Why fanfic can be so much better than authorised spin-offs

[charis_kalos]

It's always puzzled me as to how officially recognised spin-off novels of my favourite television shows can be so bad, given that the authors presumably have access to the show in ways that amateur fanfic writers can only dream of. But over my holiday last week I read Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers and Other Media Paratexts by Jonathan Gray

Comments

[ficwriter1966]

I often talk about the Quantum Leap tie-ins - the fine thing about that series is that ALL (or nearly all) of them were written by fans. The editor attended all the QL cons and bought great piles of zines, looking for writers, and the result was 15 books that were really enjoyable for fan readers.

The problem with a lot of tie-ins, I think, is that the writers aren't following the old edict to "Write what you know." They don't have an investment in the show; they don't *care* about the characters, and I think a love of your subject matter is really necessary for producing a story that's going to matter to the reader. If you've got an author who's mainly concerned with meeting a word count, on schedule, so that he can collect that paycheck - that's not going to produce anything memorable (at least, not in a good way).

(ETA: The showrunners and writers of QL had nothing to do with the novels - in fact, Don Bellisario hated the whole concept and made no bones about saying so. The tie-in authors had a 1-page list of rules to follow, and the rest was up to us, and the editor. So I don't know that having insider access to a show's production really makes much of a difference, other than allowing the writer to keep up with the current storyline of a show that's still in production.)

[charis_kalos]

The editor attended all the QL cons and bought great piles of zines, looking for writers, and the result was 15 books that were really enjoyable for fan readers.

That's a brilliant idea! I wonder if that could still be dome today, or if there is just too much fanfic out there. Maybe publishers could commission some dedicated fans to weed through the slush for them first?

This book talked about the way that someone like Peter Jackson made sure that everything connected to LOTR came out of the same place, so the DVD extras and the games and even the posters and the packaging all had a shared artistic integrity. Imagine if there was that level of commitment and connection to SPN products! No hideous mistakes to be picked up be fans like the colour of Dean's eyes or John initially driving another car!