Discussion: Self-pimping and asking for concrit
There's been some talk lately about "self-pimping", and since it's out there I wanted to discuss that and a related issue. Check out Mosh's post if you want to read a bit more about that. We've all done it, to some degree or another, but self-pimping makes me extremely uncomfortable. If you publicly tell me you want me to read your fic, then I either have to publicly ignore the request, or publicly respond to it. Bit of a rock and hard place situation for me - what am I supposed to do if I don't care for your fic, or think it's utterly unreadable? I won't lie - and by asking me in the open, you've taken away my option to "not say anything at all, if I can't say anything nice".
I'm just not comfortable with it, and I'd rather not be forced into that position at all.
The related issue is that of people asking me to review their work. Most of you know that I work as a writer, and that I have worked as an editor in the past. And if you're here on my journal, that's probably because you enjoy my writing. Which is yay, great! :) But...
Because of this, I've had a number of people make various requests of me. I've been asked to read fic, comment on fic, beta read fic, help edit fic, etc. Seems like a great idea, right?
Better think that all the way through. If you ask me to review your work, you need to be sure that you want to hear what I have to say. As a writer, as an editor, and as a fan if you're sending me fanfic. And I'm very, very picky about what I really like in a story.
It's a waste of my time and yours if you simply want another meaningless pat on the back. I could blow sunshine up your ass, if that's what you really want, but you can get that from FFNet if that's all you're after. Granted, you won't get whatever it is you want from having the comment come from me (for whatever that's worth to you), but it'll be just as genuine. And frankly, I haven't the time to sift through piles of fic of varying quality to try and say something I think you want to hear.
I used to try and read every single fic that hit the
ren_x_ichi comm, because that is my favourite and I wanted to help and encourage other writers. But it got to be too much of a burden, especially when I began struggling to find new and good things to say about things that sometimes just weren't good or interesting at all - all while I was putting in 60+ hour work weeks (with no overtime pay, FTL!). So I stopped, and I'm much happier just staying silent on something that doesn't move me to leave a review.
Nearly all of my non-working hours go toward completing a very long story in one of my series. I keep up with my flist as best I can, and I actually do read most of what shows up in the communities I am in. If you post your fic to one of the usual communities (ie
kurosaki_clinic), then chances are very good I've already seen it. So if I don't leave a comment, there's a reason for it. Either I'm just too busy and I'll get to it later, or I don't think you want to hear what I have to say. Too many people don't want concrit for me to take the chance - and that's fine, really. We're here to have fun. No one says you have to write fanfic to improve your writing skills, or write anything but exactly what you want, no matter what anyone else thinks of it. So what if I don't like your fic? Maybe it's great, but it just doesn't float my boat.
For example, you don't see me over at
bleach_bdsm for a reason - I won't like most of those fics, no matter how gorgeously written they are, so there's no point. Yes, I can appreciate things for what they are and not just for whether they are to my personal taste - you learn to do that very quickly when you write and/or edit for a living. But that doesn't mean I really want to spend my limited free time on things that I don't have an interest in. I get paid to do that every day, and that's more than enough time spent at that, believe me!
In the past, I've had people assure me that they want concrit, that they admire my writing and value my opinion and any suggestions I have for improvement. I took that at face value, and boy was that a mistake. Only a small handful of people actually meant it - most really only wanted someone they considered knowledgeable to tell them their work was great. And fewer still bothered to acknowledge my contribution to their work, or even remembered to thank me for my efforts.
This relates back to the self-pimping thing as well. I try to always leave balanced reviews for those I know want them, for those who ask for them and I know they mean it. The rest just get the usual squee or giggle, if I feel like the story was enjoyable enough but I don't have the time or energy to do a more in-depth review. If I didn't say anything, then there's a reason for it. Be sure you really want to know which reason it is before you ask me about it. ;)
I'm hoping this doesn't come off as snotty or hard-assed. It's just time to get this said, so I can try and save everyone a bit of grief down the road. I've found that I don't have to share your ships, fangirl the same characters, or like your writing to be your LJ friend. :) Most of my flist is split pretty sharply along different fandom lines, and we can still have fun squeeing about the latest episode or chapter - it doesn't matter that I'm flailing over the RenIchi and RenRuki moments and that you're over the moon for the latest Aizen scene and Grimmjow revelation. It doesn't matter if you like Ichigo in a dress and I just like him swinging his sword. *g* As long as we're all gaga over Bleach it's all good. ^_^
Note: This wasn't prompted by anyone in particular, it's just past time it was said.