Big Fandom, Little Fandom · 3:56am May 13th, 2012
(This post started as a reply to Magicolt808, but then I found I was rambling and I decided that I have my own blog for that.)
I'm fairly new to this fandom, I've been involved for about two months. The last fandom I was in was tiny. It had about 15 active people in it, and maybe another 30 lurkers.
Obviously, there was no top box, no EqD. If you wrote a fic, everyone who was interested in that subject or pairing read it. Everyone who was active commented on every fic that looked interesting to them. Once you had your 6-10 comments, that was it. Nothing left to do but write more. We had exactly two bad authors, and we just avoided their fics.
To me, this is a big fandom. There's a ton of fic, great and awful and in between. Things like the top box and EqD almost have to exist, if only so that people can find the great without having to wade through all of the awful. Unfortunately, that makes it tough on those of us who are in between.
But it's only tough if we're aiming for the top, which we have to remember is a choice. I feel like I get a respectable number of views and likes and favs. Way more then I ever got in my last fandom. I could put the effort in and do the work to write something worthy of trying to get on EqD, or something that I think would hit the top box. But that's not really how or why I write. I write to entertain myself, and I publish to entertain others, and I have no illusions that I write anything that hundreds of people would love.
And if there are people out there who would love it, it's here for them if they look. Most of what I read is from "in between" authors like myself. If I knew anyone who wouldn't read something unless it made EqD, and I'm sure those people are out there, I'd probably look down on them. Gate keepers are a useful tool, but looking to them as a final say on good or bad fic is just foolish.
I guess I'm just happy with the people who are willing to give me a shot, and liked what they read. I understand wanting more then that, but that's a hard road to follow.
And this is why this site is beautiful. Before I made my account, I would just read the fics. i wouldn't touch the fics written on the front page. i would go to archive and just go through it. Wading through the waters of forgotten fics. Do you know what I found? I found diamonds in the rough. i would revive fics that hadn't seen the light of day and I saw myself encouraging authors who have long forgotten they had written that story. Just the thought that anyone would abandon a work of art based on views or likes. It is about the emotional impact of it and it will only exist, if there are still people willing to read to find out. It's such a beautiful thing.