Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fall in love with the unloved...
The LUV NV is one of those sites you can not help but follow. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The graphics are mesmerizing and we all know how much I love that. The layout is clean, segments are easy to follow, all links follow through, and a cute little arrow brings you back to the top without carpel tunnel syndrome scrolling.
And they are soooo different. Not your usual fandom site. The LUV NV promotes the under-fictionated characters and pairings. There are no E/B rec's on site except during their Deviant Days.
I am completely hooked on them. I am on their site all the time checking out their segments. And coming from a canon loving Edward girl, that says a lot. I haven't found a segment on site that is not professionally written, posted, and formatted. I love that! There is nothing worse, and I am sorry to even make the comment, but there really is nothing worse than a sloppy site. The amount of effort and dedication shows with every post.
The LUV NV's dedication to non-canon and under appreciated writers is mind blowing. There is something for every non-canon lover. Even an Edward lover like me.
One of my favorite segments is their V Inquisition where they interview characters from stories. It is a great idea and I wished I thought of it!
They also have another little gem I love, Lyrical Libations, where the fandom can submit, of course following the site guidelines, their favorite songs based on their monthly theme.
Hmm...I am going on a bit aren't I? You can tell how much I like this site can't you? Want to know more? Who these ladies are? What inspires them? How they even came up with their look?
They are here today to tell you everything you want to know...
Tell us about your site
The LUV'NV is about getting the Twilight fandom to fall in love with the unloved. There's so many good fics being overlooked because it's not E/B or it has a low review count. We felt the lesser known—the lesser loved—needed a site for mainly them. One the fandom could come to for those type of recs, some recognition, and a little encouragement and inspiration.
But we also want to inspire everyone—readers and writers, betas and artists, both canon and non-canon. We have a ton of features catering toward different needs of the fandom—from from promotional advertising for fics, authors, and events to helping writers get motivated for their chapter with music recs and characterization info. We'll interview betas, graphic artists, and readers, not just authors. We host contests that aren't only geared to writers.
Put simply, we want to help the fandom broaden their own horizons and fall in love again. If it's non-canon, slash, the wolves, or even just becoming a writer, we want get everyone to step out of their box and comfort zones, and fall in with their very own unloved. To give others—whether it's another pairing, character, or author—a chance, and maybe, just maybe, inspire someone else as well with their writing.
Because in reality who knew they'd fall in love with a young adult series about teenage, sparkly vampires?
All it takes is one great fic, one inspirational song, one amazing idea, or even one tiny, insightful resource to move someone, to help them fall in love, or to make something great, and we hope to do just that at The LUV'NV.
Why did you decide to create the site?
Originally, I wanted to share the non-typical, non-canon fics (along with finding some to read myself ;D). I felt there was a lot of the same trends happening in fanfiction, especially in non-canon, and there needed to be an all-around ... thought-provoking site. I also wanted to give the fandom a place to go where they could easily find everything—videos, banners, interviews—pertaining to the featured fics and their authors.
When we opened in 2010, we ended up rec'ing more E/B fics than non-canon, though. We also later realized that non-canon pairings weren't the only ones not getting attention—it's non-E/B in general. Now with the reopening and the new look, we're sticking to our guns, trying with renewed vigor to get those non-E/B fics attention, and really hoping to inspire everyone with new segments.
What do you want your blog to accomplish?
We want to entice everyone to read the little known fics, TwiCharacters, and pairings, bring attention to the under-recognized aspects of fan fiction, and maybe, inspire someone else to write their own non-E/B.
How do you decide which fics or authors to rec?
The LUV'NV wants to be a reliable source of good, non-E/B recs, so we look at pairing and actually read the fics submitted. I want to say that we don't rely on review count, but we do—the less, the better. :) I think we all know the number of reviews can be misleading. Since we're all about spreading the love, we also try to make sure we don't rec from the author consecutively, and that all types of pairings and story lines are given a chance.
Therefore, we take everything into account when we rec fics. Some are personal favorites. Some our own "unloved" and out of our usual preferences; we can't ask the fandom to fall in love with the unloved if we don't try to do so ourselves. But we aim to get as much exposure as we can for those great, overlooked stories with the tiny review counts. We'll try to do more than just rec them, too. We'll do author interviews, character inquisitions, tweet it as often as possible, even personally rec the fics in participating staffs' chapter A/Ns.
Do you have any plans for the future of your site that you would like to share?
*grins* Soon we'll be planning our first annual awards!
Favorite thing about the twific fandom?
The people. No doubt about it. The women we've met through our features and affiliates are beyond amazing, so helpful, grateful, humbling, and often hardworking. They're major sweethearts. And they all share the same passion we have for Twilight and fanfiction!
How did you find each other?
CareMarie reads my fic "In Love and War," and when I mentioned wanting to open a site in one of my A/Ns, she immediately jumped aboard. Arianna-Janae is the first author we featured for the de Vill's Advocate segment, and she fell in love with non-canon herself after discovering the site. Wonderwoundedhearers found out we rec'd her, and she adored the site's concept of the falling in love with the unloved. Riotanthem applied not much later, and she just loves me. ;) With the reopening of the site, we have a recent addition to the family: Wayward Girl, from our now sister site, The Wayward Pushers.
What do you think is the most important component to a rec site in the twific fandom?
Engaging review. Short, long, thorough, quoted text or not—it won't matter if you can't get the followers to continue reading the review and ultimately checking out the fic.
How did you decide on the site design?
The red wax seal. I made it ... oh, I don't know when—last year. Maybe even before then. I've wanted to redo the site's look since April 2011 and the wax seal sealed the idea of a letter/newspaper/correspondence theme for me.
What is the key to a successful blog?
I want to say exposure, but I think it really all comes down to interaction—through the affiliates, utilizing twitter, simply telling the authors they were featured, having fun, fandom-engaging and -enticing features, friendly staff, etc. It's kind of like when your favorite author replies to your review. You know they took the time to show their appreciation, even if it's something as simple as a two-sentence reply. You'll want to review again because the author actually cares about the reviewers, and not the review count. The same applies to sites. It nice when a site—seemingly—goes out of its way to comment back, offer help, etc. and continues to do so. A site depends on its fandom to keep it alive. Caring about our followers and taking a little time to show appreciation can go a long way. And you can catch more bees with honey, right?
How do you grow your readership?
By affiliating, catering to different tastes and needs, and featuring different authors and then telling them about it.
Who are you founding members and current staff?
The founding members are me and CareMarie. Arianna-Janae has been with us almost from the very beginning and is another admin. Riotanthem and wonderwoundhearers are the senior staff, and just this yesterday, Wayward Girl joined our little luv'n family.
And can I just say ... Thank you so much, Credoroza, for featuring and affiliating with The LUV'NV. You're one of those wonderful, hardworking women I was talking about. The fandom is lucky to have you and your blog. *hugs!*
LUV NV blogspot
@TheLUVNV
*laughs* I had no idea you were so excited about the site! Thank you so much for the kind words and for spotlighting us and taking the time to do so. You're amazing, hun! *hugs!*
ReplyDeleteWhat's not to like! LOL!! The graphics alone can lure you in.
DeleteYou are so welcome. I had a blast with the Caius Weekend. It was a lot of fun doing the posts and very different for me. Thanks to your story, I stepped out of my comfort zone and like it!
*Squee* Wow, you totally rock, Credorosa! Thank you so much for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteI have to give credit to Raindropsoup for introducing me to the world of non-canon, but even as a member of The LUV'NV I still love me some E/B.
Sometimes it's fun to try on a new leading man every once in a while.*winks*
I agree with everything you wrote, that is what made me apply to be a staff member! Thanks to the ladies for having me on board and *hugs* to Credorosa for the wonderful interview.
ReplyDelete