"fan fiction "......

[spindlegirl]

Even Fifty Shades of Grey already has "fan fic" of its own that I have seen published on Amazon

Here are two so far that are free: (They are not kid-friendly, obviously)

Ten Shades of Sexy

Fifty Shades of Silver Hair and Socks (The author has written other '50 shades' titles as well)

So we have fan fiction, and fan fiction OF fan fiction, and I wouldn't be surprised at fan fiction of fan fiction of fan fiction, etc....

[Yapyap]

That Ten Shades book doesn't seem to have anything to do with Fifty Shades of Grey - it looks like an anthology of published romance writers' short stories / excerpts from their complete books.

The second one looks like a parody, though, yes - I think there are several of those out already.

[citac]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Even Fifty Shades of Grey already has "fan fic" of its own that I have seen published on Amazon

Here are two so far that are free: (They are not kid-friendly, obviously)

Ten Shades of Sexy

Fifty Shades of Silver Hair and Socks (The author has written other '50 shades' titles as well)

So we have fan fiction, and fan fiction OF fan fiction, and I wouldn't be surprised at fan fiction of fan fiction of fan fiction, etc....

Yes, we do have fan fiction of fan fiction, et cetera. We have authors writing transformative stories based on other people's fanfic, and some authors post blanket permissions that their stories can be transformed, and there are fests where writers re-write each other's stories. Then you have the same thing with fanart - I have a blanket permission for anyone to take mine and rework it into something else - and you have big bangs where artists create art for fan fiction, and you also have podficcing, which has spoiled me forever and I am now unable to listen to any computer generated voice. It's much better listening to someone who took the time and effort to do a voice performance of a story than any of those voices, no matter how good they're purported to be.

I wouldn't want it to be any other way.

[Freeshadow]

And of course there is traffiction: the wrong belief you 'll make it in time for the green light

[spindlegirl]

Many titles of ________ Shades of _______ are cropping up all over the place, no doubt capitalizing on the success of the popular books.

[cryzed]

If you mean fanfiction by that statement there is no way they can capitalize, because the authors aren't getting paid.

If you meant regular fiction profiting off of the success it's not fanfiction.

[spindlegirl]

I thought fan-fiction was about being a fan of something and writing a story based on it, not on whether or not you do it for money.

EL James said on the radio that her 50 shades series was written as a Twilight fan fiction, (I've read neither twilight nor 50 shades) and she's profiting from it.

I've clearly messed up the nomenclature, though, so I apologize.

[Nahgem]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

I thought fan-fiction was about being a fan of something and writing a story based on it, not on whether or not you do it for money.

EL James said on the radio that her 50 shades series was written as a Twilight fan fiction, (I've read neither twilight nor 50 shades) and she's profiting from it.

I've clearly messed up the nomenclature, though, so I apologize.

But you haven't necessarily messed up the nomenclature. It's not always that clear-cut, or it at least greatly depends on who you talk to.

Generally speaking, when someone writes fanfic in a fandom that's not public domain, there is an understanding that you aren't supposed to profit from it, which can lead to drama when an author files off the serial numbers the way E. L. James did.

However, from the (admittedly very short) forays I've made into the Twilight fandom, the rules seem to not be the same there, and there's quite a large list of Twilight fic that has been published after some character name changes. (From what I hear, the same was frequently true of Xena Uber-fic.)

So, in that way, yes fanfic authors can profit off of it -- they just can't do it monetarily without at least removing trademark infringing names and such. I've also seen people argue that fanfic authors who turn pro with original fiction are profiting off of their success as fanfiction writers because they have a built-in audience. That one greatly depends on the situation. It seems to have worked well for Cassandra Clare, for example, but not so well for Sarah Rees Brennan (who 5+ years later still gets angry letters from former fans about how her published fiction sucks, and why can't she just go back to writing Harry Potter slashfic?). Then you've got Naomi Novik who still writes fanfic under her fandom pen name, in addition to cranking out a Temeraire novel a year -- and manages to keep her identities separate enough that when asking for reading recommendations under her fandom name, someone recommended her own novels to her.

I actually think this is a key point of discussion. Are unauthorised Jane Austen sequels saved from being considered fanfiction just because their authors can legally make money off of them? Putting aside royalty checks, and assuming that the quality of writing is equal, what's the difference between, say, Mr. Darcy's Daughters and the various next-gen Harry Potter fanfics? Or between Neil Gaiman's Sherlock Holmes/Cthulhu crossover "A Study in Emerald?" and a Sherlock/Dr. Who crossover? Where is the dividing line between pastiche and fanfic? Because from where I'm sitting, there looks like a hell of a lot of overlap.

In my opinion, the not-for-profit part of fanfic is more of an etiquette/legality thing than an actual dividing line between fanfic and not-fanfic thing. But YMMV.

[Sil_liS]

Can we say that fanfic is the kind of writing that doesn't require you to know the original to enjoy?

[Nahgem]

I would say that fics-turned novels like 50 Shades indicate yes. Many AU fics work just fine with no knowledge of canon. It's why filing off serial numbers even works.

ETA: That's obviously not true of all fic, however. Much does require knowledge of canon.

[citac]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Can we say that fanfic is the kind of writing that doesn't require you to know the original to enjoy?

No, I would say it's exactly the opposite: it helps if you have at least a passing familiarity with the source.

If you were to read, say, a fic where Maude Standish goes out of her way to destroy a legitimate business started by her son Ezra, the characterizations and the cause behind such behavior will make no sense to you (and you'd probably be horrified by the mother's behavior) unless you know that the people in question are a pair of mother and son con-artists in the Wild West who are Southerners and whose names may or may not be real, who have been in the business eve since Ezra was a boy. He's currently an adult who's working as a (poker-playing, money-loving) lawman, and whose mother is trying to make him see the error of his ways and thinks if she beats him in the game of trying to run a legitimate business (a saloon, and she buys a hotel so she's in direct competition with him), it will make him abandon his law abiding work which is not worthy of his God given gifts.

The show in question is the TV version of The Magnificent Seven, and the above is the plot of one of the episodes. There have been fics written on the purpose and motivation of such behavior, from malicious to misguided.

In most cases, fanfic is an expansion of the source, an answer to all the "what if?" questions that stay with us after an episode or a movie is over.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by citac

No, I would say it's exactly the opposite: it helps if you have at least a passing familiarity with the source.

Yes, sorry, that was what I meant to say. Writing posts in at some hours where it is difficult to decide if it's late night or early morning was probably not a good idea.

[citac]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Yes, sorry, that was what I meant to say. Writing posts in at some hours where it is difficult to decide if it's late night or early morning was probably not a good idea.

Heh, I know that feeling!