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kitewithfishApocalypos of LJ posted here about a post Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander and other novels, made in her blog, Fan-Fiction [sic] and Moral Conundrums
Ms. Gabaldon begins inauspiciously:
"OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I _know_ it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters." The rest of the post is in a similar vein- read it if you have the time.
I replied with this post: (When I started writing, there were 83 responses. When I posted, there were 96. There are now 116 posts and growing)
It's your books, characters, and story. If you want to keep others from using them, that's your choice. Most archives and authors will respect that- I suggest you inform them.
My bias: I read fanfic, and I deeply enjoy it, and I will confess that I frequently enjoy fanfic without having encountered the source material before I read the fanfic. Several times, fanfic has inspired me to find the original source, and other times it hasn't. Sometimes I get to the source material and find the fanfic more literary, funnier, and just more enjoyable than the original materials, and I don't bother with the original anymore. Reading good Outlander fanfic might have made me want to buy your books, or it might not. Reading bad Outlander fanfic would certainly have had no effect on my attitude towards your novels.
On the issue of legality: A number of others have posted, far more knowledgeably and eloquently, about the complexity of law regarding fair use and copyrighted materials. Read their posts if you like, but please take away at least the information that it's much more complicated than "It's stealing or "It's illegal under International Copyright Law." Declaring that the issue is really simple is not going to make it simple. It's is misleading and disingenuous to say so.
I've read Outlander. It was fun. It was enjoyable and I might have continued the series. There are authors I read that don't like fanfic of their work, and make that known, and I can respect that and continue to enjoy their works. (George RR Martin comes to mind.) However, there are ways to be respectful towards fans when making your dislike of fanfiction known, and I do not think that you behaved respectfully towards your fic-author fans in this post, and that is going to color my attitude towards your work in the future. I will probably not read your books in the future.
Good luck in your writing,
Sincerely,
Kite With-Fish
Needless to say, I think Ms. Gabaldon is within her rights as an author and creator to ask for no fanfiction of her work, but I don't agree with her characterization of fic authors.
If you feel moved to comment, please be respectful in tone if not in mind.
Ms. Gabaldon begins inauspiciously:
"OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I _know_ it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters." The rest of the post is in a similar vein- read it if you have the time.
I replied with this post: (When I started writing, there were 83 responses. When I posted, there were 96. There are now 116 posts and growing)
It's your books, characters, and story. If you want to keep others from using them, that's your choice. Most archives and authors will respect that- I suggest you inform them.
My bias: I read fanfic, and I deeply enjoy it, and I will confess that I frequently enjoy fanfic without having encountered the source material before I read the fanfic. Several times, fanfic has inspired me to find the original source, and other times it hasn't. Sometimes I get to the source material and find the fanfic more literary, funnier, and just more enjoyable than the original materials, and I don't bother with the original anymore. Reading good Outlander fanfic might have made me want to buy your books, or it might not. Reading bad Outlander fanfic would certainly have had no effect on my attitude towards your novels.
On the issue of legality: A number of others have posted, far more knowledgeably and eloquently, about the complexity of law regarding fair use and copyrighted materials. Read their posts if you like, but please take away at least the information that it's much more complicated than "It's stealing or "It's illegal under International Copyright Law." Declaring that the issue is really simple is not going to make it simple. It's is misleading and disingenuous to say so.
I've read Outlander. It was fun. It was enjoyable and I might have continued the series. There are authors I read that don't like fanfic of their work, and make that known, and I can respect that and continue to enjoy their works. (George RR Martin comes to mind.) However, there are ways to be respectful towards fans when making your dislike of fanfiction known, and I do not think that you behaved respectfully towards your fic-author fans in this post, and that is going to color my attitude towards your work in the future. I will probably not read your books in the future.
Good luck in your writing,
Sincerely,
Kite With-Fish
Needless to say, I think Ms. Gabaldon is within her rights as an author and creator to ask for no fanfiction of her work, but I don't agree with her characterization of fic authors.
If you feel moved to comment, please be respectful in tone if not in mind.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 12:23 am (UTC)Don't know if it frosts your cookie, but I'm musing a little on the terminology used in conversations about fanfic here- stop by if you have thoughts. http://kitewithfish.dreamwidth.org/347853.html