yes! a reason to use this icon!

[trinityvixen]

While I was on my trip to Disney World, I read to fluffy, cozy-mystery-type novels by Carrie Bebris. "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy" mysteries, to put a finer point on it. They're cute, easy reads, perfect for plane rides and frequent interruptions when traveling, and while the mysteries are about as interesting as your average Smallville episode (kidding, but they are predictable), the reparte between Elizabeth and Darcy is really fun and genuine and I liked it a lot.

I'm a little miffed that someone gets paid to write what is essentially fanfiction, but the gal has done her research. I mentioned this to moonlightalice, who loaned me one of Bebris' books--North by Northanger and came to the following, HORRIFIC REALIZATION:

me: I'm a bit jealous that someone gets paid to write fanfic and published. But hey, she did her research.
moonlightalice: dude, what do you think shakespeare did?
me: Good point.
moonlightalice: and he used CONTEMPORARIES (a big no no nowadays)
b>me: God help us when Star Wars and Harry Potter go into the public domain.
moonlightalice lol
b>me: GOD HELP US ALL
Tmoonlightalice: oh no...
b>me: I just...No.

Comments

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, they never will. Mickey Mouse will make sure of that.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Also, there already are people who get paid to write Star Wars fanfic. They're called media tie-in authors.

I would also argue that Shakespeare wasn't writing "fanfic." He wasn't expanding on someone else's universe with the assumptions that the playgoers would be familiar with the original author's work. He just stealing ideas and plotlines, like so many, many others.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

For that matter? A lot of the people who get novel tie-in deals for tv shows and movies started off writing fanfic that was good enough to get noticed. Unfortunately, one generally has to have an "in", like an industry contact, to get those deals. Otherwise I'd have tried for something like that by now. I could totally do a better job with the Buffyverse novels than some of the crap I've read.

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

I hold out hope that because Harry Potter is so much more popular than Austen (and already has so many fanfic authors), that because of the plethora of manuscripts that will flood publishers when it goes into the public domain, the ones they do choose to publish will be good...

And how can Disney hold onto the rights indefinitely?