Scribes & Archers

When I asked a friend of mine what I should write about on my blog, she suggested talking about what my response would be to a big fandom. This isn’t something I’m super interested in having, just a few dedicated fans would be fine, but it’s fun to think about and I think it’ll be fun to write about, too, so here goes. :)

The biggest thing that comes to mind with a big fandom, to me, is fanart. I love fanart. I love seeing it on Pinterest and stuff. And for that fanart to be focused on my books and characters, bringing to life visually things that I can’t because I don’t draw well? That would just be fabulous. I would love that. It would make me grin so wide… The only problem would be if they got the characters all wrong, like giving a black-haired character red hair. *cough cough* Eragon *cough cough* That would irk me, but other than that… *huge grin*

The next thing that comes to mind is fanfiction. This is one I’m more hesitant to see, mostly because of the bad stuff that tend to come with fanfictions. Gay pairings that were never a thing, adult romance, etc. *gag* I don’t think I’d mind the altered storylines (dude, I’ve written AUs for my own stories. I love messing with timelines. But only when I know they can be repaired. *cough cough* Barry Allen *cough cough*) or even the ones where the main character is basically the author getting to fall in love with one of the characters in my story. If I’ve created characters likeable enough to warrant fanfics like that then I’ll be happy (as long as the romance stays appropriate.) In short, I would welcome good fanfiction, but bad fanfiction would almost make me mad.

If you have a fandom, you’ll probably get letters, emails, messages, etc. from fans. If you have a big fandom, you’ll probably get… more letters, emails, messages, etc. And then there are probably those really dedicated fans who send numerous messages and you either get really annoyed with or become friends with through the correspondence. (Not that I should know, since I have a fandom consisting of about fifty people, all of whom I know fairly well. I’m going from imagination here. Hey, what did you expect? I’m a writer. It’s what I do.) I think fanmail would be cool because it shows that people are enjoying what I’ve written, which makes me very, very happy. The only problem would be if there was too much fanmail and it was hard to respond to it all. That would disappoint me only because I would want to respond to all of it and I couldn’t. And it would be cool to make friends with those two or three or ten who write regularly. :)

If I inspired people to write with my books my life would be made, okay? That would just be spectacular. If someone wrote me asking for writing advice I would have to think about it for a while before getting back to them, but I would be more than willing to help out. Writers are awesome. I’d love to be able to encourage someone to finish their book and publish it for people to enjoy. *cough cough* My dad *cough cough* So bring on the requests for writing tips. I will do my very best to answer well.

Book signings. I have zero experience with these whatsoever. I’ve never been to one (though believe me, I would love to get a book signed by Wayne Thomas Batson. Or maybe seven books, you know…), so all of this is imagination and a few pictures of famous authors signing books at bookstores. Is it weird that I have actually practiced writing my pen name like a signature? Because I have. I am prepared. Other than signing books I don’t know how book signings work. Do readers ask questions? Do readers and the author chat? (Honestly, that would be cool. I’d love to hear specific things they liked about the book. Favorite characters, favorite scenes, etc. I love hearing what people enjoyed or didn’t in my books. ^-^) Anyway, since I have limited experience (as in, none) I can’t really make much of a commentary on this one, but whatever.

In general, I think it would be cool to have a fandom, but not necessarily one like J.K. Rowling’s or George R.R. Martin’s or Rick Riordan’s. I’m happy with just a couple hundred fans, I don’t need a couple thousand.

How would you respond to a big fandom? Let me know in the comments. :)