Have You Ever Wondered Where Books Come From?

Have you ever wondered where books come from?

Well then, let me show you, because that’s what I do for a living.

Right now, it’s this time of the year, and the little ones have just freshly hatched:

You’ll notice they’re still blind and naked when they hatch. So I make them little coats to keep them warm during their first winter:

See how they happily line up to put them on:

See? Better. Now they’re ready to go and explore the world.

And if they make it through the winter and we take good care of them, they will grow up to be strong and wise like their older fellows:

So, in case you were ever wondering, now you know.

Shrugs. Thought you* might be interested in this little snippet from last Sunday.

*waving to any and all lurking Hozier fans.

BTW has anyone done the statistics on how many fanfics contain hozier lyrics?

Fandom resources intro & explainer (with a bit of history)

Hi! So I’ve been reading fic for like… 25 years (I’m 37). I’ve been around for a lot and seen a lot, but I only started writing last year, and I remember what it was like to feel like I wasn’t really involved in fandom in the past. Even though I was reading fic constantly and I wanted to be involved. And I remember the feeling of being new to something and not having any idea what people are talking about. So, I figured I’d share some resources. (If this helps just one person I will be happy.) Below you'll find more on how to figure out what people are talking about and some ideas for engaging actively with fandom. (Also, I'm not an expert, I'm just good at research.)

Fanlore, or how to figure out what the heck people are talking about

Have you ever been reading a post on tumblr and thought, ok, everyone seems to know what this thing is but I don’t? Maybe it’s “strikethrough,” maybe it’s a reference to the founding of ao3 (by fans), maybe it’s the ball pit. Well, I have a website for you: fanlore.org

Note: this is not to say that I think we should all necessarily be using the same slang from 20 years ago, or that everyone needs to be an expert on fandom history. I just know and remember the feeling of being left out because I didn't know what people were talking about, and I love to look things up. So this is how I do that. and similar to wikipedia, it's a great starting point for research... and then maybe you'll find a thread you want to tug on a bit more.

Fanlore is the wiki for fandom, in both a general and specific sense. It’s got pages on fandom history and slang and tropes and everything else. Here are some pages that may be of interest to get you started:

Strikethrough, or what happened to livejournal? And while we’re on the subject, why is everyone so nostalgic for LJ anyway?

What's the deal with the fanfiction.net purge?

The founding of ao3 (and see the "no direct advertising" section for more on why you can't talk about commissions or sales on ao3, and the section on racism for an overview of various discussions with links to more)

What’s a lemon?

A list of tropes, fun to explore

YKINMKATO (or, kink tomato)

What's the ball pit?

What’s up with people using the word slash?

A big list of fandom slang in the fandom glossary

What's a fandom challenge?

And they have a new visitor portal! and more!

Fandom and all the ways we engage with it

Something I often wondered as a fan before I started writing was, what is my role here? How do I engage with fandom? What do fans do if they don’t write or make art?

So I thought I’d make a list! I love lists. And maybe you’ll see something in my list that speaks to you and makes you feel like you have something for you where you didn’t before. That would make me so happy. Fanlore also has a whole category page for fan activities which is way more exhaustive than my list!

Writing (fic, poetry, meta, and more)

Making art - fanart, gifs, memes, so much more

Recording podfics

Making podcasts

Organizing fic archives/libraries/fic rec pages or tumblr accounts (the hours I spent exploring the Sterek library account, y’all...)

Creating and organizing character or media archives (think of all the possibilities - outfit compendiums, dialogue arhives, etc.)

Making fic rec lists (around themes, authors, etc.) and sharing them

Making playlists (around themes, fandoms, characters, relationships, more!) and sharing them - also called fanmixes

Making fanvids (videos) and sharing them

Contributing to a wiki

Cosplay

Crafts - knitting, crocheting, sewing, woodworking, and more!

Commenting and contributing to discussions

Creating and sharing polls

Interviewing fellow fans

Fan surveys

Creating moodboards and/or collages

Liveblogging as you watch or rewatch new episodes or movies (make sure to tag it)

Sending asks and comments

Leaving kudos and comments (on ao3) and commenting/reblogging (on tumblr)

Hosting viewing parties

Running fandom events (or helping with them), like challenges

Bookbinding (not for profit)

Making zines

How do I get started?

In my experience, when people say their inboxes are open, they mostly mean it. If you see someone who makes art you love, tell them you love it and ask them how they got started. Ask them what tools they use! If you see someone making amazing gifs, tell them you love them and ask for tips or resources. And share their work!

Fanlore also has resources, so the links and ideas are out there. And reaching out to someone on tumblr is often the easiest way in. Send an ask, write a comment, reblog with a comment. Explore the tags for your fandom. Tell someone you loved something or ask them a question. And on that topic, consider my asks and messages open if you want to chat! Or talk about any of this! Or share your ideas for more ways to do fandom!

Talking to people can be scary, I know, but just remember that we all have something in common - we're waaaaaaaay too into something (or a lot of things) and would love to talk about it. We're dying to talk about it. Please talk about it with us. And that is a foundation we can build on! Even if it’s just in comments or in reblogs or in tags - we love comments and reblogs and tags.

If talking to someone doesn’t go anywhere, that’s ok. Like in non-tumblr life, we all get along with some people more than others. We all have different types of connections all across this platform, some closer than others. Sometimes people are busy or life is happening or they just can’t engage right then. Sometimes you won’t click with someone. That’s all ok! Reaching out gets easier with practice.

If you do make or share something, tag it! Use fandom tags and broader tumblr tags (e.g., 'podfic') to help people find it.

I love fandom, and I always have, even when I was the lurkiest of lurkers. So I hope this helps. 🧡 My inbox, as I said, is open.

There is nothing more precious to me as a writer than the comments left on AO3. Whenever I get that email notification, I wonder what kind of comment was left. To have a little fun, I'm going to sort the typical comments into a few different categories and share my reactions to them as a writer.

If you feel I missed a comment type, please let me know. I'm curious to learn what other classifications you think exist (positive comment types only please - let's not make this negative). Also, if you wanted to tag yourself, I'd love you know what type of commenter you think you are.

The Polite Conversationalist - Your comment confirms that you read and enjoyed the fic or chapter. You offer praise for the author's efforts and encouragement for them to continue. - If this is you, please know that I'm imagining us holding a book club together. I brought us snacks.

The All Caps Reaction - You left the most unhinged comment. - You were screaming as you read it? I was screaming as I wrote it. Let's be friends.

The How Dare You - The angst is real. And painful. And I'm sorry but the story needed it. - This is a compliment of the highest order and I'm so glad you left it.

The Conspiracy Theorist - You are so invested that you are trying to figure out what comes next. - I'm so excited to read your ideas. They let me know the story tracks for you. And I'm either smiling because you guessed right and I'm excited for you to read what comes next, or I'm grinning because I know the plot twist is going to blow your mind.

The Catch-Up - You haven't commented in a while and are letting me know you are catching up. - I'm so glad you are back! I missed you. I know life gets busy and it means a lot to me that you took the time to read my story.

The Giggle - You laughed at my jokes and let me know. - Did we just become best friends? I'm already making you a bracelet.

The Callout - You found my favorite line in the chapter or fic. - I love you so much. You just made my day, my week, my month. Seriously, all the love for the reader. xoxo

figured out a meme to explain the difference between blocking and muting on AO3

Blocking someone on AO3 means that they can't comment on your works or reply to your comments elsewhere on AO3.

Muting someone on AO3 means that you won't see their works posted in your search or tag results anymore.

Good Omens (possibly) unpopular opinion

Do you know what is a peak irony in this fandom?

When a person vehemently condemns Aziraphale's black-and-white approach to morality and rhapsodizes how sage Crowley is for his nuanced shades-of-grey outlook when the evident reason this person sympathizes with Crowley so much more is because he and his circumstances are more black-and-white and easy to judge while Aziraphale's case is far more complex and challenging to evaluate, with blurred lines everywhere.

This was supposed to be a paragraph in a longer meta but I decided to post it separately anyway.