(no subject)

Fan fiction has won me away from published fiction to some large extent. At least as far as 'relationship' fiction goes. I don't know how many times I've picked up a romance novel in the last year or so, especially of the paranormal variety, and thought: I can get better crafted fiction than this for free on the internet. Quite often the cover art is no great improvement either.

I think the fanfiction aspect of it takes the place of the marketing campaign in getting people to give it a try, or rather it piggybacks the marketing efforts already invested.

This makes me wonder what sort of resources there are for people who offer their original fiction for free on the internet to connect with readers who might like their work. Are there moderated archive sort of set-ups where people can go and expect to find half-way decent fiction of a particular type or genre? If I ever get tired of vampire porn, I may have to go find out.

(no subject)

I have a confession to make.  I rewrote someone's fic once.  Took the dirtybad offspring of their imagination and did all sorts of precious things to it.  I was rather pleased with the result, and sorry I could never share it with anyone.

Technically, there's no reason why I shouldn't so long as I credited the original author.  Isn't it just fan fiction of fan fiction?  But with great availability comes great responsibility I guess.  Online fan fiction is not just a relationship between a reader and an inert chunk of cellulose; it is a community.  Asking first would only be polite.  I wonder how many fan fiction writers would say 'yes' to such a request the way Joss did?