Amalthia's recs and fan works

The article The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction by by Elizabeth Minkel on fansplaining.com covered one of the topics I plan to moderate at Escapade this year. The lack of reader engagement with the authors. She did a great job expressing my growing disquiet as I see more authors bring this up as an issue. T

I consider reader engagement with the author one of the fundamental differences between "published" for profit fiction and fan fiction. No one expects if they write to Stephen King that they might make a life long friend, but I've made so many friends writing to authors, artists, vidders, and other fellow readers in fandom. Basically, if the author hasn't disabled comments on their Ao3 posted story I assume they want to know if people read and liked their fic, or at least a thank you for sharing what they wrote.

She also brought up other information that I didn't know was happening in a broader fandom sense.

Thoughts about making the Big Bang more accessible

Here's a short passage that spoke to me.

"In the past some fans have volunteered to create PDFs or ePubs but this is not sustainable and some are having to pull back because of time commitments (and also because the difficulty of converting multi-part files into a single ePub/PDF). My thinking is that perhaps the Big Bang maintainers could make an announcement listing the availability of resources that will improve accessibility for fans. Exc: "The A03 is a one stop solution for fans who want to make their fic more accessible in multiple formats with little extra effort. The A03 also allows fans to assign their fic with a Challenge tag for easy sorting/finding." The message could also include a request for volunteers to create PDFs/ePubs for those who are not putting their stories on AO3. And for those fans looking for an alternative archive the mods could point them to other archives. For the Supernatural Big Bang: Sam Dean Slash Archive, Sinful Desire (slash and J2), and Supernaturalville (gen). For the Starsky & Hutch Big Bang -- the Starsky & Hutch Archive.... and so on.....

By simply referencing available resources and not requiring their use as part of the Big Bang we keep it optional and user/volunteer driven. But more importantly by discussing these resources we will help raise awareness of the need for greater accessibility in fandom. I know that some Big Bang community maintainers feel that even mentioning that these resources are available is somehow dictating to authors how and where to offer their fan fiction but I disagree. Raising the issue of disability and accessibility is not inherently an offputting topic. Or rather, it should't be seen that way."

I would love if the SPN community would raise some awareness of accessibility issues that Morgandawn brings up in her post. Since I started making ebooks I've met many fans who have shared similar stories of tendinitis, carpal tunnel, and other disabilities that prevent them from sitting at computers for any stretch of time to read long stories. The invention of e-ink screens was a lifesaver for me and for others who would still like to participate in fandom but are unable to sit at their computers to read any of the longer stories.

The A03 makes ebooks on the fly for readers who do have need of the feature and it would be great if more authors took advantage of what the A03 has to offer, or at least offered a single file version like HTML or RTF/Word.

I'd like to be clear up front, this post is for people who are merging fan fiction into a single file, though it is possible some of the tips may help authors who would prefer their fic to retain as much of the original formatting as possible and not lose whole sections of their stories, or lose section breaks when someone else merges their story.

Common Mistakes

Missing Chapters

My most common mistake when I merge stories hosted on LJ is I sometimes miss chapters. The easiest solution I've found is to first write to the author and ask if they have a single file Word Doc or HTML version of their story. Generally speaking authors don't mess up and forget to add chapters to their own story. Remember to ask politely because they are doing you a favor.

If the author does not have a single file version of their story you'll have to merge the story the old fashioned way, which is to copy and paste into a new empty document. I currently have a program called Office Tab installed on my computer which gives me tabs for every document opened in Microsoft Word. I normally, if there aren't too many parts, open all the parts of the story first in Word. I then go down the row of tabs copying and pasting each part into a new empty word doc file. After I finish pasting the chapter into the new single file document I close the chapter so it's no longer listed on my tabs. I've found that since I started this process I've had fewer missed chapters and parts.

However, one thing to watch out for is that you actually have all parts to the author's story. One of the easiest ways to find out if you've actually gotten all the story is check the author's word count against the new single file version of the story. If they match up you're good to go. If there is a big discrepancy it probably means you missed a part. This can happen when the author does not have a master post for their story or all parts listed. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and check to see if they have a Next link.

For stories listed on a website do not assume because it's on a regular website it's in a single file. Sometimes they are not. Scroll to the bottom and look for more chapter links.

Missing Scene Breaks

Missing section breaks are when the pov switches and you don’t realize it's happened until you're a paragraph or two in and realize this is someone else's pov.

Most authors use **** or ~*~ or something obvious to indicate the scene is changing. However, not all authors use obvious symbols. Many use extra blank paragraphs which on HTML browsers works fine.

This is why this error is harder to catch after the story is converted. Calibre when it converts HTML to Mobipocket or Epub removes all blank paragraphs and indents the paragraphs. Generally speaking this is good except when an author has used blank paragraphs to indicate a scene change.

There are two ways to fix this. One is to add ***** to those extra blank spaces yourself in the single file Word version before you convert to HTML, which is my preferred method. Or after you've converted to HTML add this HTML code

<P>&nbsp;</P>

to create the scene break in the proper locations. The second fix is harder because generally when you convert to Plain HTML those blank paragraph spaces in Word are removed completely so it's harder to find the scene break.

If you try using < br > to create the space it does not work on epub. So you'll be left with no scene breaks.

I tried to think of other areas where mistakes can easily happen but kind of came up blank so if anyone has any recommendations or advice please feel free to share.

I've been thinking of making a series of posts about typography in fan fiction ebooks. This is something I've been giving thought to lately because currently there is no set standard for how people create epubs and mobipocket ebooks of fan fiction.

The big question is should there be a standard?

There is a general standard for how people post fiction to archives, LJ/DW, and in other communities. Authors use a standard template of sorts to share relevant information such as Title, Author, Summary, Rating, Length/Word Count, Warnings, and Author Notes.

However, how an author formats the rest of the story is up to them, such as margins, font type, section breaks, indents or blank space between paragraphs. Through years of online fandom people came to a general consensus as to what looks best on a browser and as to what information is most important. Those that share their fic in purple font on black backgrounds in type 8 Times New Roman fonts are generally ignored by anyone with eyes that can see.

With ebook formats there isn't a fandom approved set standard.

I have a standard I've come up with after three years of trial and error. Reading on my device was the best teacher as to what works and what does not.

I've found that for myself I prefer to get as much out of my battery as possible and as a result I've chosen to go with indenting paragraphs instead of paragraph spaces. On smaller screens the indents make the most use of the limited screen space. What works on a 15-22 inch computer monitor does not work as well on 3-6 inch screens.

I've also stuck with Times New Roman because for me it's easier to read at a smaller font size. I find that I love when Chapters start on a brand new page with a certain amount of space between the header and the beginning chapter.

I've also found that I like obvious section breaks such as ***** or +++++ or some other unique keyboard characters. This has more to do with actual converting html to epub/mobipocket. Section breaks that rely on blank spaces do not translate well and disappear. That one took me awhile to figure out what was going on. I had originally thought that the author's did not have a section break when they switched pov or scenes. It made for some very confusing reading until I figured out what was going on. Further investigation showed that the authors relied on blank paragraphs to create their section breaks. Earlier versions Calibre had stripped the blank lines in order to remove spaces between paragraphs and create indents. (this discovery falls into "wish I knew then what I know now") Now I know to watch out for extra blank paragraphs indicating a section break and manually add **** to indicate a section break. So when the file is converted the section break is not lost.

I also love having a Table of Contents. Not all stories formatted in epub or mobipocket have one. For shorter stories this is not much of an issue but for anything over 100k words it's nice to have.

I like the artwork in the story I'm reading to be centered.

These are just some general standards I have come up with over the years.

Ebook devices are growing in popularity in fandom but there is no real dialogue amongst those creating ebooks for portable devices. I'm not sure who all is even creating them. I've met a few authors who've done remarkable things when they created an epub version of their fan fiction stories. They did things I sadly do not have time to do like dropcaps, stylized chapter headings, and etc.

I'm not sure it's really possible to create a standard because most of us have our own preferences and I'm not sure if it's actually necessary. The only standard I can think of that is a necessity is the Author and Title not being left off the actual story.

My friend pointed out that it took years of fighting and wank before we have the general posting standards we have now for stories posted online in web browsers. And there is no real consensus for warnings.

Currently I don't know any two people who even merge stories the same way. I'm not sure we'll ever get to the stage of two people converting stories the same way. Though if the major archives make it possible to export into mobipocket or epub that'll maybe take the ebook fans a step closer to some sort of standard.

Not sure when or why I'm so interested in typography and standards but I've been noticing that many people who create ebooks off fan fiction treat the file as if it's going to be read on in a browser on a computer monitor that has a lot more space. I'm not sure if it's a style choice to keep the blank space between paragraphs or if it's something they would like to remove but don't know how?

But as to my original question as to whether there should be a standard.

I myself do not know.

I think on one hand if authors knew exactly how the epub/mobipocket story would turn out maybe they would be more receptive to sharing their works in multiple formats?

However, on the other hand what if everyone likes eating up their screen real estate with empty paragraph spaces? And would it kill ebook design creativity? I have some lovely epubs on my device that don't fit my current conversion style. I'd hate to never see anyone go full out on their own fic because they are trying to stick to a "standard."

I think I've narrowed down what is most important to me as a reader of ebooks on portable devices. That's a Table of Contents, clear title and author name, summary, indented paragraphs, clear section breaks (like *****), centered images, and chapters starting on a new page. I think if ebooks hit these bench marks then margins, font type, and font size aren't nearly as important.

I think tomorrow or later this week I'll cover why I don't think PDF is a good ebook format for portable devices.

First, I love artwork in stories cover images are awesome and I love it when people use images to show section breaks and I’m all for artwork in stories.

However, there are some things to keep in mind if you plan on incorporating images into your story.

First, if the image contains a crucial plot point, please do not rely solely on the image alone. Especially if the image is hosted on livejournal, photobucket, flicker, and other websites that host images. A lot of work places do ban these sites and if someone is reading at work and they get to the scene where your picture with the letter/note/crucial plot point is located and they can’t see the image that’s kind of a problem.

There are ways around this. One is to write out the letter like the image isn’t there and make it part of the story. Another way is to host the image somewhere that's generally not blocked by filters at most workplaces.

One thing to keep in mind too is that you may want to use the < img scr=”image name.jpg” alt=”type your message given on the picture/graphic here” > this code will help vision impaired users to listen to your story and know what type of image you’re using.

I discovered this reading an RTF story on my ebook reader. I got to the section where the image had information that I needed to understand what was going on but because Sony never fixed the RTF display problems…I can only guess what was said on the picture that changed the character’s mind. That's just one example of what can go wrong if you depend on your image to impart crucial information. But I've had this happen before in the past when reading a fic on DW, my workplace has blocked every single photo sharing site I know of and so while I could read the fic I could not see any of the images hosted off DW.

One more reason I love DW. When you're reading your reading page if you want to un-subscribe to a feed or subscribe all you have to do is mouse over their icon figure and a popup box will open and give you options! It makes things so much easier, especially when reading discussions I can easily add someone to my reading list without having to leave the discussion or open yet another tab.

Um...since I'm saying something positive about DW I figured I better offer some invites to anyone that is interested. I have 3 invite codes to the first three people that comment here and request one. You may have to email me at amalthia at gmail.com and let me know which email to send the invite to.

In other news, I ran across this today. The Death of Copyright I completely disagree with everything this writer had to say but that's not the interesting part of the post. It's how the writer reacts to those that disagree. It's a classic example of how not to respond...Basically if this was fandom I'd have submitted this link to fandom wank. I read the discussion and so far I think everyone has been polite, civil, and clear in their viewpoints even those that disagree with the author's statement about what would happen if there was no copyright. I personally think the author is grossly exaggerating. I also happen to think copyright as we know it nowadays is deeply flawed and can use some adjustment. I don't believe corporations should own copyrights on art, stories, or music for life + 70 years... I do believe authors deserve to be paid for their efforts but really the +70 is I think benefiting mostly corporations at this point. I could understand life + 20 because that would give the author's heirs a chance to maybe do something with their parent's work before it passes to public domain.

I'm thinking of all the novels that are currently in public domain that many movies and books are made based off them. Lost in Austen probably would not have happened if Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was still in copyright (which if the corporations have their way) no work written today will be out of copyright for the next 200 years. I keep thinking of all these out of print books that are still in copyright and being held hostage by the publishing houses so no one can read them, or try re-printing the work themselves, or do anything with it. People far more articulate than I have discussed this topic at some length in various blogs, forums, and communities.

I just hate when people post articles pretty much saying everyone would steal and nothing creative and good would ever get produced again if money wasn't involved. Yes, I know many authors make a living off their writing, but just as many don't and they still write and share. Though, truly if I were a billionaire I can already list off the top of my head 20 fan fic authors I'd totally pay for them to stay home and write all day. (preferably really hot slash porn but I'm not too picky) :) I think if copyright truly did not exist I would not be the only one that would throw money at my favorite authors to help them out so they could keep writing. Or some other model would come out to support artists. As is we have a system that pretty much locks all creative works away from the public for so long I'll be dead and turned to dust before anyone is allowed to write spin offs, make movies, tv shows for His Majesty's Dragon. That actually makes me a bit sad. Because back to the BBC mini-series Lost in Austen...I'm reminded at how much creativity is out there and I'll never see something like that for my favorite novels written now.

At the moment people are kind of stuck using books written 200 years ago for shows. (not that that is bad but really there are only so many public domain novels people can use for movies, tv mini-series, and books) Which is probably why we have so many remakes for Pride and Prejudice.

About six months or a year ago I ran across a journal article (think it was a journal article) that talks about Sam and Dean and incest and it factored in all the reasons why incest is a high probability for Sam and Dean. I think the person used percentages in the article. I was looking for it and I was hoping maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about and still has the site linked or bookmarked?