#read fanfiction

[ofduskanddreams]

How I download fics and give them covers before sending them to my Kindle.

Hi all, I've been considering making a post about this for a while and now seems as good a time as any. I'm not an expert, and there is more than one way you can do this; I'm just going to show you my process using "Call It What You Want To" by @separatist-apologist as an example. [This will only work on computers FYI.]

Part One — Getting Started

Download Calibre (it's free.) Calibre for PC. Calibre for Mac. They also have it for Linux but idk if that's still relevant.

Follow the program's setup instructions, and then those for wirelessly connecting Calibre with your Kindle account. Alternatively, you can connect your Kindle/e-reader to your computer with a cable and transfer files manually or download the file to your hard drive and share it another way. I highly recommend taking a few extra minutes to set up the wireless sharing as I think it's far more convenient.

Create a folder in which to store fanfiction downloads so that you can be an organized human.

Part Two — The Fanfiction

Find the fic you want to download on ao3 and click it so that you're on the fic's first page.

Above the box of metadata (ratings, warning, tags, etc.) on the far right click the "download" option. When prompted to select a file type, choose "MOBI."

Note: Though ao3 has an "EPUB" option I've noticed a bug that removes the chapter navigation from the fic when downloading the EPUB directly from ao3. If you enjoy the "x minutes left in this chapter/book" feature on your e-reader, you will want to download "MOBI" and we will be converting it later in Calibre.

Save the file to the folder you created.

Launch Calibre if it isn't already running.

In Calibre, click "add books" on the toolbar at the top of the screen.

Navigate to the folder you saved the fic in, select the fic, then click "open." Calibre will import the MOBI file to your library.

Now as you can see, "Call It What You Want To" already has a cover when we imported it to the library. That is because the cover image is embedded in the fic on the archive. Some fics will already have covers embedded such as this one.

Calibre is not a genius. If there are multiple images in the fic it will usually take the first one and default it to the cover. In the next section, I will go over how to add/change the cover of a fic in Calibre and how I like to create them.

Note: Even if the fic doesn't have embedded images, covers may have been made by readers and linked to the fic either in the notes or related works sections so it's worth checking if a cover already exists. If a fic is popular enough, a Google search of the fic's title + "cover" or "cover art" will show you if there have been covers already created for it.

Part Three — Making The Cover (I use Canva)

On the Canva homepage click "create a design" then select the "custom size" option. Canva does have a book cover template but I've found that it's awkwardly tall compared to the default size for Kindle books so I make my own.

I set the dimensions of the design to be 1024 pixels wide, and 1600 pixels tall, then click "create new design."

This is where you can get creative, make whatever you want. These basic steps are shown in a gif at the bottom of the section:

One: Choose a background image (you'll want to make sure it's a high enough quality that it won't be pixelated.) I used an image I had already uploaded into Canva, but you can use whatever you would like.

Two: On the sidebar, select "elements" and then "rectangle."

Three: Make sure the rectangle covers the whole design, then change the color. I like using the colors from the photo that Canva suggests and then making them a darker shade. Once you have the color that you want, reduce the transparency of the rectangle to anywhere between 40-50%. (This step ensures that the text we put on top of the image is easily legible, play around with it a bit.)

Four: On the sidebar, select "text" and then "add a text box." Then type in the author's username and change the font, the color, and the size until you like it. Repeat the same steps for the fic's title. I like to center the title on the page and put the author toward the bottom but that's just my preference.

Once your cover looks the way you want it to, click "share" at the top right and follow the steps to download the file as a PNG. I usually just save the image to my desktop so I can grab it easily once I'm in Calibre.

Part Four — Adding the Cover in Calibre

In your Calibre library, hover over the fic and right-click. Then hover over "edit metadata" and click "edit metadata individually."

On the "edit metadata" screen, find the section that says "change cover" and click "browse."

When the file upload dialog box appears, navigate to the PNG you just saved from Canva, select it, and click "open." This will add your cover to the fic. You can use these same steps to add any cover image that you've saved to your computer.

Make sure to click "ok" at the bottom of the screen to save your new cover and navigate back to the library page.

Part Five — Converting to EPUB

In your Calibre library, select the fic and then click "convert books" on the toolbar. At the top right of the converting screen, set the "output format" to "EPUB."

Now, the following steps are unnecessary little things I do to make my reading experience more seamless.

Click "Look & Feel" on the left sidebar. Under the "fonts" tab, I embed the "Georgia" font family. I do this because I prefer reading in Georgia which is not a default option on my PaperWhite*. I have my Calibre conversion settings in place to do this automatically. You can embed any font that you have on your computer.

*It might just be me, but when opening a downloaded fic (following the methods in this post) for the first time on my Kindle the font is always weird. The trick to fix it is to go and change the font from whatever is selected (Baskerville in my case) to "publisher's font" and then I've found that switching it back to "Baskerville" on the font selection screen activates the embedded Georgia... even though it will say that it's Baskerville? Idk why this is, I just wanted to let you know how I fix it.

Calibre defaults to a justified text alignment unless you change the default settings. This appears as "original" in the alignment options. The random too-large spaces between words of a justified alignment give me the ick so to make everything left aligned, I stay on the "look & feel" page but move to the "text" tab where I can change the alignment.

Staying on "look & feel," move to the "layout" tab. To ensure even paragraph spacing regardless of how it appeared on the archive, I select both the "remove spaces between paragraphs" and "insert blank line between paragraphs" options.

On this page, you can also change the indent size of the first line of every paragraph (highlighted pink,) and the size of the blank lines Calibre will insert between paragraphs upon conversion (highlighted green.) I set the indent to 0.0 and leave the line size 0.5 which is the default.

The last thing I do is go to "EPUB output" on the left sidebar and check the box labeled "insert inline table of contents." This just means that Calibre will add a table of contents to the beginning of the EPUB. (By default it puts the TOC at the end which I don't like.)

When everything is set as you'd like it, click "ok" on the bottom right and Calibre will convert the MOBI file you downloaded from ao3 to an EPUB containing the settings we just changed. Both file types will appear in your library when you click on the fic and scroll within the right-side window. I usually delete the MOBI format after I have the EPUB because I don't need it any longer.

And you've done it! Now all you have to do is either right-click and share it to your Kindle, or you can "save to disk" and download the EPUB file to transfer to your e-reader by a method of your choosing.

I hope someone finds this marginally helpful. In truth, I was just bored so I made this post but in light of the recent DDoS attacks against ao3, I think everyone should look into downloading their favorites so that you're never left out in the cold again.

Happy fanfic downloading <3

#fanfiction #acotar fanfiction #ao3 #archive of our own #download fanfiction #downloading fanfic #calibre #fanfic #fanfiction cover #how to guides #fanfiction on ao3 #fanfiction on kindle #read fanfiction #fandom things

[karmy-cries-again]

this is how my happiness looks like (it actually destroy’s me every night)

#marauders #prongs #regulus arcturus black #sirius black #james & peter & remus & sirius #ao3 fanfic #regulus black #marauders fic #ao3fic #sunseeker #ao3 #ao3 writer #ao3feed #ao3 link #ao3 tags #read fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic

[could-be-gayer]

Chaotic Fanfic Recommendation <3

Do you wanna read about a bard with no self preservation skills with a band of emotionally constipated wolf guys? What about platonic relationships that melt you to your absolute core? Screaming at your phone cause God will you please kiss and tell each other your big emotions?

Then I have an amazing fanfic for you, my guy. This "the way in which you talk to me (have me wishing I were gone)" by Livesinbooks. This a story of non-human Jaskier making up with Geralt after you know that and taking him to Kaer Morhen and meeting all the witchers. Then, it builds apon these relationships in stuff a fun way for the characters and the dynamics, my god the dynamics. This is such a fun story that grows and keeps you wanting more. This is about finding love in all its different forms and how to communicate in these relationships. If you have a general understand of The Witcher then you will love this canon divergence. The Geraskier is so yummy, finger licking good yummy. Jaskier is especially is most chaotic and brings everyone down with him and they find out they love his company and want geralt to lock this shit down cause Jaskier is so fluffy and good. With Ciri in this, Jaskier is already making himself #1 dad and Ciri loves it. Then, Yennefer is her badass self. The plot was not put to the side, and it entwines nicely with the characters and helps with the growth of their relationships. It feels like the author loves these characters and wants the best for them, so you. Should. Read. This. Please

Now Bob with the stats:

This fic comes in at 41,950 words with 4 chapters. It has 152 comments with 1,530 kudos. It sits at a nice 284 bookmarks and 16,766 hits

My note on the fic was:

Jaskier, non human being: I will just live my life singing and enjoying nice people

Geralt, a man that hunts non human beings and is not nice: *exists*

Jaskier: look at that the love of my life

Summary and Tags:

Link:

#fanfiction #fanfic #read fanfiction #fanfic rec #fanfiction recommendation #family fanfiction #found family #witcher #the witcher #geraskier #geralt #jaskier #non human jaskier #gay #lgbtq #wolves #wolf witchers #choatic recommendation #lgbt positivity #ciri is jaskier and geralt's daughter #witcher fanfic #kaer morhen #kaer morons #trans positivity #ao3 #ao3fic #ao3 link #ao3 tags #found family trope #platonic cuddles

[rocky-again]

I like turtles

I was bored with markers

Leo my fav turtle, sadly he didn't turn out as good like the others :[

First time drawing April, feel like I did good. Raph and Mikey turned out great, but Raph best! Donnie Is there...

Turtle, just turtles. You can thank my sibling for getting me obsessed with Rottmnt and now I can't look back cuz all I can see is turtles. I can only draw and read turtle.

#rottmnt donatello #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt april #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt fanart #fanart #rise of the turtles #turtlepower #turtles forever #art #drawing #markers #bored af #new obsession #read fanfiction

[crackr-j4ck]

Translation, creative freedom ✍️

Traducción, libertad creativa ✍️

#ship meme #memes funny #fanfic writer #writer things #fanfiction #canon vs fanon #tumblr memes #shipps #writers on tumblr #writing #fanfics #read fanfiction #fanfic #fanfic meme #lo que callamos los escritores #what we writers keep silent #crackerjack #ship blog

[ghospysoul]

DAMN AO3 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

I was going to do some homework but… LITERALLY I FIND A FANFICTION WITH MORE THAN 180k WORDS THAT IS FINISHED WITH 50/5O CHAPTERS

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!

#ao3 #fanfiction #fanfics #read fanfiction #I don't know shit about tags sorry #memes

[duaghterofstories]

One time I thought of a really funny byler fanfic where it's entirely canon complient, except that just days after the Byers moved, Mike meets some random girl who seems super weird, and it turns out she's a time/dimension traveler from either just plain 2022 or our world 2022 (That was never determined, hut one fo the two. Also, it didn't have to be 2022, I just thought of it in 2022, so...). I called her Brittney

Anyway, they become great friends somehow, and Brittney thinks it would be hilarious if he just... didn't tell the Byers anything about this.

Also, she continues operating as if it's her time/dimension, and she isn't ashamed. She's openly queer, uses her tech, and is just your average, depressed, Gen Z kid with crippling anxiety and an ao3 addiction. Everyone is too scared to bully her about any of these things because she has demonstrated multiple times that she is excellent with many weapons, including many types of polearms+a scythe and crossbows, and one of her writing presontations was a detailed story where a girl killed someone and then detailed her exact method for hiding the body and getting away with it etc.

Anyway, she's just kind of chilling with the Party in Hawkins for S4, and Eddie lives, but then, the Byers come back and everyone kind of... assumes that Mike told them about Brittney.

He listens to them talk about her and Mike, and assumes Mike replaced him or smth. He didn't, Brittney just figured out he was gay in .5 seconds, attached to him, and now they're both queer pining messes and she knows he likes WIll and stuff, she's not trying to replace anyone, just exist.

And one day they crack and ask who Brittney is and they're super confused, but they take them to meet her, and she immediatly calls Will gay, insults his hair, and the gets confused when he gets hurt and offended and shit.

And then Mike walks in, and she immediately is like: "This is your type? Honestly, I thought you at least had some decorum. Like, honestly, you couldn't like someone who at least looks good."

If someone could write that, that's be great.

#important note: if she is dimension traveling she has not seen the show #like she's seen things about it #read fanfiction #seen tumblr posts #and tiktok stuff #but she hasn't seent he actual show #she has no clue what's happening #she also is consistantly getting into dangerous and deadly situations and laughing in the face of death #if she gets vecna'd she spends at least five minutes explaining a/b/o or supernatural to him #stranger things #byler #fanfic #fanfic request #mike wheeler #will byers #also jargyle was a thing in it #i dunno #i think it was light nancy bashing #but that wasn't important and you can leave that out #definetly steddie and stommy #because she has no chill when getting her gay ships together #if two people have the proper vibes she gets them together #dm me if you're interested in writing it

[very-small-flower]

Can we discuss the best browsers to use AO3? Because I had been using Chrome, which apparently sucks ass compared to Safari. In safari you can make tab groups to organize the hundred fics I have open and it’s a lot better at holding onto where you are on a page.

#AO3 #archive of our own #read fanfiction #chrome loses my spot if I leave it for like an hour

[panandinpain0]

Wattpad won't load and I'm questioning my existence again

#wattpad #fanfiction #writer #fandoms #reader #read fanfiction #fanfiction things

[karmy-cries-again]

the bible its a fanfic about jesus live without the smut

#ao3 fanfic #ao3fic #read fanfiction #fanfic #bible #jesus #smut #bible verse #ao3feed #ao3 #ao3 tags #ao3 stuff #fanfiction

[could-be-gayer]

Chaotic Fanfic Recommendation

Do you enjoy werewolves? What about teenage werewolves that have so much trauma it could fill the ocean? Enemy redemption? Enemies to kinda friends to friends to roommates to lovers? What about angry Boi x ex-evil trauma Boi?

Then, this fanfiction is for you!

'The courage to keep on living in the midst of these ruins' by theroyalsavage

This is a story about Theo and Liam, and the aftermath of Monroe's invasion. This focuses on Theo, and him trying to navigate being a teenager, who has been in a hell dimension, who has taken down so many in the McCall pack, who thinks he is a broken and useless science experiment made for disaster. Theo cares for Liam so deeply that he doesn't even realize. Theo views Liam in a light that makes Theo think he does not deserve him and will destroy him if they are together. Liam does not take this sh*t.

In the end, this is a story about finding your way in a world that seemly rejected you and you have forsaken for long time. That finding someone to make you realize you deserve to be here, and that you are cared about. It's about growing into someone you like above all else and how that takes time, but when someone you love and who loves you can makes the journey a little easier.

Stats!!!!!! Your favorite part!!!!

Words: 11,944 Comments: 25 Kudos: 429 Bookmark: 90 Hits: 3490

My Bookmark note: This is a beautiful piece to show how someone who wants to change tries so hard to fight it, but changes without noticing. How loving someone is as easy as breathing, and the thought that you would hurt them destories your soul. This is truly an amazing piece of art.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40381470

(The link hates me....boooooooooo)

#teen wolf #thiam #theo reaken #liam dumbar #fanfiction #read fanfiction #fanfiction recommendation #fanfic rec #fanfic #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fanfic rec #lgbtq #fanfic memes #choatic recommendation #gay #enimes to lovers #enimies to life saver to friends to lovers #thiam is real #thiam endgame #emotional #trauma #so gay werewolves if you will #werewolf #gay werewolves #theo needs love #theo is traumatized #but like so is liam #they are gay #they are soulmates #theroyalsavage

[shining-just-4-u]

u ever read a fanfic so good that you want. fanfic of the fanfic

#fanfiction #kanej #solangelo #percabeth #the fic in question was a solangelo popstar au I literally want to reread it already I read it in one day #BEGGING for the final two chapters

[thatlittledandere]

Everyone should read their own fanfics recreationally tbh this shit fucking rules. It's like the author knows exactly what I like.

#venlapost #fanfiction #I'm reading regrets of last night and going wahoo!! hell yeah!! yipiii!!

[bardofavon]

not to be controversial bc I know this is like…not in line with shifting opinions on fanfic comment culture but if there’s a glaring typo in my work I will NOT be offended by pointing it out. if ao3 fucks up the formatting…I will also not be offended by having this pointed out…

‘looking forward to the next update’ and ‘I hope you update soon!’ are different vibes than a demand, and should be read in good faith because a reader is finding their way to tell you how much they love it. I will not be mad at this.

‘I don’t usually like this ship but this fic made me feel something’ is also incredibly high praise. I’m not going to get mad at this.

even ‘I love this fic but I’m curious about why you made [x] choice’ is just another way a reader is engaging in and putting thought into your work.

I just feel like a lot of authors take any comment that’s not perfectly articulated glowing praise in the exact manner they’re hoping to receive it in bad faith.

fic engagement has been dropping across the board over the last several years, and yes it’s frustrating but it isn’t as though I can’t see how it happens. comment anxiety can be a real thing. the last thing anyone wants to do is offend an author they love, and that means sometimes people default to silence.

idk where I’m going with this I guess aside from saying unless a comment is outright attacking me I’m never going to get mad at it, and I think a lot of authors should feel the same way. ESPECIALLY TYPOS PLZ GOD POINT OUT MY TYPOS.

#ao3 #archive of our own #fanfiction #tbh even if I got a comment that said ‘I hate you I’m going to kill your family’ on chapter 75 it still means they read 75 chapters first…. #it just makes me sad to see so many writers shouting into the void #and also see ppl complain openly about the specific types of comments they receive #posting screenshots on Reddit like ‘should I be mad at this’ CALM DOWN #sigh

[afriendstolovers]

!!!!!!!

#romance #tropes #writing #reading #books #fanfiction #this screams jiara #*gege

[thisnightissparkling089]

A friend sent this to me today and I feel attacked😅

#chenford #the rookie #fanfiction #ao3 #fanfic #fan fiction #a03 fanfic #ao3 fic #read on ao3 #archive of our own #writing problems #writers of tumblr