#monetization hell

[sk1fanfiction]

stop trying to monetize fic i'm literally as serious as a myocardial infarction

Okay so not only have I had to deal with the Artstation scammers constantly messaging me since October, to the point where my blocklist on FFN is 100 users long and I've had to block people on AO3 for the very first time, but today I got a review from someone asking if they can use my fic as content on their doubtlessly monetized Youtube channel (there are several of these accounts that send near-identical messages!), with a grating AI-generated voice reading the fic and stock or AI-generated footage playing behind it. I guess at least they are not trying to get me to pay them and are polite enough but this is quite literally I.L.L.E.G.A.L. if they are getting any AdSense money!

Illegality and swindling aside, not every hobby has to become a hustle and even though my writing might not be high art, that doesn't mean it deserves to be turned into soulless slop just because ChatGPT and Midjourney bros on Twitter who couldn't even write a fucking for loop gave you the bright idea. And I am personally sick of the recent deluge of scammers, trolls, and bots. What is happening to the moderation of both FFN and AO3?

Lastly, this has genuinely ruined reviews/comments for me. Every time I get a notification these days, I'm thinking 'please be a real person, please be real' because a full 50-60% of the time it's some auto-generated, mass-mailed message that has nothing to do with the fic. Hell I would even take a 'u suck' comment over this crap.

EDIT: I just remembered that the FFN app already has a reader built-in with a pretty natural-sounding voice, which is much higher quality than any of these channels, which makes them even more useless!

Okay, rant over. As you were.

[oddmawd]

IMO: people's willingness to endanger the entire fanfiction ecosystem for their own personal gain is a direct result of capitalism being a dick

first it makes us think of EVERYTHING in terms of economics, "productivity" and money, money, money

then it makes us desperate to make ends meet (#eattherich)

and then side-hustle culture convinces us that our hobbies are worthless unless they're monetized

so the math adds up and desperate people look at their empty pantries and then at their time-consuming hobbies that pay them nothing, and it's no fucking wonder they start asking "hey, can i perhaps make a buck off of that hobby to soothe the misery of this financial hellscape somewhat?"

and i get the impulse, truly i do, but the problem with fanfic is that YOU CAN'T DO THAT

fic is a labor of love and i'm sorry but it's not the answer to our monetary problems, because those problems will get a lot worse for you if you wind up fined into oblivion over copyright infringement

enough people start turning fanfic into a black market instead of a grey one and we'll get chased back underground and then your nice little side-hustle goes up in smoke along with the entire fanfiction community as a whole

allow me to remind us that capitalism is a goddamn liar, side-hustle culture is a trap, and:

you are allowed to have a hobby that isn't profitable

hobbies are not worthless if they don't generate cash flow

turning your hobby into a side hustle often saps the joy out of it

try finding joy through the act of creating, not through the money you might make doing it

good luck out there

[caelanthe]

Fanfiction is so goated actually

No monetary incentive, just writing in one's free time. Some incentive for like kudos and comments, because who doesn't want to hear that someone else enjoyed what they wrote. Just writing a story that is good and/or enjoyable, no real-life pressure to keep it going because god forbid you and other people are depending on it financially.

Writing a story because you want to write a good story, so you can write what they want the way you want, at a pace that is realistic for you, with exactly the plot pacing you want there to be.

[sleepnoises]

backs of the sewing tags :)

[askharpymonet]

(( Here's another guessing the style game! Part 1 and part 2 here!

This is more guess the series rather than specific artists behind the style. Hint: western animation! ))

[cilil]

I am speechless.

My post about hateful AO3 spam comment bots is barely 2 days old and then I find this in my inbox.

I'm pretty sure this too is a bot, but just in case there's any sort of human being involved in this: I am not interested and do not consent to any of my works being made into NFTs or, while I'm at it, fed into shitty AIs or anything of this sort. If any of you use my works for such purposes, you are doing so against my explicit wishes and without my consent that you need in order for it to be legal. You have been warned.

To my fellow fan creators: Do not respond to such messages. Report, block, delete.

NFTs have been a complete and utter failure, and many people have lost tons of money - a truth that even the most deluded optimistic NFT fans have had to accept. If you need further information on this, I recommend this video by Folding Ideas on YouTube.

[amburuthings]

Blog and blogger

Tagged by @galadrieljones on this interesting picrew

Wearing down my oversized sweaters attending dozens of protests and gatherings, brows uneven and hair unbrushed ? VERY accurate (*shade of brown may vary)

Tagging @lathbora-virann @gefionne @bucketsofmonsters @mickeysalamander @luna-teacup @midnight-enansal without any knowledge of who might have already done it !!

[emilyjunk]

Me tuning into monet's slumber party for the gayest party of my life 🏳️‍🌈😄

[tokutaiseichan]

i really enjoy tkdb's story but every time i remember how it's being handled by such shitty devs i'm just 🥴🤧

[thesweetesthottie]

Victoria Monet for Christmas 🎄 ✨️

[urbeautifulandiminsane]

(i saw you wanted some asks :D)

favourite lana lyric?

2. favourite non musical artist?

3. favourite fruit?

4. favourite book?

5. favourite smell (like an in perfume)?

6. favourite song?

7. favourite instrument?

1. “if i get a little prettier, can i be your baby?” - Gods & monsters

2. Monet !! like his water lilies omg 🙈

3. blackberries or blueberries 🫐

4. lolita - vladimir nabokov

5. i love love love really sweet smells like i want to smell like i’ve just bathed, ate and swam in a giant fucking tub of sweets i love it sm 🍬🍭

6. rn my favourite song is she was too good to me - chet baker

7. i like violins cause i think they sound nice 💞

[oddmawd]

i grow stuff via hydroponics and today someone told me "you should stop growing herbs and do microgreens instead and sell them to local restaurants for some extra cash," LIKE CAN I NOT JUST HAVE A GODDAMN HOBBY ACTUALLY?!?!?!?!

[yellowocaballero]

what's ur favorite color?

Normally when I answer this question it's in ASL class so the answer is always the first sign I can think of. It's never gray. because I forget the sign for gray.

However, it's gray. I like the ubiquitousness. In real life, my favorite is the special and beautiful shades of black very talented artists can create that you find in art museums sometimes. Went to the Rothko Chapel too many times as a child I think. Thanks for the ask!! I didn't know I had an actual answer to that question.

[girlbob-boypants]

Hide Muted Channels might be the best feature on Discord tbh

[kaiserouo]

Please please please no more ugly bloodhound skins i beg you

FUUUUU--

[remescient]

I know we talk about social media and artist burnout a lot in artistic communities, but I feel like what we don’t talk about enough is how much the drive to monetize your art can destroy your drive to create

Like, I haven’t been able to draw anything for nearly a year now. Not an illustration, not fanart, not a sketch, not even napkin doodles. I’m so badly burned out that I worry I might never be able to really enjoy drawing again

Any creative “wouldn’t that be a neat drawing?” thought I have is instantly infected with “would it sell as a print? Would it work as a sticker or pin? Would it make a good tiktok timelapse? Would it work as a marketing piece on social media? Will it be good enough to convince people to buy my art if they only have enough to buy from one person, as opposed to someone else?” 

And INSTANTLY my entire desire to draw is gone. I just feel empty and defeated.

“Draw what makes you happy!” “Don’t worry about appealing to people, your stuff will find its audience!” “It’s not a competition, just make what you feel like” You’re missing the point. Not being able to be successful commercially with my art makes me feel guilty. The capitalistic propaganda to monetize every hobby is insidious (hustle culture baayy beee). I resent the mindset, but I can’t shake it (especially when I’m struggling financially, which is always). I’m glad for the people who can ignore it or never deal with it, but for the rest of us, it’s exhausting. It becomes easier to just not make anything than fight with that constant guilt for not being “good enough” to make it a business. And it sucks.