Novels donât have Authorâs Notes
I think one of the problems which fanfiction authors face is the fact we are one of you. We are a fan. We love the work. We recognise the faults. We want to be a part of the community and contribute.
Because of this, however, thereâs this mentality that fanfiction authors, who do everything without getting paid and often without recognition, owe it to people to write things the way they want it to be written.
Donât like something in a novel? Put it down. Walk away. Thatâs it. Thatâs the end. (I mean, unless the novel turned into a craze and then itâs okay because youâre supposed to hate things that are popular, right?)
Donât like something in a fanfiction? Letâs tell the author. In detail. Â Letâs be condescending about it. Letâs insult them at the same time. After all, they owe us for reading.
Not updating fast enough? Complain. Updating too fast? Complain. Donât get the exact right details? Complain. Omg, thereâs sex/death/murder and I wasnât warned? Doesnât matter that fanfiction gets far more warning than most. Complain anyway. Donât want to wait until the chapterâs released which explains it all? Complain. Omg, these two characters are underage, they shouldnât even be kissing let alone having adult conversations about sex. Complain. Loudly. Call the author a paedophile.
Pick up any novel off the shelf and thereâs nothing in terms of who the author is and what work they put into the story. You pick it up, you read. Thereâs no notes in the middle to explain something that people might not get. Thereâs no notes saying âHey, this might not be historically/culturally accurate.â Thereâs no warnings. Itâs fiction. People get that things may not be the same in the real world. Yes, a story is expected to be at least believably accurate but it doesnât have to be.
People donât seem to understand personal preference vs facts and interpretation vs critique.
By all means, critique a work. People like to know if theyâre getting grammar wrong, or overusing words, or breaking rules. People need to know hear âhey, PTSD isnât quite what you think, would you like to discuss it?â or âThat gunshot wound isnât realistic, I can helpâ. But please understand, people who write fanfiction do so for the love of the work. A lot arenât professional and they shouldnât be expected to be. Do we want to improve? Yes, absolutely we do. Offering guidance and gently nudging is so much better than; âYou got this wrong. Youâre terrible. I donât like it. Die in a fire.â
You wouldnât say that to a published author. Why say to a fanfiction one?
We are far more approachable than the average published author and a lot more fragile. We donât have publishers and editors backing up our work. Weâre unproven and our egos are often not strong. Authors are given the benefit of doubt until the book is finished. Why canât fanfiction authors be given the same benefit?
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