implemented a rule that said that NC17 content was forbidden (although it is not clear to me that that rule is very strictly enforced).

Things I like about fanfiction.net:

1) The way the stories are formatted. I find them easy to read.
2) Navigation through a story.
3) As an author, I have access to lots of statistics about hits, number of words, reviews, etc.
4) There is an index of stories, so it is easy to find others on a similar topic to read.
5) Readers can get an automatic notificaton when a new story or chapter is posted.
6) Authors get notifications of new reviews that are posted.

Dislikes:

1) The process of uploading is slow and tedious.
2) Once a story is posted, you cannot make corrections. If you find an error, you have to go through the whole process of uploading a new document from word.
3) There are many complaints about spyware, and people refuse to read on fanfiction.net for this reason.
4) The reviews don't offer much opportunity for a dialog, as you can have with the comments on LiveJournal.
5) It can take up to 24 hours for a review to appear online.

After I did get spyware complaints, I created a LiveJournal account and posted my story there, too, so now it is in both places. I have also started posting my new story in both places, since I know I have a few loyal fanfic readers who are not on LiveJournal.

Someone want to share their thoughts on LiveJournal or other places to post?

Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Dislikes:

1) The process of uploading is slow and tedious.
2) Once a story is posted, you cannot make corrections. If you find an error, you have to go through the whole process of uploading a new document from word.
 

Hi Leslie
1- Often there is a problem with  fansfics website and it won't download.
2-You can edit, change story once it is posted. Go to the story, click to content/chapers, then click to export. The story will then be found under documents and you can change, edit as you wish, then go back to story and replace chapter, etc. Need any more help please let me know.
Mark

[twistedude]

LiveJournal: although I have 5-6 stories posted there, I still cannot manage ity myself, and need the help of someone sitting next to me, which only happerns aboiut once every two weeks. My own Live Journal stuff looks a bit cramped, and you cannot see how many "hits" your work is getting--although a "hit" may just mean that someone turned idly to it, and may have taken oine look, and immediately gone on to something else. You DO get this on fanfiction, and, personally, I count 606 hits as more than 135...hoiwever many people actually read each piece.

About the switchero--which you have to do on fanfiction if you want to change ANYTHING--even a comma!--if you keep your document in good shape, it takes a total of about 5 minutes to switch your new document, with the corrected word or phrase, for the old. I recently kept worrying a story till I had it down to almost no time at all.

Of course, on Live Journal, you can edit RIGHT ON THE LIVE JOURNAL PAGE, which is a true blessing. Now, if I could only figure out how to post my dumb stuff on LiveJournal so that it looks the way marakeshsparrow's or louisev's do--it'd be great. Unfortunately, the quality probably wouldn't improve, but you can't have everything!

Ideally, I'd like to use both..

[Helen]

I first heard about ff.net when someone posted something that was NC-17 and got a whole load of grief about it.  It didn't make me want to post there.  I also had the spyware issue, so I don't visit anymore.  I was so grateful to Leslie when she posted her fic on LJ.

I've had one LJ account or another for about five years now.  Over time I've learnt how to use most of the features available, but it's easy enough to use from the start.

My only quibble is when people post long posts and don't put them behind a cut. 

I guess it'd be nice to see how many hits a story was getting, but it's not something I lose sleep over.

[MaineWriter]

My only quibble is when people post long posts and don't put them behind a cut. 

Helen...can you explain how to do that?

Leslie

[twistedude]

Yes, helen, what is "behind a cut"?

Most of the fanfiction is NC-17, and as for fanfiction not accepting anything  graphically x-rated,--most of it is. I guess the disclaimer is somesort of protection for them.

My sister nrought up a very interesting point, and I don't know the legal ramifications. She has been looking into copywright law, because someone in Belgium srtole some of her publkished things for her thesis (she's an Okinawan textile specialist), and SHE says:

According to both the Author's Guild and the Writwer's Guild, as soon as you put pen to paper (or however you do it), your stuff is copywrighted--no little "C" surrounded by a circle is necessary. AND this applies to ANY writing---so that stuff we publish on the internet, no matter how much credit we give to the original writers, moviemakers, etc.--is a copywright infringenment, and any author--not just those fanfictiuon lists as having requested we not use their works for OUR works, could sue us if they were so minded.

I have NO IDEA whether this is true or not. I had previously thought that internet publishing, especially under the umbrella of fanfiction or Live Journal, etc. was not the same as copywright infrengement, but now I just don';t know.

Has anyone else looked into this? (My sister's stuff was taken outright, without any credit given.)

[Helen]

Just put this:  <lj-cut> at the beginning of the story.  At the end put </lj-cut>

Anyone wanting to read can just click on the link that will appear.

Also re: copyright - yes, fanfiction infringes copyright, but it's generally overlooked, except by a few authors.  We could be sued (or asked to remove our stories from the internet), but from what I read about the issue it's a bit of a grey area and few people would bother chasing after fanfic authors.

[fernly]

So, I've got myself an LJ account. How do I post/link stories and chapters?
How about posting in different communities? Which would you suggest?
Any guidelines, suggestions, helpful hints (small and large) would be most appreciated.
(I looked at LJ's FAQ's - didn't see what I needed far as linking stories)
Helen, does "behind a cut" mean making a link to a story from your main journal page?
Thanks!

[Helen]

So, I've got myself an LJ account. How do I post/link stories and chapters?
How about posting in different communities? Which would you suggest?
Any guidelines, suggestions, helpful hints (small and large) would be most appreciated.
(I looked at LJ's FAQ's - didn't see what I needed far as linking stories)
Helen, does "behind a cut" mean making a link to a story from your main journal page?
Thanks!

Hi,

Putting things behind a cut is what you do on your own journal page.   Linking to your entry from somewhere else is different.



I link to my own journal from BBSlash and Wranglers.  By far the easiest solution is to download an LJ client and post to your journal from that - info on that is in the FAQs somewhere - this makes things really simple.  You don't have to know or learn any of the html for formatting your posts, just click on icons and it will do it for you.

[Marge_Innavera]

I link to my own journal from BBSlash and Wranglers.  By far the easiest solution is to download an LJ client and post to your journal from that - info on that is in the FAQs somewhere - this makes things really simple.

I posted my stuff on BBSlash but where is Wranglers? Is that an LJ community?

Also, do you know where the directions are in the FAQs? One thing I've found so frustrating about LJ is that either it's difficult to find what you need in the FAQ or the explanation is hard to follow.