Here is to all small creators seeking validation/boost/inspiration

[domisotto]

I was thinking about this quote during the discussions of the past few days (particulary the one about free content hurting the market, but also the critics sm directed towards people seeking subs and reads), and I’ve finally found it! It always warms my heart on the worst days. I admire its message

---

James Scott Bell, author of the book How To Write Pulp Fiction, had once said:

Back in the days of the ten-cent pulp fiction magazines, many big-name authors REFUSED to submit stories to these magazines because of their own pride. They thought people should be paying more than a dime to read their "masterpieces."

Almost 100 years later, we are seeing history repeat itself with the Internet. Many of the big-name writers are stuck in the mindset that they deserve a big fat paycheck for their work while many new writers just want ONE PERSON to read their material and they don't care if they are putting it out there for free as long as someone is reading it.

They don't want to be famous. They just want to be read. They've got a story stuck inside their head. They need to get it out or else they will explode.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Almost 100 years later, we are seeing history repeat itself with the Internet. Many of the big-name writers are stuck in the mindset that they deserve a big fat paycheck for their work while many new writers just want ONE PERSON to read their material and they don't care if they are putting it out there for free as long as someone is reading it.

I'm sorry, but what's the point of ^this part, exactly...?

From the phrase 'stuck in the mindset' I assume it's a judgement of some sorts, but a judgement of what? Are the big-names wrong in thinking they deserve a big fat paycheck...? Is it that they fail to take full advantage of their talents by limiting themselves to certain audiences and not others...?? I'm not sure what it's trying to say...

I don't know if I'm playing devil's advocate or what, but I...kinda think an author has that right? If they decide they don't want to give away/undersell their work, or if there are certain spaces where they would rather not be published, I really think that's their business, and it's not fair to imply that they're being snobs or something just because you don't agree.

And if the authors in question are already big-name...what exactly are they missing out on? ^^; They've made their money and established themselves; they don't need to struggle so hard to find readers to share their stories with anymore. That's a good thing.

Honestly, it's better that they leave the spaces populated by newer, lesser-known authors, so that the rest of us can get a fair shake without them stealing our spotlight. By this logic, we would encourage popular manga/comic artists and famous authors to come over and make things on Tapas every once in a while...how do you think that would affect our experience on the platform??

[HGohwell]

Honestly, it's better that they leave the spaces populated by newer, lesser-known authors, so that the rest of us can get a fair shake without them stealing our spotlight. By this logic, we would encourage popular manga/comic artists and famous authors to come over and make things on Tapas every once in a while...how do you think that would affect our experience on the platform??

This!

Didn't Webtoons do this, actually? I'm sure I year or so back they started inviting established comic/manga artists in and they both weren't suited to the format but wouldn't change because they're too big and took attention from the Webtoons originals ect. I'm sure I remember something like that.

Also, kinda implies that "big name creators" didn't start out as a small authors who sold their work for a dime or put it out there free or got rejected a million times. They're not really "stuck in the mindst" they've clawed their way up and earned it. I'm all for lifting up small creators, but can we not do it by dragging down creators who've built their way up and probably started just as small? We don't want to get back to the way we have been where we act like creators who ask for money are doing something wrong.

Also I laugh at the idea of any writer getting a "big fat paycheck". Do they not know how much author's actually get paid? Do they think every author is paid thousands as an advance and sells millions to make an amount to live off without a main job? That's just not realistic at all. Wasn't then, isn't now.

[domisotto]

To me the message is 'don't look down on the sharing sites, the way you used to look down on the pulp fiction magazines' or, even simpler. "Live and let live".

[malwdark]

But the text doesn't say big authors boycotted the magazine/websites, just refused to put their work on there.

[kmlangleyauthor]

They don't want to be famous. They just want to be read. They've got a story stuck inside their head. They need to get it out or else they will explode.

This. So much this.

[Arieso_Here]

"They don't want to be famous. They just want to be read. They've got a story stuck inside their head. They need to get it out or else they will explode."
You have read my heart ...

[lilithfairenwrites]

Yep, here's to all the writers who just want that little bit of "what you do is meaningful in some way".

If only they were smart enough to write power-fantasy isekai or edgy grimdark.

[domisotto]

Heh, in my experience edgy grimdark poor fantasy izekai doesn’t work. Iirc, your story did far, far better than my edge-lord who got transported to the fin de Siècle fantasy world from Lead and Steel on Royal Road, and the RR is the ultimate place for edgy. (Sigh) walk a mile in someone’s shoes...

[cherrystark]

Back in the days of the ten-cent pulp fiction magazines, many big-name authors REFUSED to submit stories to these magazines because of their own pride. They thought people should be paying more than a dime to read their "masterpieces."

Almost 100 years later, we are seeing history repeat itself with the Internet. Many of the big-name writers are stuck in the mindset that they deserve a big fat paycheck for their work while many new writers just want ONE PERSON to read their material and they don't care if they are putting it out there for free as long as someone is reading it.

They don't want to be famous. They just want to be read. They've got a story stuck inside their head. They need to get it out or else they will explode.

I appreciate this. I believe that we all want to create something that'll last through time. I think it's also important to remember that some of the authors of the last centuries that we still read their work and the characters we still love were born from "serialized" stories and not "serious" literary masterpieces.

Arthur Conan Doyle did not write Sherlock Holmes in thick, heavy mystery novels. His stories were serialized in the Strand magazine. Edgar Allan Poe struggled to publish his work and his work was often serialized in newspapers. Ellery Queen, Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children, The Hardy Boys were all characters created by multiple authors and have hundreds of stories and adaptations.

[laxahon305]

If only they were smart enough to write power-fantasy isekai or edgy grimdark.

Alternatively: Romance / BL. xD

[aqua03]

Or better yet, all three at once.

[laxahon305]

Or better yet, all three at once.

Get rich quick, but it's real.

[aqua03]

Yes.