@fandomtrumpshate bids are open through 8pm EST on Sunday, February 27th. My offering page is here. I am offering to build you a website to archive fanworks. It can be a personal site just for your work or an archive that can accommodate thousands of other creators or somewhere in between–the choice is yours! This post is to give more information on what exactly I’m offering and what you need if you want to bid.
If you’re thinking, “Having my own website or archive would be cool … maybe this is me??” please read on!
Who am I? I am the founder and owner of the Silmarillion Writers’ Guild archive. Established in 2005, the SWG opened a fanfiction archive in 2007 using eFiction open-source software. As eFiction was no longer being updated, we decided to rebuild our archive using a Drupal open-source content management system, which is what I’m offering here. We opened the rebuilt site last March. If you click the link to the SWG above, you’ll see what a Drupal-based fanworks archive looks and acts like.
I am not a web professional. I’m a middle school humanities teacher. I am entirely self-trained in site design and building; I am not a developer. I’ve spent the past several years learning Drupal in order to rebuild the SWG archive and have gotten pretty good with it.
What is Drupal? Drupal is an open-source content management system. You can visit Drupal.org to learn more about it. A content management system (CMS) provides the building blocks to build a website. Wordpress is the best-known (and popular) CMS but is also geared toward blogging (though it can be used to build other kinds of sites too). Drupal is less well-known but still widely used on the Web. About 1 in 30 sites are built with it.
Drupal comes with core modules that provides the basic functionality for your site. Contributed modules are added to the core software to extend what your site can do. This makes Drupal highlyflexible. Because Drupal is open-source, all core and contributed modules are free.
Also because it’s open-source, there is a very active support community. That means that there’s no customer service, but if you’re willing to help yourself, you can almost always find the answer you need.
So what would a Drupal fanworks site look like? You would add your fanworks to the site using a form very similar to the form used to add a fanwork to AO3. Drupal includes or I would be willing to build the following features for you:
A user registration system, if you plan to open your site to creators other than yourself. Registration can be open or moderated. I can install modules that limit spam registrations.
User profiles, if you choose to open your site to other creators. Multiple profiles with different purposes are possible; for example, the SWG offers the option of the regular user profile but also a beta profile, if the member wants to be listed as a beta-reader.
Multiple levels of permissions are available for users. For example, if you used a moderation system to approve new fanworks, you could have an approved author permission that bypasses that system, or you could have some users with expanded permissions that allow them to serve as site moderators.
The ability to upload fanworks to the site. Note that Drupal can accommodate text, images, audio, and video. I will build your site, if needed, to include a chapter system so that you can add multiple chapters to a single fanwork. The chapter system allows individual chapters to be deleted or reordered using a drag-and-drop system.
On the fanwork submission form(s), you will choose the fields used to collect information on the fanwork. For example, the SWG archive has fields for fanwork notes, major characters, language, and to mark the fanwork as complete or incomplete (among many others).
Likewise, you can set up tagsets (which is the approach the SWG takes), or you can set a field so that users can input their own tags (similar to AO3). Or you can have a mix!
You can present listings of fanworks however you want. For example, if you hover over the Fanworks link on the top menu on the SWG site, you’ll see that we have pages showing all fanworks, then fanworks of a certain type (writing, art, etc), and then we also offer the option to list fanworks that have a specific character or genre tagged, or all fanworks by a specific creator. Check out our Find a Fanwork page for an example of how visitors can search across multiple tagsets.
You can create different content types, each with its own set of fields. Fanworks are an example of a content type. For example, the SWG has writing, artwork, and audio as content types. Moderators can also post news items–another content type.
Listings of works within a content type can be displayed anywhere on the site. For example, the SWG site sidebar lists recent news and new fanworks. Our front page includes the same information, displayed differently. There are also pages on the site that display more complete listings of this information.
You can also set up static pages, such as an About page or FAQs.
Finally, you will choose a theme that determines what your site looks like. Drupal 9-compatible themes can be found here. If this looks mystifying, don’t worry; I’ll help you find something that works for your site when the time comes, if you need me to. Themes can be highly customizable. I will do some basic customizations for you (changing colors, fonts, etc), and if you know CSS, you can continue to customize your theme. If you’re not familiar with CSS, you should choose a theme that you like out-of-the-box.
What would my (the bidder’s) responsibilities be? You would, first and foremost, need to obtain web hosting that can accommodate a Drupal 8* or 9 site. Here is Drupal’s documentation on what is needed to run a D9 site. You are not going to do this on free hosting. You will need to purchase a domain and have access to a web server with enough functionality to run the software. Here is Drupal’s list of recommended web hosts; searching “best drupal web hosting” will get you many third-party opinions on this question as well.
*My offering page says Drupal 9, and I highly suggest this. Drupal 8 will still work but is no longer being updated, and you will find that many of the modules you want are going to increasingly break when you update them. But if D8 is your only option, I can build your site in either.
Once you have hosting, you will need to install Drupal 9 and get it set up. Once you’re up and running, I’ll ask you to set up an account for me with the permissions needed to work on your site. (I will help you with this step.)
Next is the fun part! I will need you to be willing to communicate with me to tell me what you want and give me feedback. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll do my best to set up a site that functions well and looks good before I hand over the keys.
You will need to learn how to run your own site. Once your site is built, I will ask you to delete my account, so while we’re in the building phase, you should make sure that you learn how to back up your site and database and update Drupal and your contributed modules. You will need to learn how to administer your site: how to do things like approve new members and manage content. I highly recommend learning the basics of using Drupal. Here is the beginner’s course I did when I was first learning; it was for D8 but will apply for D9 as well. While I’m working on your site, I will gladly support your learning anything you want to do on your site. Drupal is not difficult at the basic level but can become tricky at inopportune moments, and the learning curve is steeper than for Wordpress. Drupal is extremely powerful and you can do a lot with it, but that means that it can also be a bigger pain than easier and more beginner-friendly software.
If you’re someone who enjoys learning and playing around with new tech, it’s very possible you will fall in love with Drupal and will continue growing and building your site long after I set it up for you. That certainly happened for me. My happy place after a hard day of work is diving into work on the SWG site.
But I also want to offer the reality check, based on 15 years of running an archive and several years now of working with Drupal, that if this is not work that you enjoy, or if you approach technology with the “it’s scary I’ll probably break it” mindset, this project is probably not a good fit for you. Having an archive (even “just” a personal site!) is not a “set it and forget it” endeavor; it will require backups and updates and maintenance, and things will break that you will have to fix (especially if you have other users depending on you), and it’s very worthwhile to go into that commitment clear-eyed about what it entails.
Here is my offering page again. If you have any questions about this project and what I can (and can’t) do for you or what it’s like to run a fanworks archive, please reach out. I can be reached at [email protected].
[Image description: a screenshot of DonKringel’s auction for the Fandom Trumps Hate event, with a description of the art she’s willing to do. Transcript here. End of image description.]
Check out our tags page to find the fandom, fanwork type, special interest, or specific creator you’re looking for, and learn how to combine these to narrow down your search.
Once you’ve found the auction of your dreams, be sure to read it over carefully to make sure that what you have in mind matches the specifics of what they’re offering (in particular, make sure you don’t want anything on their Unwilling to Address list). If you’re not sure, ask the creator about it before you bid.
Thencheck the bidding spreadsheet to see what the high bid is, and use the bidding form to submit a bid higher than that. Bids made via commenting on DW are not valid, and trying to get permission to edit the spreadsheet directly will not work.
Once bidding closes Sunday evening, please do not try to contact the creator, even if you believe you won the auction. We will confirm all high bids and send you instructions so that you can make your donation and send us proof. Once we have your proof of donation recorded, we will put you in touch with your creator. By the same token, creators, do not try to contact your bidders before you hear from us that they donated!
We’ve got a record number of auctions this year, and we hope that translates to record amounts donated to our awesome organizations! Good luck!
From New York to London ~ A HooperStrange Fanmix (requested for @fandomtrumpshate)
Shirō Sagisu -Soundscape to Ardor|New York Jazz Lounge -All Of Me|INXS -What You Need|Marina and the Diamonds -Lonely Hearts Club|All Saints -Pure Shores|Madilyn Bailey -Something Just Like This|Eddi Reader -Nobody Lives Without Love|Kiris Houston -How Deep Is Your Love|Aphrodite -Be With Me [feat. Miss Bunty]|Lindsey Stirling & Tyler Ward -Some Kind Of Beautiful|Billie Eilish -Billie Bossa Nova|Cher -The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)|Billy Joel -She’s Got A Way|Bleachers -Alfie’s Song (Not So Typical Love Song)|Linkin Park -In Between|Lorde -The Lourve|Prince with Sheena Easton -The Arms of Orion|Summer Walker -I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby|Bif Naked -Lucky (Guitar Mix)
The first of my three @fandomtrumpshate pieces. This one is for @thetimemoves who suggested something set in London. The ink and watercolour painting is based on photos of mine.
Fandom Trumps Hate is still open for bids for the next 24 hours (roughly)! Bid on me to get a fanart! https://fth2022offerings.dreamwidth.org/218575.html for all your winteriron, stony, doomtony, frostiron, or rarepair needs!
Happy Sunday! A few people reached out about this topic, and happily it was already on my list! Here’s my list of resources on where to go to find a beta-reader
Fandom Discord Servers
This is my favorite. Almost every fandom discord server I am currently in has a beta readers role that folks can opt into, or a channel specifically meant for finding beta readers. I only beta read fandoms I am in, because for me it’s part of the hobby/joy. So, I tend to only take requests from these servers. This also helps me cheat in a way, because if there’s any kind of WIP sharing channel, I can peek to see what kind of style of writing a person has before committing to their fic (remember how I said I’m bad about asking before volunteering? Sneaking a peek at works in other channels is usually why I skip that part). I lurk in the majority of servers I’m in, but when a beta request goes out, I’ve got my notifications set up so that I see those fast. If you’re in a server—use that built in community of people who already have said they like doing beta-reading! And if you have opted-in to that beta-reading role in your server—start responding! Even if someone else has already volunteered, offer a second look. Beta-readers are like therapists—not every match is made in Heaven, and it can take a few tries to find the right reader for you/your fic. Even if the writer says “no, I’m actually good with this person, thanks though!” you’ve just let everyone else know that there is more than one person available, so that if they also need a beta-reader, they can speak up and snag you.
On Tumblr
@needabetahas an excellent giant searchable Google Sheet. If you are a reader you can fill out their form and get added to the sheet (and I encourage you all to do so!)
As a test for this post I searched Tumblr for “beta reader” and a variety of fandoms. Most of the posts that populated were folks looking for beta readers, some posts were people praising their beta readers (and oh does that make my heart happy), but a few of those posts were folks who had free time opening up and were actively looking for things to beta. So it might be worth a shot if you’re out of other options.
I was recommending @betareaderwanted for a while, but it appears their last post was in October 2020, so if anyone knows what’s going on with that resource send a line! There’s no such thing as too many beta-reading resources.
Off Tumblr
Tumblr seems to be the better place to go if you’re looking for fandom-specific beta readers. Twitter and other sites tend to skew more towards original writing, which if that’s your thing, go forth! I only do fandom-beta-reading, so for now that’s what this post will focus on. (but if you’ve got good resources, send them along)
That said, I also really recommend r/FanFiction on Reddit. They have a weekly Beta-Reader bartering thread. Fun fact, when I was getting my toes back into fandom, my first few beta-readers were from this bartering thread, and they were both excellent. Because of them I was able to take my time in exploring what fandom looks like in this, the year 2022, compared to what I left back in—well. A while ago. I think only one of the beta-readers had any knowledge of the fandom I was writing in, so it will be hit or miss on what they are able to help you with outside of SPAG, but it helped me take my time exploring the right fandom Discord servers and other fandom spaces for me.
Finally, and this is on Tumblr, but I’m pulling this out in its own special section:
The 2022 Fandom Trumps Hate fanworks auction is coming up.
Creator signups run from Jan. 31 to Feb 13, and Bidding beginnings Feb 23 and runs through Feb 27th. This auction supports some really amazing charities and I have to admit, I got unreasonably excited when I found out about it.
One of the categories is “fan labor” which includes beta-ing, region-picking, and other experts offering advice. Personally, I will be signing up this year in that fan labor category for beta-reading.
If you’re looking for a beta-reader, especially for that really big giant work you forgot to grab someone to start reading before it grew into a beast (excuse me while I hide my shame), it might be worth checking out who else signs up and what services they’re offering! You should also consider signing up in a category you feel comfortable in to help support some organizations that need it!
If you have more resources to add to this list, or topics/questions you’d like to see answered on this blog, the ask box is always open!!
omg, Starry is one of the sweetest human beings I know! Thank you for putting together these wonderful rec posts for some killer creators. Here to pipe up that Starry is ALSO offering something in @fandomtrumpshate this year:
a fic exactly 1k long (or multiples thereof) in the Harry Potter fandom, as foundhere! Thank you again for being such a sweetheart, Starry! And check out her auction here!
Bidding for @fandomtrumpshate is open for another day! Fandom Trumps Hate is a fanworks charity auction for progressive causes. The bidding deadline is February 27th, 8PM EST.
For this post I’ll be focusing on a specific type of fan labour, translation!
Dutch/Nederlands
I, MxCaptain, am offering translation from English to DutchandDutch to English in the fandoms Rusty Quill Gaming (podcast), The Magnus Archives (podcast) and musicals. I’ll translate up to 20k for a minimum bid of $20.
Vox (Akumeoi) ( @a-still-small-vox) is offering translation from English to FrenchandFrench to English for works in any fandom up to 5k. The minimum bid is $7.
FireAndHoney ( @much-ado-about-juncos) is offering translation from English to FrenchandFrench to English for works up to 5k in the fandoms Harry Potter: Marauder’s Era, BBC Sherlock, and Supernatural. The minimum bid is $15.
Sway ( @tastymoves) is offering translation from English to GermanandGerman to English, she is offering to translate up to 20k words in any fandom. The highest bid is currently $5.
Nossorgs ( @nossorgs) is offering translation from English to GermanandGerman to English for works up to 20k in any fandom. The current highest bid is $20.
EnnisAgain ( @ennisagain) is offering translation from English to German for works up to 5k in the Sherlock (books and TV) fandom. The highest bid is currently $15.
Franzis-frantic-thoughts ( @franzis-frantic-thoughts) is offering tranlation from English to GermanandGerman to English in any fandom for works up to 20k. The current highest bid is $20.
BiancaRambles ( @fire-and-sass) is offering translation from English to Italian andItalian to English for works up to 50k in any fandom. The current highest bid is $30.
In late 2016, the Fandom Trumps Hate fanworks auction was founded in response to the disastrous US presidential election, as an attempt to band together and put some good back into the world by raising money for nonprofit organizations working to protect the vulnerable and marginalized. Over the past five years, we’ve raised more than $135,000 together for a range of progressive organizations — and we aren’t quitting now.
In this post, you’ll find the calendar for the 2022 auction, as well as this year’s list of supported organizations. If you’re unfamiliar with FTH, or if you just want a refresher, take a look at our freshly-updated FAQ.
This year, we are raising money for roughly a dozen small, progressive nonprofits doing vital work on shoestring budgets: advocating for immigrant children, providing running water to Navajo communities, supporting incarcerated sex workers, and reviving local journalism, among others. Additionally, we are supporting the whole category of organizations known as abortion funds: grassroots community groups that help people make the best reproductive choices for themselves. We’ve identified a few specific abortion funds that are worthy recipients, but we have also linked the National Network of Abortion Funds’ directory to help you connect to your local abortion fund. See the full list of supported organizations here.
FANDOM TRUMPS HATE 2022 AUCTION CALENDAR
Monday, January 31st – creator signups open
Sunday, February 13th – creator signups close
Sunday, February 20th – browsing period begins*
Wednesday, February 23rd, 8am EST – bidding opens
Sunday, February 27th, 8pm EST – bidding closes
Sunday, March 6th, 8pm EST – proof of donation due from bidders
* browsing period is a window of time when all auction offers are visible but bidding has not yet opened. It’s a great time for bidders to figure out which offers are appealing to them, and for creators to double-check their offerings posts for errors.
We will be posting more in the coming weeks with full details about how to sign up, how to find the auctions you want to bid on, and other auction logistics, as well as more information about each of our supported nonprofits. Follow us to stay updated!
Thinking about participating again (will double check with mods beforehand). I am open to writing in any fandom I’ve posted in previously but I will only offer 1 work this year. So, if you want to prompt a story from me for Teen Wolf, CSI:Miami, Criminal Minds, Hawaii 5-0, and so many, many more, check the browsing and bidding times for more information!
Finished the first draft of my piece for @fandomtrumpshate, so here’s a bit more of it.
———————-
Stiles drops into the chair in front of the desk and sits forward, clasping his hands on top of the desk. “Sheriff Stilinski,” he says with all the seriousness, sincerity, and anxiety in his heart, “I have reason to believe that a Beacon County resident is in danger.”
Dad sits up straight, all business. He pulls an incident report form from his desk and clicks his favorite pen. Then he pauses, looking at Stiles. “Which resident?”
“Derek Hale.”
“And what is the nature of the danger?”
Stiles swallows. “I think he’s been captured. Again.”
Dad sighs and puts the form away. He reaches into a different desk drawer—the locked one—and pulls out a notepad. “Tell me.”
Fandom Trumps Hate 2022 BNHA Offerings (Detailed Version)
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The Fandom Trumps Hate 2022 browsing period is officially open!
Now is your chance to take a look at the different creators you may be interested on bidding on to see what they’re offering. You can view this post on the FTH Dreamwidth to learn how to search all the fandoms and creators participating in the auction, but I wanted to showcase the Boku no Hero Akademia / My Hero Academia offerings!
Bidding opens on Wednesday, February 23rd, 8am EST and will close Sunday, February 27th, 8pm EST. You’re not going to be notified if someone outbids you, so be sure to check back on the bidding spreadsheet! Each creator’s page is linked below and will have more details about what they’re offering, and you can also check out the FAQ on @fandomtrumpshate for general auction info!
I highly recommend you check out their bid page for all of their details! This is just a preview!
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