In which two very different authors endear themselves to me

[pendrecarc]

Posts this is not: a long rant about traffic and how much I wish I could just use public transportation in my commute, a music post with everything that's been making me happy lately (though that may follow), a list of the books I'm flailing about after finally taking the recommendations I keep getting (which also may follow).

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I wouldn't have thought I'd ever use the word "endearing" to describe the author of The Magicians, but Lev Grossman is doing a piece on fanfiction for Time magazine that should be online tomorrow or the day after. If you haven't heard about this already, part of his research involved this community, which I'm afraid is members-only on LiveJournal (though anyone with an account can join). I can understand some of the reasoning behind that, but it's a pity, as the responses were well worth reading. He made half a dozen posts with questions about fanfic and essentially let that part of the blogosphere have at it. Currently, there are a little short of 2,000 comments.

He's admitted there will likely be omissions and errors in the final product, and the approach he's taken is somewhat problematic in terms of the crossections of fannish communities that were able to respond (which was pointed out numerous times in comments), but he's been extraordinarily respectful throughout. Which is all very nice, but the best bit is his last post, wherein he promises to include a list of Harry Potter fanfic he's enjoyed. This should be illuminating. :)

In other news, Laurie R. King has just put up a novella (the e-book is available in most formats, and it runs $0.99 or £1.50, though it won't be in UK markets until the 25th) that covers the first chapters of BEEK from Holmes' perspective. I admit I much prefer Russell's POV, but this should be an interesting read. The endearing bit about it, though, is her invitation for readers to tell her what they think of it--brave soul! I've always appreciated how interested she seems in a dialogue with her readers.

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Both of those have me thinking about fanfic and pro authors' attitudes toward same, which led me to remember discussions I've seen on fannish attitudes toward remixing and other transformative works of their fanfic. I was going to include a poll, but the questions got a bit complicated, so I'll just put this up for discussion:

Is it appropriate or reasonable for authors of fanfiction to attempt to restrict or limit transformative work based on their writing? I'm thinking of remixes, sequels, fanart, podfic, and any number of other things. Should they attempt to exercise any such control at all?

If yes, then is that due to the greater availability of fan authors? It's obviously easier to fire off a PM to someone on Dreamwidth than it is to write Rowling and ask her if it's okay to play in her sandbox for a bit. Should that make a difference?

I suppose my philosophy is that if we're willing to dish it out, we ought to be willing to take it. I wouldn't even say I'd prefer to be asked permission, except that fannish mores are generally quite clear on that, so I might feel it as something of a cultural faux pas--if you want to record a podfic or write a remix, you're pretty much expected to ask the source author first. Fanart does seem to be an exception, from what I've seen.

Comments

[franzeska]

*wanders by*

I suppose my philosophy is that if we're willing to dish it out, we ought to be willing to take it.

That's my feeling as well. The one exception I'd make is if someone wants my... uh... "official" endorsement of their sequel or podfic or whatever. I'd rather only link to something as the "official" sequel to my fic if I actually like it. (Like betas not wanting to be credited if you ignore all of their suggestions.) But if they don't care about my approval, it's none of my business if they still want to write a sequel.

[pendrecarc]

Oh, yes, "official" endorsement would be different--for whatever value of official that would entail. I suppose another issue would be if I was in the process of writing a series or sequel myself, and someone took it upon themselves to come up with another instalment. Again, I wouldn't feel as though I had any moral authority to object, really, but there it's an issue of platform--someone writing their version of the fifth Harry Potter book and posting it on ff.net isn't in direct competition with Rowling by any stretch of the imagination.

Though I still don't think I'd have any real foundation for being upset, exactly.