>> Those are all really great actionable points! It's a perennial issue that a lot of people want The Thing, but don't want to be the one to start the thing or maintain the thing once it's been started. (It feels like using DW is one of those things for some people - a lot of people say they miss LJ, and would use DW if it was active... but then never post here or participate in the communities that are active!) <<
Exactly. And I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who want things without working for them. I mean, I know it's supposed to be a wishlist, but the thing that bugs me the most about Snowflake is how many of its participants are super excited in January then immediately vanish afterwards. I can't count how many blogs are empty except for Snowflake and maybe 1-2 other posts. 0_o
>> While I'm not great at admin/modding stuff, <<
That's okay, there are many other options for participation. You could: * post on your own blog * make a recurrent post on a fannish topic * do friending themes, questionnaires, or other such events * comment on other people's blogs * post or comment on communities.
>> I am definitely trying to be more participatory in communities this year,<<
Yay! That's appreciated.
>> and I'm trying to keep the fact that I could *post to* a fair number of communities in mind. Having fallen out of the habit of member posts being a norm, it's hard for me to remember that I can do that! And should! <<
You might pick one or two favorite communities and set a reminder to post in them, somewhere with a topic that you always have something to say about. There are rec comms where anyone can post, so you could either make a plan to rec once per theme there, or to rec your favorite new fanworks in some community.
>> And of course, the "don't be a dick" rule really is a good one for everyone to keep in mind. I've watched frustratingly large numbers of fandom spaces devolve into miserable toxicity.<<
Yep. That's why we need strong moderation tools, modeling, and people who won't put up with that shit. In my blog, I have someone wander through and try to start a flame maybe once a year or so. By the time I even notice it, usually one or more of my fans has already dumped a bucket of wet sand on it. We've gotten into some fractious discussions, but it's not a very flammable environment. Because we have made it that way.
>> Also good points about commenting! Readers don't know if they don't know, so positive (not manipulative or guilting) reminders are a good idea.<<
I put a line about it in the first and last posted chapters of stories; feel free to borrow this if you wish.
A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.
The Poetry Fishbowl is explicitly run on prompts, donations, and feedback. The whole reason I have series there is because people started asking for reappearances of favorite characters. I'd been envying writers who did longfic crowdfunding because I wasn't sure how to get that kind of repeat custom. Now I have series longer than books (I'm not kidding, Shiv's file is over 3000 pages, and that little sod started out with like 2 fans) and people who have dropped more on poetry than actual poetry book publishers have. A large part of what makes this work is that I'm willing to write any topic of mutual interest. You want two boys kissing? A hot babe in a wheelchair? A civilization of mostly neurovariant folks? Asexual leads? An apocalypse full of mostly brown women? I've done those, and I did them because fans asked and kept asking.
>> (I know an author I really like has said things like "Welcome to chapter two of 'this was going to be a oneshot, but the commenters brought their A-game'" to let people know that she's continuing something based on reactions she'd gotten.) <<
Well, that's what happened to Love Is For Children, my longest fanfic series. It was supposed to be a quick little thing. Fans went berserk for it. I wrote more. It still gets occasional installments because people prompt for it in the Poetry Fishbowl (fine, I can use fanwork as freebies) and Creative Jam.
Re: Try this ...
(It feels like using DW is one of those things for some people - a lot of people say they miss LJ, and would use DW if it was active... but then never post here or participate in the communities that are active!) <<
Exactly. And I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who want things without working for them. I mean, I know it's supposed to be a wishlist, but the thing that bugs me the most about Snowflake is how many of its participants are super excited in January then immediately vanish afterwards. I can't count how many blogs are empty except for Snowflake and maybe 1-2 other posts. 0_o
>> While I'm not great at admin/modding stuff, <<
That's okay, there are many other options for participation. You could:
* post on your own blog
* make a recurrent post on a fannish topic
* do friending themes, questionnaires, or other such events
* comment on other people's blogs
* post or comment on communities.
>> I am definitely trying to be more participatory in communities this year,<<
Yay! That's appreciated.
>> and I'm trying to keep the fact that I could *post to* a fair number of communities in mind. Having fallen out of the habit of member posts being a norm, it's hard for me to remember that I can do that! And should! <<
You might pick one or two favorite communities and set a reminder to post in them, somewhere with a topic that you always have something to say about. There are rec comms where anyone can post, so you could either make a plan to rec once per theme there, or to rec your favorite new fanworks in some community.
>> And of course, the "don't be a dick" rule really is a good one for everyone to keep in mind. I've watched frustratingly large numbers of fandom spaces devolve into miserable toxicity.<<
Yep. That's why we need strong moderation tools, modeling, and people who won't put up with that shit. In my blog, I have someone wander through and try to start a flame maybe once a year or so. By the time I even notice it, usually one or more of my fans has already dumped a bucket of wet sand on it. We've gotten into some fractious discussions, but it's not a very flammable environment. Because we have made it that way.
>> Also good points about commenting! Readers don't know if they don't know, so positive (not manipulative or guilting) reminders are a good idea.<<
I put a line about it in the first and last posted chapters of stories; feel free to borrow this if you wish.
A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.
The Poetry Fishbowl is explicitly run on prompts, donations, and feedback. The whole reason I have series there is because people started asking for reappearances of favorite characters. I'd been envying writers who did longfic crowdfunding because I wasn't sure how to get that kind of repeat custom. Now I have series longer than books (I'm not kidding, Shiv's file is over 3000 pages, and that little sod started out with like 2 fans) and people who have dropped more on poetry than actual poetry book publishers have. A large part of what makes this work is that I'm willing to write any topic of mutual interest. You want two boys kissing? A hot babe in a wheelchair? A civilization of mostly neurovariant folks? Asexual leads? An apocalypse full of mostly brown women? I've done those, and I did them because fans asked and kept asking.
>> (I know an author I really like has said things like "Welcome to chapter two of 'this was going to be a oneshot, but the commenters brought their A-game'" to let people know that she's continuing something based on reactions she'd gotten.) <<
Well, that's what happened to Love Is For Children, my longest fanfic series. It was supposed to be a quick little thing. Fans went berserk for it. I wrote more. It still gets occasional installments because people prompt for it in the Poetry Fishbowl (fine, I can use fanwork as freebies) and Creative Jam.