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Fandom, High School, and Mozart
This is expanded from something I posted on Glass Onion today. The context is a discussion about "SV is mean and cliquey" but since I'm not a part of SV fandom, I can't speak to that.
But I've been thinking a lot lately about fandom in general and recognition. I may sound very cynical, but you'll have to take my word that I'm not bitter. In fact, I'm quite happy. :)
I've concluded that in fandom, like real life, who you know matters a lot. And so does what you do. Writing ability is definitely a big part of having your fic noticed. But it's not the only part.
If I have time to read 3 stories and 6 have just dropped on the [insert fandom here] list, of course I'm more likely to go with people I already know to be good writers. And if I have to choose between a good writer who's my friend and one who's not, I'll choose my friend. Of course the reputation of your peers and mentors affects your own reputation. In fandom, in life.
About a month ago, this essay about high school popularity was making the rounds. If you didn't read it then, you should read it now.
One of the main points of the article is that in order to be popular in high school, there are a lot of things you have to do. And some people just make the decision -- maybe unconsciously -- that they don't want to spend their time on that. And they don't. Or they don't figure out that there are things they have to do.
Fandom isn't high school, but it's close enough for government work. If you want to be popular in fandom, there are things you'll have to do. I don't mean this in a negative way -- this is just how groups work.
If you're looking to have your fic noticed and it's not, first get yourself an honest beta and find out if it's any good. Then, if it is, make yourself a marketing plan. If you're looking to be personally popular, make yourself a plan for that. If you think that quality will win no matter what, remember VHS and Beta.
When I set out in fall of 97 to write some X-Files slash, I had a plan to gain recognition.
- I chose my pseudonym. I wanted something that had a sci-fi flavour but was not fandom-specific. And I wanted something that stood out. So, I picked "Halrloprillalar", from Larry Niven's Ringworld. In retrospect, I would advise you to pick a name that's easier to spell, though.
- I found a beta reader. Someone posted to the list I was on about needing a beta so I responded and we did some for each other.
- I posted discussion to the list. I didn't post all the time, but I tried to make topical, interesting posts so people would begin to recognise my name. I don't think there was a FAQ, but I was always cautious about overstepping my bounds.
- I sent feedback to other authors. Of course, you're supposed to do that anyway, but I figured that they'd be more likely to read and feed me if I did the same for them.
- And then I posted my first story. It seemed to work pretty well.
Volume of work also affects people's perception of your skill. (Well, if you suck, of course posting a lot won't work for you.) I recently read The Borderlands of Science by Michael Shermer. (And would recommend it.) One of the chapters was on "the myth of the miracle of genius".
He quotes from Dean Keith Simonton's Origins of Genius:
In fact, empirical studies have repeatedly shown that the single most powerful predictor of eminence within any creative domain is the sheer number of influential products an individual has given the world.
...
Mozart is considered a greater musical genius than Tartini in part because the former accounts for 30 times as much music in the classical repertoire as does the latter.
So, write early, write often. *g*
Also illuminating to this topic is Clay Shirky's essay on Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality.
Prior to recent theoretical work on social networks, the usual explanations invoked individual behaviors: some members of the community had sold out, the spirit of the early days was being diluted by the newcomers, et cetera. We now know that these explanations are wrong, or at least beside the point. What matters is this: Diversity plus freedom of choice creates inequality, and the greater the diversity, the more extreme the inequality.
Of course this relates a lot to LJ, but also, I think, to fandom in general -- the whole web of journals, mailing lists, rec sites, and word of mouth. The larger the community, the more people filter what and who they read. And how I choose to filter affects how other people choose to filter and vice versa.
Inequality is always going to exist. But there are things you can do about it, if you want to make the effort.
no subject
That's interesting to me. I've never really tracked feedback on that basis, but since I always have more time to read on the weekends, it didn't really occur to me that most people didn't.
As for SV, of which I am on the fringes, it's like any other fandom. I just think the sheer number of well-known writers from other fandoms, colliding with the sheer number of first-time media fans, makes for an uneasy coexistence, probably not helped all that much by the LJ phenomenon, where people can be whiny crybabies in public and find sympathy, instead of sucking up whatever slights (real or imagined) come their way and bitching privately, the way we did in the old days.
Yeah, you're probably right. I've been thinking lately about how blogs and journals have contributed to putting a lot of the social minutiae from RL onto the net. Previously, I felt like I was more directly connected to people's brains online. Now, there's a lot of the same info that you'd chat with your co-workers about: the weather, your lunch, your sprained ankle.
And it's not like there's anything wrong with that, but it's getting harder to separate signal and noise, at least for me.
no subject
I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me lots of time to roam the net, so for me, it's easier to read during the week; the weekends are busier and spent away from the computer mostly.
However, I'm also talking about what I've seen on lists and ngs and now LJ - posting goes down on the weekends, whether from malaise from the work week, excitement about the weekend, limited access for some people...
Then again, I'm sure other people have exactly the opposite experience. *g*
Now, there's a lot of the same info that you'd chat with your co-workers about: the weather, your lunch, your sprained ankle.
And it's not like there's anything wrong with that, but it's getting harder to separate signal and noise, at least for me.
Hmmm... I find that the venue has changed, but that I'm probably doing as much skimming as I did prior to LJ. I deleted a lot of chatter from mailing lists and killfiled a lot of annoying and pointless posters on newsgroups. Now I set my LJ friends filter and avoid the cat stories and the politica/war talk, and I find I'm not as resentful of it, because it's not coming into my inbox, exciting me with that "12 new messages" and then only 1 turns out to be fic or interesting discussion.
Does that make sense?
no subject
That's interesting. I agree, there is/was a lot of noise-like chatter on mailing lists as well. But I think not quite to the same degree as LJ. But you make a good point about the expectation you get from messages in your in-box as opposed to posts in LJ. It *is* easier to ignore.
The two mediums are different in fundamental ways I'm just beginning to figure out.