When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line?
Fan fiction, also known as fanfic, refers to stories written by fans about the characters, situations, or world of existing works created by others. This definition sounds broad because the world of fanfic is broad.
On some level, everything from Wicked, inspired by The Wizard of Oz, to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies could fall under the umbrella of fanfic. In other words, fanfic can be a legitimate and respected form of writing.
But do some uses of fanfic cross an ethical line? And if so, where does that line fall? When does a work honoring another’s creation turn into exploitation?
Ethical Issues Are Different From Legal Issues
I’d be the last person to say fanfic is evil, as I started down the writing path by creating a fanfic novel based on Harry Potter. However, there are ethical considerations fanfic authors should respect above all else.
Beyond what’s legal or illegal as far as copyright, trademark, fair use, or derivative vs. transformative works, fanfic authors owe a debt of thanks to the original creator (after all, without the original work, the fanfic author wouldn’t have been inspired to use that as a jumping-off point). And in return, I believe a fanfic author should never exploit the characters, setting, world—or the original author’s brand or fan loyalty—for their own gain.
Where Is the Ethical Line?
Others might disagree with my statement. However, I’d be willing to bet that most people would agree that it’s unethical for a fanfic author to co-opt the loyalty of fans of the original work for themselves in order to make money off their fanfic writings.
Unfortunately, this isn’t just a hypothetical situation. Fifty Shades of Grey (FSoG) has reached a high-enough level of popularity in the media to garner a segment on the Today show. What many of these media mentions fail to point out is that FSoG started out as a Twilight fanfic story called Master of the Universe.
Did Fifty Shades of Grey Cross the Line?
The characters in the fanfic version were called Edward and Bella, and readers enjoyed imagining those Twilight characters in this sexually-explicit, BDSM-themed—free—story. The fanfic story became popular in its own right, to the point that fans of the fanfic story threw their own convention with the fanfic author, raising tens of thousands of dollars for charity.
So far, so good.
But let’s remember the story’s popularity was built on its association with the Twilight characters. Without its association with Twilight, the story wouldn’t have received 20,000 reviews (on fanfiction.net) and gained those fans to begin with.
Next, the fanfic author took that same fanfic story that had been free, changed only the characters’ names, and found a small, unknown publisher (which seems to specialize in publishing “fanfic with the serial numbers filed off” stories) to split her story into thirds and charge US$7-30 per book. She then had her fans, from back when the story was free, buy up copies (these are the same fans who paid for her to travel from England to New York for the convention, so yes, they’re that dedicated) and post hundreds of reviews all over the internet.
Boom. Instant bestseller. Segment on the Today show. More publicity. More sales. Etc.
And all she had to do was use someone else’s characters and fanatical fandom ties to get there.
Can FanFic Ever Be Used to Make Money?
Again, this isn’t a post about whether or not the fanfic author broke any laws. This post is about whether this behavior is right.
In this case, the fanfic author had used the names Edward and Bella, but hadn’t used the Forks, Washington setting or the vampire world-building. The story instead takes place in and around Seattle, Washington, and rather than using Edward’s vampire nature to justify his behavior, this story uses his BDSM sexuality to explain his controlling manipulations.
Do those differences make it okay? I don’t think so.
For starters, what’s considered “good” writing in fanfic is different from what constitutes good writing in professionally published books. The FSoG books are garnering bad reviews from real reviewers because *gasp* they’re not written that well. Complaints have ranged from incorrectly portrayed BDSM elements to robotic and cliché writing.
So what made these BDSM books more successful than the hundreds of other BDSM books out there? One reason. The Twilight fandom and this fanfic author’s exploitation of their loyalty.
On the other hand, if someone wrote a fanfic story where they’d changed so many of the details as to make the characters, settings, and world unrecognizable, and if they didn’t try to tap into the fandom of their inspiration, I think fanfiction can be used to make money. At that point, if the story is unrecognizable, the fanfic author has added enough of their own imagination to create something new. And by not using someone else’s fans for their own gain, they’re letting their story be judged on its own merits.
The ethical line for fanfic authors can be very gray and wavy. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies could be labeled a form of fanfic, and with a title like that, it’s certainly meant to grab the attention of Jane Austen fans. However, both that work and Wicked could also be termed parodies of the originals. Parodies enjoy a different relationship with “acceptability” than straight fanfic, and they’re seen as less exploitative because they add something new to the story beyond just changed details.
So where do we draw the line? I, for one, believe it’s better to stay far on the “safe” side of any appearance of impropriety. Personally, I’d never write fanfic that dishonored my inspiration, and I’d certainly never try to make money off it. (I didn’t post my fanfic novel anywhere, free or otherwise. I viewed the experience as a writing exercise for my own enjoyment.) However I’m interested in hearing where others fall on this issue and their reasons why.
Is it ever acceptable for a fanfic author to make money on their fanfic writings? When does a fanfic author cross the line between honoring their original inspiration and taking advantage of it? Does your answer depend on whether they made significant changes from the original source? Is suddenly charging for a previously free story more acceptable if they improved their writing between versions?
(Note: I am not linking to FSoG here because I don’t want to encourage any more sales. However, Amazon and other retailers carry the books in print and ebook form for anyone willing to pay the expensive prices.)
Pin It
Oh my gosh. I don’t even like Twilight all that much and that story makes me twitch. Generally, I really like fanfiction (I too got my start there, except from the Lord of the Rings fandom). It’s one thing to have fans based on your *style* of writing, but to *only* change the names and then sell the fanfiction? Eesh. If the names had been changed, significant editorial work and some plot shifting had happened, it would be slightly more acceptable, but at that point it isn’t just taking advantage of Twilight, it’s taking advantage of fans.
There’s just so much to say on this topic, since not only is it huge but I’m kinda passionate about it.
Hi Kaitlin, Exactly. I know there are different “levels” of fanfic, everything from “alternate universe” to imagining what happens after the original story ends. Some of those types of fanfic pride themselves on being in the style and/or voice of the original author. That’s not bad–that’s a talent unique to fanfic and should be appreciated as such. However, in that case, any fans of the fanfic stories aren’t fans of the fanfic author’s writing, but on how well they imitate the original author’s writing. In my mind, any use of that imitation talent to skim fans from the original author for personal gain demeans one as a writer. We’re not supposed to be imitating other authors’ voices. We’re supposed to find our own. A fanfic author might find success with an imitative fanfic story, but what will keep them going after that fad dies out? Will they forever have to suppress their own writing voice to imitate the style that brought them success? That’s not my definition of success, but it might work for others who care more about the money than the art. *sigh* Believe me, I could go on for another thousand words about this situation. 🙂 I know I’ll get her fans–who have been called “rabid” defenders of her–popping in on this post. But my personal ethics see the situation one way. Their ethics, and the ethics of the author, obviously don’t match mine. That’s their choice. However, every defense they make of those questionable ethics just… — Read More »
Yeah, pretty brave calling it out! I’m behind you anyway!
I see what you mean about imitation. I think imitation of writing style is understandable for writers who just don’t have a voice yet. Sort of like fashion – try on a bunch of clothes and find your personal style that way. If I was to write fanfiction now, I would try and imitate because it would be fun for me and better for readers. But like you say, if I were to try and make a profit off that, that just wouldn’t be right.
Cheers!
Hi Kaitlin,
Yes, and there is plenty of fanfic that doesn’t take that imitative route. But I agree–it can be fun trying to imitate another author’s style. I’ve heard advice that we should do that with a page or scene of an author we like so we can learn “how they did it.” 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hey there, I was just wondering. Do you think its okay to use writing a fanfic, as a way to test out an original character for an original story you keep having problems with? For instance, using the fanfic to try and figure out just what what it is about your story that needs to be changed (tone, setting, pace, character backstories or personalities, etc.)
Because, I’m currently working on a story of my own, and keep reaching impasse after impasse.
Hi Cole,
There’s nothing wrong with writing fanfic. The only difference between imagining scenarios in our head and fanfic is the “writing down” part. 🙂
The point where the ethics turn questionable for most would be if someone then took those written-down imaginings and profited off them.
Many writers get their start at learning writing craft with fanfic, so it can certainly be used for learning purposes. As I’ve mentioned in other places here on my blog, I encouraged the flames of my current writing passion by experimenting with a Harry Potter fanfic. I never shared it–much less profited off it–but as a learning experience, it was enlightening. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hmm…that sounds like an interesting situation.
Technically, I think if the fan-fic version is still floating around, Meyers has the rights to sue. Yet again, it depends how similar the story is to Twilight.
Really, if Meyers doesn’t mind, not too much can be done.
Hi C0,
While it might be fun to imagine Stephenie Meyers suing, my issue with this situation goes beyond the legality. For me, life is not about seeing what I can get away with. Just because something’s not illegal doesn’t make it right.
This article posted by someone who was involved from the beginning claims the fanfic author knew she was exploiting the Twilight fandom. Heck, according to this article, she didn’t even like the Twilight fandom.
ETA: This article gives the fanfic author’s side of the conversation from the above link. She publicized this herself to try to add context to her comments. Personally, since I’m one who tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, knowing the context just reinforced the impression that she disrespected those in the Twilight fandom. As one line pointed out, she saw her readers as her personal fans rather than acknowledged their role in the greater fandom or respected that she never would have had them if not for Twilight.
That–to me–smacks of possessing less ethics than a carrot (since I guess a carrot would be fairly neutral). Again, some people are fine with being that type of person. I am not one of them. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this post. THANK YOU. I said some similar things recently and I agree with every single thing you said.
If you’d like to see my thoughts, they’re here: http://carenl.tumblr.com/post/18614363940/50-shades-of-oh-no-she-didnt
Hi Caren,
I just read your post and I agree with your points as well. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Nice article. I’m not going to argue ethics with you or who used whom.
A little fact checking however is in order.
The author “convention” you speak of was nothing more than friends and the author getting NYC (and yes again in DC) for a girls’ weekend. Nothing more. At no time was she paid to be there or were her expenses paid by anyone other than herself. This is a Fandom rumor and gossip based on a private email that was done “tongue in cheek”, that was leaked and is now referred to by some as a pamphlet. It wasn’t. How do I know this? Because I was there, both times.
Yes, the author did help to raise $40,000 for an American charity through the Fandom Gives Back auctions.
The author has a loyal group of friends and readers. She didn’t force anyone to buy the books from the Twilight fandom. The vast majority of people who are now reading and loving the books and characters are not part of the fandom.
Yes, there are editing errors that an established publisher would have caught and fixed. Yet despite these errors, new readers are reading and recommending these books to their friends.
Next time you post something as fact, please take the time to check that your statements are accurate. You can contact the author via her website.
Best,
Em
Pretty sure those facts about her trip to NYC are not correct either. Also pretty sure she didn’t raise $40K herself for the FandomGivesBack and it’s public knowledge that she begrudgingly participated.
Where you in NYC or DC, Brooke? No, you were not. I was. It was a girls’ weekend. Quit trying to say otherwise. True she didn’t raise the money herself. Her “minions” forked over money in amounts ranging from $5 and up to be part of a team of bidders rather an outbidding each other. Teamwork helped raise that money for an outtake. As far as begrudgingly participated, she was requested to write a POV from the male character, which she did not want to do because she didn’t want to write in that POV. The blog post being distributed by Caren is also full of errors and speculation about the author’s intentions to publish. Since no one has spoken directly to her, this is another example of rumors and gossip and deliberately misconstrued information. As a published author I respect the opinion of Jami Gold. What I do not respect is fandom rumors and gossip spilling out onto other blogs. I’ve been called a white knighter, a minion, a vapid fangirl for sharing the other side of the story. Fine. Every story has two sides. I just hope that people keep an open mind that not everything they read is the truth just because it is on a LJ/tumblr/blog post. We all have different opinions and perceptions. There are dozens of authors who have pulled to publish their Twilight fanfictions, some with the same titles as the original fics. Why are they not being discussed on these blogs about… — Read More »
Hi Em,
I respect your opinion. And you’re right. Every story has two sides.
However, regardless of the details of that weekend, we still come back to the ethics of whether it’s okay for a fanfic author to make money on their fanfic writings, especially when the popularity of that fanfic depends on the original author’s fans. For me, personally, the answer is no. I’d be interested to hear from you or any other “white-knighter” (love that you owned that phrase! 🙂 ) on why you think it’s okay.
I’m not patronizing you. I seriously would like to understand where you draw the line and why. Thanks for the comment!
Um, what? Everything I said in my post is absolutely one hundred percent true. You can’t dispute facts. And what I’ve said has nothing to do with personal feelings, as I don’t know Icy. It’s the principle of this whole situation.
I don’t understand how you can support this so blindly. Do you really not see what Jami (or myself) has pointed out about the ethical problem with what she’s done?
Put yourself in Stephenie Meyer’s shoes – hell, in ANY authors shoes – and imagine how you would feel if this were YOUR characters her novel was built on. Would you NOT feel cheated in any way shape or form that she used what you built to make herself a success?
Come on, Em, if you claim not to see the problem here you’re clearly choosing not to see it on purpose.
Also, Icy did not raise $40k for FGB. Her fans raised in the ballpark of $25-30k, and she didn’t even want to donate. She was forced into it. She admitted that herself. Just like she admitted to wanting to revolutionize the publishing industry while talking about her distaste for our entire fandom. Sam does an excellent job of proving that fact: http://gentleblaze.livejournal.com/514.html
Hi Em,
I have to manually approve every new commenter on my blog, so the fact that your comment shows up at all means that, yes, I approved it despite knowing that you–along with many other of this fanfic author’s fans–will tear this post and me apart twenty ways from Sunday. And here’s why I approved it:
I don’t care if she raised $30K or $40K during the convention or girls weekend. I don’t care if she did it reluctantly or willingly. I don’t care if she raised that all by herself or in concert with other offerings. Those “facts” are irrelevant.
None of that changes the ethics of the situation. Period. And nowhere in my post did I say she “forced” her readers to buy the books. Please check your facts. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hi Jami,
Thanks for the response.
We can civilly agree to disagree on the question of the ethics.
Yes, you are right that you didn’t say anything about force either. My apologies.
What prompted me to comment to you and to the other commenter was that you are repeating rumor and gossip. I think that hurts the strength of your discussion about ethics. Are slander, libel and restraint of trade ethical? They are illegal. When does the promotion of rumor and lies cross the line into being illegal?
I just wanted another view point to be voiced. Thank you for posting my comment and furthering the discussion.
Hi Em,
I’ll grant you this: There are enough people claiming “facts” on both sides of convention/charity issue that I won’t assume I know the “truth.” 🙂 However, if I took out the sentence or two about the convention and charity, does that really change the dynamics of the ethics issue? Thanks for the comment!
Sorry if my typing is terrible. I’m still in awful pain from being forced by the author of Fifty Shades to buy her books. …
Oh no, wait. I forgot. I have a mind of my own! Isn’t that astonishing?
Also, if you can show me the part in Twilight, where Edward is a multi-billionaire entrepreneur with a penchant for BDSM and a HUMAN, then please point it out to me, cos I must have missed that part.
There are a group of infantile, jealous people in the ‘fandom’ who have basically been cyber-bullying the author of these books from way back in the day (yes, when it was still MoTU). They have resorted to name calling and threats and all sorts to get their feeble little point across.
Does it matter to anyone who loves Fifty? Hell no.
I bought these books of my own free will as I’m sure so did 120K other people.
As the post above states, get your facts straight before you join the ranks of the cyber-bullies.
By the way, a number of authors have been coat-tailing on 50’s success to raise their own profiles. Is that what you want to be known for?
Regards
B
Hi Bee,
If the characters had nothing to do with the Twilight characters, then why was this story originally in the Twilight fanfic area? If this story had nothing to do with Twilight and was, in fact, an original story, then it didn’t belong in the fanfic arena. Either this was fanfic and connected to Twilight or it wasn’t and it didn’t belong there. You can’t have it both ways.
In other words, you’re making my point for me. Thank you. 🙂 I appreciate that!
I am not a member of any group of fanfic fandom. This is not a case of me coming out of the woodwork to bully anyone. This is me trying to have a serious conversation about philosophy and ethics when it comes to fanfic. I’m sorry you decided to ignore that point. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
You just hit the nail on the head of my problem with this type of story – it was never fanfic to begin with. The author stole Stephenie Meyer’s characters’ names for original characters that in no way resembled Steph’s creations to gain readership and a following. She then tossed the names of what was always original fiction any way once she gained readership. It was never fan fiction. It was always original fiction with character name theft. That’s the problem with Twi OOC/AU/AH.
She used Stephenie. Her readers let themselves be played and many enjoyed being played – good for them, but there are also celebrating the complete disrespect of Stephenie Meyer and the desecration of Edward Cullen and the Twilight Saga characters. The author is laughing all the way to the bank for using Stephenie and the followers who ate up her thievery. If you write original fiction then respect your work and own your own characters from day one. If the characters actually resembled Stephenie’s she would have a lawsuit on her hands, but they don’t and never have.
Hi OhMyCarlisle, (Love the name! 🙂 )
Yes, it’s either stealing the characters, or it was never about the characters and more about exploiting the fandom. Fanfic authors can’t choose one way when it’s convenient and then choose the other way (without a major overhaul) when it’s not. Thanks for the comment!
I have to strongly disagree that the FSOG characters do not in any way resemble the original characters. They are carbon copies. Bella is clumsy and has little self worth; Ana is clumsy and has little self worth. Edward is brooding, rich and domineering; Christian is brooding, rich and domineering. And let’s not forgot poor Jose/Jacob, and the mom living in another state with a new husband, the sister, etc… *rolls eyes* EL had not one iota of originality. And the sex wasn’t that hot, it was cut and paste. I admit I’ve read many erotic stories with different twists. FSOG? Sorry did nothing for me, and I can tell you why. I did not care about the characters, they are so flat and dimension-less that I yawned.
Hi DMarie,
Yes, while there are little tweaks to the characters–simply because the vampire/BDSM premise is different–they’re essentially the same characters underneath, and trying to separate the FSoG version from SM’s version in our heads can leave the fanfic version feeling flat. Thanks for the comment!
Disclaimer: The following comment consists of pure speculation.
Once upon a time, an author decided to write a book to be published. No sooner had she written the first few chapters, however, than she realised that they were rather unreadable when compared to existing works that had been published because they were so full of errors. So she changed the characters’ names and carried on writing, and once she’d written some more, she used the name Graupelempresses Frostywyvern to put it up on FFN as Twilight fanfiction.
Many people in the Pit of Voles were very excited to see this brand new treat, Twilight with a major kink, and several offered to beta it. This was exactly what Graupelempresses Frostywyvern needed, and she accepted one of the offers with a glad heart. It was soon obvious that this relationship was working out as the chapters she posted became better with fewer errors, although some still remained.
Once Graupelempresses Frostywyvern had people talking about her fic and flocking to it in droves, she then fell back to her original plan, pulled her work offline and changed her characters’ names back, then offered it to a publisher for mucho moola. The book was split into three parts, the first of which was titled, ‘Multiple Tones of Cinereal’, and the rest, as they say, was history.
The end.
Hi Sheogorath,
*snort* That is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. “Graupelempresses Frostywyvern” is a fantastic pen name for she who went by Snowqueens IceDragon. 🙂
I agree. Some might use the fandoms for its built-in beta-reading support. “Use” being the operative word there.
I wasn’t part of the fandom, so I don’t know if this was the case with Graupelempresses Frostywyvern. However, I have heard (second-hand, so not too distant) that Ms. GF refused to make changes requested by the editor at her first publisher. That makes me wonder if she’s capable of taking feedback at all.
I don’t know one way or the other, just sharing what I’ve heard. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
The author of this book set out to con money out of her readers. As an ex fandom member, I was around when personal emails from the author were sent to another and then shown publicly. She referred to her fans and this fanfic in a less than flattering light, clearly stating that she was in it for the money. Her writing skills are less than sub-par and anyone with half a brain could have wrote the drivel that is and was Master of the Universe/ Fifty Shades of Grey. Not only are the authors ‘minions’ Or as they were known in the Twilight fandom as ‘Bunker Babes’rabid and pathetic, they are also vicious and brainwashed by this woman who is sitting back and laughing at how much money she has made from them.
Your review is spot on. This book should have never been published.
Hi E,
Plenty of Twilight fanfic stories out there didn’t get the reviews of this one. So I suspect some mixture of inherent storytelling and the BDSM elements of the fandom’s favorite characters play a role in this story’s popularity. In other words, I won’t attack the fanfic author’s talent or skill in storytelling. I’m commenting on the ethics of the situation. Thanks for sharing your insight and for your comment! 🙂
Thanks for this. There is mass confusion going on in the Twilight fandom about the ethics of fanfiction publication, and the fact that it is an *ethical* issue, apart from the legal one. I’ve also had more than a few folks insinuate that somehow these books took off on their own, over looking the rabid “Bunker Babes” and how they spurred the initial word of mouth. As to the facts above: James, as Snowqueens IceDragon, pulled in approximately 17K as part of the Fandom Gives Back charity fundraiser in November 2010. The remaining two authors on her “team,” Sebastian Robichaud and M81770, were responsible for the other 22K. I have zero idea if her fans paid for her to attend either the DC weekend or the New York one. I do know that most of my girls’ weekends don’t include itineraries which list “The Goddess Arrives!” next to the time anyone’s flight gets in. The real shame for James is that she had a huge following–judging from her review count, which numbered almost 60,000 on FFnet, she probably had over a quarter of a million readers, if not more. She could’ve published ANYTHING and her readers probably would’ve pushed it into the stratosphere. Instead, she chose to publish her existing work, which relies on the Twilight tropes to make it work. Whether Meyer sues, we won’t know, but honestly, she makes us all look bad. And I’m certain, whether Meyer does anything about this or not, other authors will look… — Read More »
*slow claps*
Hi Gisellelx,
I agree. Fanfic already has a questionable reputation and things like this won’t help it.
I’m all for building networks and using them to help promote our work. And as you said, if she chose to use her network to promote her original work, more power to her. This isn’t a “sour grapes” response to her success. However, she chose to use her network to promote a work built on–and dependent on–the fandom of another author. For me, that crosses the line. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I’ll pop in here since Gisellex speaks to the same points I made in my blog post about this back in May. You’ve written a fanfiction, gotten an active following and learned what it takes to write novel. Awesome!
Now do it again.
If James had written another BDSM story in another setting, using what she learned from writing Master of the Universe, I would have stood behind her and applauded her work. Because she repackaged her fanfiction, I feel she’s taking the easy way out and making less of the efforts of fanfiction authors who ARE publishing their own original ideas.
Edited to add link to Kimmydonn’s post.
Hi Kimmydonn,
Yes, I absolutely agree. That’s yet another thing that makes this post not a personal attack. I have nothing against her goal of being a successful writer. I have issues with the questionable ethics of the choices she (and others like her) made to get there. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
(And great post too! I updated your comment to make the link clearer. 🙂 )
Those are my exact thoughts on this whole debauchery. In my fanfic explorations I’ve encounter many stories that I thought were really good and the writing was beyond fanfic quality. I’ve also found a handful that were just perfection and thought to myself, the author should had considered persuing a writing career full time, because the stories, and specifically the way this authors had with words were THAT good. But if you come upon this exceptional talent that you discovered throughout the asociation this stories had with the characters you loved from a book, I think it is not a wild assumption to think you would feel conned if what you read for free and thinking actively in these other characters were to be sold to you later in the desguise of original work. I think if you truly believe in the talent this writers have, you should have faith in the fact that they should be able to accomplish trully original fiction. And regarding this matter (FSoG) in particular, I have not read it, nor when it was fanfic, not now that it’s sold as original fiction, because SMBD it’s not my cup of tee; however, from what I’ve been able to gather from different discussions, it seems, this particular story was very OOC and they find this to be an excuse to justify the fact that it’s simply and basically a con job. I’m talking only from my expierence, but when I read AU fanfic (and AU it’s… — Read More »
Hi Diana,
Interesting point! Yes, there’s a difference between a fanfic being AU and a fanfic being OOC. Some will be one or the other, or both, or neither. And just because a fanfic is Alternate Universe doesn’t mean the fanfic author created their characters to be so Out Of Character that they’re unique. As you said, even if only the names are the same, the fanfic author is still trying to evoke the original characters. Thanks for the comment!
Than you, Jami, for this lovely discussion you have set up. It’s been respectful and thoughtful and that can be hard to find online these days.
I just wanted to point out that there are numerous other published fanfics from Twilight, some even retaining the original name. Please make sure you include all those authors, also.
Hi Jill,
If there’s a post somewhere listing them, I’d be happy to include a link. However, I wrote this post less as a way to shine a light on this particular author (after all, I haven’t even mentioned her by name), and more about the ethics in general when it comes to fanfic. I included the name of the story as a case study and to illustrate that these weren’t hypothetical issues. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I agree with you on the ethics of this. If the original author gave permission and/or were receiving royalties, things would be different, but this is just ethically wrong.
I also wonder about people who record covers of songs, then sell them on iTunes or whatever. Do they give royalties to the person who wrote/originally recorded it? Similar to reading free fanfic, I enjoy listening to/watching videos of covers on YouTube, but when there’s a link to buy it, I always wonder…
Great post!
Hi Janelle,
I agree. If permission or royalties were involved, it would be a completely different issue.
That’s a good question about song covers. I don’t claim to know word one when it comes to the legality of things. 🙂 But from an ethical standpoint, that seems to be a similar situation. Thanks for the comment!
Cover versions of songs fall under what is called a compulsory license regime; the law specifically allows for this and a system has been set up so that, by paying a standard royalty rate, you can record and sell your own version of a song without seeking prior permission.
So be reassured, it’s perfectly legal and the original composer is being paid.
A similar scheme covers music performance in licensed venues.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the information about cover songs. I was fairly certain something along those lines existed for legit performances of cover songs, but I didn’t know the details. There’s probably a gray area with amateur/YouTube covers though. Thanks for the comment!
This is a complex issue, and one I’ve had to debate about recently with someone going after a ‘fan comic’ that is making some money off of their comic. That issue was that one fan artist ‘stole’ from another fan artist and both were making money on their work. In this case, I made it clear that you couldn’t hate one artist on standards you upheld the other on.
In general, though my problem with fan works is what was explained: What makes ‘good’ fan fiction according to the fanfic community does not make good writing in any other case. That’s a serious problem.
In this case, though, she could have made money in a number of other ways that would have avoided an image of impropriety, so I don’t think it’s so much the money that bothers me, as the manipulating sales data using the co-opted fan base.
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your insight! Yes, I say “Kudos” to the author for creating such a dedicated fan base. Let’s not kid ourselves, we all want to have a network. 🙂
I don’t even mind if she gained that network by tapping in to someone else’s fans. Authors do the same thing with every blurb from other published authors they print on their front covers–that’s a “if you like x, you might also like y” situation. But in this case, by having the story start as fanfic, she told the fans, “If you like x, you might also like my version of x.” That’s different than using her network to promote “y”. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This entry is why many people are so upset. It has nothing to do with being unhappy for someone’s success. It crossed a huge line in the sand. I’m unsure how the blatant using of “fans” is so overlooked. This was not a writing exercise; a ‘getting your feet wet as an author’ experiment. No, this was an entire story, feedback and built in fanbase used for profit.
As for the “tongue in cheek” email, well, I suppose that is all interpretation. I’m often humorous but to boldly say she was above everyone, how she didn’t WANT to be a part of that fandom charity ‘event’? Well, I’m sorry, I can’t spin it any other way than negatively. I do find it highly amusing that she has lots of guard dogs defending her honor but not once has she attempted to speak out via social media or her website. Sometimes, I find silence is an indicator of guilt not of nobility.
And lastly, addressing errors and writing structure, no article written has been remotely kind in regards to quality. The people featured in the NY Post article that began this media storm all but called it poor writing; “I didn’t think it was a great book as far as writing goes”, “the writing was lame” and “it’s no masterpiece”. So what, are you confirming what the author has acted like all along? Bad is fine as long as it’s making money?
Hi Ali,
Exactly. If this was her using her MotU fans to promote a new story, no one–and I mean, no one–would have issues with it no matter how high it went on the NYT bestseller list. In fact, I’d applaud her for successfully making the transition from fanfic author to published author. That would make for a great story.
But this? No, this just feels skeevy no matter how it’s spun. In that respect, I feel bad for this author. It will be interesting to see if her fan base sticks around for her next–presumably original–books. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I see all points and agree with many opinions. Many good ones at that. The reality though is that her 20k+ reviews and fanfiction fanbase would not b enough to put it on bestseller list. Me being a huge twifan wouldn’t guarantee I buy it or read it. In this case, I am huge fan of MotU and yet did not buy book. Not because I dont support her but because I can’t picture anyone else other than ExB. We also have fanfict authors who gain fans thru their stories and then publish a original book and target their existing twifans. I’ve said it before its all about money. Ethical, legalities and/or morals included can b attached to many many books, movies & plays, etc. Look at how popular vampires got after SM Twilight books gained notoriety. I don’t know facts on this but either true blood and/or vampire diaries was/were published before twilight and people didn’t show interest until after twilight. Every will ride some coattail at any given time. Its just how it works. Didn’t EP get published too? Which I loved too. So as long as it doesn’t get on bestsellers list its OK? She also had huge following. Link to purchase book is on her blog. Why aren’t people buying it? I have to just say this… all books have editorial issues but if story captivates u it will suck u in. Obviously the case with FSoG. These people reading it have secret desires of getting… — Read More »
Hi Gaby,
Yes, you’re right that her fanfic fans alone would not be enough to get the story into Amazon’s overall bestseller list. However, would it have been enough to get it into the Amazon bestseller list for a certain genre? Probably. And many stories grow from there, especially when combined with hundreds of positive reviews from the fans.
As for the NYT bestseller list, that’s an entirely different animal that most published authors don’t understand, much less non-writers. 🙂 The NYTBSL is based on velocity not sales. So if 5,000 fans all purchased the book in one week, the book would rank higher than books that sold 200,000 copies over several weeks. And yes, once a book appears on the list, it often stays there as others buy it to see what the fuss is about. 🙂
I’d love to be happy for this author, but I can’t–not because of the level of her success, but for her questionable ethics in getting there. As I commented to Ali, I’d love to hear about a fanfic author making the leap from fanfic to original published material in a big way. Unfortunately, that’s not the route this author chose. Thanks for the comment!
I believe one great example of a fanfic writer turned into major published author is Cassandra Clare. She began as a famous Harry Potter fanfic author but later on wrote The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series of young adult books. *** As for this issue, I think the major thing that irks people here is the fact that Icy–or E.L. James for that matter–completely disowns the original MoTU fans and continuously pretends that they don’t or have never existed. By never mentioning that the 50 Shades Trilogy is a work of fan fiction, she completely fails to acknowledge the Twilight connection. And people who have succumbed to her story because of that very connection in the first place are offended by it. Yes, her story is her own and she’s done the research. Yes, the people buying her books are not being forced at gun point to purchase them. But she could’ve been, you know, HONEST about the whole thing. Would it have been detrimental to her 50 Shades books if she had said that these were originally written as fan fiction? At some point, the answer to that could be yes. But a disclaimer would have forewarned new readers about the books’ origins. It would have informed them that the characters Christian and Ana are just derivations, alterations, and, in many instances, exaggerations of Twilight’s Edward and Bella. Icy, by publishing her work and completely passing her books off as original, somehow dupes people–especially those who didn’t… — Read More »
Hi CJ,
I’d just heard about the Cassandra Clare/fanfic connections during this post, so I’ll have to check into that. I wonder if those stories started off as original or if they’re reworked fanfic. Interesting.
Wow, so true. Whether it would have solved every issue is debatable, but it certainly would have gone a long way toward adding a bit of class into a situation that is in desperate need of it. Thanks for the comment!
Was just linked to this post tonight, so I’m sorry for the seriously delayed response, but I just had to step in on the Cassie Clare reference. Not only did she publish fanfic, she plagiarized multiple authors in her fic and plagiarized herself in being published. Vast legions of Harry Potter fans cringe whenever CC is mentioned. We felt – and still feel, many of us – the way I imagine many Twilight fans feel about this book. It feels like a betrayal, of fandom if not a personal one.
As to the ethics behind this, there is definitely a line. I am a published author myself. I have written original fiction, completely unrelated to fandom. I have also taken a trio of ficlets I wrote as fanfiction and reworked them into a single story. Notice I said “reworked” – I used the ficlets as framework more than anything else. So I may be biased, but if someone pulls the story off their site or blog and reworks it into something original, then I have no issue with them submitting it for publication. If one “files off the serial numbers” or, even worse, just find/replaces some names, that crosses my line.
Hi C,
No problem! All comments show up the same to me, no matter how old the post is. 🙂 Thanks for the information about Cassie Clare.
And I agree with how you reworked your ficlets–using them as a plot framework for something new and different. I saw a snippet by author Bob Mayer just a few days ago about how he did that with one of his stories (original fiction). He’d written a story about USSR spies, and then the Berlin Wall came down and no one was interested in Russia stories anymore. He took the same idea, changed the characters and the location to China, and rewrote the story. Same idea, new story. That’s what fanfic authors could do to take advantage of their unique plot/story ideas. I wish they all would. Thanks for the comment!
<3 Gaby.
Re: EP/Sempre – Jessica did *heavy* editing on that novel before she self-pubbed. It wasn't just character names that were changed.
I bought it! Haven’t received it yet.my point in mentioning EP is that I would have never found it had I not been twifan. Again I’m grateful for having found amazing talent through a shared passion of so many of us. As for Sempre, the Mafia prince will always be Edward 🙂
I think its time we all let this be. I can’t stand to see such a wonderful community that is the Twilight Fandom divided like this. We are entitled to our opinions and that’s what’s great about all this. Lets just b civil.
Hi Gaby,
I’m glad that most posters here have been civil. Maybe it helps that I’m not a member of the Twilight fandom, so I don’t have a dog in this fight beyond questioning the ethics of the situation. *hugs* I’m sorry that your group is being pulled apart. I know how that feels. 🙁
I have to chime in on the “look how popular vampires got after Twilight” argument. Vampires have always been popular, yes Twilight was a phenomenon that others have used to push them forward. That is not the issue, if the work is original then great, but FSOG was not original.
Hi DMarie,
Very true. The genre of paranormal romance existed before Twilight, and most of the first series were vampire based. Thanks for the comment!
Interesting post. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there are lots of people on both sides of this argument. Unfortunately, and this is just my opinion, this is becoming less about publishing fanfiction than it is a personal vendetta against an author. Case in point: at a 2009 Comic Con Twilight Fanfiction panel, the administrator of the largest and most popular site dedicated to Twilight Fanfiction said that the introduction of all-human stories to the Twific world opened up the arena for these stories to be published. In her words, these stories “bore little resemblence” to Twilight except for names, and that they could easily be published as a stand alone fiction. Several of the authors on the panel that day seemed to agree, and there was even discussion then that the much lauded story “Wide Awake” was currently being submitted to publishers and film producers. So the idea of publishing fanfiction is not new. In fact, even before FSoG, several well known fanfiction authors published books and the Twilighted site itself even gave birth to a publishing house. Those authors even published their books with the exact same name as their FF stories. And as we speak, there are other FF authors who have had books released within the last 2 months. So what’s the difference? The difference I see is that at its core, while many of the detractors may not like or agree with P2P (pull to publish), their real beef here is with this story… — Read More »
Hi Bo, I appreciate your well-thought-out comment, and I appreciate that you addressed the ethical issues. As I said in my post, I think there are ways for a fanfic author to make money from their fanfic writings that won’t trigger the ethical issues. I recognize that gray, wavy line and stated my opinion in the post of how to stay on the “safe” side. Others are welcome to their opinion about where that line lies. As for why I called out this book in particular… (And please note that I’ve never mentioned the author by name, I am not trying to smear her personally despite the fact that I disagree with her choices and ethical beliefs.) Yes, I brought up this book because it is on the NYT bestseller list. However, I agree with you that other published fanfic writing should be held to the same standard–good or bad–as this story. People have heard the news about this story, so it makes for an effective case study, that’s all. Just because others have “gotten away with it” because their stories weren’t successful enough to make the news doesn’t make it right. I’m curious now about how many of the media reports are mentioning the Twilight fanfic angle. The more it’s mentioned, the more Stephenie Meyer might have a case on the basis of an Exclusive Right to Publicity under U.S. Copyright Law (which, if I understand correctly, means that you can’t make money off someone else’s image or works,… — Read More »
I believe the writers at the Fan Fic Panel that spoke about AU fiction and publishing, went on to create a publishing house that — you guessed it — published Fic. The comment at the panel was self-serving.
Yes, people are up in arms about this author.
However, there’s still a vocal contingent of us who’ve been willing to make ourselves unpopular by voicing that this practice is wrong whether it’s done by the nicest, sweetest author and best writer in the fandom, or whether it’s done by a writer who behaved as badly as SQUID did.
I was in the position last year of telling a fandom friend I would not be buying her book because she’d published it with one of the fandom “file the serial numbers off” publishing houses. She got very angry. So yes, some people might just attack someone who it’s convenient to attack. But some of us hold a hard line, because it’s about the ethics, not about the person.
Hi Gisellelx,
Exactly! I don’t know this author or her followers or the circumstances or the rivalry, etc. However, when a book reaches the NYT bestseller list, it will get outside attention, not only from the media, but from people like me.
I’m not calling out the author by name. I’m calling out the choices she (and apparently several other fanfic authors) have made that I feel goes against the ethics of fanfic. As I mentioned in my reply to Bo, it seems that supporters of this fanfic author want to believe that the attention is all about personal attacks, and it’s quite simply not the case. Like you said, even if she was the nicest, most-beloved person on the planet, I’d still be here disagreeing with her choices. Thanks for the comment!
This is what I’m talking about. “Behaved as badly as SQUID did.” Behaved badly? As someone who was there in the beginning reading the story when it was posted on Twilighted and interacting with the author, I’d like some clarification about “behaved badly.” I’ve heard all sorts of stories about premediation on her part to “use the fandom.” As one of those readers, and I can only speak for myself, I can say I don’t feel used by her anymore than any other fanfiction writer whose story I read and who later published. She is a Twilight fan, like most of us. She came to the fandom and to fanfiction the same way many others did. She never insulted them because she is one of them. I’ve never heard or read an unkind thing from her about her readers or most of the fandom (the ones not insulting and saying unkind things about her). She has expressed surprise that so many read and liked her story and has been humbled and somewhat shy about all the attention. (And just so you know, yes I have met her and talked with her. These statements come from personal knowledge). Joking tweets can be taken out of context and used against any of us; and they were with her. This isn’t a joke to her. This is her life and she’s endure some pretty hateful comments because of inuendo, gossip and untruths. The idea to publish came as the story progressed. She wasn’t… — Read More »
Hi Bo,
I can appreciate your position. You don’t feel that you were taken advantage of, so you don’t see any ethical issues raised by this fanfic author’s (or the other fanfic authors who have made the same choice) decision to publish her fanfic writing. But to me, as an outsider, it doesn’t matter if she went into this with impure motives or bad behavior or not. All I can see as truth is the result of her choices. And those choices don’t pass my personal smell test of ethics.
If it wasn’t calculated, does that make it better? I think it makes it less “horrible” but not better, if that makes any sense. 🙂 When I wrote my post, I gave the author the benefit of the doubt. So my position doesn’t change regardless of where the truth lies for those convention/charity/behavior/respect “facts.” Thanks for the comment!
Why do every single one of her fans say the argument is personal? I hate that this is the best defense anyone can come up with.
It’s not just about Icy, though the recent attention she’s received has brought the subject back into the spotlight. Just because her name and/or “novel” are being used as the biggest example does not mean she’s the only one guilty. Stop trying to make this personal when it’s not.
I don’t know, nor have I ever spoken to, Icy, but I’m still against everything she’s done to this fandom and what she’ll likely do to it if this continues.
Bo,
Thank you for so eloquently stating what I feel, too.
The level of nastiness in this ‘debate’ eclipses any legitimate discourse. It surpasses the real issue and sets a bad point for any writers in FanFic or self-publishing.
And, I completely agree with you, Bo, it is interesting that the source of so much of vitriolic rants appear to come from some of the prior FanFic authors themselves.
I call on all the intelligent, sensible peeps in this fandom to join me in asking for a little peace and love for our hardworking authors and to celebrate their success, rather than condemning them.
PS: I was at one of the visits Icy made to the US, and she wouldn’t even permit me to pay for her drink, something a friend does for another; not payment for their ‘visit’.
Peace,
SS
Hi Sunny,
I haven’t followed this debate through fandom, other blogs, Goodreads groups, etc. All I know about how the two sides see the issue are the comments here. I wrote this post for my readers, not the fandom at large (on either side). And while some comments on both sides have been more attacking than I usually allow on this blog, I worry that those who support this fanfic author are in denial about how her choices are playing outside of the fanfic community.
It’s very easy to assume that everyone who thinks she did wrong has a personal vendetta, but that’s simply not true. I’m holding myself up as “piece of evidence number one” on that issue. I had never heard of this book before a few days ago. I know nothing about this author. Yes, I heard of this book because it made the lists, but that’s not why I posted this article. Every fanfic author who makes these same choices–regardless of how successful they are–has the same questionable ethics in my mind.
I know who my regular blog readers are, and their comments aren’t lining up in support of this fanfic author either. So no, those who believe she made serious ethical errors are not all people with a foot in this fandom or a vendetta against her. Thanks for the comment!
The problem with these books is that the author cashed in on the popularity of the series and had planned to from the start. She didn’t give a damn about the ethical issues, nor about any kind of infringement of Stephenie Meyer’s characters. Dress it up any way that you want, the origin this story will never go away. It’s Edward and Bella with whips and chains thrown in for good measure. I hope one day E.L. James or Erica as I knew her, is exposed for this fact.
Sorry if that offends anyone. It’s just the truth. I liked this review because it’s honest. These are cold, hard facts.
Hi Roe,
Yes, the simple act of making money on fanfic writing and the loyalty of the fans crosses the line in my mind. Add in the conflicting reports of her motivations and that pushes the issue into slimy territory. I hope for her sake that’s not the case. Thanks for the comment!
I’m not in anyway supporting HER actions. I’m definitely not a fan of hers. It definitely sounds like she used the fandom. I’m just speaking of fanfic authors in general. Perhaps I’m not articulating my thoughts clear enough, I’m not sure. But when a story has absolutely nothing to do with the original characters I don’t see the issue (in a general sense. I don’t agree with Icy’s tactics).
Hi Rae,
No, I didn’t think you were supporting her actions. 🙂 I’m not sure where that crossed wire came from.
And I agree. If the characters have nothing to do with the original characters (and as I mention to TRF, aren’t meant to evoke those original characters), that places the story on a different level. As long as the plot and world were unique as well, I wouldn’t call that fanfic at all. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this post. You have been able to say what I have been unable to articulate. It’s not the legal, it’s the ethical. I am a member of this fandom (writer and reader) and this just hasn’t sat well with me. I never read this story in the fanfic version, nor did I have any interest in spending $30 on a paperback (!) but I have read a couple of other fanfics turned published novels and they all lack the same thing. Character building, world building and massive edits. But why wait to edit, truly edit, when you have hundreds of built in fans ready buy your $30 (!!) paperback and bump you up the charts and write glowing reviews, which again garners interest and bumps you up the charts and gains notic? Selling books is a numbers game (Amazon is the king of this) and when you have a built in marketing machine like the Twi-Hards behind you there is little you can’t do. Just look at Kristen Stewart. I’ve been waiting for some authors to weigh in on this, because so far it’s just been sheer publicity. As an author you would know something seemed off and unusual about this situation and the massive success of this book. In a world where you have to be a BIG DEAL to get notice how did this little book make it? Dig around a little and the truth is there. And another note: The fandom is quick to… — Read More »
Hi AE,
Yes, and those are aspects that fanfic authors don’t have to worry about. They’re taking ready-made characters and world-building details and plopping them into a different story. Fanfic writing is great for some things. I learned a lot about plotting and story structure with my fanfic experience. But aspects that make for good fanfic writing–the ability to imitate another author’s voice or style for one–is often the opposite of what makes for good original stories. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
What’s interesting is that no one has picked up on the fact that The Writer’s Coffee Shop and Omnific Publishing are both independent publishers who started up to publish Fan Fiction. The majority of the books they accept are Twilight Fan Fiction because the people who started those companies were readers of Twilight Fan Fiction. For the most part, when they started they had no qualifications to run a publishing house. None. They gathered like minded individuals who saw the potential, and flew by the seat of their pants. (They might have employees on staff now that were already established in the industry, since it’s been two years, but at first they didn’t.) They were readers and lovers of Twilight Fan Fiction. What were they good at? For a start, they were smart business women. They knew exactly who and what to tap into, targeting the big stories with lots of followers. Not the stories that were well written and with some substance, but only the ones which were popular. And in the Twilight community 90% of the time that means they are the stories that have a high content of sex. And we all know, sex sells. So, maybe we should change the focus from these authors publishing their stories to these two publishers who have taken no ethical responsibility in the decisions they have made. You want to tap into an existing fanbase and start your company using your customers, fine. But do it responsibly and do it… — Read More »
Hi Cora,
You make several interesting points here. Yes, in the age of Amazon self-publishing, any deluded writer can publish crap. So we have to wonder why these fanfic authors chose to go through an unknown publisher. I think you’re right–it’s because the people behind the publisher knew how to tap into the fandom.
You’re also spot on that these publishers could have made themselves completely legit, even if all they do is publish reworked fanfic. If they’d pushed their authors (freelance editors, anyone?) to go above the (too-often low) standards of fanfic, they would have been adding something to the body of literature instead of mocking it. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
This is exactly what I was saying on twitter to some people. These publishing Co. Should be held accountable. If not for legalities than for ethical reasons too. They should b responsible for the work they throw out there. I can’t emphasize enough..”its all about the Benjamins”.
This is a tricky subject. I still find that both sides have good arguments, at least the serious arguments, lol. On one hand, why not let someone publish their stories? The storylines are often so OOC within the original work they were inspired by, that it just can’t get any father than that. The author will just have to prove herself later on with original works, but more than that, if people are willing to buy her books and as long as the authors don’t forget where they came from, I see no big issue. I personally wouldn’t pay for something I read for free though, but if people want to, why not? On the other hand, I truly feel like as much as a fic author has an amazing story to tell, whether it’s AH or AU or whatever, it’s the fact that it was posted in a particular fandom that made people read it. In this case, would people have read MotU if the paring had been Esme/Sam? Alice/Aro? And so on? I truly don’t think so at all. It was because the story was under Twilight and the pairing was E/B that made people even take a look at it and THAT, to me, makes fics not entirely the author’s. Yes, the storyline it’s theirs and it’s the storyline that makes people stay reading the fic, not just the pairing (at least in some cases), but they had in mind characters that were not theirs. It makes… — Read More »
Hi V,
Hear, hear! And it’s not about whether or not people should be “allowed” to read a story they want to read. I’ve written posts before against censorship.
My point is–under what circumstances is it ethical for a fanfic author to make money off their fanfic writings? I listed some reasons that I think would make it okay, from going the straight parody route to not using the original author’s fandom to advance their cause. In this case, the fanfic author’s choices don’t pass my smell test. 🙂 And the reason for my opinion is as simple as that. Thanks for the comment!
@Jami, do you not think taking Edward’s stalkerish and controlling tendencies to the extreme of pseudo-BDSM practicing Christian qualifies FSoG as Twilight parody? Frankly, I can’t see it as anything else. I’m not saying this justifies publication and use/misuse of Twihard fandom, I’m just wondering where you see the line being drawn here. Why is other published parody okay (you mentioned Wicked and P&P & Zombies), when their sales and promotion rely on – at the very least – readers’ and viewers’ familiarity w the original work, but you say FSoG crosses the line?
Hi Sharon,
Hmm, that’s an interesting question. 🙂 Parody usually requires knowledge of the original source for the context to be understood. That’s not the case here, as the vast majority of readers didn’t know (and sometimes still refuse to believe even after being shown) about the source material.
Those of us in the know can certainly view it that way, but having a different perspective because of additional knowledge could apply to almost anything. We watch football, ice skating, hockey, etc. differently if we know the rules, but that doesn’t make them parodies. 🙂
So simply the fact that those of us who have read Twilight have a different interpretation isn’t enough to qualify this story as parody. In addition, the author herself has stated that wasn’t her intent. Thanks for adding to the conversation!
About the storyline, one of the things I enjoyed of MOTU was how, being an AH, the twists in the story followed the original. There was a lot of parallelisms. I also can’t see the characters as others than E and B, and not just SM’s characters but the characters that many fanfiction authors have created, as a collective. You know what to expect when you begin a fic, despite the OOC it claims to be. So… I won’t buy the books. This is a personal decision. And I don’t find this path correct, fair to the sense of fanfiction.
Hi TRF,
Interesting! And that’s a big part of the point I’m making. No matter how out-of-character the fanfic characters might act, if they’re meant to evoke thoughts of the original author’s characters, then the fanfic author is not creating their own character, but using someone else’s. Thanks for the comment!
Wow! This one is a ‘hot button’ issue, isn’t it? A lot of comments already, but I’m still going to add my two cents worth. 😀 No, I do *not* think it’s acceptable for an author to make money on their fanfic writings. It’s not original them (the characters, especially) , it’s someone’s else’s genius, heart, blood, sweat and tears. And the original author alone is the one who should benefit from the ‘fruits of their labor.’ Fanfic authors cross the line between honoring and taking advantage when they begin to charge for that work instead of looking at it the way it is most times: a fun learning experience (like you’ve stated). I almost want to say that my answer does depend on whether or not they’ve made significant changes, and that’s simply because the author could take ‘concept’ of the main characters and throw them in a different world (location, scene, predicament) to the point – most times – that the story and characters are nothing like the piece that inspired it. I don’t think I’d support charging for fanfic no matter how fabulously written the book is. If the author is *that* good with their writing, get back to the computer, plant your butt in the chair, and plot out an original story. 🙂 Whew! I feel a little better. Sorry if that came out as a rant, but I saw that spot on the ‘Today’ show and it really just struck the wrong chord with me…especially… — Read More »
Hi Melinda,
Yes, a lot of people from the fanfic community have been visiting here, but I still want to hear from my friends too. 🙂
I agree with your take on the matter. We all take pieces and parts of various character background, plot tropes, setting details, etc. from other authors. After all, they say there’s no such thing as originality, only original ways of mixing them together. 🙂
And in this case, it almost sounds like the fanfic author did change many details. However, she didn’t change so much as to lose the connection the fandom felt to Stephenie Meyer’s characters. That’s where the issue first started.
If she’d gotten popular among the fanfic community for other stories and then wrote this story without the Twilight characters’ names and then mentioned to her network, “Hey, if you like Twilight and my fanfic stories, you might like FSoG because the characters are similar to Edward and Bella but without all the vampire stuff”, then I’d have no problem with this. Authors do “if you like x, you might like y” all the time.
But that’s not what she did. She purposely tied her story into the fandom for their support, and I find that unethical. Others are welcome to place that line somewhere else, and I want to understand their reasons why. Thanks for the comment!
I appreciate this article very much because it has been able to convey the feelings of so many of us that have had a problem with ‘Fifty Shades’ otherwise known as ‘Master of the Universe.’ The main point this article hit on is ethics. James has made a mockery out of the Twilight fanfiction fandom and all that it has represented. We, as readers and writers, found our way to fanfiction after something struck us (good or bad) with the Twilight series. Many people have written for the fandom, including myself. Fanfiction, in and of itself, is taking parts, ideas, or any number of similarities, and applying them to a story of your own. What some fans of ‘Fifty Shades’ is failing to understand is, James used Stephanie Meyers characters to write her fanfiction. She read the Twilight series and something sparked the idea in her head. IF that had not happened, she would not have written Twilight fanfiction. She would have written her own original work. Where the words her’s? Yes. Did she create her own ‘world’ for the story? Yes. However, that is where her independent ideas ends. She took characteristics of the characters and applied them to her story. Example: Edward is a rich, controlling man who lives his life in solitude. He was adopted as a teenager and the trauma from that and what occurred, has made him incapable of having any romantic relationships. (Please note, I mentioned nothing about him being a vampire.) Christian: He… — Read More »
Hi Mel,
I agree with you. As I said in my comment to Bee, an author can’t have it both ways. Either a work is meant to tie into the fanfic community–getting all the attention that entails–or it’s so original that it doesn’t fit in with fanfic.
It’s disingenuous for an author (or their fans) to claim fanfic ties when it’s convenient and then to cut all ties (without a major story overhaul) when it’s not convenient. That’s another line of manipulative, unethical behavior that I wouldn’t cross. Thanks for the comment!
Yeah, see that’s the thing. She DIDN’T change that much. The names, yes, the setting, sure but nothing else. The descriptions of their eyes, hair etc. are verbatim from the fic AND then Twilight as well since it was a knockoff to begin with.
There are PDF’s all over the internet of MotU and a side-by-side comparison would show that it’s barely edited. BARELY. Certainly not enough to say it was thoroughly edited by their “editing staff”.
Frankly, I’d love to see someone (that has that kind of time) do a side-by-side.
PS: Bravo to you for having the cajoles to post this. Icy fans are rabid and give the fandom a bad name in their white-knighting/inability to see another opinion.
Hi Nell,
You’ll find that a comparison of the first chap has already been done. Even the most basic of punctuation errors carry over to the retail version. I’m saddened that people have paid $7-30 for this. This generation is forgetting what good writing is all about.
The publisher should be held accountable for its blatant lack of respect and integrity.
The link is here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65785689/50ShadesofWTF.pdf
Hi Beansy,
Thanks for sharing. I’ve said before–so this is in no way a slam focused on this particular fanfic author–writers who can’t be bothered to learn the craft shouldn’t expect people to be bothered to spend their time reading crap. Publishing unedited crap (whether through a veiled vanity press like these fanfic mills or through self-publishing) is disrespectful to readers. Period. The end. 🙂
And yes, I worry for the future literacy of the world as well. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hi Nell,
Yes, I’ve seen several posts by people who have read both versions confirm the same thing. And I might have had less of an issue with this if the fanfic author had done a major overhaul on the story.
But if she kept her original plotline and changed the characters, would the fandom have still enjoyed it? Were the fanfic readers connecting to the plot events or the characters? I don’t know, and unfortunately, we’ll never know. However the fanfic author’s choice to keep characters that were based on Twilight pushes this further into unethical territory in my opinion. Thanks for the comment!
It’s funny how people are so up in arms about FSoG stealing from SM. Yet it’s perfectly okay to distribute ELJames’ intellectual material by posting the pdf to MotU all over the internet. Expending countless hours trolling each and every article, blog, and not to mention all the time it takes to create all those socks.
And kudos to you, Jami, for never mentioning the author by name. So respectful of you to skirt around trashing someone by not making it personal.
Hi Aredeetea,
LOL! Believe me, I’m keeping an eye open for sockpuppets on both sides of the issue. So far, I haven’t identified any for certain, and for the most part, people on both sides have been respectful enough to recognize that I’m trying to discuss the ethics of the situation in general.
Have there been snarky comments that could be taken multiple ways? Absolutely. But the truth is that I’m perfectly happy to allow comments linking to lists of other fanfic published works here–because my post is questioning the ethical choices, not simply this specific author.
As for the issue of people distributing MotU, I don’t know what the rules of fanfiction.net are about sharing and/or copying material posted to the site. However, I suspect that her posting the PDF to the site and then taking it down is the equivalent of closing the barn door after everything’s already escaped. Thanks for the comment!
The MotU pdf was not taken off fanfiction.net, and fanfiction can’t be copyrighted. It’s perfectly legal to distribute. As the book is almost exactly word-for-word a copy of the fanfiction I don’t know what implications that has for the legality of sharing the book, however most could read the fic and get the same exact thing out of it.
See the side-by-side comparison here – http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65785689/50ShadesofWTF.pdf
Hi Tulchulcha,
Yes, Beansy had already provided that comparison link. But you bring up a great, fantastic, oh-so-important point. 🙂
I want every author reading this to pay attention, right here, right now. As soon as we post work of any kind on a fanfic venue, we are declaring that we don’t own it. So we should be very careful about what we choose to post to fanfiction.net or similar sites.
And this goes along with what I said about making money off fanfic. We can choose to make it our own (by changing enough details) or we can choose to label it fanfic. We can’t have both. Once we label it fanfic and try to appeal to the fandom, we lose the ability to make other choices.
Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Ah, but can it be copyrighted? Maybe not officially registered as a copyright, but many publishing firms are beginning to recognized FF work as property of the writer. Recently, a FF author had her story stolen, sent to a publisher who was actually getting ready to publish the book in paperback. It was word-for-word the FF story, with the names changed. Readers of the original FF work let the seller (Amazon) know that the work was plagiarized. The publisher pulled the book, contacted the original author to apologize. Let’s face it – the Internet has opened a can of worms in terms of copyright and intellectual property issues. The lines are so blurred and the areas so grey (no pun intended) that even the lawyers are reluctant to give any absolutes. One of the FF authors I mentioned in my previous post who published her story after it was completed had her first FF story stolen and didn’t discover it until the book was out, marketed and purchased by many consumers. It’s my understanding the legal wrangling took quite some time. This is new territory.
Hi Bo,
I agree that this is new territory, which is why I think it’s so important for this ethical conversation to take place. As I mentioned in my reply to aredeetea, plagiarism is different from copyright, and most legit publishers will pull plagiarized material regardless of whether it’s a copyright issue or not. Acknowledgement of plagiarism does not confer copyright status. It’s an interesting issue, that’s for sure. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
P.S. And yes, I fixed the typos. One of my blog policies is to change a commenter’s comment for typos if I know they want it fixed. 🙂 No worries.
Exactly! if a PDF of the fic with due credit to the author it’s doing the rounds on the net, theres nothing said author can do because that’s what you expose yourself to once you decide to post what you write on a free for all site, such as FF.net is.
Hi Aredeeta,
The material I posted from 50Shades is readily available as a free download on multiple sites where you can purchase the book. In fact, I took it from one of those sites. I’m not distributing it or charging for it. In fact some would consider it’s promoting the material.
As for the FF side of it, that can’t be copyrighted. It’s FF.
Regards,
Beans
I’m not talking about the portion of the story for comparison sake. It’s well-established that EL wrote both, MotU and FSoG. I’m not sure what point people are trying to make with that. She wrote them both. Everyone knows that and no one is disputing it.
I’m talking about people who are posting links to the full text of MotU, often with the comments – “Why buy this crap when you can read it for free?” with the link.
And as for the copyright laws related to FF, granted I’m not in any way, shape or form a lawyer, but I know there was recently an issue where someone stole a fanfiction story and had it published as a book. Basically word for word. I don’t know the details about the publishing house. The publisher, though removed the book from publication. I’m not sure if any legal action was taken against the plagiarist.
Obviously it’s not as simple as saying it’s been on the web, so it’s free access. There IS such a thing as intellectual property even if it was posted online. Even more so if it was removed by the author in my opinion.
And along with the concept in this blog of the distinction between what is legal and what is ethical, I would certainly make the point that distributing MotU, weather legal or not, is being done in a less-than-kind manner.
You’re confusing the matter here. Bottom line according to law fanfiction can’t be copyrighted. Period. Many slap “copyright” statements on their fic but the bottom line is once something is posted as fanfiction it cannot be copyrighted. It’s a derivative work.
Now, the thornier issue of books that have been published to Amazon by people who do not own them. That’s the downside to self-publishing. First off, “publishing” something you did not write is both unethical and illegal. Doubly problematic is that you’re claiming copyright and making money off fanfiction that can’t be copyrighted or sold for profit. Most likely the “publishers” would take it down for both reasons.
Once something is posted as fanfiction it’s out there, and the author can’t do a damn thing about it because it is not copyrightable. If people distribute it you have no recourse. You can’t sue over the distribution of a work you hold no copyright to in the first place. That’s what makes this situation even thornier. Can FSoG be copyrighted since it’s an almost word-for-word copy of the derivative work? That’s entirely unclear in the law.
Hi Tulchulcha,
Oh, don’t get me started on all the ways an author’s work can be stolen and how little retribution authors can take. 🙂 There have been multiple instances of supposedly legit publishers relinquishing the copyright and yet continuing to sell the book without giving the author a penny. Seriously, some days all these issues are almost enough to make me want to give up.
I’d love to see this case go to court simply so we can get some clarity on the legal issues (and I say that for whichever way the court decided). Thanks for the comment!
“I’m not sure what point people are trying to make with [the portion of the story for comparison sake].”
They are trying to make the point that she made minimal, if any, changes to what was Twilight Fanfiction and what has become a NYT bestseller. No overhaul. They aren’t saying anything about whether or not she authored them both.
“There IS such a thing as intellectual property even if it was posted online.”
Intellectual property like the intangible aspects of a character well-established by another author? Oh yeah. Intellectual property means a lot of things. It is far more correct to assert that the inherent presuppositions readers brought to a story labeled “Twilight Fanfic E/B” have more ownership with Stephenie Meyer than to say that the word for word reposting of any Twilight fanfic (when giving the original fic author credit) has any ownership at all.
“I would certainly make the point that distributing MotU, weather legal or not, is being done in a less-than-kind manner.”
Distributing MOTU is only mean-spirited depending on where you stand on the issue. I personally feel I am doing readers a service giving them a link to the fic pdf because it saves them money. And pulling a fic offline does NOT entitle you to police its distribution. Check the ff.net TOS. You do not own your fanfic. In any form.
Hi Allryans,
Thank you for this insight. I suspected the TOS was as such. And this reiterates so many of my points here. Authors simply should not post material to fanfic venues if they ever want to publish it for money. We need to choose one or the other, but we can’t have both. Thanks for the comment!
Hi aredeetea, I’ve slammed plagiarists in the past before too, so I understand your point. 🙂 However, believe it or not, plagiarism does not automatically invoke copyright law. In other words, plagiarism alone is not enough to bring suit. (Yes, that concept boggles my mind too.) I’m not familiar with the case you mentioned, but most legit publishers will pull plagiarized material (regardless of whether copyright law applies or not). You bring up an interesting issue on the ethics of those distributing MotU. Is it a violation of ethics to distribute someone else’s fanfic against their wishes? I say yes. However, do the original ethical violations of this particular case outweigh the later violations? Hmm. Tricky question. On the one hand, two wrongs don’t make a right. On the other hand, if someone was trying to charge for (my mind is drawing a blank, so I’ll use a stupid example here) oh, say, the air over their property, would it be unethical for someone else to stand right beside the property line and gather the air from the property that the wind blows their way and distribute that for free? Like I said, stupid example. 🙂 But my point is that I can see where some would argue that she never had the right to charge for the fanfic story to begin with, so they’re not harming her by taking away her inability to make money off the story. Interesting issues–thanks for bringing it up! My mind is certainly not… — Read More »
Jami, sadly, that thing about the air being copyrighted is actually manifesting out here in Corn Country (or should I say, Soybean country) where farmers who use non-GMO seeds that *aren’t* from Monsanto are being sued because the wind blows Monsanto seeds onto their fields from other farmers who do. It’s a strongarm tactic used to get every farmer to use Monsanto seeds, which are patented, non-reproducing, and have to be bought again every year, instead of heirloom seeds which produce plants that are fertile and produce seeds that can be saved. Aside from more than you wanted to know about farming (LOL!), publishing fanfic for profit is NEVER a good idea. Because the First Rule of Fanfic Club is that you don’t talk about Fanfic Club. Look, fanfic exists in that gray twilight (pardon the pun) of not-quite-legal and maybe-not-ethical-all-depending-on-motivations. In the case of fanfic, it is ALL about the fanfic author’s motivations. I’ve been a member of fandoms with very aggressive IP lawyers who are not afraid AT ALL of backing over the fandom with a large legal dumptruck for any number of reasons, and we all get that. That’s why we police ourselves. Even ff.net respects the requests of authors who’ve come out firmly against fanfic, even as homage, like Anne McCaffrey. Most creators know that having a fandom implies a certain cachet–it means you’ve Arrived (somewhere, even if it’s just a sci-fi convention in the boondocks). People care enough about your creative work that it sticks… — Read More »
Hi Athena,
Wow, I think I’ve read about that Monsanto issue, now that you mention it.
LOL! But I do want to touch on the tacit approval you mentioned by authors not defending their work. I don’t know how much this issue has been tested in court, but within the law itself, Copyright Law is worded very differently from Trademark Law. Trademark Law requires the holders to protest in order to protect the trademark. Copyright Law specifically says that the copyright remains in effect whether the holder takes any action or not. So there shouldn’t be any erosion of the copyright during the Life Plus Fifty Years term.
As for the potential of authors shutting down fandom right out of the gate, I know this whole issue has gotten me to think about how I would approach fanfic if my writing ever gained fans. So yes, this is a very real risk that these pull-to-publish fanfic authors are taking that might affect the whole fanfic community. Thanks for the comment!
The only book I’ve read that was at some point fan fiction is Sempre. And Jessica did heavy editing, as Caren said in an above comment to Gaby. There were entire plot points changed, characters were changed, the content was obviously cut down significantly and was written in third person narrative unlike the fanfic (which was 1st person, alternate POV change). That takes a lot of work. She didn’t “ctrl+F and replace” as I understand FSoG to be (I did attemp to read MOtU so I am familiar with the story) . It’s not even recognizable as fanfic. And she donates a percentage of the profits gained from the book to a Anti-Human Trafficing organization. I think making the jump from fanfic to original fiction and using parts of the fanfic story are fine.. afterall the authors spend hours and hours working on these stories – putting blood, sweat and tears into their writing and ideas. They put themselves out there emotionally. I’ve read an embarrassing amount of Twilight FanFic in the last 3 years and I believe there are A LOT of amazing fanfic writers who could be published. And A LOT of stories have absolutely no resemblance to Twilight (other than character names). I think alot of authors also had these plot ideas before even becoming involved in the fandom (as I know to be the case with Sempre/EP) and the fanfic arena gives authors the confidence to continue on if their writing is well received. If fanfic… — Read More »
Hi Rae, “I think making the jump from fanfic to original fiction and using parts of the fanfic story are fine.” I agree. As authors, we reuse phrases, themes, even plot events, from one story to another all the time. That’s why I said that publishing former fanfic would be okay if it was significantly changed–to the point of being unrecognizable as fanfic. And I agree that some of these fanfic plotlines are so “alternate universe” (AU) from the original as to make it seem like the fanfic author had a unique story in mind and pasted known characters into the story. In that case, they made the decision to reach out to the fanfic community to get validation of their writing. There’s nothing wrong with that. My experience with fanfic taught me that I could finish a novel-length story and write a coherent plot. 🙂 All those types of goals are what make fanfic great. Now, if one of those very AU stories were to become published, I’d like to see the fanfic author first change the characters. Maybe find characters that fit their unique plot better. After all, good fiction isn’t just about “and then this happened,” but about why is it happening now and why with this particular protagonist. Protagonists shouldn’t be interchangeable. The stakes should be specific to them. And I think if an AU fanfic author thought about those unique qualities of their story, they’d find ways to make the characters fit their story better.… — Read More »
Thanks for your thoughts! I really appreciate it! This is such a great discussion.
(I posted a comment above in the wrong spot..oops! I thought it was me you replied to, but instead someone with a similar name)
Hi Rae,
Ah, that explains the crossed wire. No worries. 🙂
“Protagonists shouldn’t be interchangeable.”
I absolutely cannot tell you how much I applaud this statement. This is the argument I’ve been struggling to articulate for over a year. Not only is this practice fairly unethical, it’s also a sign that either the fic, or the book, or both, did what they were trying to do poorly.
If you drop a completely different character into your story and nothing changes, something is wrong with the story. (Or, perhaps, the character isn’t as different as you think he is.)
Hi Gisellelx,
Yes, I love that concept. (And it’s one that writers who haven’t written a story from scratch–including characters–might not understand.)
One of my favorite bloggers has a fantastic post about it: What’s at Stake? How Do You Make Readers Care About Your Story? She points out some major story flaws to watch out for:
– If the protagonist walked away, what would change? (Because the plot needs them to continue is not a good answer. Low to zero stakes there.)
– If the sidekick (random person, whatever) stepped into the protagonist’s slot, what would change? (This shows whether the stakes are personal.)
– What does your protagonist lose if they walk away? (If they have nothing to lose, low-to-zero stakes.)
Storytelling is way more than “and then this happened” and writers who fail to learn that won’t last long-term. Love, love, love this concept. (Can you tell? 🙂 ) Thanks for the comment!
Hey, Jami. I hadn’t heard of this particular incident before you brought it up. I agree, that fanfic authors shouldn’t profit from fanfics that have their serial numbers filed off. But here’s why I can’t unilaterally agree with you: some fanfics aren’t fanfics. Some “fan fiction” is so AU† and OOC†† that it has no resemblance whatsoever to the original story, except the character names and locations… maybe. Sometimes those aren’t even the same. It’s like someone watches Firefly and Serenity and says “Hey! What if River were a guy and Simon a girl—and they escaped on their own, without Mal and crew—and they aren’t space pirates, they’re air pirates, like airships—and Simone (’cause she’s a girl, yanno) is acrophobic and guy River has to use his psychic powers to keep Simone from realizing they’re off the ground—and—and—and…” …At which point the author has produced a story that’s actually original despite the Whedon kickoff. The story may or may not even be in the same genre. In that case, I see it as the author being inspired by the originals. The problem then comes from such actually original previously being published online as fan fiction. Which is a problem, I think, because it’s admitting a tie that might leave you open to lawsuit. Hey, I have a Star Wars AU vignette—which is still posted over on FF.net—that needn’t be considered fan fiction. I’ve actually come up with a novel idea wherein that would be the prologue. It contains no names,… — Read More »
Hi Carradee, Good to see you jumping in. 🙂 And actually, we don’t disagree about that point. (However, as you can see from my essay-long comments here, I was already running too long in my post to go into everything, including the different “levels” of fanfic. 🙂 ) As I just responded to Rae, I can easily see an AU story being so different from the original as to qualify for a unique work. However, in that case, the fanfic author has usually co-opted some of the original characters for the story (if not, why would it be posted as fanfic?). I think the fanfic author could then take that same unique story and change the characters to unique characters that better fit the story (making the stakes more specific to them, etc.). Once they have a unique story and unique characters, I’d have no problem with that story being published. And in your particular case, taking an AU fanfic flash fiction piece and later turning that into a longer story? Yes, I definitely would have no ethical qualms about that. 🙂 First you have the AU aspect, and then you add in changing the story from flash fiction to something more. The core idea might remain the same, but that’s about it. Heck, like themes, we reuse core ideas all the time. 🙂 On a related note, as you said, if an author wonders whether a piece is fanfic at all (rather than just inspired), they might be hurting… — Read More »
Apologies in advance as I’m writing on my phone. One other thing that I don’t think has been mentioned is the fact that the twilight fandom’s sense of “betrayal” (for lack of a better word) is that Ms. James used a number of Twilight “fic-isms” in her story. What do I mean by that? There are a massive number of Twi fics that all use certain fandom cliches which I *don’t* believe were part of the original Twilight series (e.g. Bella’s serial lip-biting). That has been done to death in fan fiction. In addition, before jumping on the so-called BDSM bandwagon, another Twi-fic trilogy written by Tarasueme (The Submissive, The Dominant, The Training) were wildly popular for their time. In my opinion, more enjoyable stories and well written. My point is this: The twilight fanfic community really is that – a community. Many women have forged real friendships here. These are women who visit each other, phone, skype, etc. They pre-read each other’s stories and offer advice and never ask anything in return. I think that possibly having an insincere opportunist among us really hurt many. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me part of the bad taste that this leaves in my mouth is that the author also used other fandom stories, phrases, and ideas that weren’t hers to begin with – over and above the more obvious link to Meyers’ original stories. I used to be much more involved in the fandom but… — Read More »
Hi Juliebee,
Interesting. I hadn’t heard of the Twilight “fic-isms” issue before, but I know exactly what you mean. The phrases, situations, or plot elements are almost like inside jokes to the fanfic community. Stories in the community build off those that came before. I can definitely see how this fanfic author’s choices would lead to a different sense of betrayal among the community due to that internal coherence. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
It’s not just “fic-isms” within a fandom, either. There’s a certain shorthand when writing derivative fic that comes into play. In original fiction, it’s up to the author to set the stage and build the universe from the ground up for the reader. With fanfic, the universe is already built, the stage is already set, it’s just a matter of the actors acting in or out of character. It’s like having a pre-determined set with props and set pieces that everyone already knows, which by definition precludes the need for the author to do the work to set the stage. To a much lesser extent, genre itself has its own shorthand (I don’t need to tell you about romance’s shorthand) that outlines expectations that the reader and writer both agree to when writing and reading for the genre…but fanficcing takes it to a more granular level. Juliebee speaks of the “betrayal” of the Twilight fandom and that’s probably what rubs me most the wrong way. I’m neither a Twilight fan nor in the Twilight fandom, but I *get* fandom, and fandom is firmly rooted in the bonding of people rejected by the rest of the polite world, whose tastes are by definition not in the mainstream. Fen carried torches for 30 year old science fiction shows that never did very well in the ratings to begin with. Fen passed around grainy VHS bootlegs of British sci-fi that baffled American audiences for decades, and little old ladies sat in hotel rooms… — Read More »
Hi Athena,
Interesting points about shorthand. Yes, our expectations as readers fill in a lot of blanks within certain genres or fandoms.
Great observation! Especially given that from what I’ve read, this fanfic author didn’t even particularly like the fandom, which just makes it sound so much more coldly manipulating. Thanks for the comment!
I am an avid Twilight fanfiction reader– probably bordering on fanatic. I read this story originally as fanfiction and was fairly blown away by it. The story itself is original– quite original, in fact. Yes, in the original version, she used the character names from Twilight which is what drew me to the story in the first place. The subject matter was something quite foreign to me and was an eye opener. The original story has been pulled and the author totally re-worked it into something that doesn’t even come close to any of the original Twilight stories. The ages of the characters, names, the locations, the plot lines all deviate so completely from Twilight that I fail to see where any ethical lines are being crossed. Every author and writer gets some of their ideas from somewhere else; as an author yourself, you know this. Most of the writing in fanfiction is dismal, but occasionally I come across stories that are just so good. Master of the Universe was one of those stories. I not only read it once, but read it again. I am thankful for the fanfiction writers who practice and hone their writing skills in the Twilight fanfiction genre. The stories are free and they all attribute their source material to Stephenie. No one is profiting illicitly from Stephenie’s material. E. L. James wrote a good story. It certainly isn’t literary excellence, but it simply is a good story. It was obviously so good that it… — Read More »
Hi Jan,
Not once have I ever assigned motives to the fanfic author in question (or named her–even through all these comment replies). On my blog, I expect you to treat me with the same respect–and not put motives to my actions. If you’re incapable of that, then you are playing into the hands of those who say the fanfic author’s fans are rabid, overly hormonal bitches.
Is that really the impression you want to give me–a disinterested third party who is merely questioning the ethics of a situation–and all my regular readers? If you wish to delete this comment and reframe your words so as to not create that impression, please let me know and I’ll make that happen. Otherwise, this comment will stand as evidence.
The fact that you do not “feel” exploited does not change the fact that to the outside world, it has occurred. Thanks for your comment! (And I mean that!) 🙂
I did not say I “feel” exploited. You said that. I don’t see exploitation where you see it– on that we shall just have to agree to disagree. To me that is an insult to me and any of the readers you are referring to. I do not sell short the many fanfiction readers who liked her story enough to give her the incentive to take the next step and sell her work. We may not be paid publishing house reviewers, but we recognize a good story when we read one. We thought the story was good enough to publish and sell and it has. She used the resources available on the internet to get her writing “out there.” Had she just gone the traditional route, she would more than likely have received the typical publishing house rejection letter. Now, she’s not only published, she is profiting monetarily, and as badly written as many now say the story is– that “poor;ly written” story is a hit– a popular sell. And to an author, that is success. I have been stuck for awhile in the Twilight fanfiction world simply because I am finding good fiction and writing there. James’s story was one . Interestingly, as someone else mentioned, so many of the really good fanfiction stories are so totally opposite of Twilight– other than the character names. These stories are thoroughly engaging me during my leisure time and I don’t even have to go to Amazon to buy them. Some of… — Read More »
Hi Jan, Yes, I’m absolutely questioning the ethics of her choices. That’s different than ascribing motives for her choices. As a writer, it’s my job to be able to come up with 10 different motivations for every action. 🙂 I can rewrite an entire scene, changing the whole focus and point of the scene, by changing only the motives–and leaving the actions of all characters the same. So no, I do not assume I know which of those 10 possible reasons drove her to choose to act the way she did. Those reasons are irrelevant to me. I don’t care if she did it because of greed, because of her fans, or because she needed the money for cancer treatment. Seriously. I. Don’t. Care. But as an observer–outside of fandom and outside of the “did she purposely do blah, blah, blah” debate–her actions and the choices that led up to those actions strike me as unethical. I still haven’t heard any of her supporters give a reason for why they feel it’s not unethical. Where is the serious discussion about “well, if an author changes xyz and does abc and not def, I think it’s okay”? Not one of her supporters has put their butt on the fire here to state where they think that line is. Why is that? Surely her supporters don’t all believe there is no line. As for the exploitation issue, I happen to have known some cult members throughout my life who would agree with… — Read More »
Jan M, Hi! I am so relieved to read a response from a well informed Fan Fic afficianado! I loved MoTu from Chapter one. Robert Pattinson is my whole reason for looking at Fan fiction at all.Not Edward! Icy created a story line that I and a lot of women totally enjoyed. Obviously the proof is in the publishing.Ethics I think here is not the problem….jealousy is.I bought all her books.I reread them all the time. She has given a lot of women something wonderful to fantasize about.I thank her for them.I hope she continues to have great success! I am one of her rabid fans!
Hi Evaporation, The interest in Robert Pattinson came from the Twilight fandom, so this is still a take-off on the issue of exploiting the fandom no matter what brought you to the fanfic. I don’t deny that many women have enjoyed these books, but a passel of fans does not make the ethics issues moot. So, no, there is no “proof” in the “ethics is not the issue” simply because of the numbers willing to follow her on her path. I find the people who claim “If someone handed you a stack of money to do the same, you would” appalling and disturbing. Really? That many people put a price on their moral character? I, for one, do not. I would not sell my fanfic for a billion dollars. Period. Some may not believe me, or think that it’s easy to say until I’m in that situation, but I’ve faced moral decisions before, and I know how I’ve chosen in the past. This is not blind naivete speaking. As for the jealousy charge, I and plenty others have addressed that in other comments, so I won’t repeat the facts here. Suffice it to say that I don’t want that level of fame. There is such a thing as fear of success, so don’t ascribe your motives to others because writers each have their own path they want to walk. My path is not fame and fortune, nor do I want it to be. I want to touch people with my… — Read More »