(Almost) Shameless Brag Post

[oloriel]

It's too hot to be sensible. (For tomorrow, we're being threatened with temperatures of 40°C. Urgh.)
It's too hot to get anything done. (And as always, there's a lot that should be done.)
And then, Dawn published the SWG birthday celebrations post. (The SWG is turning 10. In online fandom, that's an eternity! So go and celebrate, ye Silmarillion fans all!)
So I might as well... use the occasion to brag a bit.

Now, I've been thinking about the subject line of this post, and such exceedingly funny lines as "From Mordor with Love"* came to mind. Or "In Soviet Russia, vanity publishes you."² But that would look political. Also, it would've been seriously ungrateful to my Russian fans. Because it seems I - no seriously, I, yours truly, moi, я - appear to have a small but reliable Russian fanbase for - wait for it - my Silmarillion fanfic. (That's how all this ties up with the SWG 10th birthday.) And one of my - it still feels really weird to say that! - Russian fans translated my opus magnum into Russian. She kindly translated a lot of the Russian feedback into English for me, too. (It was all positive feedback, so she probably filtered out the less friendly reviews. That's why I'm enjoying the illusion of having only fans, no enemies, in Russia.) Anyway, then another Russian fan felt the urge to illustrate that story. Oh, and print it on paper. As a real book, like. Just a couple of copies, mind you, but, book.

- - -

As you might be aware, I'm a huge fan of fanfic. I'm also a huge fan of fanart. I consume it and I create it, or at least I did before I had two kids that mysteriously swallow up all free time I might otherwise have. So I don't create fanworks anymore. But I still love it.

So when I got an e-mail from my Russian translator (being able to say that really is the most awesome thing in the world!) that this fellow Russian fan had asked whether she might illustrate and publish my story for other fans, it was like Christmas, Easter and Middle-earth Festival in one day. SOMEBODY WANTS TO ILLUSTRATE MY WORDS. SOMEBODY WANTS TO PUBLISH ME. HOLD ME, GRAVITY.

When I was done soaring around, serious issues raised their head. So I replied something along the lines of "Hell yes to the illustrations, go wild, but about the publication, uh, the Tolkien Estate is gonna chew me alive, so no. But I'm ever so flattered."

My translator explained that she didn't have the impression we'd be touching these issues, and whether it was OK to give my e-mail address to the other fan. Sure, go ahead. So I got an e-mail from the illustrator/publisher-in-spe. ("You've got mail from Mairon Gorthaur!") She explained that she really just meant to ask a couple of fellow fans whether they wanted a copy to spread the expenses of printing, then printing (and binding etc.) exactly as many copies as there were contributors, and that was it. Not, as I'd sort of expected from what I'd seen in Japanese fandom, creating like 200 copies and then selling them for the price of printing. No profit made, etc, aside from the joy of having the book.
So that was settled.

I was hardly back from Britanny (oh wait, I never mentioned that either. Never mind.) when I got my copy. I don't read a word of Russian (although I discovered that I can decipher "Maitimo" or "Findekáno" or what-have-you in Kyrillic script just fine!), but I was vain enough to ask for a copy anyway. I mean, it might be the only book I ever get printed, right?

And holy moly, it turned out gorgeous. The cover is gorgeous. (The cover and the chapter titles are in English. Possibly just for me? Aww!) The backcover is gorgeous. The illustrations are gorgeous. (That's my only teeny tiny qualm about fanart: But what if I don't like it, I mean, somebody went to all this effort and then I might not like it? I'll have to lie! But in this case, there's nothing to worry about, I adore it.) The layout is gorgeous. The paper is nice and firm. Did I mention that it's a hardcover book? So far, every self-published book I've seen was softcover, rather poorly printed, and on rather bad paper. And this one of all self-published books, that I didn't even publish myself, is everything I'd ever want from a book. Well, aside from being in a language I can't read. Never mind. I've got the English text on my computer.

It's not quite like holding your newborn baby ("Beides versucht - gar kein Vergleich"³), but it's a pretty damn awesome feeling. Really awesome. But being a sensible grown-up woman, I suppressed the urge of running around and pushing the book into everybody's faces. LOOK! BOOK. WHICH I WROTE THE WORDS FOR. MY BOOK. IN RUSSIAN! After all, it's only fanfic, etc. etc., and anyway, life goes on and is busy and it really doesn't matter.

But, as I said, today it's too hot to be sensible. And it's the SWG's birthday month. And as it happened, that book OMG MY BOOK SOMEBODY PUBLISHED MY BOOK WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S ONLY VANITY PUBLISHING IT'S STILL A BOOK THAT I DIDN'T PRINT MYSELF! was first published - in the sense of publically shared - on the SWG archive. So when I join the SWG's birthday celebrations, I can't help also celebrating myself a little.

Because, let's be brutally honest for a second, one of my childhood ambitions was to be a published author. And for my childhood self, it really doesn't matter whether it's "only fanfic" and whether I can't make any money with the book. The SWG has given me a platform on which I can publish the stories I actually write (as opposed to the ones that might help me make money, but that I just don't get written), on which I can find readers, and even found a translator. And, good heavens, fans. I mean, people who like my fanworks so much that it makes them create their own fanworks. That counts as fans, no? I have fans, ahahahah.

Anyway, to stop this post being all about ME ME ME, this is all thanks to the SWG. So thank you, Dawn & Company, for that - and many happy returns!

And that ends Lyra's irresponsible bragging post. I'll return to my usual bad housewifing now. Or maybe to melting. Probably that. It's too hot for anything else.

- - -
*For the youngsters among you, there was once a James Bond flick titled From Moscow with Love. That's pretty much the entire joke.

²For the youngsters among you, a coupla years ago that was a bit of a joke on the intarwebs. "In Soviet Russia, the music plays you." "In Soviet Russia, Pikachu chooses you." There's almost certainly a serious and unfunny issue behind it, but I only know the online jokes.

³Line from a silly old German med student joke. "In the dormitory of the medical faculty, there's a big note: 'It is absolutely forbidden to receive lady visitors or dissect corpses in your rooms!' A scribbled note next to it declares: 'Tried both - no comparison!'" That's what our grandparents laughed about, people.

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

That is awesome! :D And you should totally talk about it. (I actually love when I see fandomfolk--especially female fandomfolk--announce their accomplishments because we don't do this enough and so tend to get overshouted by those who do, who are usually pretty mediocre [and also usually male] but just lack that filter that has been socialized into most of us that says "Stop! You shouldn't brag about yourself!!" No, you totally should; your writing is excellent and deserves the recognition it has received! /feminist rant ;) Anyway, in my days as an editor, the worst writers to work with were those who had no doubt that They Were Awesome. I think their writing stagnated at the same time that this attitude came upon them because they were entirely resistant to criticism, even when that criticism came in the form of consensus from a six-person editorial team. [All six of us "clearly didn't get" what said writer was trying to do. Not that the responsibility for this fell on the writer or anything ...] Whereas the best writers were usually overcome with doubt about their abilities or the deservedness of the recognition they received and tended to be shy about the latter as a result.)

I would love to mention this in the newsletter (which I should be working on now >.>) but of course will only do so if you're okay with it.

It has been extremely gratifying to see SWG members recognized in recent months outside of our usual communities. It feels like a corner turned: fanfic not only recognized as something more than teenage wish-fulfillment and PWP--not that there is anything wrong with either of those, just that we are so much more than that!--but also recognized as quality work in its own right. It sounds pessimistic to say I never thought I'd see the day, but I truly didn't. And I'm glad that I did; it is so deserved. :)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

To be fair, it isn't actually success outside of our usual communities: The Russian translation is published on Ficbook, which is more or less like a better organised, Russian version of FFN, and the books were printed by a Russian Tolkien fan artist and cosplayer and bought by other Russian Tolkien fans. So the scenario is sort of as if I'd asked you to translate, say, Another Man's Cage into German, published it on Fanfiction.de, and then somebody who'd read it there wanted to illustrate it and print it for a couple of fellow German Tolkien fans. So it's still very much "our" circles -- just in a different language (and probably somewhat different fandom culture)! Alas! I have not yet made the "50 Shades" leap! (And it doesn't feel at all braggy to say that TTS is a lot better, both plot-wise and style-wise! But it's hard to file the serial numbers off Thangorodrim, I suppose.)

It actually wasn't female modesty this time! Even I, my most severe critic, am beginning to consider The Tempered Steel a pretty fine piece of writing: for all its obvious flaws, I have now re-read it a couple of times and enjoyed it each time! So while I'm ashamed to say it, I'm compelled to believe that I actually wrote something good! Rather, it's the idea that it's "only fanfic" a.k.a. it's not making me any money, so what's the point, and besides, am I allowed to be delighted and exhilarated about a mere hobby when my grandma just died? So the issue at hand is about fannish recognition (and the value thereof) rather than feminism, I think - although the two are surprisingly often linked...

I'm not sure it's Newsletter material, to be honest. If it were still possible to order copies, or if the artwork had been published on the web (it hasn't, except for front (http://alef-art.tumblr.com/post/111711087748/cover-pt-1-for-my-future-book-the-tempered-steel) and back cover (http://alef-art.tumblr.com/post/111710969578/cover-pt-2-for-my-future-book-the-tempered-steel)), I'd see the point, but as it is, it really just looks a bit... braggy. I mean, many of my fannish friends have had part of their work translated into French, Russian, Chinese or what-have-you. (I'm privileged to know so many talented writers, I often forget that being able to write good stories isn't "natural"!)
Anyway -- if you think that this piece of news serves some sort of purpose in the Newsletter, you're very welcome to put it in. But you don't have to put it in just to flatter me. I'm quite flattered enough as it is! ;)

[dawn_felagund]

Well, yes, I have also had fanfic translated into other languages; I've even had short stories translated and published in zines in Polish and Croatian! That was pretty awesome. But I continue to think that it is more awesome still to have a long work not only translated (itself a herculean task) but loved enough to be printed in a book and illustrated. I know several other authors who have had their work translated; I know no one who has all *that.*

So I won't push the newsletter issue because I do understand your perspective there but I will say that someone (or several someones?) put a lot of love and attention into making your story available to new readers, and that is really, really special.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Oh, that Fingon pic is to die for also! Now I am officially jealous--I was only feeling really happy for you before! Wow! I think you've earned some hard-core bragging rights.

[fallingtowers.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, that cover looks amazing indeed!

[elfscribe5.livejournal.com]

Wow! What a compliment! No wonder you're over the moon. The cover is gorgeous! I've only had a couple of people sent me fanart but it's so wonderful to see it happen. I've had people contact me to translate work into Chinese, German, and Japanese and Russian. The Japanese translator and I had a nice correspondence for a while and she even translated a couple of responses. That was years ago. I had one Russian who translated Oromedon's Lessons on his website. It is really thrilling to think that someone would want to spend the time and effort to translate one's work, but to put it into a gorgeous illustrated book like that . . . well fabulous. Kudos!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yes, it's such an amazing thought.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Woohoo, yay, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! So very awesome, your first BOOK! *does the Elven Dance of Joy*

So, um, any chance they might do an English edition...?????

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I doubt it, to be honest. It must have been an insane amount of work, and for an English edition, all of it (except for creating the artwork) would have to be done again. Perhaps they'll reprint a few Russian copies if enough people get together to warrant the cost of printing, binding and shipping.

I suppose one could ask her whether she'd allow the use of her artwork, layout and so on for someone else to prepare an English edition.

[hhimring]

Oh, wow, awesome! Congratulations! But TTS deserves all the praise!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm blushing like Caranthir!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

That's wonderful and it looks gorgeous. An excellent story is an excellent story and not "Only fanfic"!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Preaching to the choir here! But I still felt that I should apologise for feeling so very excited about it. So it's gratifying to see that other people think it warrants getting excited after all. :)

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

OMG! OMG! OMG! That cover is beautiful. I'd paid for one of those myself, poor as I am! And I can't read Russian either! But I know I could puzzle out people and place names!

But, seriously, the price for me would probably be less than the shipping costs, or I really would inquire about trying to get a copy. I am so excited for you. I'd die for something like that for one of my stories that I care about. But, hey, yours truly is a wonderful story. I can easily see how someone would want to do it. It is well deserved. I can't chat about anything else. I am so excited for you.

Just one thing (yes, I lied):

'It is absolutely forbidden to receive lady visitors or dissect corpses in your rooms!' A scribbled note next to it declares: 'Tried both - no comparison!'" That's what our grandparents laughed about, people.

I really like that. Not surprising since I am old enough to be a lot of people's grandparent.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I don't know what it's like in the States, but in Europe, most countries have a reduced postal fare for "printed matter". So the book should still be more expensive than shipping, unless you want it to travel insured.

I'm insanely excited too - and trying to be all grown-up and sensible and not get excited! So it's extremely gratifying that others are almost as excited as I am. Makes me feel a lot better about having had the nerve to post this!

I enjoy the joke, too (and tend to quote that final line a lot). But then, my sense of humour seems to be older than I am! ;)

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

It's been ages since I ordered a book from across the pond. Maybe it is not that expensive to ship books.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

If you have to ship anything, books are the least expensive thing! Doesn't necessarily mean it isn't expensive, though. It's just cheaper than shipping clothing, tools or *gasp* food. >_>

[sermanya.livejournal.com]

Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!

After all, it's only fanfic, etc. etc., and anyway, life goes on and is busy and it really doesn't matter.

No, no, no! It does matter. Those are the moments, life is made of. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

[independence1776]

Yay! I've said it before, but I'll say it again: That is awesome and wonderful and definitely something to be proud of and to brag about!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

As you can see, I finally listened to you :)

Thank you again!