Would you publish your fanfic?
Oct. 7th, 2012 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljwritesA publishing house picked up a young writer's One Direction fanfic to sell as an e-book, according to Crushable (via Jezebel). Is this actually becoming a thing in the wake of 50 Shades of Grey? Obviously fanfiction writers have been going pro for a long time, for the obvious reason that people who get good at a craft (in this case, writing) by practicing it are likely to do it professionally.
What's new, and possibly troubling, is actual fan works getting repackaged and published as original fiction. On the one hand, fanfic is a work like any other that the author put in their own labor and time into, and as long as the overtly derivative elements are changed I don't see why not. Every work is inspired by something else, after all. All fiction, in fact, is fan fiction. So I'm cool with works that originated as fanfic being sold, as long as there are no copyright or trademark violations and it doesn't otherwise attempt to profit on someone else's back.
On the other hand, it doesn't seem in line with fandom's communal values. A huge part of why I write fanfic is to share stories and enthusiasm with the larger community. It doesn't seem congruent with that ethic to take down something that was given freely and have people pay for it. Some of the most gratifying comments I've gotten about my fics were the ones where readers told me they've read my stories multiple times. It would suck if they'd read a story three times and loved it, and then on the fourth, sorry baby, it's pay-for-play. (That's not delusional; four times is the highest count I've been given for someone rereading a story of mine.) It doesn't seem right after I myself got so much from the community, in terms of stories, discussions, advice, growth, and friendship.
Because I'm as vain as anyone and indulge in the occasional stroke fantasy, I've imagined what it would be like to have one of my long fics picked up for publication. I've thought idly about how I might file off the serial numbers to make a story original. In the end, though, I've always come back to the conclusion that I couldn't. I've written my stories entirely within that universe and about those characters, and couldn't get rid of the identifiers without changing, and likely harming, the story. More fundamentally, it would feel wrong to take my stories off the Web, not only the content but the reviews, the favorites, everything. It's like snatching a gift back because, oops, I found out I can sell it for a price.
So while I wish the best for anyone who's turned their hard fandom work to well-earned profits, I can't imagine doing the same myself. I'd rather go the traditional route of taking the skills I've learned from fandom and turning those to my own works. They'll still be derivative--hell, my major original project is historical fiction, which is basically RL fanfic--but I'll be able to feel that it's mine to sell, not like fanfic which I feel belongs to the community.
What's new, and possibly troubling, is actual fan works getting repackaged and published as original fiction. On the one hand, fanfic is a work like any other that the author put in their own labor and time into, and as long as the overtly derivative elements are changed I don't see why not. Every work is inspired by something else, after all. All fiction, in fact, is fan fiction. So I'm cool with works that originated as fanfic being sold, as long as there are no copyright or trademark violations and it doesn't otherwise attempt to profit on someone else's back.
On the other hand, it doesn't seem in line with fandom's communal values. A huge part of why I write fanfic is to share stories and enthusiasm with the larger community. It doesn't seem congruent with that ethic to take down something that was given freely and have people pay for it. Some of the most gratifying comments I've gotten about my fics were the ones where readers told me they've read my stories multiple times. It would suck if they'd read a story three times and loved it, and then on the fourth, sorry baby, it's pay-for-play. (That's not delusional; four times is the highest count I've been given for someone rereading a story of mine.) It doesn't seem right after I myself got so much from the community, in terms of stories, discussions, advice, growth, and friendship.
Because I'm as vain as anyone and indulge in the occasional stroke fantasy, I've imagined what it would be like to have one of my long fics picked up for publication. I've thought idly about how I might file off the serial numbers to make a story original. In the end, though, I've always come back to the conclusion that I couldn't. I've written my stories entirely within that universe and about those characters, and couldn't get rid of the identifiers without changing, and likely harming, the story. More fundamentally, it would feel wrong to take my stories off the Web, not only the content but the reviews, the favorites, everything. It's like snatching a gift back because, oops, I found out I can sell it for a price.
So while I wish the best for anyone who's turned their hard fandom work to well-earned profits, I can't imagine doing the same myself. I'd rather go the traditional route of taking the skills I've learned from fandom and turning those to my own works. They'll still be derivative--hell, my major original project is historical fiction, which is basically RL fanfic--but I'll be able to feel that it's mine to sell, not like fanfic which I feel belongs to the community.
