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Mar. 11th, 2004 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaI'm having an interesting moral dilemma recently that I can't seem to crack by myself.
I found a site, Juxtaposefantasy.net, which is basically decent original slash fiction in several different fantasy-type universes-- as a paid, subscription service. $9.99 a month, no less. The writer updates one of the story universes once a week, etc etc.
My first reaction to this was horror-- paying for slash?? Please! Who does she think she is?! ...That was also my second and third reaction.
And then I read some of the teaser chapters, and was hooked. I'm a sucker for suspense things-- which is why I try to avoid suspense fiction and don't mind spoilers. I don't -seek out- spoilers, but I'm one of those people who hates that awful itch of having to know that seems to please most people. It just... bothers me. I know most people get off on it... and I do like the small adrenaline rush, I guess. But I'm too prone to compulsive, addictive behaviors already, I think, and suspense fics just make it too much for me to take and I overload. I realize most well-written fic is in the suspense category if it's a WIP, come to think of it, so I've been reading almost exclusively that for awhile now. Hmm. Maybe it's worse if the actual content is a thriller also. Er... but that's a complete tangent.
Anyway, I paid the money, but now I feel horribly dirty and uncomfortable with myself. It raises all sorts of awkward questions, this discomfort.
So why is my instinctive response that this self-publishing is somehow "bad"? How is self-publishing on the net "bad"? Why am I so instinctively drawn to mainstream publishing, considering that it rips off artists and doesn't exactly reward quality? Isn't what this writer is doing what most of us would want to do, that is, writing what she loves and getting both an interactive, vocal readership and a means to support herself meanwhile?
Well, first of all, I think the price is a complete rip-off. Second of all, she's just... not -that- good. And I realize that sounds kind of elitist or whatever, but I do have this old-fashioned feeling (completely out of touch with reality as it is) that you should be brilliant to get to be published. You should be -better- than the rest of us somehow. And this person doesn't even seem to have a beta who'd catch some basic grammar errors. So there's that.
This elitist thing is why people say "I'm a published author" while puffing out their chest and looking down their noses, right? Even though... well... most "published authors" suck in a bad way, and "best-sellers" are usually so far from "literature" as to be from another literary planet altogether. A part of me also thinks that as difficult as it would be to write oodles of fic while having a full-time non-writing job, that's just one of the trials of being a writer.
You're -supposed- to starve, stay up all night writing while you slave away at the McFast-Food-Joint all day and/or try to finish grad school or whatever, have no social life, and shut yourself into a small room with only coffee and/or Mountain Dew for company. That's how it works, isn't it? That's the glory of it, isn't it? Then, at the end, the truly great (and high-stamina) among us will cross the finish-line as True Writers, and all the famous publishing houses will take one look at the final manuscript and swoon. Just-- swoon away; either that, or thus begins the equally arduous process of sending in the damn thing to everyone and their brother until -someone-, someday, takes pity on you. That being another Test Of Your Glory And Dedication To The Cause. And/or you get your big break having your most throw-away, casually written fic published in Amazing Stories (okay, now I'm stuck in the 40s, but whatever).
That's how I want it to be, even if it's clearly just a pipe-dream.
So. Do you guys think it's a rip-off? Would you do this if you could? Would you then charge by the year instead of by the month? Would you just not charge as much? I'm really stumped, and also curious.
...I suppose all this goes a ways to explain why I still haven't even attempted to be published, huh :> Besides the whole "my original fic is (generally unfinished) crap" thing -.-
I found a site, Juxtaposefantasy.net, which is basically decent original slash fiction in several different fantasy-type universes-- as a paid, subscription service. $9.99 a month, no less. The writer updates one of the story universes once a week, etc etc.
My first reaction to this was horror-- paying for slash?? Please! Who does she think she is?! ...That was also my second and third reaction.
And then I read some of the teaser chapters, and was hooked. I'm a sucker for suspense things-- which is why I try to avoid suspense fiction and don't mind spoilers. I don't -seek out- spoilers, but I'm one of those people who hates that awful itch of having to know that seems to please most people. It just... bothers me. I know most people get off on it... and I do like the small adrenaline rush, I guess. But I'm too prone to compulsive, addictive behaviors already, I think, and suspense fics just make it too much for me to take and I overload. I realize most well-written fic is in the suspense category if it's a WIP, come to think of it, so I've been reading almost exclusively that for awhile now. Hmm. Maybe it's worse if the actual content is a thriller also. Er... but that's a complete tangent.
Anyway, I paid the money, but now I feel horribly dirty and uncomfortable with myself. It raises all sorts of awkward questions, this discomfort.
So why is my instinctive response that this self-publishing is somehow "bad"? How is self-publishing on the net "bad"? Why am I so instinctively drawn to mainstream publishing, considering that it rips off artists and doesn't exactly reward quality? Isn't what this writer is doing what most of us would want to do, that is, writing what she loves and getting both an interactive, vocal readership and a means to support herself meanwhile?
Well, first of all, I think the price is a complete rip-off. Second of all, she's just... not -that- good. And I realize that sounds kind of elitist or whatever, but I do have this old-fashioned feeling (completely out of touch with reality as it is) that you should be brilliant to get to be published. You should be -better- than the rest of us somehow. And this person doesn't even seem to have a beta who'd catch some basic grammar errors. So there's that.
This elitist thing is why people say "I'm a published author" while puffing out their chest and looking down their noses, right? Even though... well... most "published authors" suck in a bad way, and "best-sellers" are usually so far from "literature" as to be from another literary planet altogether. A part of me also thinks that as difficult as it would be to write oodles of fic while having a full-time non-writing job, that's just one of the trials of being a writer.
You're -supposed- to starve, stay up all night writing while you slave away at the McFast-Food-Joint all day and/or try to finish grad school or whatever, have no social life, and shut yourself into a small room with only coffee and/or Mountain Dew for company. That's how it works, isn't it? That's the glory of it, isn't it? Then, at the end, the truly great (and high-stamina) among us will cross the finish-line as True Writers, and all the famous publishing houses will take one look at the final manuscript and swoon. Just-- swoon away; either that, or thus begins the equally arduous process of sending in the damn thing to everyone and their brother until -someone-, someday, takes pity on you. That being another Test Of Your Glory And Dedication To The Cause. And/or you get your big break having your most throw-away, casually written fic published in Amazing Stories (okay, now I'm stuck in the 40s, but whatever).
That's how I want it to be, even if it's clearly just a pipe-dream.
So. Do you guys think it's a rip-off? Would you do this if you could? Would you then charge by the year instead of by the month? Would you just not charge as much? I'm really stumped, and also curious.
...I suppose all this goes a ways to explain why I still haven't even attempted to be published, huh :> Besides the whole "my original fic is (generally unfinished) crap" thing -.-
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-11 07:18 pm (UTC)I don't have a thing against self-publishing, man, as long as it's quality. Like... some of my favorite comics are self-published. That's totally cool. I do have a romantic vision in terms of novel-writing, but that's not an issue if the independent product blows my mind. If something is mediocre-yet-pro, I feel like... well, most things out there are crap, no biggie. But I feel like... maybe I just set higher standards for independent stuff, I guess?
Like, the indie comics I know are the best of the best, some of the best stuff being done. For a long while, they were miles ahead of the rest, and the pro comics industry had to hurry to catch up. So there's actually prestige there that was pioneered by some awesome titles in the late 80s and 90s. And music-- a lot of great stuff gets self-published, like Ani DiFranco, for one.
But novels/fic... maybe it's just that the publishing houses are these overwhelming behemoths or maybe... I don't know, but I've never seen a shred of real quality in any self-publishing venture unless it was poetry, supported by a university somehow, or written by a previously published and/or semi-famous author.
It's just... different in fiction, in my experience, though I admit my experience is limited. But I just wanted to say that while I do have some pipe-dreams I admit to being such, I don't have a prejudice against self-publishing per se, quite the opposite. Just a prejudice against paying for sutff I feel doesn't deserve my patronage. Which... well... I have no one to blame for, but if it's printed, I guess I could browse more, y'know, whereas here I was teased and there was no way to read more. Or something
no subject
Date: 2004-03-11 07:41 pm (UTC)As for self-publishing ventures... I haven't seen many of them, period, though I bought Wil Wheaton's Dancing Barefoot and I love it to pieces. I think the key to this really may be that most of us really haven't seen most self-publishing ventures, simply because that's the whole downside to it in the first place... people don't find out about it.
The great thing about the new surge in both independent music and now in self-publishing is that anyone can do it. The downside... anyone can do it. This means the reader/listener/whatever who decides to check it out has to make real choices instead of being told what to buy by whoever has the biggest marketing budget. As readers we have to take responsibility for what we pay for. I'm not at all judging you for paying for this stuff, but... well, you knew it wasn't great before you paid, right? :) That's my point. I get you kicking yourself for getting sucked in, but I still applaud her efforts to support herself by doing something she enjoys. I certainly wish I could say the same about myself.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-11 08:32 pm (UTC)I knew it wasn't great, but... well, I guess I have the user mentality that's been proliferating in the Information Age right along with the self-publishing boom. I feel I should get -extensive-, very very extensive testing before I buy. Like... I download mp3s like mad and I'm not ashamed if it's a highly-paid rock artist on an independent, especially if it's not great. If it -is- great, and I've listened to it a few times, -then- I'll get the cd (and even then I'll try to use half.com 'cause cds are a rip-off from hell these days). I dunno how this applies to fiction as much 'cause you can't "test-drive" it as much and it doesn't have the same replay value. Especially with this sort of material, I realize that you pretty much read it once and that's it.
*sigh*
So yeah, I applaud the effort and the fact that it's -possible- to do this now, but I still... I still have this established relationship to pulp (throw-away) fiction that... a) it's not worth paying for & b) if it does have a price-tag, it should be really cheap. Like... y'know, pulp fiction was initially called "pulp" because it -came- so cheap, on cheap paper, chepaly printed. So it was okay to throw away a dollar or two or three on it, to get pulled in by the flashy colors.
Whereas this is different. This is pulp that is more expensive than some professionally published thick paperbacks, y'know? And there's not that much material there.
So that's why my actual question in this post was actually "would you charge this much?" which actually, no one answered. Because I wasn't saying it wasn't worth -any- money, but I wouldn't feel so bad if it wasn't such a disproportionate amount. While I feel self-publishing ventures like this are admirable, this is just taking it all way too far, in my mind.