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Apr 2018

Yeah, the problem with copyright aside, you couldn't even allowed to open the ads revenue and the probability of tapas making it premium is unlikely, I think (not because your story is bad, but it's because of the copyright).

If you refer to the TOS, what you can publish, you'll find fan fiction is not permitted but unless your story is reported or Tapas become aware, it may not be pulled.
You're not allowed to profit from Fan Fiction as @silverraven0 pointed out above, so if you do apply for the tipping program you may be declined.
Not sure how that works with comics as I've read plenty of fan based comics from artist who takes tips.

Hello,there.
Just wandering. Is there already a set date for the next Writer's Camp? I have a novel I'd love to share but, well, due to my imminent graduation, it would't be feasible for me to join at this time.

Lookin' forward to hearing from you! :slight_smile:

We don't have a specific date set, but at the moment we're planning on doing another Writers Camp before the end of this summer!

Before the end of summer? Damn, that's quick. I admire this newfound drive to draw more novels to the site :smiley:.

It's really hard to do that after 30+ years of hard work, when all the sites I've posted stuff on only seem to care about LGBTQ love stories or gaming culture jokes; or otherwise have toxic communities that abuse and steal at their leisure. I joined this event, as I'm sure a lot of other comparatively "niche" authors have, in the hope that I might get a little more exposure despite writing something a little different. When I came here from Smackjeeves there were a lot of action comics on the front page, so it felt like the right place for Daddy's Girl; within a year the BL reader base from Smackjeeves seemed to migrate here, and now I feel like the odd man out again. I can't write what I don't care about, but lately I've found it's really difficult to write at all. So I guess I have to hope that they care just a little bit about an army gal stopping a lunatic from experimenting on homosexual males like Dr. Mengele, 'cos I think that's the closest I've got to what the internet wants.

Maybe when you start making the event genre-centric you can limit it to genres that are being neglected, forbid romance altogether, and encourage people to populate the site with a broader range of content, if only to give authors outside the usual tropes a chance to be recognized a little. Assuming that idea isn't marketing poison that would drive your main audience away, now that I think about it.

Or maybe I'm way off and that's just how everything feels for me at the moment, which is that writing a good story can't beat out writing a popular genre.

In any case, I'm hoping the contest changes all this for the better.

Maybe when you start making the event genre-centric you can limit it to genres that are being neglected, forbid romance altogether [...]

I understand what you mean, it'd give a wider selection of great stories much needed attention, but we need to keep in mind that Tapas is a publishing company and it might not make business sense to abandon popular genres. The supply and demand must meet somewhere to make it succesful.
But I agree, it'd be great if the next contest would be genre-specific. Or maybe do a spotlight every month on different genres? E.g. May is for fantasy, June is for sci-fi, July is for Romance, etc. Like with the collections they already do on the main site.

That's exactly what I was thinking as well but I was scared to voice out my thoughts! People need to understand that Tapas is a business and they need to pay their employees and make money. Also genre specific contests are a great way for exposure. And it'll bring people with the same interests together.

But I just wanted to point out to a lot of people that there ARE premium novels that aren't romance/bl. It's just that they aren't popular among the crowd so they are farther down the popularity list. I can list at LEAST twenty premium books right now that don't fall under the typical genre.

I think if people want to make a change and expose a larger genre to the audience then they need to support these artists and up the demand.

It's just a thought because I wonder how much of the people actually support the writers in the premium section that aren't romance :confused:

In a way, I understand how you feel. After being on so many different writing websites, I've found that most of them are the same, especially ones run by companies. In many ways, Tapas and Wattpad are like the same website to me aside from a few differences. Then again, like others have said, businesses will cater to their moneymakers (readers), so they will promote the content they feel will bring in the funds.

After a while, you just come to expect it. And honestly, I believe romance stories are the most popular ones online (I believe, but I may be wrong). Wattpad, Radish, Amazon, and Fictionpress have a huge romance readership, so it doesn't surprise me that Tapas is the same.

I do agree there should be more genre-centric contests, and maybe one day, the staff here will do that. Until then, all we can do is write our stories and find the readers who will enjoy our work.

I generally avoid writing contests that feel like a popularity contest, so I'm interested to see who the Tapas staff pick as the winners of this contest.

I must say, spotlighting different genres interests me too. I'm not sure what the best interval would be for Tapas to do that, business-wise, but it probably couldn't hurt to try it at least once or twice and see how well it does.

I love this idea. Each month a different genre that links to all the story listed under that genre.

January - Romance
February - Fantasy
March - Mystery
April - Action
May - Slice of Life
June - Non Fiction
July - Drama
August - Comedy
September - Sci-Fi
October - Horror
November - LGBTQI
December - Christmas / Holiday

First, I understand that marketability always comes first, but that doesn't give unpopular genre writers much hope to continue what they do, especially if every outlet just wants the same thing. That's exactly what's so frustrating about it. The platforms we have to use are money-driven, not content-driven. If BL is what the user base wants, cater to that or die in obscurity. I see it with artists as well: they can make some of the best original content you've ever seen, but nobody cares about that -- they pay for the fan art. Never met an artist who was content to make things he didn't care about just to pay his bills and get noticed. I'm happy as hell that I'm having a local doll maker produce a custom Mego doll of my protagonist, because she loves making custom Megos; what her clients actually WANT is custom Monster High dolls, which drives her nuts, but she has to do it cos she has bills to pay.

Second, I can only hope that genre specific contests will actually give outsiders exposure, because I have a feeling most of the userbase will ignore the stuff that doesn't cater to their usual interests. I'm not into fantasy, so I'm more likely to ignore the entries in a fantasy contest. Apply that to the usual site visitors who come looking for the popular genres we've been talking about. Sci-fi contest? Are the entries sci-fi flavored romances? No? Feh. Would be nice if it does indeed inspire tapas readers to broaden their interests and get into new things.

I realize I come off as a downer here, but it's clear that I'm not the only one who's frustrated with how things are, and maybe somebody should speak up about it once in a while.

Yeah, I totally get your point. In fact, when I submitted my novel to become premium content, I was actually rejected because my novel wasn't fantasy and romance (they told me that in the email). So I get that your frustrated since I've actually experienced it first hand by tapas.

But overall, I also get it from Tapas's point of view as well. We're not the ones spending money and investing in the novels right? It's ultimately their money, and people are going to invest in what they believe will be the most beneficial to them.

So that way, I just think that instead of just talking about it. We should also support the premium novels that AREN'T under the basic genre of fantasy and romance to up the demand. So that Tapas can actually see that those genres are good for investment. Voicing our thoughts is great and it is a first step. But I also think that actions are very important.

They really said you got rejected because your story wasn't fantasy romance?

Yup, they basically said that the audience seems most interested in fantasy romance and that other stories would struggle, so they'll pass on my story. I could post the email, but would that breach privacy?

Thanks for responding to me, and you don't have to post the email. Hmm, it's interesting they feel that way and yet, they still promote stories to New & Noteworthy that aren't fantasy romance.

Food for thought...

If I can chime in -- I gotta agree with @x4ever.

Like, let's face the facts -- companies have to often stick with what can make them money (and even that can involve changing their format). They have to stick to what a lot of people have grown to enjoy and are willing to buy. They can definitely still promote other genres and encourage people to take on those other genres. But again, at the end of the day, people have to be paid.

I doubt they feel that way on a personal level, but on a "business level". And I doubt everyone in the company prefer romance and fantasy over everything else. It's business; no other way to put around it.

So what does that spell for a lot of us?

Well, as a creator, I have to first acknowledge this. Second, we're not just creators -- we're also consumers. I know there are a lot of us here who read a lot of stories as well as create. And I know that a lot of us here read stories that are not getting that promotion but are amazing.

I have to be an active member in trying to promote those other genres and stories. Which means, if I like horror or sports or comedy, I am gonna go out of my way to promote other people along with myself. As it was said:

So yeah -- there's two sides to this. We should definitely insist for more action from Tapas, as Tapas isn't just catering to romance and fantasy readers and creators. They're catering to all of us, and should do so. But again, they've only been able to do that because of the success they've had with those said genres. They've mostly gotten people who want to read more of those, so it makes sense (in a business sense) for them to A) promote those more and B) reject some stories that might not make that much profit.

Meaning we have to also show them that there amazing stories and profit in other genres if we want to see them out there. We as consumers have to increase that demand if we as creators want to also thrive. I like thrillers -- so I'm going to actively promote thriller comics/novels. Even in the promotion threads, I've promoted other people instead of myself. In order to get to the top, we gotta help each other.