[ SECRET POST #2546 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2546 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 054 secrets from Secret Submission Post #363.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

10. http://i.imgur.com/C59TlWW.png

[(Anonymous)]

I can understand that. I don't really understand why there's such a large wait for reveals, is there a legit reason for doing things that way?

[(Anonymous)]

I assume so that stories have time to gain an audience that has nothing to do with how popular you are.

[(Anonymous)]

Is that really it? I thought it would have to do something with the organizers. I guess it makes sense, my brain was just making it more complicated I suppose.

[(Anonymous)]

But that doesn't really work because if an author is so ~famous~ in their fandom corner that people will priotize their work over all the other writers', chances are their writing style, their characterization, their favorite tropes etc. will be noticeable enough that people will know which fic is the BNF's anyway.

[(Anonymous)]

Yah, most of my readers recognise my style and post something like "I think I know who wrote this" which is half-gratifying, half- "oh dear, I'm predictable".

[(Anonymous)]

This really isn't true though.

We do guessing polls and it is very rare that anyone knows who anyone is. There are two writers I can recognise (and everyone does) because they are so different. But even BNF are guessed as some of us new writers.

[ningloreth]

I run a fic exchange with strictly 20 participants who are paired up -- A writes for B and B for A.

Every year I get two or three stories submitted by the due date.

But...

At least one participant will disappear without contacting me or replying to my emails. Another may pull out before the due date, but usually two or three will soldier on and then pull out/disappear after asking for an extension. (There is always an absolutely cast-iron reason for this: illness, a car crash, a death in the family, a hurricane and no power...).

Every year I need four or five pinch-hitters (one or two of whom will be me!) and we need time to write.

So that's what the wait is for.

But I know how frustrating it is for writers, so I really try to keep them in the loop -- I read every story the moment I receive it, and usually reply to the writer with comments, and if her reveal is held up because I'm waiting for her gift, I apologise & try to let her know when her story's likely to be posted, because I'm a high maintenance fic-writing machine myself, and I just assume that everybody else is as well.

ETA: In this particular exchange, the stories aren't posted anonymously.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for the explanation! I had assumed it might have something to do with people pulling out and needing pinch-hitters, but it's nice to get an answer from someone who actually organizes these things. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I run an exchange, too, and I have the same problem with people dropping out - but I just don't post all the fics at the same time. I start posting fics a day after the due date, one or two a day depending on the number of participants, so that still gives pinch-hitters time to write. So while some authors have to wait for a while, at least not everybody has to sit around for two weeks waiting for their fic to get posted.

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, if you understand why they work that way, can you explain it to me? Because I have no idea why they do that. :( I don't even like anonymous posting, but fine, if they do anonymous posting, at least the author reveal should be a few days later. Not over a week later (like with Yuletide, what the fuck). What's the point? Other than stifling interaction between authors and commenters and keeping authors from reposting their fics on other sites?

[(Anonymous)]

It is to give everyone time to read all the stories. Who has time to read 20 stories in three days? You as a participant should be reading everyone else's story as well. But not everyone has time to read the stories as they post, so they give everyone an extra week to get through them.

[(Anonymous)]

I've never read every single fic posted in an exchange. Usually only 10% or so of the posted fics are even about characters or pairings I like. So it's just incredibly douchey to make authors wait for two weeks for the author reveal for the three people who want to read every single story anonymously and who need an extra week to do that.

Validation is nice.

[(Anonymous)]

And there's nothing wrong with wanting it as long as you're not demanding or obnoxious about it (which, judging by this secret, you aren't).

Maybe try fic exchanges with shorter reveal periods. Or try suggesting slightly different rules (only anonymous until all the stories are in and then they get posted all at once, with author names).

Secret 10 - Fanfiction gift exchanges

[transcriptanon]

[Picture is someone pumping gasoline into their car.]

Fic exchanges with reveal periods well after the authors' due dates drive me right up a wall. I get why they need to work that way, but I am apparently a high-maintenance fic-writing machine that runs on validation.

[arrow pointing at previous text] This was my best guess at a legible font color.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't understand how the wait cancels out any validation. People can still see your stories, and presumably they're still reading them and liking them and leaving praise, they're just not specifically using your name for a while.

[(Anonymous)]

My thoughts exactly.

OP here

[(Anonymous)]

To clarify, I meant story reveals, not author reveals. Waiting for pinch-hits, staggered posting, etc.

Re: OP here

[(Anonymous)]

Then you just get delayed validation? Seriously not understanding the problem, OP.

Re: OP here

[pocky_slash]

If you mean story reveals, then yeah, it's probably waiting for pinch-hits. My exchange is small enough that I have a week between the author deadline and the stories being posted, but I need every hour of that week in order to make sure I have my pinch-hits all in before the stories are posted. This year I had twelve and the last one was finished and posted about half an hour before the stories were set to reveal.

But yeah, I totally understand that it sucks to wait, but I think if a miracle occurred and all the stories were in by the deadline, most exchange mods would be thrilled and eager to reveal the stories immediately XD

Re: OP here

[(Anonymous)]

I've run an exchange before, and the reason why there's sometimes a wait is because people don't turn in their fics on time, or people drop out without notice. If I post all the available fics right away and there's a long deadspace on the comm before the next fic, people get bored (or they think the exchange is finished) and they drift away. The later fics don't get as much attention or as many comments and it kills the momentum dead.

I can understand being impatient to get your sweet, sweet validation, but that's not really a very big problem compared to the job of the moderator, who is almost certainly pulling their hair out in frustration because of all the last minute problems. I hope you have some sympathy for exchange mods and that you give them a HUGE sincere thank you for their hard work.

Re: OP here

[dazzledfirestar]

As someone who just (as of today) finished running a fic exchange, we had a week between the due date and the reveals and let me tell you, that was not enough time. I'm STILL sorting things that have been posted today (we've been revealing for two days) to the collection. Fic does not magically appear from nowhere and the people who are doing pitch hits for those that can't complete their assignment need some time to work too. the organizers need time to sort out what gets posted when. There's a lot more going into this than most people seem to think. Because there are always people that can't meet the deadline or just vanish. Always.

Basically, if it takes a little extra time to make sure that everyone HAS something for them after all is said and done, and nobody gets left out because there wasn't time to make sure every fill got finished... well, I think that's more important than getting comments and kudos RIGHT NOW.

[(Anonymous)]

White text with a black outline and/or drop-shadow is readable on pretty much any background.

[(Anonymous)]

I make secrets in Paint; outline and drop-shadow isn't really a thing.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, make them in Picasa instead. It's a free program from Google.