#free to rb unless this starts becoming popular | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

apollogivesmevisions · 4 months

Text

theres this game i played recently -- didnt finish it yet -- called 'Umurangi Generation'. Not to spoil anything but it had a very strong message for me, simply put. amongst other things, it had this weird feeling that I couldn't quite name when I first played it. Recently though, with... many things happening in the world and a few in my personal life as well, I think I got ahold of it a bit better

It feels like there's no real reason to keep going. Why study, or grow, or work for a better life, if I'll end up under tyrannical capitalism, in a corrupt world that's slowly drowning, with death threats for me specifically, as a {insert minority}?

Umurangi Generation isn't depressive, and it has its own message and things to say, so I won't talk in its place because I probably wouldn't be able to put it into words without misunderstanding it. If you have a few hours of free time though, it's free on itch.io i think. It's maori too, and is just. beautiful. you can take pictures of your friends in it

For a while I was in that weird, drowning like feeling, where you feel the air leaving your body, but feel so alien to yourself that there's no more drive to even struggle in the waters. metaphorically

last week though, a friend that I rarely talk to invited me to this music hall thing--never had seen one before, had no idea what to expect. what i discovered was an incredibly powerful, funny, and full of life group of queer artists. i felt a bit ashamed to have even been so depressive, and even worse, pessimistic about myself and the world

there was this actor, who did a monologue. He had a shirt with "PD" written on it (that means something like faggot, in french). he said it was the first time he was turning 31. well, he thought at least. because surely, he must've been 31 before, and even more, but there had been so much people to erase anything that would've kept track of how old he was, it felt like he only started all over again. and he said yeah, it was normal there was more of him, of us, now, because we kept living, and we were going to keep living.

(to be clear--thats a queer metaphor for the numerous times in history where we've been killed, erased, etc)

it kind of stuck with me. my friend told me i was crying when he said those things. i don't remember doing so

Recently it's felt like I can't even sleep enough to rest my eyes and cry

But his words stuck with me, because, yeah. I'm still here, and we're still here, and there's so much that's been lost, but we know what we saved. It's all been burned before and we're still here.

And I don't know. i don't know where I'll be in five years or more, i know I'll still have suicidal thoughts, at least for a while, and I don't know what'll happen with the world, the people that are drowning and those that are being murdered, and the rest of the world that seems so uncaring.

But like, I know there's still people now. There's still people to tell the stories of so many that are dead, and there's still openly queer folk dancing and giving joy to other people in music halls, and there's still things to fight for, and be proud of. because it's not done, it's not finished, and there's still so much to fight for

I don't know

There was also this artist (named THÉA on music platforms, she's great) who sang some stuff which really moved me. one of her songs is named "Ennui" (Boredom) and it says "We don't have any goal, or real place, no big war, or great depression. Our big war is spiritual. Our great depression, it's our lives."

(im pretty sure thats a quote from somewhere else. unsure though)

And yeah, it feels like there's nothing more to believe in. And THÉA isn't a depressive artist to listen to, listen to the lyrics in "Juste Amis" (Just friends)

But there's this weird dread i see in people, i guess born after 2000, and in myself, that engulfs you whole and yet feels so alien. Umurangi Generation talked about it. in its end game credits is written "Dedicated to Umurangi Generation. The last generation that has to see the world die."

Often now, it feels like that. Born too late, in a dying world that can't stop nervously convulsing like a dead fish.

I don't know. If there was nothing else, I wouldn't be here. I know there's still love in this world, and it'll still keep going when I'm gone, and the clouds can make me cry because of how the sun bounces off of them, and I have friends that are lovely, and there's passionate and powerful people who are alive, now, and are doing something, and i collect poetry about lesbians and about the beauty of gendered languages and about queer people in my phone

and yet, I can't finish this on a happy or hopeful note. I don't know how to. I wish I could, but when I try to summon my passion, it's full of rage rather than love. But I want to love this world. I want to believe I can have a life in it. I want to believe I can make a change and help people

i don't know

#suicide mention #suicide tw #slur #uhhhh a lot of stuff #death mention #depression tw #rant #personal rant #veesprophecies #something like poetry?#could name this uhhh... 'how to grief a world that isn't dead yet'#re: that post about making stable communities to fight an increasing loneliness in an uncaring world as a form of rebellion by the youth #free to rb unless this starts becoming popular

0 notes

likegemstone · 1 year

Text

writing-sharing sites and my research on them

A few months ago I started looking into all of the potential sites I could use to share Her Broken Magic, to make sure the ones I chose properly fit the story's needs. I'll add everything I found here, and if anyone has more info, more sites, or corrections (I am far from a professional researcher) please add them to this post!

So, I started by making a list of what was important to me when sharing my story. For example, I do NOT want to put HBM behind a paywall, but I would also like to add ways to monetize the story otherwise, through donations, ads, paid subscriptions for exclusive or early released content, etc.

This is the full list I came up with:

Once I had that, I then converted that into a kind of fill-out form/checklist that I could hold up to each site and see how they met my needs.

Then, I made a list of all sites and ways I could think of to share my story. I have since heard of more sites, but I don't currently have research on them bc by the time I'd heard of them I had already chosen 3 sites I wanted to post to. But again, if anyone has suggestions/additions, please rb with them!

The sites:

I think tumblr is going to freak out if I try to post the research I did on each site as an image, so I'm going to start just copy/pasting instead.

Patreon

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Yes

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Decent comment system, moderated by the creator (afaik), but no space for fans/patrons to create and share their own work.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Yes!

Accepts mature content: According to Community Guidelines Yes, according to some anecdotal evidence they are not consistent or transparent with what is or isn’t allowed, nor clear when something will be taken down/banned.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, but it does require an account.

Built-in traffic or advertising: No. There’s like no discoverability from the site itself.

Decent customer support: No

The Vibe: probably best used supplementally for paid content/early releases, not as the main sharing platform.

webnovel

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: No

Requires contract: No, but popular stories may get offered contracts.

Requires exclusivity: No, unless signing a certain contract.

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Love that they allow comments on each paragraph plus longer reviews for the overall work. Seems largely self-moderated, so it will be on the author to get rid of spam or harmful comments. There does seem to be a very active forum to provide some community aspect.

Allows visual art alongside written content: No

Accepts mature content: Apparently stuff that’s too mature for wattpad gets posted here, so yes.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, no account required

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes

Decent customer support: No, but there is the active forum for troubleshooting, advice, etc.

The Vibe: the company/site seems to be negligent at best and predatory at worst, but gd I love the commenting, readability, and shareability of the writing. There are some great features. Would never sign a contract with them tho.

we all know it, we all fear it: WattPad

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: No, but popular stories have the chance to become monetized/subscription-based

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No (not sure if this extends to the Paid Stories)

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes, there are ads for free version, but non-intrusive (so far)

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Also allow comments on paragraphs as well as longer reviews, seems to be mostly self-moderated, community events but no forum (it got yoinked bc it was too toxic lmao)

Allows visual art alongside written content: I’ve seen gifs at the end of chapters so maybe?

Accepts mature content: Yes (to a degree)

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, no account required on browser, but I think it might be required on the app

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes, but the site is so bloated it’s difficult to stand out

Decent customer support: Not really

The Vibe: wattpad is so heavily geared toward teens and fanfic that I don’t think it’s right for my story, plus I’ve heard the community there can be pretty toxic. However, seems like it could be good when just starting out.

Tapas Novels

Allows free base content: Yes, though most are not free

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Yes, for early release

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): They don’t do paragraph comments, but do have chapter comments and their moderation system seems decent. Also, there is an official forum where readers and creators can interact, and actually I see a lot of WEBTOON users going to the Tapas forums to get their questions about WT answered lmao.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Yes, I think so!

Accepts mature content: Guideline quote on sexual content: “Any novel’s intended purpose should not be to solely provide erotic satisfaction (i.e. porn without plot).” On violence, it says the “glorification or promotion of self-harm” is restricted.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, and reading/sharing does not require an account

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes

Decent customer support: Not really, from what I can tell, though there is an active forum which can help with troubleshooting.

The Vibe: I’m very impressed with this one so far. Seems well-maintained, professional, legit, and accessible.

Updated note on Tapas: Apparently there is a 15k character limit on Tapas chapters, which according to a friend I know who uses it, that usually equals around 2.5k words, so keep that in mind.

Royal Road

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: No, BUT they have a donation link on stories that connects directly to the author’s Patreon or PayPal, and they don’t take a cut.

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Decent

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: They have the bane of my existence on mobile, which is those ads that change size so they make the screen jump randomly. However, they do have a Premium version where you can remove ads.

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Yes. I have heard a ton of very positive experiences with the community here, and there is an active forum.

Allows visual art alongside written content: I don’t think so, but you can share any visual art on the forums Someone corrected me on twitter and apparently it does!

Accepts mature content: Yes if tagged appropriately, but check the guidelines for specifics, and no sexual artwork is allowed at all and will result in an immediate ban.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Decent (must share the link), doesn’t require an account

Built-in traffic or advertising: Some

Decent customer support: Yes

The Vibe: seems like a really great community, a bit smaller but therefore more dedicated, maybe a little stricter with the rules when it comes to story content.

Update: this is anecdotal evidence, but I have heard from a friend who uses RR that there can be a little non-welcoming if your story has LGBTQ+ elements to it. Again, I want to reiterate that this is anecdotal, but still wanted to mention it.

Personal Blog

All of the answers to the checklist items depend on you, how you format your blog, how much effort/time you want to put in, etc.

The Vibe: god this seems like so much work, but the complete and total freedom is appealing.

Kindle Direct Publishing

Not made for serialized fiction. That’s what Kindle Vella is for apparently. Or Kindle Vella is just a branch of KDP? Not sure.

Kindle Vella

Allows free base content: No, only the first 3 episodes are free. Also, all of the reviews on stories I’ve seen so far have been very positive for the story but said they hate Vella and it’s too expensive lmao

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: No

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No, as long as it is not shared for free elsewhere.

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: I can’t find a way to change size/font/etc but that may be because I am not smart enough to do so

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): No, only reader interaction available (that I see) is reviews on the story. Oh, except episodes do have polls for the readers, which is kind of cool.

Allows visual art alongside written content: I don’t think so

Accepts mature content: Yes, but “Stories with mature content will not surface in general searches as they could include content of a sexual or explicit nature, which is not appropriate for all readers. These stories will surface in general searches for customers who choose to allow mature content.”

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes (but obviously reading paid content requires an account)

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes

Decent customer support: It’s amazon

The Vibe: It’s not for me because I want to offer my story for free. Also it’s hilarious that all the reviews I read said how much they hate Vella lmao

Dreame/Stary/FicFun

I will admit I went into this one having heard how sketch these sites are already but figured I should give them a look anyway.

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: No

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Can’t adjust text font/size/etc.

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): No. I don’t even see comments???

Allows visual art alongside written content: Don’t think so

Accepts mature content: Yes

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Must share by link, so account required unless it’s paid content

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes kinda

Decent customer support: No

The Vibe: sketch vibes are off the chart. I would never sign a contract with these people, they seem predatory as heck.

MoonQuill

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Don’t think so, but it does offer publication if you apply and are accepted. Also, includes donation links on the story.

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: No option to edit text font/size/etc.

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes, there are ads but they are not intrusive

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Basic comment system and that seems to be it. Self-moderated I think.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Don’t think so.

Accepts mature content: Yes

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Share via link. No account required.

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes, some

Decent customer support: Can’t find any posts about their customer support, but their Contact Us link just pulls up their support email, so I don’t have high hopes

The Vibe: seems a bit lacking on the tools, feels a little unpolished, and I don’t know if I trust their publishing program, but otherwise seems solid.

Medium

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Not directly

Requires contract: No

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes, but can’t adjust text size/font/etc

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Just the basic comments/likes as far as I can tell. Self-moderated.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Yes

Accepts mature content: Yes, but read guidelines for specifics.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, BUT. The way Medium works, it looks like you only get a certain amount of free reads without creating an account.

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes, somewhat

Decent customer support: Unsure

The Vibe: seems solid. Kinda like a personal blog that’s already made for you. People say it’s like Twitter but longer, and that sounds accurate from what I’ve seen. I don’t think I’d use it by itself to share my story, but could be a helpful supplementary site

Radish

Allows free base content: Yes? I’ve heard conflicting things. I think it can be free if you do the “wait to unlock” thing.

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Yes for early release

Requires contract: Don’t think so, but you must apply and your story be accepted. I think all accepted writers are paid tho

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Can’t find anything on this from an initial search, but I assume that you can because it wouldn’t really make sense for them to not allow you to do that.

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: There is no browser/PC version of Radish. It’s all through their app. But the app readability is great, text and background can be adjusted, etc.

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Just a basic comment system, mostly self-moderated.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Yes. I’ve seen webcomics on here have full novel text versions. Pretty cool that it allows both within the same story.

Accepts mature content: Yes

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): No PC version, and an account is required

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes

Decent customer support: Unsure on preliminary search

The Vibe: seems very professional, looks really polished, gives the vibe that the content there is decent quality. Not sure if it is right for me because it seems the app is heavily geared toward romance, and my story has romance but is not a Romance story u kno?

Inkitt

Allows free base content: Yes

Offers monetization options for extras, early releases: Don’t think so

Requires contract: No(?)

Requires exclusivity: No

Ability to edit/update content: Yes

Accessible readability on both PC and mobile: Yes

Clean UI/no intrusive ads: Yes

Good interactive element (comments, moderation, bonus: community aspect): Yes, there is a community tab where readers and writers can interact, and the site holds writing contests with monetary prizes.

Allows visual art alongside written content: Unsure

Accepts mature content: Yes, though I can’t find specific guidelines that say where they draw the line, which is odd.

Decent shareability on both PC and mobile (and does reading/sharing require an account): Yes, no account required

Built-in traffic or advertising: Yes

Decent customer support: Unsure. Have heard some good experiences, but the technical support group in their community tab has a lot of questions that went ignored.

The Vibe: seems like a better, less toxic WattPad with more resources for writers and better payment options

(This is where I started to lose my marbles a bit, I apologize for the limited commentary)

Booksie

The website is ugly and my brain is melting from doing all this research and there was a typo on the main page so I’m immediately writing this one off unless someone tells me how Booksie saved their dog’s life or something

Tappytoon

Apparently they don’t accept unsolicited stories/are not accepting submissions right now

Writing.com

It’s going to make me create an account to read anything and they trademarked “Where the Writers Go” so I’m also skipping this until further notice

And that is all I got so far. I personally decided to go with webnovel, Royal Road, Inkitt, and possibly Tapas now that I'm reading back over this list. I had initially written Tapas off for the 15k character limit thing, but I think I might be able to work with that.

tagging @vsnotresponding who wanted to see this!

#writeblr #writing resources #writing reference

23 notes · View notes