I suck

[rusty_halo]

Three people emailed me today asking why I hadn't archived their fic/responded to their fic submission yet. I'm sorry! I'm so behind on reading fic. This is getting really overwhelming; right now I have over 100 stories submitted to my site that I have to read through. I feel really terrible for not responding to people fast enough.

Anyway, just wanted to vent about that. I wish there was more time in the day. And I really, really want to make it clear that if I haven't responded to someone, or if I take a while to archive a story, it's truly nothing personal, and I will do my best to respond as soon as I can.

Also, I added three S/A fics yesterday and one S/B. The S/B got 16 reviews and none of the S/A fics got a single review. Come on, people, there's good stuff out there that isn't S/B! Of the three I added yesterday, I particularly loved Peasant's hilarious "An Explanation," which is the best explanation of various Spike-related retcons I've seen. Also, Estepheia's "Closer" is dark and hot and angsty and delicious. Read them!

Comments

You Don't Suck!

[ex-devilpigl935.livejournal.com]

...At least, that's what the guys down at the docks say.

Seriously, your archive is wonderful and that's why there's a great deal of demand to be featured there. But I still consider what you're doing a public service, so please don't feel too pressured. Thanks for introducing us to a lot of great authors.

Re: You Don't Suck!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I appreciate it. (Your opinion really means a lot to me).

I guess I'm just stressing now, staring at this huge pile of fic. People are writing to me as if I'm some kind of fanfic expert, which (as the real experts know!) I'm certainly not. But I want to do the best job that I can; I don't want to be arbitrary, and I want to encourage everyone (even the authors of stories that I reject), and mostly I just feel really, really guilty for not writing back to everyone who deserves a response.

You do *not*

[chrisjournal.livejournal.com]

Ah, Laura...*hugs* You so do not suck! I cannot conceive of doing all that you do alone. It takes three of us to keep things archived at Sandlot, and we're not exactly up to date, either! You're taking from all of fandom, as well, so I *know* you are dealing with significantly more fic, too.

Write a very nice form letter, have it handy, and in it, include a lag time of a solid month or more. What you're doing is an amazing gift to the community, and I hope you won't let folks' impatience and lack of understanding devalue it in your mind!

Re: You do *not*

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Chris. I appreciate it. The form letter is a good idea; I might have to do that.

You guys are doing such a wonderful job with the Sandlot. I'm really amazed at the amount of fics you've archived, and I'm so happy that those stories will all have a home now and won't have to depend on Yahoo.

[chase820.livejournal.com]

Come one, people, there's good stuff out there that isn't S/B!

Couldn't agree more. I used to be all about the Spuffiness, but Peasant's Spike/Angelus and Anna's Spike/Xander and lovesbitca's Spike/Willow stories completely changed my mind. Like the actor who plays him, Spike is hot no matter who you put him with.

Perhaps a non-Spuffy recommendation of the week on the front page would be a good idea? If you have time, I mean--I know you're swamped.

Still think your site's the best thing to happen to Spike fandom since Tabula Rasa. Thanks again for working so hard to give us Spike ficcers a home--it beats the hell out of ff.net.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

The fic that really changed my mind was "Modus Vivendi." It's an absolutely gorgeous story, perfect characterization, brilliant writing, heartbreaking plot. And the only reason I read it was that it didn't have a summary. I didn't know it would be S/X, and by the time I realized it was already too late; I was enthralled by the fic. Then I read Anna S's Sidelines" and that cemented my Spander love.

Rachel Anton also writes great U/C ships. She makes Spike/Willow work perfectly, and her S/A is also great.

The non-Spuffy rec might be a good idea. Although it might imply that every other rec *is* Spuffy, which isn't true ("Modus Vivendi" was the featured rec for the past week). I wouldn't want inadvertently give the impression that anything non-Spuffy is odd, since I try my best to ignore ships and just focus on characters when I choose stories. The majority of fic on my site is S/B simply because more writers write that pairing, but I certainly don't see anything inherently better about it.

Thanks again for working so hard to give us Spike ficcers a home--it beats the hell out of ff.net.

Thank you! I appreciate it. :)

[kimberly-a.livejournal.com]

I'm constantly amazed at how frequently you update. All About Spike has rapidly become my favorite BTVS website, and I visit often to read the fic (though I never review ... I'm such an irresponsible reviewer ... or maybe just a deeply depressed and unsocial one). Sometimes daily.

You are under no obligation to update at a particular rate, or to respond to submissions at a particular rate. Perhaps you might add a note to the main page about the backlog of submissions, so that the *rare* person who actually takes the time to think before submitting will hold off on nagging you.

Regardless of what those folks say, I just want you to know that I think you're doing a wonderful job. Truly wonderful. And as a fan and fic reader I'm very grateful.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Kimberly. :) I definitely appreciate the encouragement.

You really should post reviews! With the review system, you don't even have to open your email program, and one-liners are okay. Of course, I'm not really one to talk, as I'm terrible about reviewing. But it is a nice way to encourage writers.

Most of the people who send their fics, and who ask about them, have been really cool about it. Very few have been rude (although there were a couple). But for the most part they're nice, which is why I feel so bad about not being able to respond in a timely manner. Oh well.

Gah

[mrmonkeybottoms.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry! I was so one of the people who bugged you. BUGGED, not buggered. *looks around evily, eyeing bums*
I was just worried that my reply hadn't gotten to you and you thought I was a major ass for not responding to you.

Re: Gah

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry about it! I'm not upset that people are emailing me (I would probably do the same thing), I'm upset that I don't have enough time to reply to everyone in a timely manner. And almost everyone has been kind and polite; they deserve quick responses, which is why I feel guilty.

Feedback

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm just trying to catch up with my new LJ friends. So, you're here too. Great!
Just wanted to tell you again how lovely your archive is. I have neither time nor patience to search for fanfic, I just go to trusted archives or rec lists or check rec pages by people who's wiritng I respect. AAS houses great stories which I'd otherwise never have found. So thanks!

As for the lack of reviews for Closer - I don't really mind. Not everybody is into slash or dark stuff. Slashers usually post their stuff to slash lists and there we get feedback. Obviously, everybody loves reviews, but I'm quite used to the feedback coming from different corners depending on the pairing or the slash/het orientation. *Shrug*

Re: Feedback

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. And thank you for the encouragement.

I guess my problem is that I read for characters, not pairings. So it's beyond me why anyone would ignore a wonderful Spike story simply because he happens to be paired with Angel (or Xander, or Tara, or whoever) in it. I'm starting to realize that most people read for pairings ... which is kind of sad, because a lot of people are limiting themselves and missing out on really great stories. (But then I guess you could say I limit myself to particular characters just as others limit themselves to particular ships, so I probably don't have any room to argue).