FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Writer’s paradox

Jonjo wakes up as the late morning sun shines from the crevice of the darkening curtains, he rubs his eyes until he remembers that it will be the day he has decided to finally release his writing for the whole world to see. He is only wanting to release the first chapter to dip his toes and see what the world thinks of his writing. So far he has built the courage to let few of his closest friends read it, which even that took a lot of bravery as it’s based off of his favorite movie series, but writing about it and bleeding his heart out made him question what his friends would think of him after. Luckily his friend had actually told him it was very good, and one of them even told him that he should release it. Jonjo spends the whole afternoon going through the chapter, making sure every punctuation is correct, everything is spelled perfectly and he has all major plot holes figured out and made it as polished as he can. He then uploads it on a fanfic site dedicated to the genre. He sits there for a long while, the trembling hand on mouse ready to hit the submit button. The thoughts race through his head as he keeps wondering if this is a mistake. After what feels like an eternity he finally hit submit. He sees the chapter 1 upload on the site. It only takes a few minutes to get a couple of views, but he isn’t thinking it will get much on the first evening. Jonjo decided to go get some dinner out as he hasn’t eaten anything the whole day due the stress of releasing his fanfic.

After hardy ramen Jonjo returns home with a belly full. He immediately rushes to the computer to see if there are any responses on his fanfic. To his surprise there are nine views and one message in his inbox. As he opens it, someone who read the chapter tells him how he adored the story and how well it was written. Jonjo’s heart races as he hears someone enjoying his story. The writer also asks if there is any to get hold of him outside the site to get hold of him as they would love to discuss further of something they have in mind, any social media or chat platform will do. He eagerly replies to the message, excited that someone wants to talk about their story with them. Maybe this person has a plot twist they would like to see, or compliment to a character or even constructive criticism on how to write better. Jonjo immediately logs on to see if they can catch this person online, but after 15 minutes and as it is getting very late he gives up and goes to bed. It does take him a long time to fall asleep as he tosses and turns from excitement apart from feeling vulnerable for being exposed for the world to see.

In the morning Jonjo wakes up. He feels quite tired as the quality of sleep was horrible last night. He still jolts out of bed probably faster than ever and rushes on the computer. To check the view stats. The counter has gotten a few more hits, and there is another message in his inbox. Jonjo checks the message and another reader has found his story captivating, wanting to connect with him on some social media or chat program. He again shares his info and goes to wait if they come on. As he logs on there is a message from last night's admirer. After a short chat with them, with all the praise and few mentions about the things that they found interesting about the story they say they want to tell Jonjo about their idea. Hot nervous feelings flush through Jonjo’s body as he eagerly waits for the idea. The three dots showing that the message is being composed keep flashing on the screen as he waits. After a few minutes the message pops on the screen.

“I found your story very good and I think it would make a great web comic. If you don’t mind I would like to work with you on this. I am an illustrator/artist and I would love to help you make this a reality. I think seeing your story come to life would really make your characters pop out. I accept payment plans and we can take breaks if you like. I also do cover art if you don’t want to commit to a web comic though I think this would really be the best way.” The message on the screen reads. Jonjo cannot believe his eyes. This person truly thinks your fanfic is good enough for a comic? They only read the first chapter, how can they possibly know where the story is even going, it barely has the characters established. Jonjo tells the person he feels flattered, but he has never thought of this as an option and cannot imagine dropping money on this. As soon as he sends the message the three dots appear. Jonjo hopes the person on the other side is understanding, but instead once the message pops up it reads.

“I understand this is not something you ever thought of. Maybe we can just do one page as a test. I usually charge 100$ but I really like your story so I am willing to do it for 80$.” Jonjo freezes up. 20% discount just because they like his story. He still doesn’t feel sure about it, so he lets the person know that. This time the person on the other end just tells him to think about it.

The whole day Jonjo just thinks about the offer. He would love to see his characters come to life and 80$ is not that much money, he could easily afford it. But he also thinks that he hasn’t really posted enough for the world to see to make such a commitment. As the evening comes he logs on and tells the person he wants to do it, but wants to wait until he is done posting a bit more of the story. The infamous three dots appear a few minutes later to tell him it’s a decision he doesn’t regret, and he can secure a spot for just 20$ down if he likes and they will hold him a spot to start as soon as he is ready. Jonjo thinks this is reasonable, so he sends this person 20$ to get a spot. Right after sending the money, another person he gave his info reaches out to him. Very similar messages to the first person fill the chat as they talk and eventually this person also reveals a similar story. Immediately Jonjo’s heart sinks. With the first person he didn’t even consider this as a scam. He immediately goes search online about similar stories and sure enough, many places warn about this type of experience especially for new authors. As soon as he finishes his short research on the subject, he feels horrible. Not because of the money he put down is most likely lost, but because thinking someone actually liked his story, but it was just a way to exploit him. He immediately goes and deletes all the chapters and decides he will never write any stories ever again.

***

Author note: This is based on my experience as a new writer. The only difference is that I will not stop writing because of this experience, but thought of sharing it to bring awareness to what writers face nowadays and also as quick evening writing to hone my skills for unedited writing.