When I sayĀ āFanfiction is freeā part of what Iām saying is yes, you did not pay for the thing.
But I saw a comment from someone that made me realize the rest of the intention behind these words is being lost.
Fanfiction isĀ providedĀ for free, but it is not produced for free.
Authors pay their effort, including physical and emotional and mental. Authors pay their time, in planning the story (mental time) and writing the story (physical time). Sometimes itās less than an hour for something quick and dirty, like askbox prompts. Sometimes itās yearsĀ of their lives in epic fic hundreds of thousands of words long. Authors pay additional time to alpha read their own stories, trying to make sure that theyāre free of SPAG errors and make sense and sound good. Beta readers pay their time and effort alongside the authors for editing the stories. Authors pay for posting their stories with all of the anxieties that come from allowing their work - which to this point they have invested all of the above - into the public eye because while it has certainly cost them a good amount to produce the story, fandom history has proved that many other people out there enjoy fanfiction, and authors believe that at least someone else will enjoy their story, too.
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā is that it costs the writers a lotĀ of somethingĀ in order to produce it. A lotĀ has already been paid into a piece of fanfiction by the time it is available for readers to read. The expense of fanfiction creation is, by and large, resting squarely atop the shoulders of writers.
What I am saying when I say āfanfiction is freeā is that readers donāt have to pay the cost of creating fanfiction.
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā is that readers donāt haveĀ to pay in anything - not time, not money, not effort, not anythingĀ - in order for fanfiction to be created. Itās a donation. Itās a gift. Itās available for you to take or leave, at the expense of someone else.
Writers have, for a very long time, requested donations of one thingĀ as remuneration for everything they put into making fanfiction: comments.Ā Authors have asked, in so many different iterations: āIf you have consumed what I have labored and invested in to create and if you have found any enjoyment in it, please tell me, so that I can recharge enough to do this again.ā Some of them may recharge on critical comments, but most of us donāt because weāve already paid everything we want to pay to create the story.
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā isnāt justĀ that it doesnāt cost you any money. I am sayingĀ āPlease respect the time and effort you didnāt have to pay into creating this thing you enjoyed, by respecting the individual creatorās requests.ā
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā isĀ ābe kind to authors, they have paid a lot for this gift theyāre sharing with all of us, and they deserve to feel like it was worth it.ā
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā isĀ āplease donāt charge authors more time and emotional effort than what theyāve already provided you at no absolute cost.ā
Iām not saying any of this to argue. Itās a fact that authors pay into providing fanfiction. They do it for fun. They do it out of love. They do it because they enjoy writing. No one is making them do it. No one is paying them to start or finish the story. That doesnāt mean itās not WORK. And the only return they get on what they put into the story is the kindness of strangers that invest a little bit back by leaving a nice comment. That is why they stay, that is why they do it again, that is why we have fanfiction.
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā isĀ āplease donāt be the one charging authors so much more that they leave.ā
What I am saying when I sayĀ āfanfiction is freeā isĀ āplease keep it that way.ā
