the delphic expanse

Amazon to sell Fan Fiction

From the Relaunch series to the Glass Empire stories, talk about Enterprise profic here.

Re: Amazon to sell Fan Fiction

Postby crystalswolf » Tue May 28, 2013 11:48 am

I would agree with you if this were a venture initiated by publishing companies, but this is something pushed by Amazon and the franchise(s). In this deal they are cutting the publishing companies, and the authors, as a middleman of sorts in this scenario. And I would think name recognition could swing in the favor of self-published if they had the backing of the franchise.

In your Stargate example, at least how I see it could happen, is that MGM no longer uses Signet Books to publish their books and uses their resources to spotlight online, self-published stories they deem acceptable. This gives them more control than working with a publishing company and established authors. Lower quality but more control.

Edit: Also, it just occurred to me that "Vampire Diaries" was on the list of authorized fan fiction. "Vampire Diaries" is based off of a series of books. That by itself hints of an end run.
crystalswolf
Moderator
 
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:02 pm

Re: Amazon to sell Fan Fiction

Postby EntAllat » Tue May 28, 2013 12:04 pm

crystalswolf wrote:I would agree with you if this were a venture initiated by publishing companies, but this is something pushed by Amazon and the franchise(s). In this deal they are cutting the publishing companies, and the authors, as a middleman of sorts in this scenario. And I would think name recognition could swing in the favor of self-published if they had the backing of the franchise.


DOH! Yes, you're absolutely right. In thinking about how publishers would or wouldn't pay authors I totally forgot that this was about the distributor and the franchise starting to do this, NOT the publisher. Ugh. Disregard most of what I said in the previous post. This sort of thing means a little more revenue and a lot of closer-to-home control by the studio, not the publisher.

In your Stargate example, at least how I see it could happen, is that MGM no longer uses Signet Books to publish their books and uses their resources to spotlight online, self-published stories they deem acceptable. This gives them more control than working with a publishing company and established authors. Lower quality but more control.

Edit: Also, it just occurred to me that "Vampire Diaries" was on the list of authorized fan fiction. "Vampire Diaries" is based off of a series of books. That by itself hints of an end run.


True, true.
User avatar
EntAllat
Site Admin
 
Posts: 3720
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:02 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Amazon to sell Fan Fiction

Postby EntAllat » Fri May 31, 2013 6:31 pm

John Scalzi's found an incentive for Alloy Entertainment to be working with Amazon to let fan fiction be offered up for pay:

2. So, on one hand it offers people who write fan fiction a chance to get paid for their writing in a way that doesn’t make the rightsholders angry, which is nice for the fan ficcers. On the other hand, as a writer, there are a number of things about the deal Amazon/Alloy are offering that raise red flags for me. Number one among these is this bit:
“We will also give the World Licensor a license to use your new elements and incorporate them into other works without further compensation to you.”
i.e., that really cool creative idea you put in your story, or that awesome new character you made? If Alloy Entertainment likes it, they can take it and use it for their own purposes without paying you — which is to say they make money off your idea, lots of money, even, and all you get is the knowledge they liked your idea.
Essentially, this means that all the work in the Kindle Worlds arena is a work for hire that Alloy (and whomever else signs on) can mine with impunity. This is a very good deal for Alloy, et al — they’re getting story ideas! Free! — and less of a good deal for the actual writers themselves. I mean, the official media tie-in writers and script writers are doing work for hire, too, but they get advances and\or at least WGA minimum scale for their work.


You can read Scalzi's whole initial - and subject to change - thoughts on it here. He's also curious and concerned about how this will affect the pro writers.

For yet another take, see this BBC video: Kindle Worlds: Do fan fiction writers want to make money?
User avatar
EntAllat
Site Admin
 
Posts: 3720
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:02 pm
Location: Texas

Previous

Return to Enterprise Books

  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests