But we can't Selllllll fanfic

[valarltd]

This has been brewing for a while.

Why can't we sell fanfiction?
When there are books like Scarlett and The Wind Done Gone.
When My Jim debuts to critical acclaim.
When The Open Window totally takes Wendy Darling out of character and sells for $14.95.
When The Red Tent is being read by women's book groups all over country.
When the X-Wing and Buffy and ST books go on and on and endlessly on.

What makes THEIR fanfiction so superior to ours?
The fact it's packaged as literature?
The fact it's approved by the owners?

Help me out here, because I'm confused, and getting crankier by the day.

Comments

[franklymydear.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the officially sanctioned real person slash... or het, whatever. Any historical movie... Alexander, for example. And aside from that, you've got Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion- fan fiction about theme park rides. Or movies like Ocean's 12 and Being John Malkovich that play around with the actors themselves and fanfic the actors into the plot- hmm.

However, the thing I like the most about fan fiction is that it is what people tend to do when the commercially sanctioned thing they're a fan of does not provide what they want. For example, a relationship not going the way they wanted to, a relationship that they think should be there but isn't- Kirk/Spock, perhaps. So, with totally pure intentions and for a higher purpose beyond looking for what will sell the best they fill in the gaps. The commercial vehicle of the show or fandom gives the viewers what they will pay the most to see. Fan fiction gives them what they would rather see on a fun day. What I'm trying to say, I suppose, is that fan fiction should be the pure version- we should do it not with the intention of making a profit, because that would corrupt it in a sense, but merely because we love the fandom and this is just expressing our frustration or our appreciation of whatever direction the Powers That Be decide to take. Sometimes it's better and sometimes it's worse, but charging a fee for it would make us more like the Man that won't because of viewership/readership crap give the minority what it wants.

Uh, or something like that.

[idadebeautreux.livejournal.com]

I've wondered about stuff like that... is it just that the people who own the rights say, "It's ok to have a kajillion people write Star Trek books" but other creators/authors don't? It seems like a big fuzzy gray area.

[amberleewriter.livejournal.com]

It's simple.

They have permission and the estate/license holder gets the majority of the money. That is all.

If you had permission from the copyright holder, you too could sell "shared worlds" fiction (btw, that's what the authors in that field call it and don't mention fanfic to them as they get very snippy and nasty about it). Copyrights fall to heirs and have a shelf life of the life of the creator +75 years now. I'm sure that when the copyrights on Mickey Mouse and company start to run out again that they will be extended even further. Say thank you Michael Eisner and Sonny Bono.

[meninaiscrazy.livejournal.com]

I was totally about to say something similar.

There have been instances though of fan fic writers becoming mainstream and I believe there have even been a couple of slashers. (Well, slashers is rumored I don't remember if it was confirmed or not. ^_^)

[reannon.livejournal.com]

Nothing makes it superior. It is approved by the copyright owners and is therefore legal. It is illegal to sell work based on the copyrighted work of others without their permission. I remember when the estate of Margaret Mitchell decided to allow a sequel - there was an actual competition, with authors sending in their resumes and plot outlines, before they selected Alexandra Ripley for "Scarlett." "The Wind Done Gone" was the subject of a humongous lawsuit, and was eventually ruled a parody and therefore exempt from copyright violation.

Recently, a friend of mine wrote a story that included the character of Tarzan. Public domain, right? Because Burroughs has been dead a good long time? Unfortunately for my friend, Burroughs' family had extended their ownership. They denied him permission, said they only worked with major authors from "major publishers." Nice, huh? He switched to Mowgli of "The Jungle Book." Out of copyright. :)

Most authors/creators wink at fanfic, figuring it does no harm as long as they don't make money and helps spread fandom. But there are some who have actually cracked down even on non-paying fanfic. I personally think they're nuts, but they do have a legal leg to stand on.

The Buffy and Star Trek books are licensed by the copyright holders, which are Mutant Enemy and Paramount, I believe. George Lucas allegedly keeps a tight rein on the plots he permits in Star Wars books, in an attempt to keep them somewhat in canon.

But no, it has nothing to do with quality or literature. It's the law. When J.K. Rowling created Harry Potter or I created Samantha Crews, the same law protects us both. How the author chooses to apply the law - that's up to them.

[darklymoonlit.livejournal.com]

And don't forget the Star Wars books even though good ol' George Lucas destroyed a lot of the character stuff with the crap-tastic prequels. (George Lucas has betrayed me. And I'm bitter about it.)