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

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I clicked my way in here randomly after it turned up on search for something else, and the discussion is really interesting (if somewhat in the past, by the time I arrived). I plunged into Sherlock fandom about two months ago and have been running about squeeing ever since, but I have noticed a strange... cold diffusion of resources, I would say. At least compared to my last fandom, which was admittedly in the mid-2000s. That was small and fractious and you commented on everyone's fic, and also go into their personal business which they generally posted on LJ.

Hi, pennypaperbrain! Great to hear from you! No worries about the late response. I consider this an open thread that can be discussed any time. :-) In any case, I'm very happy you found this fandom. Despite my bitching in this post (and I'll admit that I could have been a bit more tactful), this fandom has had me running around squeeing since the show started. However, like you, I was involved in a much smaller fandom before this one and was used to seeing more comments. As a number of people have argued, it's harder to keep up with all the fic in a fandom as large as Sherlock. I know I find it impossible.

Of course that wouldn't work for a great big fandom like this one, but Sherlockdom does seem to go to the other extreme. The popularity or otherwise of certain fics is always going to be a matter of luck and cliques as much as merit, but I was quite encouraged to find that some of the fics that are lauded by all fandom are actually really good. This makes me a bit less annoyed about the general dearth of feedback than might otherwise be the case.

I definitely agree that most of the stories that gain popularity, and are showered with praise, have earned it. There are some incredibly talented writers who are churning out amazing fic. I just feel bad for the writers who are just starting out and not receiving the kind of feedback that might encourage them to continue contributing to the fandom.

IRL I work as a book editor so I know very well that quality and the public taste do not always coincide. People will only invest whatever it is (money for printed books, time for fanfic) in a longer piece if they are reasonably certain that it will contain something they want, so I think case/gentle romance fics that aren't advertising a shiny USP can lose out, unless they get recced loudly.

Excellent point. People are going to be drawn towards certain pairings and genres within the fandom, unless a story is recced loudly or the writer in question has gained a following.

On the whole, I think culture in general is groaning under an embarrassment of riches. There is no need to cherish authors, as there are so many of us, and if one gets discouraged five more will pop up. This is rather a grim truth, particularly for those of us who sit around obsessively crafting sentences rather than merrily pumping out wordcount, but it's affecting every genre and outlet. It's possible that in the future people who are interested in technical quality will find new ways of filtering the wealth of material ('gatekeepers' as we call them in publishing - for example, a retailer's decision about which books to put on the shelves is 'gatekeeping') but the internet is still too recent and messy a phenomenon for anything like this to have set in.

Another excellent point, especially as I think that's what's happening in this fandom. There's an embarrassment of riches, and readers know that if one writer vanishes another will appear to take her place. You may have read chamekke's comments about tumblr, the recession and the "download culture". I'm sure all of these factors have had an impact on this fandom as well. And with the quality of the fic that's been emerging, I know that there are still a number of writers who care about the craft and wish to maintain the technical quality of writing.

[pennypaperbrain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I love the fandom too, though I'm a bit worried about season 2 - the subject of bdsm is close to my heart and I'm apprehensive about a clumsy canon treatment. But that is by the by.

I certainly can't keep up with all the fic in fandom. A have a huge backlog, having only turned up two months ago. There are certain authors who I jump at reading, though, and I try to click on a certain amount of more or less random stuff, to take a sample.

Tumblr rather depresses me, though I'm not above a five-second lol at things which are actually funny. I have yet to even learn to use it properly. I'd better do that.

I was particularly struck by your point about how fledgeling writers starve for lack of feedback though. To be perfectly honest I was being rather self-centred and thinking about reasonably technically proficient writers who still have trouble getting themselves read (i.e. total self-projection!) without properly considering what if I was at the office I would call 'emerging writers'.

In fact I tend only to leave feedback when I can be highly positive, on the assumption that people who aren't passionately invested in their writing will be discouraged by concrit, and there is no point picking apart someone who is just having a bit of fun.

But actually there is no reason to automatically assume that imperfect skill means lack of investment, because everyone starts somewhere. So looked at from a social utilitarian perspective, I should in fact be leaving concrit on just those slightly-flawed-but-far-from-hopeless fics.

Hm... deep thought required...

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I feel I should point out that I don't read every new writer out there. However, if I enjoy a story from a new writer (even one that's flawed), I try to leave feedback. I have to confess that I usually only comment if I have something positive to say. I don't like leaving concrit unless I'm the beta or I'm specifically asked for it. That isn't to say that people shouldn't leave constructive comments. I've just come across some readers who are pretty brutal and undiplomatic about it. Of course, I'm saying this as a fic writer who's over-sensitive and carries some baggage of her own, so maybe that's why I've overly cautious about concrit. *g*

I know there has been at least one or two occasions when I pointed out a mistake, but I think I sent the writer a private message.