I myself have a koffee page where you can donate a cup of coffee to me and I sometimes post it at the end of a chapter of in the notes of my story but honestly, it's not as if I'm forcing my readers to donate. It's just something that would be nice to get because writing can be taking quite a lot of time and people can read it for free. Then again kpop fanfics are different from fanfictions that are based on stuff like anime and such, as you didn't think of most stuff yourself, but imo everyone should just do whatever they want to.

@fiftymiles Writing is not a lesser art, and fanfiction personally to me is more enjoyable than a drawn picture. It's value is in no way inferior and takes a lot more thought. My apologies if my comment came off really wrong. If it's one thing I never wish to insult, it is the art of writing. I write too, it has brought me joy, and it has also brought me a lot of pain. Monetizing fanworks in general is a risky business is all I meant to say, most fanartists I've seen usually have a lot of original works on top of their fanart drawings they share. If a fanfiction writer used a fanfic showing an example of how they write, I see no problem with it. But if you are keeping fanfiction behind a paywall, I just find it unfair is all. I'm really sorry, I'll be sure to word my comments a lot better next time.

@sevencandlesticks Sorry, but you are still saying that writing is a lesser art. I'm a fanartist and a fanfiction writer, and to say that a certain type of content creator should NOT be supported finanfically because of the medium they use is quite saddening. When you say that fanfiction uses real life people, doesn't fanart act the same way? If I draw a short comic about Sehun being a vampire, what is the difference between writing a short story of Sehun as a vampire? The same copyright laws apply because you ARE still using Oh Sehun's name and you ARE still referencing the real life person.

I think inherently you and many people see writing as less valuable and therefore you think fanartists should be allowed to open Patreons but fanfiction writers shouldn't. We always have this concept that anyone can write and it's not a tangible item (unless it's a printed book) so why should we pay, and it's very toxic because it hurts writers out there. If you think drawing art for a living is difficult, you should really look at the rates writers are offered.

I think why a lot of people think that it's "unfair" and are against the idea is because they inherently see fanfiction as inferior to other forms of fanworks. One good example is with fanarts---I can assure you that many of the people below would not be as against fanartists opening patreons for people to support their fanwork. Let's look at what @SheirynFiya said that it's "unfair to monetize fanfiction when countless authors dedicate their time and effort to write on this site too out of interest and not monetary gains". Lots of people think that, but you rarely ever see the same type of negative feedback when it comes to fanarts. Imagine telling an artist, "Why should I pay for your art when other people draw for free? You should your art free because other people are drawing for no pay."

I'll make this clear that I think it's not unfair at all for fanfiction writers to open up Patreons. The writers are not mandating that every time you open up the story, you immediately have to pay $50. Heck, most of them don't restrict any content behind a paywall (you shouldn't for legal issues, anyway, same with fanart). They are just asking for your support so they can continue writing as a hobby, like any content creator. You aren't obliged to pay for them. Similarly, content creators are not obliged to write for you if you don't pay them. I'm shocked that there are people who legitimately thinks that they are entitled to free fanfiction because other people write for free. If you don't want to pay, then just don't pay and don't read. You are NOT given the right to declare that it's immoral or unfair for writers to ask for some financial donations for the effort and time they put into writing fanfiction that YOU read.

Now, I'm not talking about legality issues. I'm focusing on the double standards. It's a whole new ball game when we bring in legal issues but we have to make clear that WHATEVER you think about fanart should apply to fanfiction, because they are both based on real people, and trying to justify one while denouncing the other says a lot about what people think about art vs writing. A lot of people see writing in general as less valuable than art, which is why just the idea of paying people for their writing is somehow mind-boggling (and it's the same for employers who hire you as a ghostwriter for $4 per 1000 words). At least for art, we're starting to wrap our heads around the fact that people should be paid for their time and effort.

@SheirynFiya Would you agree then that it's "unfair to monetize fanart when countless artists dedicate their time and effort to draw out of interest and not monetary gains"?

i think it might really depend on the way, like if i was asked to be a patreon I'll have to refuse, even if it was a dollar, i have other things to pay for. but if they asked me to visit their story using other sites ( free sites to be specific ) then i wouldnt mind much , esp if it was well written and k could see the author's effort in it

Im against it too tbh. I just feel that it’s a little unfair to monetize fanfiction when countless authors dedicate their time and effort to write on this site too out of interest and not monetary gains. But hey, that’s just my opinion anyway :)

If it's for fanfiction, no. Original fiction? Yes. It's something I have been planning to do myself, but it would fund my original works not my fanfiction. Plus I would offer other things I do, like visual novel making tutorials, writing advice and tips early access, making graphics, etc. etc. Making money on fanfiction is a really dangerous line to cross, I think. Some might argue, as many artists do fanart on Patreon, but still there is a BIG DIFFERENCE between fanfiction and fanart. First off, I've drawn myself and art takes a lot of time and effort. Not that I am saying writing is a lesser art, OF COURSE it takes a lot out of you too, but when writing for an existing IP you are essentially making big profit off of an idea not originally yours. You can't really legally print fanfiction, so it is not as tangible as fanart which seems to have a little more leeway in small quantities. Fanfiction is more complex and fleshed out than a mere drawing. I find fanfiction to be a good PRACTISE for writing that can branch into the ability to write original stories (I myself use it to relax when I have a block on my original works, it helps to get words flowing again since IMHO fanfiction is easier to write). Then others might argue, well Kpop fanfiction isn't really based on an existing IP. Well, you're using the names of real people and I think it'd be rude to make money off of a story using the names of people who will never get a cut from your work. Only "fanfiction" I think would be the safest to make money off of essentially would be VOCALOID for the reason that they ARE tools for creation, many people using them for storytelling when making songs with them, a solid book to go with it is not a bad idea (think of The Story of Evil series which has VOCALOID PVs but also has light novels to go along with its complex storytelling, the VOCALOIDs serve as characters though they do have original names. Also recently, I saw manga adaptions for Bad End Night in stores). But yeah, asking for money to support your fanfiction I do not think is wise. It could lead to some legal problems down the road, I think.

I don't think that fanfic writers should do that since it's fanfiction and it should be something for fun, not for money, but if someone's writing original fiction and they can offer something good for readers becoming patrons (e.g. bonus chapters or idk... cool merchandise they might have for their story?), that might make more sense. Nevertheless, for me, I think that people like Webtoon/comic artists starting Patreon accounts is much more reasonable because they can actually give quality things that they make (e.g. prints, phone-wallpapers, and definitely some merch) because there's just a lot more, idk, reason for them to start a Patreon.

And about the advertising in the discussion area, I agree with that as well because this is a place for DISCUSSION and not 'pls read my story' (plus, there isn't really that much to discuss about "can you read my fic") Advertising should be saved for blogs if they really want to do that tbh LOL

For fanfic, I'm against it. If you transfer over to writing all-original fic, that's different. But I think part of the trade-off of fanfic is that you don't make money from it. (In trade for this you get a prebuilt audience who are already familiar with your characters and setting.) Also, I think a lot of copyright holders will become more aggressive about trying to shut down fanficcers if they see people making money from it.

I don't like it. I don't know if I got any good arguments for it, but I just don't like asking readers (in this case) for money to do stuff. It's ... I don't know, I'm obviously not very eloquent, lol.

But I do high-key agree with your parentheses.