#fanfiction etiquette

[w1ng3dw01f]

Fellas, fellas

Why on earth are you BUYING PHYSICAL BOOKBOUND COPIES OF FANFICTION????

ACTUALLY WHY ARE YOU EVEN BOOKBINDING FANFICTION TO SELL?!?!?!

IF ANY OF YOU DO EITHER OF THESE THINGS, GET OUT!! I AM NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN.

In all seriousness though, authors on AO3 have begun to pull their works off of the site to avoid getting sued by people stealing their works to make a pretty bound book for profit. Entire accounts could be shut down as well.

Listen, I’m all for saving favorite works by printing them out and putting them in a binder, or learning how to make a bookbound copy yourself and/or assembling one with a pre-made and purchased fancy binding for a fanfic FOR YOURSELF or AS A GIFT to someone, but making bindings with and putting fanfiction in it TO SELL is where I draw the line.

Literally the entire point of AO3 is that you can read it FOR FREE.

It is DISRESPECTFUL for people to make money off of hardbound copies because guess what, the original creators of these fics get nothing. We are literally only writing fanfiction for our own pleasure.

Buying and selling book-bound fanfiction is also ILLEGAL YOU DUMB SHITS. People who are selling content while claiming to be a book binder is a misconception of their services. Book binders make the covers and all that, not the actual content of the book. Selling fanfiction is also an immediate violation of copyright law / Creative Commons licenses. The original fan work will get erased from the internet.

Fanfiction is already a legal grey zone since they are works being written about are protected by copyright. Copyright holders can in fact go after writers as well as the person who sold the fanfiction.

This also goes for people who steal fanart and, claim it as theirs, and put a price on it.

Don’t make it worse.

rest assured, we can still write our fanfics and make our art.

Buying a binding for you to assemble onto your own fanfiction or fanfiction you printed for PERSONAL USE is fine.

HOWEVER,

Bookbinding fanfiction for profit is literally ruining things for everyone. DON’T.

If I see any of them on Etsy, I swear to god-

[justallihere]

Sort of in the spirit of discussing fanfiction etiquette, I saw a thing on Instagram that made me think and I’d love to hear other peoples’ opinions.

I watched a reel where someone said they had been recommended and were reading Manacled (the Dramione fanfic that everyone and their sister keeps talking about) and they called it a “book.” There were a few comments pointing out that it’s not actually a book in that it’s not an original published work and please don’t call it that. The OP was. . . fairly unreceptive to that feedback.

So my question is: does the language used to discuss fanfiction matter (mostly in terms of ensuring transformative works remain legal and keeping fic authors out of trouble), or are people who point it out being pedantic and it’s not really necessary?

And sort of in that same vein, if someone (namely a stranger you don’t know, like in a book group or something) asks for “book recommendations” with specific themes/tropes/whatever, is it cool and normal to recommend them a fic if it meets their requirements? Because I keep seeing this a lot and I think it’s kind of weird, but I may be the odd one out!

Let me know your thoughts if you wish, there are no wrong answers I am genuinely curious how other people view this!!! 🫶🏻

[theschizotypalsolilquy]

I'm so sick of people.

Now I can't even enjoy fanfics without assbutts coming into threads and trying to start shit.

Why do you care what I read?? Why does it matter that these characters weren't together in the books???

Why can't you let people enjoy the little happiness they find in life without trying to fuck it up for them.

I'm a paranoid schizophrenic with antisocial personality disorder and my fucking mother is dying. I'm allowed to want to escape reality anyway I can.

Bitches have no clue what's going on in someone's life, yet here they come, trying to start shit and I don't even fucking know your ass.

Calling me a fucking whore in a thread just because I dared to say I hope the couple I was reading about got back together.

Yall cunts really need to get a life. You must have absolutely no real friends and no real hobbies that you trying to start beef with me OVER A FUCKING FANFIC

Gods, leave me the fuck be and let me not think about my fucking horrible life right now

It costs absolutely nothing to mind your own business and not talk to someone you don't even fucking know and doesn't even know who the hell you are

[bushbees]

I recently recalled a fic I had read a few years ago and couldn't find again. I initially though that it was because it was simply buried under a million new fics and that i'd have trouble finding it because i only remembered a few details. I turned to Tumblr's fic find tag to see if I could enlist the help of other users in hope of finding it again. Well. i think i did. I'm still not 100% sure that I'm right, but from what people in the tags were saying the author of my mystery fic deleted all of their works off of Ao3, and while they still have an active Tumblr account, they haven't updated since last year. I got curious and looked into it a bit more, and it turns out the reason the (possible) author of my mystery fic left Ao3 is because of harassment. horrible, and constant harassment by babies commenting on their works because they found something in them that they didn't like. because they read the fic and decided that it either wasn't good enough for them, or 'wrong'. users here on Tumblr have been preaching to the masses for forever on proper Ao3 fic etiquette. use the tagging system, filter things you don't want to see, don't like don't read/interact. The close tab button is RIGHT THERE PEOPLE. you don't like something that you made the conscious decision, after reading the tags (unless you decided not to, in which case that's your own fault) and the description of the work itself to click and read. there are multiple ways of steering clear of content that you do not like, and if you somehow stumble across something that you didn't want to see, even if you've taken the above measures, that is still not. and i repeat, it is NOT and excuse to berate, scold, belittle, annoy, pressure, intimidate, condescend to or harass the creator of that work. especially, and i mean ESPECIALLY, not to the point of them deleting years worth of content and going dark on the internet. that is multiple steps to far. you've clearly seen the line drawn in the sand and hop, skip, jumped right the fuck over it. there is no reason whatsoever that excuses that amount of horrible behaviour, it takes so much less effort to simply not interact with something you don't like. years worth of fanfiction that someone spent countless hours and put so much care and effort into is lost now, because some people decided it was ok to harass someone about something that is FICTIONAL. how many times does it have to be explained to people that fanfiction is not real. the actions and scenarios performed and executed in fanfiction is not a reflection of real life, and could very likely be very deep and personal to someone. or maybe they just wanted to write some fucked up shit!! you are not obligated to read or interact with their fucked up shit, but that sure as shit doesn't give you the right to make them feel like utter garbage for making it. seriously people, this kind of thing happens to so many Ao3 authors and we don't even notice it and it makes me sick! fanfiction is a free service! authors aren't obligated to write anything for us readers, they do it for their own enjoyment, and incidentally, ours. there's a reason the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is so well known. because it's fucking true. don't have anything nice or constructive to say that isn't with malicious intent, drag your mouse or finger to the close tab button, and move on with your life. it isn't that hard

[joyful-soul-collector]

Idk who needs to hear this but if you really like a fanfic someone has written, please don't do these things:

don't read through the whole fic and only ever comment at the very end with just "update please"

don't dump all of your trauma in the comments and talk about how this story literally stopped you from committing suicide. Talking about how the story helped you and that you've been through similar experiences is fine, but please do not tell me the story singlehandedly stopped you from killing yourself.

please do not describe said attempt to kill yourself in detail in the comments directly addressing the author. Just don't do that please.

PLEASE DO NOT EVER IMPLY THAT IF THE AUTHOR DOESN'T UPDATE THE STORY, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF. DON'T DO THAT. PLEASE DO NOT EVER DO THAT. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER DO THAT.

-sincerely an author who had that happen to him just now and has had things like that happen before (though to a less extreme degree)

[billspaid]

Hi lovies,

I know every four months when I come onto tumblr I always say I will use it more often and then I don't (let the flogging commence) but I had a small favour!!

So I'm a journalist and I'm doing my final project on fanfiction and fandom! Especially how people illegally binding fics is sort of ruining the whole vibe...:/

But I was wondering if any of you guys would be willing to speak to me about your experience in fandom and how you think it's changed, maybe because of it becoming more mainstream on tiktok etc.

I would also LOVE to speak to anyone who has removed their fics off AO3 for any reason.

Honestly, anyone who would love to get anything off their chest, I would be greatly appreciative <3

Alright, I also realised I prefer using Tumblr on my laptop so I have now bookmarked it and turned all my notifications on so hopefully I will be on here more!!!!! (fingers crossed)

[hedgehog-troops]

said this before, will say it again.

making a character christian/muslim/jewish/of any other religion is NOT an excuse to shit on or disrespect the religion. Noe is it an excise to play into stereotypes or to make a mockery out of that religion.

thank you.

[daniwib]

About comments like 'Update soon!' or 'More please!'

It seems that many of those who leave these sorts of comments and other variations thereof are not writers yourselves. So, you may not realize that a simple demand for more without any other feedback can be very disheartening for writers.

Writing a story takes considerable effort. We invest hours in crafting, editing, and perfecting our work. Our stories are our babies, and despite the time they consume, we love them dearly. We write and share because we find joy in it, not because we earn money from it. We create content for you to enjoy, free of charge, simply because we love it. Then we set our babies free into the wild in the hope that others will enjoy them. And maybe, sometimes, tell us if they did.

No one is expected to comment. It’s nice if you do and we adore it, but it’s not a rule. And some people have very valid reasons for not commenting. We get it. This note is not about that.

It’s about how receiving a comment that merely demands more without acknowledging what you enjoyed about the story does not inspire us. It does not make us leap up and start typing madly, merely because you told us to.

What it does do is reduce our creative efforts to mere content production, making us feel as though you expect us to churn out stories on demand, without any appreciation. And quite often that stops us from writing at all.

Please remember that fic writers are not machines. We are people with lives that demand our attention - we have jobs, families, and sometimes we even like to eat or sleep. That’s why many of us update on a schedule. Demanding more won’t change that.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

A kind and thoughtful comment will always be more appreciated than a demand for more – and will encourage us to keep writing like nothing else will. If you don’t know what to write, that’s alright. Short and simple is perfectly okay! If you do want to write something more, here is a great guide to get you going: 101 comment starters.

[catrasredemption-moved]

"Friendly" reminder not to ask authors about when they're going to update a story. It doesn't matter if it's been two days or two years. Authors are doing their best, and sometimes life can kick their asses. Asking is rude at best, and no one will ever appreciate it.

[catrasredemption]

Related to the post about AIs finishing fics...

Way way back in 2015-ish, I was in a really bad place mentally. I was in the Doctor Who fandom, trying to write fics and getting almost zero feedback or interaction, and it was making my mental health worse. So in the interest of taking care of myself, I wrapped up my stories and said I was done with fanfiction and the fandom.

One of my stories was a series rewrite, starting with three. I got through to Ten regenerating to Eleven (iykyk) which was a good spot to call it complete, I think. Anyway like a day after I announced I was done with fanfiction, I got an ask.

And at the time, I couldn't really figure out why this bothered me so much. I was kind of rude in the reply (basically no, the fandom doesn't deserve the work I put into it), but the discussion around AI has finally put my unspecified feelings into words.

When you go around a writer to continue/finish a story they don't want to work on, whatever the reason may be, you're just proving that your satisfaction is more important than the writer's feelings. Writer burned out? Had a mental breakdown? Doesn't matter to you, as long as there's some other way to get the fic you want.

And that's shitty. There's really no other word for it. Authors are people, and deserve as much respect as everyone else. We're not writing machines churning out page after page of fanfiction for your amusement. When you take our work and give it someone else to finish (whether it be a person or AI), you're really just making it obvious that you don't care about the writers behind those stories.

And there's no faster way to make an author quit than to show them that you don't care.

[mitsuki91]

I suddently feel some sort if generational difference in the experience of fanfiction... So let me be clear and ask some question.

The tag system.

Is perfectly valid if you want to see all the trigger warning in a fanfiction. There is also a reason for the tag "Author choose to not use archive warning", so you know, if your read this kind of ff, that you can see... Somenthing. And about that, we all agree.

The other tags, anyway... Why me, as an author, have to spoiler my entire fic in the tag because... Because what? Where is the wonder of reading because you want to see what happen next, then?

(Also this is more and more hilarious because my fic is "almost canon compliant" (now I added the tag) so you know what happen next. You just don't know how. And that's the beauty, I suppose).

Also what do you think define a ship?! Just because two people have sex then it is a ship? Even if one of them didn't and never will fall in love with the other (and this is clear)? It's just a kiss?

I remember some years ago the frustration in the italian archive when I can not find a Snily for the love of good because everyone tag Snily and then... The story was about the love of Severus alone. Unrequited love. This is not a Snily you all!!! And everyone did this. It drived me mad.

(But at the same time now I am baffled because more then one person asks me to tag Jily in my story and... This is not a Jily?! Where for the love of good you see a Jily? Because of the sex? Because this will be almost canon compliant? Even if Lily never love him? Imagine being a Jily fan an open my story because of the tag... You think "oh well I don't mind some Snily if I can read some Jily". I will be in rage at the end of the story. I don't want to misstag a ship that isn't there just because you may see Lily with James somehow. This is not a ship, not for me).

Also I now added that even Severus will be with someone else - I took this opportunity to show the reader how Severus see sex and love and I find the ship blended well with my story, so I left it there - but why I have to do this when the only ship that matters is the Snily?!

And listen to me, I understand if you stop reading the story because of the other ships. Someone tell me this and I thanked them because this is perfectly valid. You don't want to see James and Lily togheter even if Lily doesn't love James? That's okay. I don't force anyone to read my story.

But it's the tag thing the drive me mad.

Really now it works like this? Mine are genuine question! Please feel free to reply.

[wolveria]

Don’t do it. Don’t leave a comment demanding an author update. Don’t even leave a comment asking when there will be an update if that’s all you’re going to say. Throwing a “please update!” at someone is very demotivating. We have lives and work/school and bills.

If you don’t have any of those things, awesome for you, but most of us have very little energy and time at the end of the day. Don’t demand more from us, especially when we don’t know you and we’re doing this for free.

[justallihere]

You're the only fanfic writer I follow, and just want to ask how you would respond if someone asked you for a change in format in your fic? Is it very rude? There was a fic I was reading that's from a new writer and I couldn't read due to no paragraph breaks between dialog, my eyes activly couldn't follow the convos. I made sure to let them know I loved the story (what I could read, I did love), but I want to be able to read more of it so I asked them to put paragraph spaces between speaking. I guess I wanna know if asking about format is a no-no, the same way unasked for writing advice is?

Hi there! I want to first say that there is a ton of nuance to fanfiction etiquette and my opinion and practices are not the be-all end-all of this discussion. If you want more insight, you can scroll through the # fanfiction etiquette tag here on tumblr and there are lots of people who have thoughts put together that are much more detailed and eloquent than mine! Also, if any other writers and readers want to jump in the replies/reblogs of this with your own (polite) thoughts, go for it.

My general practice is a no to leaving any type of constructive criticism. I have several reasons for this, some of which may sound more callous than others. For one thing, I never know who an author is. It could be a teenager writing for the first time, and it took them a lot of bravery to post the thing. It could be someone who is writing in a language that isn’t their own, and they don’t have a grasp of grammar/structure yet and they’re using fanfic to practice their skills. I never want to provide unsolicited criticism to someone and potentially prevent them from writing further and getting better at it. Also (and this is the part that might make me sound cold-hearted lol) if I open a fic, and it’s a hot mess—grammar, structure, the characterizations, whatever it is I don’t like—I’m just going to back out of it without saying anything, because as a general rule I don’t have the time or energy to spend trying to offer feedback when I could be writing something myself or reading something I enjoy more. Almost every fic will find its audience, and if there are people who love it and comment, the writer will probably continue writing. If I don’t like it, that’s just not the space for me and I look like a hater by saying so (which I definitely am, but only in private 💀).

If the author specifically ASKS for feedback it’s a different story. You can totally leave comments with criticism if they’ve indicated they’re open to it. If they don’t say either way, you can sometimes gauge how they might react by seeing how they respond to other commenters or if they were receptive to criticism on other works.

And I want to end by saying that this isn’t me telling you you did something wrong! I personally don’t mind people pointing out minor formatting/spelling mistakes that I can fix in a couple minutes. To me that’s something very different than ripping apart my characters or plot or whatever; it’s probably just something I missed in proofreading. That specific author may have appreciated your comment! I’m not them, so I don’t know.

Moral of the story, which I know isn’t entirely helpful, it really does just depend on the writer. You honestly never know how they’ll react. Tone can be difficult on the internet, and sometimes it’s better to play it safe and only say nice things. At the end of the day, fanfic authors do this for free and as a hobby, and if a fic has things you don’t like, you can either choose to ignore them or just not read it 🩷🩷

[furcoveredinblood]

hey if you send fanfiction writers death threats and rape threats and shit for not updating a fanfiction quick enough for you, you are scum and i don't care what you have to say to defend yourself. it's fucking creative writing, you can be patient and wait for updates just like everyone else. grow up.

[coppercrow]

I just need to vent about something:

I feel like fandom etiquette has changed somewhat since I first started reading fanfiction almost twenty years ago.

Back then me and all my fic reading friends understood that if you didn't like a fic, you just stopped reading it. It was also generally understood that if you didn't have anything nice to say, you just didn't say it (and definitely didn't leave a comment saying how you disliked something).

Getting back into writing fanfic, I've found that the overwhelming majority of people have been so lovely in their comments. But when I do get a negative comment from someone about how my interpretation of the characters is wrong/that they don't like what I've written it's amazing how quickly that ruins my day.

I don't think readers consider how much of an impact a negative comment has on somebody's day. I definitely don't write fanfiction because I'm out there looking for critique - I am sharing something I've spent a lot of time on for free with people because it's fun to have other people engage with a story you want to tell. Fanfic writers aren't the same as a professional author who has published a book - it's one thing to be negative about a published book, and another to shit on someone's spare time hobby project.

All negative comments do is make writers less inclined to keep working on a project...

(I'm not going to stop working on my current projects, but it makes me feel less like writing when I finish work for the day 😅)

[sarayu-sunrays]

imagine being entitled enough to comment negatively on sometimes hundreds-thousands words long fics shared for free at no advantage to the authour LOL