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Amazon, what are you doing?
May. 23rd, 2013 12:25 amSo, I learned about Amazon's Kindle Worlds project today, and like seemingly a lot of people in fandom, I have misgivings about the idea.
First of all, I'm not really against the idea of profiting from fanfic, in general. Obviously, there are legal and ethical issues with doing it without permission. But but as far as I'm concerned, if you have authorization, then there's nothing wrong with it. Personally, while the idea of making some extra cash via writing fanfic is certainly appealing, I like having writing be a hobby and an escape. For me, fiction writing, in general, doesn't mix well with business. Part of the reason why I got into writing fanfic again in the first place, after a long time or not writing it, was because I'd gotten sucked into the idea that I should try to sell my writing and I was absolutely miserable. So I'm not going to be lining up to submit fic to Amazon. Besides...I'm not interested in the fandoms they're offering.
But the more I've thought about it, the more reservations I've had about a project like this. I'm concerned, first of all, about writers being treated fairly. I've seen the numbers for the percentage of royalties you're supposed to receive from Amazon, and to be honest, I'm not familiar enough with the publishing industry, or with tie-in fiction, to know if this is a fair industry standard or not. But if I were going to publish with Kindle Worlds, I would want to investigate the deal more before committing.
One of the main risks I see is writers being treated more like fans than authors. In a fandom community, we can be fans first and foremost. But when you're being paid to write tie-in material, there's a professional relationship there that goes beyond fan-creator. I worry that because fanfic is something fans do for fun, it's starting to be seen as a marketing tool, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. It feels patronizing and exploitative to me.
Another concern I've seen expressed is that this could give copyright and license holders a reason to try to shut down free fanfic websites. I don't believe that's an immediate risk, but it's something I could see happening if producers continue to see fanfic as something that's marketable.
In any case, I have my doubts about the widespread appeal of Kindle Worlds. I suspect that most fanfic readers will hesitate to pay money for fic when they can get it for free, unless maybe the fic is written by a particularly popular writer. And banning porn cuts out a significant demographic of fanfic writers and readers (it's also ironic, if Amazon is partly trying to bank on the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey).
That said, I could see a few potential positives. Most importantly, maybe systems like this could make it easier for people to break into the field of writing tie-in novels, something that can be challenging to do. Like I said, I'm not against the idea of fanfic for profit on principle. I'm mainly concerned about the execution and what it could mean for fanfic writers.
First of all, I'm not really against the idea of profiting from fanfic, in general. Obviously, there are legal and ethical issues with doing it without permission. But but as far as I'm concerned, if you have authorization, then there's nothing wrong with it. Personally, while the idea of making some extra cash via writing fanfic is certainly appealing, I like having writing be a hobby and an escape. For me, fiction writing, in general, doesn't mix well with business. Part of the reason why I got into writing fanfic again in the first place, after a long time or not writing it, was because I'd gotten sucked into the idea that I should try to sell my writing and I was absolutely miserable. So I'm not going to be lining up to submit fic to Amazon. Besides...I'm not interested in the fandoms they're offering.
But the more I've thought about it, the more reservations I've had about a project like this. I'm concerned, first of all, about writers being treated fairly. I've seen the numbers for the percentage of royalties you're supposed to receive from Amazon, and to be honest, I'm not familiar enough with the publishing industry, or with tie-in fiction, to know if this is a fair industry standard or not. But if I were going to publish with Kindle Worlds, I would want to investigate the deal more before committing.
One of the main risks I see is writers being treated more like fans than authors. In a fandom community, we can be fans first and foremost. But when you're being paid to write tie-in material, there's a professional relationship there that goes beyond fan-creator. I worry that because fanfic is something fans do for fun, it's starting to be seen as a marketing tool, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. It feels patronizing and exploitative to me.
Another concern I've seen expressed is that this could give copyright and license holders a reason to try to shut down free fanfic websites. I don't believe that's an immediate risk, but it's something I could see happening if producers continue to see fanfic as something that's marketable.
In any case, I have my doubts about the widespread appeal of Kindle Worlds. I suspect that most fanfic readers will hesitate to pay money for fic when they can get it for free, unless maybe the fic is written by a particularly popular writer. And banning porn cuts out a significant demographic of fanfic writers and readers (it's also ironic, if Amazon is partly trying to bank on the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey).
That said, I could see a few potential positives. Most importantly, maybe systems like this could make it easier for people to break into the field of writing tie-in novels, something that can be challenging to do. Like I said, I'm not against the idea of fanfic for profit on principle. I'm mainly concerned about the execution and what it could mean for fanfic writers.
