Fan Fiction Question

Jonoraptor said:

Thank you all for your responses. I am disappointed about the publishers directing what one writes (in a sense), but I appreciate the help.

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They don't direct what you write. They direct what you can publish using their intellectual property.

If you want to write whatever you want based on someone else's intellectual property, then that is fanfic.

If you want to publish writing based on someone else's intellectual property, you have to play by their rules.

And the mods here have decided they don't want to go anywhere near the minefield which is the legality of sharing fanfic.

(Which, for the record, and as a fanfic writer, I think is entirely reasonable. There are plenty of fanfic sites we can use.)

skylark said:

They don't direct what you write. They direct what you can publish using their intellectual property.

If you want to write whatever you want based on someone else's intellectual property, then that is fanfic.

If you want to publish writing based on someone else's intellectual property, you have to play by their rules.

And the mods here have decided they don't want to go anywhere near the minefield which is the legality of sharing fanfic.

(Which, for the record, and as a fanfic writer, I think is entirely reasonable. There are plenty of fanfic sites we can use.)

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I just wanted to quote this because it needs requoting. Especially the bold.

skylark said:

They don't direct what you write. They direct what you can publish using their intellectual property.

If you want to write whatever you want based on someone else's intellectual property, then that is fanfic.

If you want to publish writing based on someone else's intellectual property, you have to play by their rules.

And the mods here have decided they don't want to go anywhere near the minefield which is the legality of sharing fanfic.

(Which, for the record, and as a fanfic writer, I think is entirely reasonable. There are plenty of fanfic sites we can use.)

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This[SUP]10[/SUP].

It's not just the mods protecting themselves; it's Mac protecting herself. It's her site and she could be held liable in the event of an intellectual property lawsuit brought about by an author. It's easier and cheaper for a blanket edict saying NO FANFIC EVARZ! to be issued

Jonoraptor said:

I am disappointed about the publishers directing what one writes (in a sense)....

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Why? Let's put the shoe on the other foot.

Let's say you turn out to be the Next Big Thing with your Jonoraptor's Great Big Adventures. You, naturally, own the intellectual property (IP) rights to Jonoraptor and all its characters, milieu, and so on.

Are you fine with letting other folks publish Jonoraptor books and stories without your permission? Letting them make buckets of money trading on your IP? Letting them do anything they want with your world, even if it's contrary to the direction you intend for the stories to go?

Or do you want control of your own characters, your own world, your own stories?

See how that works? Copyright protects you just as much as it protects other authors.