Carved in MYSTIC RUNES upon the VERY LIVING ROCK
This has less to do with "If I Pay Thee Not in Gold," and more musings on certain author reactions to fanfiction.
George Martin, of "A Song of Ice and Fire" (if you happen to be watching Game of Thrones, it's part of it:)
"My characters are my children … I don’t want people making off with them, thank you. Even people who say they love my children. I’m sure that’s true, I don’t doubt the sincerity of the affection, but still… No one gets to abuse the people of Westeros but me."
To you, I first offer major note 3. I'd just like to add to that, that it's kinda, iono, WEIRD to say that yer characters are yer children, and that you have a unique right to abuse them.
Anne Rice:
"I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my readers to write your own original stories with your own characters. It is absolutely essential that you respect my wishes."
You, who write books that are worse than Twilight, receive major notes 1 and 2. That's all I have to say about you and yer Tom Cruise vehicle.
Stephenie "Bella Swan" Meyer:
"People pour out so much energy and talent into them... It makes me frustrated. I’m like, go write your own story. Put them out there and get them published. That’s what you should be doing. You should be working on your own book right now."
While that's interesting advice, I'd imagine that there are reasons why people write fanfiction. I'll actually touch on these in major notes 1 and 2; but know, at least, that the notes are not directed at you. Through both sides of Twilight's reception, the good and the bad, I think you've suffered enough. ^^
Ursula LeGuin:
"As for anybody publishing any story ‘derived from’ my stuff, I am absolutely opposed to it & have never given anyone permission to do so. It is lovely to ‘share worlds’ if your imagination works that way, but mine doesn’t; to me, it’s not sharing but an invasion, literally - strangers coming in and taking over the country I live in, my heartland."
You get major note 1, in a major way.
Orson Scott Card:
"I will sue, because if I do NOT act vigorously to protect my copyright, I will lose that copyright … So fan-fiction, while flattering, is also an attack on my means of livelihood."
You get major note 2, and a sincere promise from me that I will never knowingly read anything you write, or adaptations thereof.
Diana Gabaldon:
"OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I know it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters."
Also, "You know, I’m very flattered that some of you enjoy the books so much that you feel inspired to engage with the writing in a more personal way than most readers do. Both for legal and personal reasons, though, I’m not comfortable with fan-fiction based on any of my work, and request that you do not write it, do not send it to me, and do not publish it, whether in print or on the web. Thank you very much for your consideration."
You get all three major notes. It's a shame, too - "Outlander" is actually a pretty cool name for a series - but you also receive the same promise from me that I've just given to Mr. Card, above.
-------
Major Note 1: On publicity and why people write fanfic.
Anyone who becomes a public figure risks certain things that come with becoming a public figure - worship and revulsion, tribute and parody, love and hate. Writers, even more than film directors or musicians, are world-crafters; if you do well (or poorly) enough, people naturally want to explore yer world on a level that yer 100, 200, 300, 500 pages don't allow. They want to ponder what-ifs, and explore aspects that you never considered when you smithed yer story.
Think of most space-travel milieux, like Star Wars, Star Trek, Battletech, etc. Massive galaxies, mostly glossed over if at all touched by canon. On a smaller level, even think of expansive worlds that are only partially presented. Obviously I can point to Pokemon for this: even considering the main game series only, we've visited half of Japan and New York City... on what the Pokedexes hint at is a full parallel Earth.
It also goes to characters. Pokemon, again, supplies us with an example within the games' main series: you are not Red. You are you, with the sprite (whose manga parallel is Red, and whose anime parallel is Ash) serving as a proxy of fairly minimal background. You are pulled into the world by the Professor's introduction, and anchored to it with a little splash of backstory.
I know, long-winded explanation for something simple: as an author and world-crafter, you've created something much larger --- something inviting --- and yer audience wants to explore it.
As for why people don't seek publication or a "career" in writing... maybe they don't want the publicity. Maybe they don't think their stuff is good enough to get published. Maybe they watched Brian (from Family Guy) try to get published - it is, I imagine, pretty accurate as to what sort of trouble it can be. Maybe they want the freedom to get burned out without worrying about deadlines or whatnot. Maybe writing fanfic whets the appetite for or is practice for actual writing. Or maybe it's just a hobbyist's stepping into the larger world within yet beyond yer pages. Instead of shunting that energy away, why not feed on the energy, reclaim it, and expand that world in yer own "proper" way?
Major note 2: On the legality of fanfic.
To say that it is illegal is oversimplified to the point of being a lie. In short, it's rather complicated; and involves the tangled intersection between derivative works and fair use, as well as that between fanfic and fair use.
To these, I suppose I should let law experts speak, na? ^^
Major note 3: On the morality of fanfic.
Morality, of course, is inherently subjective. I do find it interesting that someone could have a moral objective to a tribute or alternate exploration of a work... but to each.
However... there are a couple things to say here. First, to Ms. Rice (and to a lesser extent Mr. Card:)
Both of you have played the copyright-infringement card. Ms. Rice at least advises fanfic writers to switch to original work, which to me is a strange contradiction in ideas. Quickly explaining this...
Fanfic writers are diverting their time and energy into immersing themselves in aspects of yer world, in their own way. They cannot profit from this; yet web "publication" becomes a form of viral marketing that costs you literally nothing.
You would see them divert the same time and energy into original works from which they CAN potentially profit... and potentially at yer expense.
Mr. Card says his livelihood is threatened by the existence of fanfiction. But which is really the greater threat?
Fanfic advertises yer product, causing you to sell more.
Original works compete with yer product, causing you to sell less.
It's that simple.
To Ms. Gabaldon, Ms. LeGuin, and Mr. Martin:
Y'all say that fanfic authors are making off with yer characters, invading yer homeland, or doing something immoral. You get upset or even physically ill(!!) at the thought that a reader might want to explore the world you've crafted in the form of a fanfic.
I would advise y'all, and anyone who might feel disgusted at being fanficced, to stop writing and find more personality-friendly lines of work. Here's the rub. I'm sure that for most books, there's at least one person on earth who will read it and do one or more of the following related actions, without intent to cut into yer profits:
-Write a fanfic;
-Write a crossover fanfic;
-Write a non-canon romance fic;
-Write a non-canon gay romance (eg, a slash fic)
-Write a parody fic;
-Write a review;
-Draw fan art of which you might approve;
-Draw porn fan art;
-Draw furry or other hybrid fan art;
-Draw gender bender fan art;
-Draw crossover fan art;
-Discuss the content on a forum;
-Cosplay a character;
-Cosplay a furry or other hybrid character;
-Cosplay a gender bent character;
-Engage in sexual roleplay while cosplaying;
-Get a boner while thinking about it;
-Deliberately induce a boner while thinking about it.
Now that I've wormed y'all's brains... yes, all of this is happening to the books you've written. All of it. If this is too hot for you, perhaps leaving the kitchen is in order. Just sayin'.
George Martin, of "A Song of Ice and Fire" (if you happen to be watching Game of Thrones, it's part of it:)
"My characters are my children … I don’t want people making off with them, thank you. Even people who say they love my children. I’m sure that’s true, I don’t doubt the sincerity of the affection, but still… No one gets to abuse the people of Westeros but me."
To you, I first offer major note 3. I'd just like to add to that, that it's kinda, iono, WEIRD to say that yer characters are yer children, and that you have a unique right to abuse them.
Anne Rice:
"I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my readers to write your own original stories with your own characters. It is absolutely essential that you respect my wishes."
You, who write books that are worse than Twilight, receive major notes 1 and 2. That's all I have to say about you and yer Tom Cruise vehicle.
Stephenie "Bella Swan" Meyer:
"People pour out so much energy and talent into them... It makes me frustrated. I’m like, go write your own story. Put them out there and get them published. That’s what you should be doing. You should be working on your own book right now."
While that's interesting advice, I'd imagine that there are reasons why people write fanfiction. I'll actually touch on these in major notes 1 and 2; but know, at least, that the notes are not directed at you. Through both sides of Twilight's reception, the good and the bad, I think you've suffered enough. ^^
Ursula LeGuin:
"As for anybody publishing any story ‘derived from’ my stuff, I am absolutely opposed to it & have never given anyone permission to do so. It is lovely to ‘share worlds’ if your imagination works that way, but mine doesn’t; to me, it’s not sharing but an invasion, literally - strangers coming in and taking over the country I live in, my heartland."
You get major note 1, in a major way.
Orson Scott Card:
"I will sue, because if I do NOT act vigorously to protect my copyright, I will lose that copyright … So fan-fiction, while flattering, is also an attack on my means of livelihood."
You get major note 2, and a sincere promise from me that I will never knowingly read anything you write, or adaptations thereof.
Diana Gabaldon:
"OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I know it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters."
Also, "You know, I’m very flattered that some of you enjoy the books so much that you feel inspired to engage with the writing in a more personal way than most readers do. Both for legal and personal reasons, though, I’m not comfortable with fan-fiction based on any of my work, and request that you do not write it, do not send it to me, and do not publish it, whether in print or on the web. Thank you very much for your consideration."
You get all three major notes. It's a shame, too - "Outlander" is actually a pretty cool name for a series - but you also receive the same promise from me that I've just given to Mr. Card, above.
-------
Major Note 1: On publicity and why people write fanfic.
Anyone who becomes a public figure risks certain things that come with becoming a public figure - worship and revulsion, tribute and parody, love and hate. Writers, even more than film directors or musicians, are world-crafters; if you do well (or poorly) enough, people naturally want to explore yer world on a level that yer 100, 200, 300, 500 pages don't allow. They want to ponder what-ifs, and explore aspects that you never considered when you smithed yer story.
Think of most space-travel milieux, like Star Wars, Star Trek, Battletech, etc. Massive galaxies, mostly glossed over if at all touched by canon. On a smaller level, even think of expansive worlds that are only partially presented. Obviously I can point to Pokemon for this: even considering the main game series only, we've visited half of Japan and New York City... on what the Pokedexes hint at is a full parallel Earth.
It also goes to characters. Pokemon, again, supplies us with an example within the games' main series: you are not Red. You are you, with the sprite (whose manga parallel is Red, and whose anime parallel is Ash) serving as a proxy of fairly minimal background. You are pulled into the world by the Professor's introduction, and anchored to it with a little splash of backstory.
I know, long-winded explanation for something simple: as an author and world-crafter, you've created something much larger --- something inviting --- and yer audience wants to explore it.
As for why people don't seek publication or a "career" in writing... maybe they don't want the publicity. Maybe they don't think their stuff is good enough to get published. Maybe they watched Brian (from Family Guy) try to get published - it is, I imagine, pretty accurate as to what sort of trouble it can be. Maybe they want the freedom to get burned out without worrying about deadlines or whatnot. Maybe writing fanfic whets the appetite for or is practice for actual writing. Or maybe it's just a hobbyist's stepping into the larger world within yet beyond yer pages. Instead of shunting that energy away, why not feed on the energy, reclaim it, and expand that world in yer own "proper" way?
Major note 2: On the legality of fanfic.
To say that it is illegal is oversimplified to the point of being a lie. In short, it's rather complicated; and involves the tangled intersection between derivative works and fair use, as well as that between fanfic and fair use.
To these, I suppose I should let law experts speak, na? ^^
Major note 3: On the morality of fanfic.
Morality, of course, is inherently subjective. I do find it interesting that someone could have a moral objective to a tribute or alternate exploration of a work... but to each.
However... there are a couple things to say here. First, to Ms. Rice (and to a lesser extent Mr. Card:)
Both of you have played the copyright-infringement card. Ms. Rice at least advises fanfic writers to switch to original work, which to me is a strange contradiction in ideas. Quickly explaining this...
Fanfic writers are diverting their time and energy into immersing themselves in aspects of yer world, in their own way. They cannot profit from this; yet web "publication" becomes a form of viral marketing that costs you literally nothing.
You would see them divert the same time and energy into original works from which they CAN potentially profit... and potentially at yer expense.
Mr. Card says his livelihood is threatened by the existence of fanfiction. But which is really the greater threat?
Fanfic advertises yer product, causing you to sell more.
Original works compete with yer product, causing you to sell less.
It's that simple.
To Ms. Gabaldon, Ms. LeGuin, and Mr. Martin:
Y'all say that fanfic authors are making off with yer characters, invading yer homeland, or doing something immoral. You get upset or even physically ill(!!) at the thought that a reader might want to explore the world you've crafted in the form of a fanfic.
I would advise y'all, and anyone who might feel disgusted at being fanficced, to stop writing and find more personality-friendly lines of work. Here's the rub. I'm sure that for most books, there's at least one person on earth who will read it and do one or more of the following related actions, without intent to cut into yer profits:
-Write a fanfic;
-Write a crossover fanfic;
-Write a non-canon romance fic;
-Write a non-canon gay romance (eg, a slash fic)
-Write a parody fic;
-Write a review;
-Draw fan art of which you might approve;
-Draw porn fan art;
-Draw furry or other hybrid fan art;
-Draw gender bender fan art;
-Draw crossover fan art;
-Discuss the content on a forum;
-Cosplay a character;
-Cosplay a furry or other hybrid character;
-Cosplay a gender bent character;
-Engage in sexual roleplay while cosplaying;
-Get a boner while thinking about it;
-Deliberately induce a boner while thinking about it.
Now that I've wormed y'all's brains... yes, all of this is happening to the books you've written. All of it. If this is too hot for you, perhaps leaving the kitchen is in order. Just sayin'.