Entry tags:

ao3, author entitlement, bitter so bitter, deep fanfic thoughts, dogpile, everyone entitlement, fandom: the avengers, fanfic, far too complicated, kudos, misplaced anger, reader entitlement

Writing fanfic is totally like running a restaurant.
Taken from a kind anon, with some small changes made.

Ice, an author of some regard in the Avengers fandom, is no stranger to wank. A few months ago, she attached a long author's note to one of her fics that, simplified, requested readers not leave kudos (still needs caps):

"You know what? I am currently in too much fucking pain and under too much fucking stress to give a flying fuck about social conduct.

I had one simple wish — no kudos.

I keep on asking that on every fic and every fucking time on every fucking one of them, there's a person who just... what? Can’t help themselves? Well done. Thanks for reminding me, over and over again, that I must, indeed, not post my stuff and hope for a simple fucking courtesy to respect my fucking wishes."

Fail_Fandomanon and Tumblr got ahold of the story and promptly spammed it with kudos.
Since then, her fics have continued to be subject of kudosing and - in her mind- low comment counts when compared to the rest of the fandom. Thus, she decides to leave the ficdoms in a blaze of glory.

By writing a longform analogy comparing writing fanfic to running a restaurant. (Original link BALEETED, caps HERE.)

This immediately lands on Avengersanon, Fail_Fandomanon and Tumblr, and subsequently her comment pages fill up with snark. (All deleted: page 1, page 2, page 3, and page 4, with bonus fic.). There's even podfic! After trying to orphan the piece (since deleted), Ice deleted all of her Avengers fanfic, leaving her table AO3 account empty of Avengers content.

For a bonus treat, be sure to read this gem from the wank report, in which a disgruntled ex-ficwriting mousie pops up to sympathize with Ice and humblebrag about her important profic writing career, eventually declaiming all feedback-denying fanfic readers and non-pro fanfic authors as a "whiny ass bunch of freeloaders" and "doormats," respectively, who may or may not be in an abusive relationship.

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badger
2013-02-28 07:29 am UTC (link)

Well, now I'm just full-blown gonzo confused. I post on A3, and read a fair amount there as well, and I was not aware that giving a story kudos was damaging to the writer's self-esteem. I generally only comment if the story's really really good, moves me in some way, or is written by someone I know personally. I don't leave comments on some stories because, while I like them, sometimes I can't think of anything to say that someone else hasn't already said.

And for me, kudos are just as good as comments. At least it means people are reading my stories and like them enough to give me some form of feedback. It's probably just as well she quit the site. I'm amazed such a delicate snowflake managed to last as long as she did in such a stifling atmosphere.

Also, the restaurant comparison is total fail. I've worked in restaurants, and I have yet to see one where one person did all the work. You've got your owner, you've got your manager, you've got your waitresses and waiters, you've got your cooks. The closest you can get to one person running a restaurant is your mom making your breakfast. And that's assuming she pours the milk on your cereal for you.

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