One Thing I Hate About the Sherlock Fandom

[rusty_armour]

If there's one thing I hate about the Sherlock fandom, it's the lack of support for writers on LJ. When I see a really good fic that has only received one comment, I can't help feeling disgusted. I could understand if it was a small fandom, but Sherlock is pretty popular. I just have to see the number of communities and writing challenges to know that. And, yes, I realize that we all lead busy lives, and I've certainly been guilty of reading a story and not commenting, but the lack of support in this particular fandom is really appalling. It seems as if it's every writer for herself, unless said writer is part of a clique or has a large network of friends. Thank fuck for A03. At least such writers might receive hits and kudos.

When I post what I hope will be my last Sherlock story (mostly because I'm supposed to be retired from fic writing), I might just post it on A03. I'm not sure if there's any point in posting it on LJ.

Comments

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of LJ fandom is a bit like that, to be honest. Especially the bigger fandoms, because I think people are more inclined to get cliquey and not to bother reading fic by people they don't know because there's so much out there anyway. In my experience, small fandoms can even be better, because there's so little fic out there that everyone reads everything.

I have to admit I don't find AO3 much better though, some of the time. Hardly anyone comments over there, though as you say, at least you can see people are reading.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of LJ fandom is a bit like that, to be honest. Especially the bigger fandoms, because I think people are more inclined to get cliquey and not to bother reading fic by people they don't know because there's so much out there anyway.

I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head! This is the problem with bigger fandoms, and I'm sure it's the problem with Sherlock. And it's been this way for years on LJ, so it really shouldn't surprise me at all.

In my experience, small fandoms can even be better, because there's so little fic out there that everyone reads everything.

That's an excellent point. When you've only got so much fic to read, you're much less fussier about it. I was posting fic in a fairly small fandom before Sherlock, and a lot more people took the time and trouble to comment -- partly for the reason you've given, but also because there seemed to be a real community spirit in the fandom.

I have to admit I don't find AO3 much better though, some of the time. Hardly anyone comments over there, though as you say, at least you can see people are reading.

Oh, AO3 totally sucks for comments, but at least people sometimes leave kudos and you can see the number of hits you've received. Of course, the last time I looked, the most recent fic I'd posted there was only up to 21 hits. However, there are times when seeing such statistics can be a good thing. *g*