Amalthia's recs and fan works

Oh, it absolutely is demoralizing to see a rec list and your latest story not there! I don't know any writer who doesn't agree!

But certainly a thread of positive stuff is much better than a thread of negative stuff. At least in my opinion.

I always considered you a very popular author and I guess it didn't occur to me that you might have the same doubts about your writing that I have.

You are very kind and I appreciate your nice words! And really, I don't think there's a single writer who doesn't feel nervous upon posting something new - everyone wants her or his writing to be appreciated and thought positively of and recced!

Which is why you contribute something positive by commenting on stories you like, and even more, by reccing those stories so that others might be inclined to read them. You're totally right that there's perhaps too much focus on the fic and art - but those are the most visible fandom contributions, maybe. Community moderators, challenge organizers, newsletter editors, beta readers, icon-makers, media distributors, writers of thinky meta - all of these contribute to the fandom. And so do the people who do nothing but view and read and comment or feedback - every performer needs an audience.