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month_of_meta:
Ten things that I've observed while being a member of small fandom and watching members of larger fandoms at work and play.
Disclaimer: This is not a guide for making your small fandom live, and it's definitely not a universal experience. All attempts to generalize have been made by a desk-chair anthropologist, and while it's true to my perspective, I certainly don't mean to imply that anyone else's view is invalid.
1. Yuletide is not "small-fandom"
On one hand, I feel this is obvious and should go without saying. On the other hand, saying it feels vitally important. And I think I just figured out why. Ultimately the difference between a small-fandom space and a large-fandom space doesn't come from the canons but from the fans, and Yuletide is sort of proof of that, that the social connections of big fandoms and the cultural norms are things that can survive—for a short time, at least—away from the canons themselves.
And perhaps more personally observed, that even in such a space, there will be canons that are more or less popular. But it's not because of the canons, so much as it's for the social structures of fandom that Yuletide builds itself on.
2. Small fandoms will never be large fandoms.
Don't get me wrong, a small group of dedicated fans can carve out a living fandom for an unlikely canon, but large fandoms definitely require a different structure that most small fandoms don't have—namely wide, easy availability, generous hype, and enough similarities to other well-known fandoms that people can easily transition between one and another.
3. Fandom spaces are redefined.
A large fandom will almost splinter itself naturally into smaller parts, just to make interacting with people about that fandom plausible. So just because someone's experience with their canon's fandom is "primarily older female fans of m/m who are mainly active on lj or dw" doesn't mean that there isn't a group of teenage female fans for their canons who prefer m/f and who are most active of fanfiction.net or even primarily male fans of debating who could beat up who on message boards who are also in fandom. Just…those fandoms aren't as likely to overlap. Whereas, all those groups will tend to either come together in small fandoms or the fandom itself dissolves into non-existence.
(…really it was weird going on a discussion board for Liar Game and having people puzzled that anyone would write fanfic because coming up with something like canon would be difficult to do. Cool story sis.)
4. Fandom activity is more sporadic.
All fandoms tend to take a downswing during periods of canon inactivity. The thing that's new and active commands attention, and things on hiatus get put on the back burner. The difference between large and small fandoms is that there's enough momentum in large fandoms that even when there's no new canon in sight, it will still take a while for a large fandom to grind to a halt, while small fandoms tend to be forgotten.
5. There is no such thing as fannish osmosis.
If you listen enough to the talk in large fandoms, it is very possible to pick up on a lot of canon, even if you've never seen a single episode or read a single book. Accuracy will vary, but most people who hang around large fandoms expect that you'll know something about it (not even just that it exists), based only on the fact that you're talking about journal-based/fanwork-making fandom. The reverse is definitely not true. And, in my experience, usually there's no expectation that anything you extrapolate in your own fandoms is going to be considered relevant to their experiences, even if you're talking about the same topic. If they read your journal they might know, but that's a very vague might there. Mostly if you want people to know your fandom, you have to sell your fandom.
6. Fandom friends usually aren't fandom-specific friends.
There are some people I talk to about my fandoms, but most of the people I interact with are people who are into meta, or people who are into anime, or who shared a fandom with me at one point and still stayed on my radar even after we've moved on to new and shinier main fandoms.
7. There is no collective fanon.
People don't talk to each other a lot over fandom, and there's no single BNF or major defining fanfic that creates a collective fanon. So there's a lot more freedom over all to explore possibilities from your own head without worrying that it will throw people too far out of the stories. There's no pressure to conform to headcanons that are not your own.
8. There is lots of stagnation.
I think this is the other side of the coin from the last point. There's not a lot of discussion, so there's not a lot of collective fanon. But there's also not a lot of new ideas being created. And there's not enough quantity of fic out there , that people need to branch off and explore new characters, new ships and new ideas to stand out. Standing out is just a matter of writing. And, from the perspective of getting the most readers, it makes the most sense to stick to the OTPs and canon-universe fic.
9. "Prolific" gets redefined.
There are two bits to this, first even a relatively prolific author in a large fandom will still only be contributing a small proportion of fic to the overall whole. The same amount of fic in a small fandom could easily be the majority of works in the fandom. Second, your fanfic never really fades away. It turns up on google searches for "[canon name] fanfiction", doesn't get buried on ff.net or Ao3. The bad thing is that everything you write seems more conspicuous. The good thing is that…
10. Reviews mean more.
Probably one of the best things. Even if you only get one or two or three comments on a fic, the people who have found the stories and commented on it have probably searched out your fic. There's definitely a much greater sense that because your fic exists, it has made someone else's day better simply by existing.
month_of_meta: Ten things that I've observed while being a member of small fandom and watching members of larger fandoms at work and play.
Disclaimer: This is not a guide for making your small fandom live, and it's definitely not a universal experience. All attempts to generalize have been made by a desk-chair anthropologist, and while it's true to my perspective, I certainly don't mean to imply that anyone else's view is invalid.
1. Yuletide is not "small-fandom"
On one hand, I feel this is obvious and should go without saying. On the other hand, saying it feels vitally important. And I think I just figured out why. Ultimately the difference between a small-fandom space and a large-fandom space doesn't come from the canons but from the fans, and Yuletide is sort of proof of that, that the social connections of big fandoms and the cultural norms are things that can survive—for a short time, at least—away from the canons themselves.
And perhaps more personally observed, that even in such a space, there will be canons that are more or less popular. But it's not because of the canons, so much as it's for the social structures of fandom that Yuletide builds itself on.
2. Small fandoms will never be large fandoms.
Don't get me wrong, a small group of dedicated fans can carve out a living fandom for an unlikely canon, but large fandoms definitely require a different structure that most small fandoms don't have—namely wide, easy availability, generous hype, and enough similarities to other well-known fandoms that people can easily transition between one and another.
3. Fandom spaces are redefined.
A large fandom will almost splinter itself naturally into smaller parts, just to make interacting with people about that fandom plausible. So just because someone's experience with their canon's fandom is "primarily older female fans of m/m who are mainly active on lj or dw" doesn't mean that there isn't a group of teenage female fans for their canons who prefer m/f and who are most active of fanfiction.net or even primarily male fans of debating who could beat up who on message boards who are also in fandom. Just…those fandoms aren't as likely to overlap. Whereas, all those groups will tend to either come together in small fandoms or the fandom itself dissolves into non-existence.
(…really it was weird going on a discussion board for Liar Game and having people puzzled that anyone would write fanfic because coming up with something like canon would be difficult to do. Cool story sis.)
4. Fandom activity is more sporadic.
All fandoms tend to take a downswing during periods of canon inactivity. The thing that's new and active commands attention, and things on hiatus get put on the back burner. The difference between large and small fandoms is that there's enough momentum in large fandoms that even when there's no new canon in sight, it will still take a while for a large fandom to grind to a halt, while small fandoms tend to be forgotten.
5. There is no such thing as fannish osmosis.
If you listen enough to the talk in large fandoms, it is very possible to pick up on a lot of canon, even if you've never seen a single episode or read a single book. Accuracy will vary, but most people who hang around large fandoms expect that you'll know something about it (not even just that it exists), based only on the fact that you're talking about journal-based/fanwork-making fandom. The reverse is definitely not true. And, in my experience, usually there's no expectation that anything you extrapolate in your own fandoms is going to be considered relevant to their experiences, even if you're talking about the same topic. If they read your journal they might know, but that's a very vague might there. Mostly if you want people to know your fandom, you have to sell your fandom.
6. Fandom friends usually aren't fandom-specific friends.
There are some people I talk to about my fandoms, but most of the people I interact with are people who are into meta, or people who are into anime, or who shared a fandom with me at one point and still stayed on my radar even after we've moved on to new and shinier main fandoms.
7. There is no collective fanon.
People don't talk to each other a lot over fandom, and there's no single BNF or major defining fanfic that creates a collective fanon. So there's a lot more freedom over all to explore possibilities from your own head without worrying that it will throw people too far out of the stories. There's no pressure to conform to headcanons that are not your own.
8. There is lots of stagnation.
I think this is the other side of the coin from the last point. There's not a lot of discussion, so there's not a lot of collective fanon. But there's also not a lot of new ideas being created. And there's not enough quantity of fic out there , that people need to branch off and explore new characters, new ships and new ideas to stand out. Standing out is just a matter of writing. And, from the perspective of getting the most readers, it makes the most sense to stick to the OTPs and canon-universe fic.
9. "Prolific" gets redefined.
There are two bits to this, first even a relatively prolific author in a large fandom will still only be contributing a small proportion of fic to the overall whole. The same amount of fic in a small fandom could easily be the majority of works in the fandom. Second, your fanfic never really fades away. It turns up on google searches for "[canon name] fanfiction", doesn't get buried on ff.net or Ao3. The bad thing is that everything you write seems more conspicuous. The good thing is that…
10. Reviews mean more.
Probably one of the best things. Even if you only get one or two or three comments on a fic, the people who have found the stories and commented on it have probably searched out your fic. There's definitely a much greater sense that because your fic exists, it has made someone else's day better simply by existing.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-13 09:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-14 12:31 am (UTC)