McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Fanfic richer or poorer?

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LizW65:

--- Quote from: Shecky on March 18, 2008, 02:15:52 AM ---He didn't. He was contracted to write an authorized novel in the Spider-Man universe... legally an entirely different animal from fanfic. Fortunately, he was coincidentally a big fan of SM. ;)

--- End quote ---

So.... are authorized tie-in novels considered fanfic, or not?  I was counting all the published Star Trek fiction, e.g., as fanfic when I wrote my original post, but if it isn't, then I retract what I said.  I've never actually read any of the amateur stuff posted on the web.

Shecky:

--- Quote from: LizW65 on March 18, 2008, 01:00:09 PM ---So.... are authorized tie-in novels considered fanfic, or not?  I was counting all the published Star Trek fiction, e.g., as fanfic when I wrote my original post, but if it isn't, then I retract what I said.  I've never actually read any of the amateur stuff posted on the web.

--- End quote ---

Amateur = fanfic; at least, that's the way I've always understood it. Otherwise, you get some of the actual Star Trek: TNG scripts classified as fanfic (people who've always loved the show and its universe getting to write something in it for the show) and suchlike, and that opens up a whole can of logic worms, making it difficult to distinguish between fanfic and official writing.

Basically, I don't think of it as fanfic if the writer works closely with the person/people in charge of the rights to that universe, both making sure that everything in the writing is "supposed" to be there. Really, it's just a special treat if the writer happens to have been a fan of that universe - and isn't that the best kind of work? :)

Noey:
My opinion is that I don't consider authorized tie-in novels fanfic for a couple of reasons. Tie-in novels are contracted and paid for by the publisher, which gives them legal legitimacy. Also, the kinds of worlds with tie-in novels tend not to belong to one person's exclusive creative domain. Comic books, television shows and game settings, even if thought up by one person originally, usually have a team of writers working on it as is so contracting out to more writers isn't as unusual. You're not going to find tie-in novels with Dresden, Alera, etc. because the novels ARE the product being sold. In all cases, though, I don't consider it fanfic if it's put out by the publishers of the original source material with their stamp of approval on it.

Fanfic is fun for the fan, but the problem lies in fans taking material that belongs to someone else, and making it their own instead. When does it cease to be the author's baby, and start to be anyone's? That's the tricky question, and to avoid it I absolutely understand authors having to protect their authority over their work. That's why any fanfic'ish stuff I do, is kept entirely private between me and if applicable who I'm gaming with if it's being used as a setting. Plus, I never use someone else's characters. Maybe it's the gamer in me, but I feel that a person's characters are their own unique sliver of their own personality and creativity. That's all theirs, and I can't imagine taking over someone else's voice.

cephis:
Personally, I was always a fan of The Destroyer novels; they are up to the high 130's.  The books after a while were Ghost Written by some more or less talented writers.  I would feel comfortable writing a fan fiction.
1. That the last 80 novels, with some exceptions, have been published fanfic.
2. The characters are static, they do not really change.
3. I may offer up any fanfic to other fans to point out any flaws. 
I admit the other part is that with the fact that there isn't as much fanfic out there for it means that most of the people that author the stuff are pretty good at it and the original author of the series will read the boards and sometimes even comment favorably on their efforts.  As an aside, I would love someone good to ultimatize that franchise; it's been 40 years for God's sake!

Noey:
Again, though, is it really fanfic if it's published? I think we need to define what exactly we're talking about when we say fanfic. I consider fanfic to be something written as a hobby by a fan of a particular fictional universe. It can incorporate the original characters, or it can use the fanfic author's own imaginary people and use the setting only. I think in either case, if it is sought out by the publisher and purchased, it ceases to be fanfic. This is obviously a fanfic writer's dream, but I think 99.99999% of the time it'll never happen. There's money to be made off intellectual property, and therefore it has to be protected, no matter how complimentary and awesome it is to see how much a person's work has touched the lives of others and inspired their own creativity. It all comes down to the fact that a writer has to eat, and this is how they do it.

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