Editing, Fanfic, and a sci-fi novel

[shadowkat]

Was reading Illona Andrews blog on Good Reads...and stumbled upon an interesting space opera, that appears to be the sci-fi equivalent of urban fantasy, with a kick-ass female heroine. My problem with a lot of sci-fi space operas is that they are male focused, women are sort of well, secondary. This one appears to feature a Ripley (think Aliens) style heroine.

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach - it's not cheap, $9.99 on Kindle. So am trying a sample.

Came highly recommended by the Kate Daniels author and Felicia Day, of Dollhouse, Buffy and The Guild fame. But I thought I'd give it a whirl. Have a lot of samples, I'm trying - until Jim Butcher's Skin Game comes out on May 27th, and Illona Andrews next book in the Kate Daniels Magic series comes out on July 24th.

The other things I stumbled on was an interesting professional writers's take on fanfiction (on her books) and editing.

1. Fanfiction:

She basically stated what the majority of writers state regarding fanfiction - which is:

Different authors have different takes on fan fiction. If an author says that they do not give permission for fanfiction, most people in fanfiction community are pretty conscientious and refrain from setting stories in that author’s universe. I have no problem with people making their own characters and playing in Kate Daniels universe and having characters make an appearance. I intensely dislike when people go ahead of cannon and write something like Kate and Curran have a baby. It makes my job more complicated, because readers get confused as to what is in the books and what isn’t. I also dislike the fact that authors sometimes have been sued because fanfiction authors claimed their ideas were stolen, which is why I won’t read fanfiction and I ask that it’s not linked anywhere on our website or forum.

[Here's the thing about fanfic? I don't tend to like or read fanfic from the same medium. ie. I didn't read Harry Potter fanfic or fanfic based on any books. Nor do I like to read published fanfic based on books (such as Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, or Shakespeare)...it's the same medium, and well it feels like the fanfic writer is borrowing too heavily from the original work. Fanfic that is from another medium is a different thing entirely. For example? Buffy fanfic - was written fanfic based on a visual tv series. (I didn't tend to read fanfic based on the comics...the medium was too close.) Same deal with Star Wars - different mediums. I can read fanfic based on movies or tv shows, but not books. It's why I never read fanfic based on Harry Potter, but did read Doctor Who, BSG, Farscape, and Buffy. So I can see where novelists are coming from on the whole - please don't write fanfic based on my books and if you do, please don't tell me about it.]

AND

While we’re on the subject, it’s in bad taste to email the author and tell them, “Hi, here is my idea for a short story I have set in your universe. I want you to look at it and tell me what you think. Can you help me find an agent?” Please don’t do that unless you know the author is cool with receiving fanfic. I am not cool with it. :)

[Seriously? People actually do this? I have no words...]

If you write fanfiction set in our universe, we won’t sue you. If you attempt to sell it, the publisher and I are coming after you with lawyers primed and guns blazing.

[Of course. It's expensive to sue people and time-consuming. Nothing in the legal system is fast. Lawyers charge you approximately $200-300 an hour, and additional for filing and paperwork. Why sue some unknown fanfic writer on the internet who is entertaining your fans? It only hurts you. You'd have to be dumb or insanely rich to do that.

Here's the thing most people don't understand about intellectual property law and copyright infringement - unless you take steps to enforce it, it doesn't really matter all that much. And taking steps to enforce it is easier said then done. You have to hire a lawyer, and sue for an injunction. As a fanfic writer - you are screwed if they sue you. Although most courts will let it go if your story is in a fanzine or is Alternate Universe/Everybody's Human fic, because really...it's not quite infringement. Straight up fanfic - canon is another matter.]

2. The bit on editing interested me - it's pretty much what I expected. My big issue with editors in today's publishing world - is there are no copy-edits. They don't fix the grammar, typos, and word syntax as much as they should. Although the Illona Andrews team does have fairly good ones - they are using the internet. Sending out requests to fans to work as betas for their novels, along with their editor. The fans apply to be a beta, sign a non-disclosure agreement, and get the early draft of the novel. Sort of like seeing the rough draft of a movie - as a focus group (I've done that three times : Back to the Future, Gross Point Blank, and Parenthood. I had to fill out a survey and comment on the film. It was fun.)

Anyhow...you can read the whole blog entry here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21748.Ilona_Andrews/blog?page=7

These are the bits that stood out for me:

When a writer shops a novel and the publisher buys it, the process becomes a bit more complicated. Sometimes publisher writes specific terms into the contract. For example, contract for Magic Bites specified cutting the novel from 124,000 words to 90-95K range. They also warned us that they wanted to change the title and the name of the lead character.

But in general, when the publisher purchases a novel from the writer, the writer has more control over their narrative. In theory, they read it before they bought it, so you get to stick to your vision. The publisher might says something like, “Vampires aren’t selling as well right now. We like your style and we would like to see anything not-vampire related.”

[This has been my experience - I'll send it in, and they'll state, we like your style, but not this story, got anything else? Which is problematic, if it takes you a long time to hammer out a book. For me - five years. ]

But I want to be very specific: it’s the author’s name on the books. We call the final shots. If Anne wanted us to kill someone and we didn’t, we wouldn’t. If we wanted to kill Curran, for example, she would strongly advise us not to do it, but we could kill him.

In my experience, the interaction with editorial department is typically a compromise. Sometimes we get our way. There is a huge change taking place in Magic Breaks. (Don’t worry, HEA is still in the works.) And our editor first reaction to the synopsis was, “But… he can’t!” And then after reading the manuscript, she emailed to us and said, “It works. I’m on board.” Alternatively, our editor told us that the action sequence in the middle of the book isn’t working. We resisted changing it for weeks. Guess what? It’s not working. We ended up cutting 70 pages, which is why we’re not answering the email.

The kind of suggestions the editor offers depend heavily on their individual experience. Some editors are very hands off. Some are very hands on. We are routinely told that our sex scenes are too graphic.

Also our editor does push us toward killing people. She does it so there is a real sense of danger.

And this bit on Big Name Authors (which frankly I've stopped reading because of this problem):

Sometimes authors reach a Big Name Author status and they tell their publishers that they don’t need an editor.

“I have no intention of allowing any editor ever to distort, cut or otherwise mutilate sentences that I have edited and re-edited, and organized and polished myself. I fought a great battle to achieve a status where I did not have to put up with editors making demands on me.”

Anne Rice

Later Rice books have not done as well as “Interview,” but they still sell about a half-million copies apiece in hardcover, said Paul Bogaards, a Knopf spokesman. He said that “Blood Canticle” had sold about 375,000 hardcover copies and that Ms. Rice always “has a built-in audience waiting for her next novel.”

An executive at a rival publishing house, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said publishers often took a hands-off editorial approach with stars like Ms. Rice and Stephen King, another prolific, best-selling author, particularly as their careers matured. “Ultimately it’s the author’s book,” the executive said. “With an author of a certain stature, they’re the artist; we’re the amanuensis.”

Here's the thing - I don't agree with the view that once you become a BIG NAME - you don't need an editor. You always need an editor. You always need another pair of eyes, preferably professional to catch those mistakes and see what fat needs to be trimmed. Writing 50 best-selling books doesn't make you infallible. If anything you will have gotten comfy, cocky or burned out - and start making even more mistakes. Writing is a craft - it requires constant work and vigilance. And critique. King, I know, sends his work to three or four trusted readers prior to publishing. But I've admittedly given up on him, his later books have felt a bit clunky and over-written. Rice? I stopped reading after The Body Thief, Violin - was unreadable. Others love them. But I notice the clunky writing, and the plot bunnies.

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

It's ironic - the self-published writers and fanfic writers are doing a better job of using editors than the professionally published ones are. Heck - I had an editor for my unpublished book.

And I've noticed that the lesser known writers have less errors.

Another thing I've noticed - the literary writers, not the best-sellers, but the people like Donna Tart, Maria Doria Russell, Hillary Mantel, and Margaret Atwood use editors. It's just the best-selling Big Name genre writers on the NY Times Best Seller lists that seem not to. Which actually explains a lot.