Fic authors deserve more credit.

nyxwolph:

spooky-scary-virgil:
corancoranthemagicalman:
iffeelscouldkill:
princesweetpea:
a-shakespearean-in-paris:
galadrieljones:
uncle-knobheads:
Fic authors deserve more credit.
Story time: I started a book about 23 hours ago and just finished it. Also in that time I slept for 10 hours, spent time with family, was at work, etc. Anyway, I enjoyed the book (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda). But it felt like it flew by, so after I finished I looked up the word count because what are pages? Pages are meaningless. I only function in word counts anymore.
The estimate I found was 58,580. My immediate reaction was “oh, that’s why. That’s nothing!” But what a shitty response. Because no. That’s not nothing. That’s a whole. Damn. Book. An entire novel! And Fic authors regularly bust out 30k, 50k, 100k, 150k words. AND THEY DO IT FOR FREE. WHILE WORKING AND LIVING THEIR LIVES.
So anyway, thank your favorite fic author today because they deserve it. Because they’re amazing. They’re the MVPs.
Some rough word count equivalencies for you, via famous novels, just to give you an idea of what OP is saying:
30k fic = Animal Farm by George Orwell
50k fic = The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
75k fic = Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
100k fic = To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
150k fic = The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien
200k fic = Moby Dick by Herman Melville
250k fic = Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
300k fic = A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin
350k fic = Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
400k fic = Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I WROTE SOMETHING AS LONG AS MOBY DICK AND I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW
I can’t believe I’ve surpassed Animal Farm.
Holy shit.
This is awesome. With that said, huge appreciation also to fic writers who write shorter fics - 10k, 5k, 1k, 500 words. Because yeah, huge long fics get a lot of love, and a lot of labour goes into them, but the same is true for tiny fics as well. Not everyone is banging out huge great novels, but little ficlets are fantastic and still bring readers a ton of joy.
So if you’re feeling a bit downcast because you can’t write that 50 chapter epic or your latest WIP is “only” 2k and it still took you ages - that’s amazing. Seriously. Not everyone is naturally wordy or prolific. And you can say a ton with just a few hundred or thousand words.
Props to short fic creators - you guys are awesome.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe = 38k fic
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory = 30k fic
Of Mice and Men = 30k fic
Breakfast At Tiffany’s = 24k fic
For those writers who discredit themselves because they feel they aren’t writing the novels that others might, you’re still writing a novella, my dears. You’re still putting time, effort, and passion into something. Well done.
(honestly shout out to all fuckin fic writers. You didn’t have to give us shit and still y'all out here living ya best life and doin something you love. Bravo.)
in conclusion: all you fic writers are amazing and deserve more love
Quality > Quantity anyday but having both is good too. Dont waste time comparing yourself to others (especially more successful writers) because you’re not even telling the same story as them, why should you care if yours isn’t as long?