Have you noticed that Twilight has some seriously unhinged fans?
So I was browsing the Lexicon today, and I came across a really interesting article about a woman who wrote a book-length fanfiction "tribute sequel" to the Twilight series, and the rigmarole she's caused with her marketing campaign. Yes, that's right - she's been trying to sell her Twilight fanfic.
There are tons of links in the article (and you should definitely check them out) to her defenses and explanations on why she should be able to [self-]publish this. One of my favorite bits of her argument is, "The characters in SM's novels were not copyrighted because she never drew them or hired an artist to draw them." Hahahahaaa!!!!
Oh, and here's another one: "When fictional characters become such an intricate part of the popular psyche, as is the case with the Twilight Saga, legal boundaries become blurred, and copyright laws become increasingly difficult to define. This is especially the case when actual cities like Forks and Volterra are used as the novel's settings. Such settings are not copyrightable, as they are considered public domain. Similarly, the Quileute Nation is also not copyrightable, and neither are vampire or werewolf legends. Copyright laws protect writers from unauthorized reproductions of their work, but such reproductions only include verbatim copying. Characters are only copyrightable if their creator draws them or hires an artist to draw them."
Anyway, it made it into the Lex because she issued a press release yesterday, an interview with one of the Twilight fansites. Here are some of my favorite parts of the interview:
F: A lot of people are scared if you will keep all of the characters the same way, the original way or not.
A: No, all the characters undergo some type of a transformation. The characters are in a constant state of becoming.
F: Could you give me a hint?
A: Well, for instance I’ll be exploring Rosalie’s character a great deal, also Alice will become sick. [Note: Isn't their inability to change.. uh.. kinda A MAJOR POINT of these books?]
...
F: Do you feel like your work its more like a regular book or a fanfic in a bigger scale? Cause some people say it is.
A: I believe I have more training and education than the average fanfic writer, so that’s the only reason I wanted to release it as a book, but I guess it’s been turned into a huge moral issue.
...
F:...But you are a big fan right? How would you react if the book was made by someone else?
A: Yes, a big fan. The author is just a medium. So the story and the characters are more important to me than the author. They definitely have lives of their own once they’re created.
Watch out, my writer friends! Your characters can become too real for you to keep legal hold on! Don't forget to hire an artist to draw your characters, so you retain copyright!
EDIT: I forgot to mention.. This publisher she's been working with, to produce the book... is a publishing house that SHE CREATED HERSELF. So all these press releases where she talks to her "publishing team" are third-person self-references..!
There are tons of links in the article (and you should definitely check them out) to her defenses and explanations on why she should be able to [self-]publish this. One of my favorite bits of her argument is, "The characters in SM's novels were not copyrighted because she never drew them or hired an artist to draw them." Hahahahaaa!!!!
Oh, and here's another one: "When fictional characters become such an intricate part of the popular psyche, as is the case with the Twilight Saga, legal boundaries become blurred, and copyright laws become increasingly difficult to define. This is especially the case when actual cities like Forks and Volterra are used as the novel's settings. Such settings are not copyrightable, as they are considered public domain. Similarly, the Quileute Nation is also not copyrightable, and neither are vampire or werewolf legends. Copyright laws protect writers from unauthorized reproductions of their work, but such reproductions only include verbatim copying. Characters are only copyrightable if their creator draws them or hires an artist to draw them."
Anyway, it made it into the Lex because she issued a press release yesterday, an interview with one of the Twilight fansites. Here are some of my favorite parts of the interview:
F: A lot of people are scared if you will keep all of the characters the same way, the original way or not.
A: No, all the characters undergo some type of a transformation. The characters are in a constant state of becoming.
F: Could you give me a hint?
A: Well, for instance I’ll be exploring Rosalie’s character a great deal, also Alice will become sick. [Note: Isn't their inability to change.. uh.. kinda A MAJOR POINT of these books?]
...
F: Do you feel like your work its more like a regular book or a fanfic in a bigger scale? Cause some people say it is.
A: I believe I have more training and education than the average fanfic writer, so that’s the only reason I wanted to release it as a book, but I guess it’s been turned into a huge moral issue.
...
F:...But you are a big fan right? How would you react if the book was made by someone else?
A: Yes, a big fan. The author is just a medium. So the story and the characters are more important to me than the author. They definitely have lives of their own once they’re created.
Watch out, my writer friends! Your characters can become too real for you to keep legal hold on! Don't forget to hire an artist to draw your characters, so you retain copyright!
EDIT: I forgot to mention.. This publisher she's been working with, to produce the book... is a publishing house that SHE CREATED HERSELF. So all these press releases where she talks to her "publishing team" are third-person self-references..!