Gillian Anderson
Sometimes I go ages without seeing a photo of her, but when I do, I’m 19 again and hnnnnnnggghh.
(Source: sossiegirl, via chilly-flame)
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I’ve been a near-daily reader of fanfiction since 1996. Back when it required digging around on usenet and subscribing to lists like alt.tv.x-files.creative (and also, of course, alt.tv.x-files.creative.mature) to get my fix. I remember the beginning of The Gossamer Project and how exciting it was to have a place to read and find new stories, but without having to save them to my computer as text files. (In the days of floppy discs, I had dozens full of just stories). I am still boggled that Ephemeral still exists.
I met one of my best friends through fanfiction. We’re working on 16 years of being friends and hanging out online and in person. I met my girlfriend through fanfiction (kind of…it’s a wandering tale of internet silliness).
So the idea that Amazon is going to monetize (some) fanfiction is hilarious to me. First of all, there are not going to be a ton of works for which you can be paid to write about. You can only write for a few fandoms, you can’t write pornography, you can’t write violent acts, and you can’t write crossovers. Goodbye 99% of everything I’ve read. Secondly (and the real kicker) is that Amazon “will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights, for the term of copyright.” Your cut of selling your story is small, but if someone likes it enough to say, option your OC (original character) or use your plot device, you will get to see it appear on screen…but never see a penny from it.
Fanfiction writers have always said that feedback is food. It’s the reward for putting time and effort into making something interesting for others to read. I send a fair amount of feedback, but I’ve never once been inclined to send money. There’s maybe one author that I’d give a donation to if she asked, because her writing is better than many things I’ve paid for.
I don’t mind the idea of fic writers getting paid. Do they want to get paid? Have all these stories going back ages and ages all been a ploy to get $2 in 2013? The biggest fandoms will never get “sanctioned” by the Amazon program. Fanfiction.net offers almost 650,000 free Harry Potter stories (and let’s be real, at no point will JKR say “sure let’s license my characters for this Amazon dealio”). Fandoms that I read are probably never going to get licensed because of their small size or the AU-ness (alternative universe) of the stories will keep them from being Amazon-ed.
This will not improve what I read. Trust me, I’ve read a lot of crap, but I’ve also read some things that, more than 10 years later, I still re-read once or twice every year. This weird Amazon thing has inspired me to do two things this morning: I re-donated to OTW (who runs Archive Of Our Own aka AO3) and I’m sending a few “old” authors notes to let them know that all these years later, I’m still reading and enjoying their stories.
I’m so very tempted to end this with a list of story recommendations, but I will refrain.
The World's End full trailer!! -
Watch the video The World’s End full trailer on Yahoo! Movies . Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind’s only hope for survival.
Yes, this is what my summer will end with. I’m so excited!
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