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http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/928529.html
The stupid, it's just... gah! I am kicking this person out of fandom.
The first rule of fanfiction is 'You do not work for profit, or do anything that can be construed by the Powers that Be as working for profit.' Because a lot of authors are willing to look the other way on matters of copyright when it comes to fanworks, knowing that having an active fanfiction/fanart community does more good than harm to their intellectual property. But, as soon as you start selling stuff -- especially stuff that theoretically competes with official derivative fiction -- you draw the eyes of the copyright holders and their lawyers. You'd think the owner of a Print-on-Demand press (which is how the thing got published -- even a normal POD press wouldn't pick up something that would get them sued) would know something about copyright laws, even if they know nothing about fandom.
And it does seem to be a case of stupidity. I mean, I understand wanting to print your work and make it look all official. Heck, I'd even be willing to forgive asking friends to compensate you for paper and such for printing something for them (IIRC, that was how fanzines worked sometimes -- you paid the editor for the paper and ink he used and the price to ship things to you, not the content). But... well, amazon.com and Barnes and Noble? In what universe does that seem like a good idea? I mean, no one will find it on two of the most well-known online booksellers, both with search functions!
You'd think she'd just go the 'normal' route of fanfiction authors interested in publication and use the Find/Change function to change things enough to make it just a boring ripoff. And, yes, I've seen at least two authors who've done that.
The stupid, it's just... gah! I am kicking this person out of fandom.
The first rule of fanfiction is 'You do not work for profit, or do anything that can be construed by the Powers that Be as working for profit.' Because a lot of authors are willing to look the other way on matters of copyright when it comes to fanworks, knowing that having an active fanfiction/fanart community does more good than harm to their intellectual property. But, as soon as you start selling stuff -- especially stuff that theoretically competes with official derivative fiction -- you draw the eyes of the copyright holders and their lawyers. You'd think the owner of a Print-on-Demand press (which is how the thing got published -- even a normal POD press wouldn't pick up something that would get them sued) would know something about copyright laws, even if they know nothing about fandom.
And it does seem to be a case of stupidity. I mean, I understand wanting to print your work and make it look all official. Heck, I'd even be willing to forgive asking friends to compensate you for paper and such for printing something for them (IIRC, that was how fanzines worked sometimes -- you paid the editor for the paper and ink he used and the price to ship things to you, not the content). But... well, amazon.com and Barnes and Noble? In what universe does that seem like a good idea? I mean, no one will find it on two of the most well-known online booksellers, both with search functions!
You'd think she'd just go the 'normal' route of fanfiction authors interested in publication and use the Find/Change function to change things enough to make it just a boring ripoff. And, yes, I've seen at least two authors who've done that.
