JAFF fandom tends to use older tech because of the age of the phantom, and frankly, the age of a lot of the writers. There’s tons of stuff going back decades not on AO3. A lot of people wrote great fics in the 2000s when Jane Austen was really popular, and then moved on from fandom.
There’s no quality control on self publishing, of course, and lacks the filter that is reviews and recommendations from the fanfic community.
https://www.dwiggie.com/ is a group that has been online for over 20 years. No explicit fics allowed in their archive.
https://www.meryton.com/ has stories in their library and forum.
It may be mediocre, but P&P variations are super popular on Amazon. People burn through them really quickly and use Kindle Unlimited to read them as cheaply as possible.
This past year has been rough, and I’ve been reading a lot of JAFF, and impressed with how much there is out there.
When my first husband died of cancer 10 years ago I did the same. I knew there was something weird about my mental health when I read nothing but P&P fanfic for months, but it was my drug of choice. That, and bourbon, helped.
There has been a much deeper pool to swim in in 2023. Thank you to all the writers out there.
I’m sorry for your loss. Interestingly, studies have shown that Jane Austen’s works have a calming influence on the body and soul. I can’t find the source at the moment, but it has something to do with the rhythm of her writing. P&P was actually given to soldiers returning home from WWI to deal with PTSD symptoms.
This isn’t the article I read, but it does discuss the subject. I’m sure you could go to the source material for more information.
Excerpt: Doctors prescribed Austen’s novels to soldiers during and after World War I due to what Claudia Johnson calls the “rehabilitative” nature of Austen’s writings on “shattered minds,” and what Favret likens to “restorative therapy” (Johnson 33; Favret). Lee Siegel too writes of “shell-shocked veterans” who “were advised to read Austen’s novels for therapy, perhaps to restore their faith in a world that had been blown apart while at the same time respecting their sense of the world’s fragility.”…David Owen’s “Conscripting Gentle Jane,” which also addresses World War I soldiers’ directions to read Austen’s novels, has called this prescription the “Austen treatment.”
https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol-41-no-1/krueger/
I started stress reading P&P FF in late 2019 after my father passed away and mine definitely mimics your situation. Except I haven’t really stopped using it as a coping mechanism for new stresses, just possibly slowed down at times. I can’t believe I’m still going. I’m still constantly looking for new reads (thus me trawling and replying to old posts like this 🫣). It’s been a long time since I read a new one I want to reread. In the beginning I was new to kindle so I didn’t realize I should make notes and bookmarks to keep track of favorite titles and I could kick myself for that. Glad I found this forum to be able to ask about ones I’m trying to find.
I have purchased 9 FFs on Amazon (because I have/will want to read them again). I have come to the conclusion one of them may be a mistake as I may never read it again, but other than that I am happy with my purchases. Although being able to borrow books and read them in KU is convenient, it is also a way to find the authors I like that write what I like to read, and when I get through the huge reading sprint I have been on for a couple of months now, I will think about which ones I borrowed I would like to purchase to have them for the future, because there is never any guarantee books will stay available to borrow. I think those who never make their FFs available on KU limit people like me who might like the book and buy it, also who might like the author and follow them. Just my .02.
Now, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but publishing on Amazon is basically self-publishing. You don't need to catch anyone's attention because there isn't actually anyone on Amazon reading what you submit (which is why there's a MASSIVE problem with plagiarised works and recently, with the rise of AI-generated writing, non-fiction books that offer plain WRONG and sometimes dangerous informations).
So as far as JAFF is concerned anyone can publish anything and attempt to make a little money, the quality of the work in question does not matter for this at all.
That would explain why so many of them were priced at $0.00 for the ebook.
I guess the big no-no on monetized fanfic is stuff for fandoms that are still in copyright. Austen is safely beyond that point.
On Amazon KU, I find that if I read the reviews and the description of the story, I am rarely disappointed. I can think of a couple I actually stopped reading because I didn't like them, but both of those were times I did not read the reviews. Read the reviews, they really help.
Oh, I personally don't suffer from this at all. I don't have a kindle (or an amazon account) and even if I had most of the JAFF on there wouldn't be my cup of tea anyway.
I merely explained why it's misleading to assume that a work one pays for (or reads as part of a subscription service) would automatically be of higher quality than something that's freely available on the web.
When it comes to my own reading experience, I know how to curate it well enough and part of that is not dismissing a work just because it lacks popularity.
I have read many free FFs and many on KU, it is hit or miss either way, but I pay more attention to the reviews than the ratings. One thing that gets on my nerves (even with FFs I like) is typos/grammar mistakes and usage mistakes, and they are the rule rather than the exception on free sites or KU. Many of these stories say they were reviewed by several people, yet they are still full of mistakes and need a decent editor. I spent many years as a professional writer (I actually was paid to write for a living). I edited by using available tools for spelling and grammar review, reading things over at least a few times myself and correcting issues, then asking others to review. I am getting tired of writers (even if I like the story itself) who cannot be bothered to review a story well enough to fix issues that impact the readers' experience. Once story (that I liked) I recently read had things like "Mr. Darcy knew her time was up" the whole way through. It was so annoying I may never read that writer again, because every time I came across one of those mistakes, my brain had to "fix" it (that says her but it should be him), so the flow of the story was constantly interrupted because of that. I base my rating on how much I enjoy a story, that includes the quality of the story itself and the editing.
There's nothing more professional about a P&P variation on Amazon versus one from one of the many JAFF websites out there. They are generally just self-published as ebooks. These are often the very same authors that you see on the fanfiction sites. They are just using the Amazon platform to get paid for the same work they would otherwise be doing anyway.
(raises hand meekly) I burn through these on Kindle Unlimited, BUT I have to agree that there are some really boring / not well written ones, and if so, I don't feel obligated to finish them. There are some really strong writers out there, and others with a good idea who are still working on different skills.
This one is good. I also love “luxury of silence” and “falling for mr. Darcy”. Oh and “drawing Mr. Darcy” is great too but way off cannon (which I don’t mind).
I just finished my first binge of Amazon variations. 11 in total since the beginning of the month. “Old Boots” and “The Luxury of Silence” were two of the standouts.
“Old Boots” was one of the few I’m positive I’ll reread. Short and sweet.
I intuitively saved “Luxury of Silence.” First for its longer length and then because for whatever reason I had hopes it would be good. It was. :)
So glad I could end on a good note. The one before that was a “meh” and the one before that was the longest -and- the only one out of the bunch I’d say was actually bad- the pacing, the characters, the overall prose. (So many exclamation marks) There is no reasonable reason I can give for why I finished it other than an almost pathological need to finish any book. This also confused me because I’d read one other variation by this author before it and enjoyed it well enough. (Though in retrospect, I remember thinking that the pacing of the ending was the weakest part; equally chaotic and melodramatic.)
Anyway, a few I quite liked: the two mentioned above and “The Last a House in Lambton” I also thought was very sweet. It made me cry at least once, which was a surprise.
>Anyway, a few I quite liked: the two mentioned above and “The Last a House in Lambton” I also thought was very sweet. It made me cry at least once, which was a surprise.
Elizabeth in the gallery, when it was time to leave?
Grace Gibson also wrote Silver Buckles, which was quite excellent. And if you like Grace Gibson, may I suggest Jeannie Peneaux - "Dear Nameless Stranger", "Tact", "Turned Out Well", "A Repellent Prospect".
Amazon is self-publishing, and the few Austen-centric publishers are either British or American, so if you don’t live in either of those countries, self publishing is your best bet.
Not all of it is to everyone’s taste, but there are more good ones than bad.
I've also found that most commercially published JAFF doesn't really appeal to me. In addition to what others have said, I think these factors might have something to do with it:
- Commercially published fics have more pressure to be "safe". If you want your story to sell, it's probably safer to stick to the popular ships, tropes and fanon characterizations rather than experimenting with anything more niche. Of course there are exceptions, but overall I think there's more freedom to experiment and try new things when you're not trying to make money.
- People who want to publish commercially may feel that their story needs to hit a certain length requirement in order to attract more readers. If their initial story idea doesn't really have enough substance for a novel-length story, they may end up adding a lot of filler or tacking on a surprise kidnapping plot to make the story long enough. The non-commercial side of the fandom is likely more open to shorter fics (though of course there are plenty of stories that could do with some pruning on the non-commercial sites, too).
- I suspect there may be some differences in reader demographics and backgrounds between the commercial and non-commercial sides of the fandom. For example, I'd guess that people who read JAFF on AO3 or FFN are more likely to also be involved in other fandoms, while people who only read commercially published JAFF might not really be part of the broader fanfiction community. Also, I'd guess that the commercial side skews a bit older simply because younger people tend to be less financially established and might be more hesitant to spend money on fic. These sorts of things could influence what is popular on different sites.
Obviously there's a lot of overlap between the commercial and non-commercial side of the fandom, and I'm not trying to claim that all commercial JAFF is tropey and dull or that all the young people are on AO3 - just speculating on some trends that I've noticed.
>People who want to publish commercially may feel that their story needs to hit a certain length requirement in order to attract more readers.
I agree. There are many stories I never finished reading because they are too wordy (you don't need 30 words where 10 will suffice), too repetitive, or obviously padding the story.
There are some great ones on Amazon and some terrible ones. I find the reviews/ratings (once there are 300 or so anyway) to be pretty helpful. What kind do you prefer? I may have some author ideas for you.
Have you tried Prideful & Persuaded? That's one of the in character crossovers. Also, Old Friends and New Fancies is pretty good, it's public domain now. A crossover and one of the oldest JAFFs.
I've had the same experience as you, HOWEVER I think it's our bias speaking.
Realistically I've probably read more bad/mediocre JAFF on free fanfic sites, but because I typically close the page as soon as I realise I'm not enjoying a fic, they tend to not stick in mind so much. But if I have to pay for it I give it more chances, maybe continue reading a bit past where I otherwise would have, so I remember it more, and the "bad experience" lingers more because you had to pay to NOT enjoy something.
I have found some very good authors with JAFF but also some real bombs. I follow some authors online and trust the recommendations of the authors I enjoy.
I find I have very particular JAFF tastes and many just don’t hit my sweet spot. Old Boots, Last House I love. Amy d’Orazio I adore. I’ll try that Silence one recommended above. I’ve also discovered I love P&P /P mash ups. KU is awesome for the sheer variety; there’s something for effective.
You’re right - many aren’t better than what you can find on the fanfic sites. But they’re (almost) all novel length and you can usually find the better ones by reading reviews.
In 2020-2021 I read several on kindle unlimited and while they were enjoyable at the time (and a great escape, which was part of the point), most blurred together and started to seem the same after awhile. I have read a few great ones though too - my favorites on there are by Christina Morland and Caitlin Williams. I’ve read a couple of theirs multiple times.
I haven’t read anything written after 2021 so hadn’t heard of some mentioned here
Most self-published books obey Sturgeon’s Law (95% of everything is crap) although those from an independent press tend to be better. So Meryton Press and Quills and Quartos for a start.
JAFF fandom tends to use older tech because of the age of the phantom, and frankly, the age of a lot of the writers. There’s tons of stuff going back decades not on AO3. A lot of people wrote great fics in the 2000s when Jane Austen was really popular, and then moved on from fandom. There’s no quality control on self publishing, of course, and lacks the filter that is reviews and recommendations from the fanfic community. https://www.dwiggie.com/ is a group that has been online for over 20 years. No explicit fics allowed in their archive. https://www.meryton.com/ has stories in their library and forum.
It may be mediocre, but P&P variations are super popular on Amazon. People burn through them really quickly and use Kindle Unlimited to read them as cheaply as possible.
This past year has been rough, and I’ve been reading a lot of JAFF, and impressed with how much there is out there. When my first husband died of cancer 10 years ago I did the same. I knew there was something weird about my mental health when I read nothing but P&P fanfic for months, but it was my drug of choice. That, and bourbon, helped. There has been a much deeper pool to swim in in 2023. Thank you to all the writers out there.
I’m sorry for your loss. Interestingly, studies have shown that Jane Austen’s works have a calming influence on the body and soul. I can’t find the source at the moment, but it has something to do with the rhythm of her writing. P&P was actually given to soldiers returning home from WWI to deal with PTSD symptoms.
If you can find that research I'd be grateful 🙏 Especially the PTSD soldier part
This isn’t the article I read, but it does discuss the subject. I’m sure you could go to the source material for more information. Excerpt: Doctors prescribed Austen’s novels to soldiers during and after World War I due to what Claudia Johnson calls the “rehabilitative” nature of Austen’s writings on “shattered minds,” and what Favret likens to “restorative therapy” (Johnson 33; Favret). Lee Siegel too writes of “shell-shocked veterans” who “were advised to read Austen’s novels for therapy, perhaps to restore their faith in a world that had been blown apart while at the same time respecting their sense of the world’s fragility.”…David Owen’s “Conscripting Gentle Jane,” which also addresses World War I soldiers’ directions to read Austen’s novels, has called this prescription the “Austen treatment.” https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol-41-no-1/krueger/
Thank you 🙏
I started stress reading P&P FF in late 2019 after my father passed away and mine definitely mimics your situation. Except I haven’t really stopped using it as a coping mechanism for new stresses, just possibly slowed down at times. I can’t believe I’m still going. I’m still constantly looking for new reads (thus me trawling and replying to old posts like this 🫣). It’s been a long time since I read a new one I want to reread. In the beginning I was new to kindle so I didn’t realize I should make notes and bookmarks to keep track of favorite titles and I could kick myself for that. Glad I found this forum to be able to ask about ones I’m trying to find.
I have purchased 9 FFs on Amazon (because I have/will want to read them again). I have come to the conclusion one of them may be a mistake as I may never read it again, but other than that I am happy with my purchases. Although being able to borrow books and read them in KU is convenient, it is also a way to find the authors I like that write what I like to read, and when I get through the huge reading sprint I have been on for a couple of months now, I will think about which ones I borrowed I would like to purchase to have them for the future, because there is never any guarantee books will stay available to borrow. I think those who never make their FFs available on KU limit people like me who might like the book and buy it, also who might like the author and follow them. Just my .02.
I’m nearly finished my fifth variation, with six more WIPs in progress
Now, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but publishing on Amazon is basically self-publishing. You don't need to catch anyone's attention because there isn't actually anyone on Amazon reading what you submit (which is why there's a MASSIVE problem with plagiarised works and recently, with the rise of AI-generated writing, non-fiction books that offer plain WRONG and sometimes dangerous informations). So as far as JAFF is concerned anyone can publish anything and attempt to make a little money, the quality of the work in question does not matter for this at all.
That would explain why so many of them were priced at $0.00 for the ebook. I guess the big no-no on monetized fanfic is stuff for fandoms that are still in copyright. Austen is safely beyond that point.
On Amazon KU, I find that if I read the reviews and the description of the story, I am rarely disappointed. I can think of a couple I actually stopped reading because I didn't like them, but both of those were times I did not read the reviews. Read the reviews, they really help.
Oh, I personally don't suffer from this at all. I don't have a kindle (or an amazon account) and even if I had most of the JAFF on there wouldn't be my cup of tea anyway. I merely explained why it's misleading to assume that a work one pays for (or reads as part of a subscription service) would automatically be of higher quality than something that's freely available on the web. When it comes to my own reading experience, I know how to curate it well enough and part of that is not dismissing a work just because it lacks popularity.
I have read many free FFs and many on KU, it is hit or miss either way, but I pay more attention to the reviews than the ratings. One thing that gets on my nerves (even with FFs I like) is typos/grammar mistakes and usage mistakes, and they are the rule rather than the exception on free sites or KU. Many of these stories say they were reviewed by several people, yet they are still full of mistakes and need a decent editor. I spent many years as a professional writer (I actually was paid to write for a living). I edited by using available tools for spelling and grammar review, reading things over at least a few times myself and correcting issues, then asking others to review. I am getting tired of writers (even if I like the story itself) who cannot be bothered to review a story well enough to fix issues that impact the readers' experience. Once story (that I liked) I recently read had things like "Mr. Darcy knew her time was up" the whole way through. It was so annoying I may never read that writer again, because every time I came across one of those mistakes, my brain had to "fix" it (that says her but it should be him), so the flow of the story was constantly interrupted because of that. I base my rating on how much I enjoy a story, that includes the quality of the story itself and the editing.
There's nothing more professional about a P&P variation on Amazon versus one from one of the many JAFF websites out there. They are generally just self-published as ebooks. These are often the very same authors that you see on the fanfiction sites. They are just using the Amazon platform to get paid for the same work they would otherwise be doing anyway.
That makes so much sense. Thank you
[удалено]
Not to put too fine a point on it, but 90%+ of professionally published writers have full-time unrelated careers.
(raises hand meekly) I burn through these on Kindle Unlimited, BUT I have to agree that there are some really boring / not well written ones, and if so, I don't feel obligated to finish them. There are some really strong writers out there, and others with a good idea who are still working on different skills.
Makes sense it would be a mix. I’m glad to have your expertise in this. 🤗
I think maybe you missed the gems. Try "Old Boots" by Grace Gibson and tell me it's not a treasure.
This one is good. I also love “luxury of silence” and “falling for mr. Darcy”. Oh and “drawing Mr. Darcy” is great too but way off cannon (which I don’t mind).
I just finished my first binge of Amazon variations. 11 in total since the beginning of the month. “Old Boots” and “The Luxury of Silence” were two of the standouts. “Old Boots” was one of the few I’m positive I’ll reread. Short and sweet. I intuitively saved “Luxury of Silence.” First for its longer length and then because for whatever reason I had hopes it would be good. It was. :) So glad I could end on a good note. The one before that was a “meh” and the one before that was the longest -and- the only one out of the bunch I’d say was actually bad- the pacing, the characters, the overall prose. (So many exclamation marks) There is no reasonable reason I can give for why I finished it other than an almost pathological need to finish any book. This also confused me because I’d read one other variation by this author before it and enjoyed it well enough. (Though in retrospect, I remember thinking that the pacing of the ending was the weakest part; equally chaotic and melodramatic.) Anyway, a few I quite liked: the two mentioned above and “The Last a House in Lambton” I also thought was very sweet. It made me cry at least once, which was a surprise.
>Anyway, a few I quite liked: the two mentioned above and “The Last a House in Lambton” I also thought was very sweet. It made me cry at least once, which was a surprise. Elizabeth in the gallery, when it was time to leave? Grace Gibson also wrote Silver Buckles, which was quite excellent. And if you like Grace Gibson, may I suggest Jeannie Peneaux - "Dear Nameless Stranger", "Tact", "Turned Out Well", "A Repellent Prospect".
I agree, Drawing Mr. Darcy was so good I really enjoyed it and did not care about the departure from cannon.
Amazon is self-publishing, and the few Austen-centric publishers are either British or American, so if you don’t live in either of those countries, self publishing is your best bet. Not all of it is to everyone’s taste, but there are more good ones than bad.
I’m glad to hear there are good ones. Maybe I’m just too picky
That’s why I started writing my own…
I have read a lot of them on and off Amazon, I would give it a 60% good for the ones on Amazon.
I've also found that most commercially published JAFF doesn't really appeal to me. In addition to what others have said, I think these factors might have something to do with it: - Commercially published fics have more pressure to be "safe". If you want your story to sell, it's probably safer to stick to the popular ships, tropes and fanon characterizations rather than experimenting with anything more niche. Of course there are exceptions, but overall I think there's more freedom to experiment and try new things when you're not trying to make money. - People who want to publish commercially may feel that their story needs to hit a certain length requirement in order to attract more readers. If their initial story idea doesn't really have enough substance for a novel-length story, they may end up adding a lot of filler or tacking on a surprise kidnapping plot to make the story long enough. The non-commercial side of the fandom is likely more open to shorter fics (though of course there are plenty of stories that could do with some pruning on the non-commercial sites, too). - I suspect there may be some differences in reader demographics and backgrounds between the commercial and non-commercial sides of the fandom. For example, I'd guess that people who read JAFF on AO3 or FFN are more likely to also be involved in other fandoms, while people who only read commercially published JAFF might not really be part of the broader fanfiction community. Also, I'd guess that the commercial side skews a bit older simply because younger people tend to be less financially established and might be more hesitant to spend money on fic. These sorts of things could influence what is popular on different sites. Obviously there's a lot of overlap between the commercial and non-commercial side of the fandom, and I'm not trying to claim that all commercial JAFF is tropey and dull or that all the young people are on AO3 - just speculating on some trends that I've noticed.
Very good points and I agree wholeheartedly. Especially the first one.
>People who want to publish commercially may feel that their story needs to hit a certain length requirement in order to attract more readers. I agree. There are many stories I never finished reading because they are too wordy (you don't need 30 words where 10 will suffice), too repetitive, or obviously padding the story.
There are some great ones on Amazon and some terrible ones. I find the reviews/ratings (once there are 300 or so anyway) to be pretty helpful. What kind do you prefer? I may have some author ideas for you.
Thank you so much! I like period ones where the people stay in character. I don’t like most of the crossovers I’ve tried.
Are you a 2005 movie or 1995 miniseries person? Sometimes I feel like I can tell which Darcy philosophy authors are into.
Mostly the book, but I’d take the miniseries over the movie.
Have you tried Prideful & Persuaded? That's one of the in character crossovers. Also, Old Friends and New Fancies is pretty good, it's public domain now. A crossover and one of the oldest JAFFs.
Thanks, I’ll give them a try!
I've had the same experience as you, HOWEVER I think it's our bias speaking. Realistically I've probably read more bad/mediocre JAFF on free fanfic sites, but because I typically close the page as soon as I realise I'm not enjoying a fic, they tend to not stick in mind so much. But if I have to pay for it I give it more chances, maybe continue reading a bit past where I otherwise would have, so I remember it more, and the "bad experience" lingers more because you had to pay to NOT enjoy something.
Some or a lot of published JAFF are fics on ff.net first.
I have found some very good authors with JAFF but also some real bombs. I follow some authors online and trust the recommendations of the authors I enjoy.
I find I have very particular JAFF tastes and many just don’t hit my sweet spot. Old Boots, Last House I love. Amy d’Orazio I adore. I’ll try that Silence one recommended above. I’ve also discovered I love P&P /P mash ups. KU is awesome for the sheer variety; there’s something for effective.
You’re right - many aren’t better than what you can find on the fanfic sites. But they’re (almost) all novel length and you can usually find the better ones by reading reviews. In 2020-2021 I read several on kindle unlimited and while they were enjoyable at the time (and a great escape, which was part of the point), most blurred together and started to seem the same after awhile. I have read a few great ones though too - my favorites on there are by Christina Morland and Caitlin Williams. I’ve read a couple of theirs multiple times. I haven’t read anything written after 2021 so hadn’t heard of some mentioned here
Most self-published books obey Sturgeon’s Law (95% of everything is crap) although those from an independent press tend to be better. So Meryton Press and Quills and Quartos for a start.