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silverflight8So a couple of weeks ago Amazon announced that they are allowing the sale of fan-written fiction (fanfic, fanfiction, fic, ficcies1, etc) for select fandoms through their site. Here is the announcement: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1001197421
A lot of people have talked about this. I found out on f_fa, thought that someone was pulling my leg, but nope, it's true. Here is Scalzi's thoughts on it, which come from the perspective of someone who has been published and knows a little about contracts for writing, more than fic writers probably do: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/amazons-kindle-worlds-instant-thoughts/
Right, so I'm not even going to touch the fan side of it, except to boggle: I can't believe it's happening! Just like I was surprised at the mainstream-ing of Fifty Shades of Grey, I can't believe that fic is getting out there like that. Holy cow!
No, my main thought is: who's buying2?
SUPPLY AND DEMAND AND EVERYTHING, you know, blah blah Adam Smith, but the upshot of business is that no matter how hard you try to "push" products or services, there's got to be some kind of demand for them. There are lots of industries that do a lot of pushing, especially through marketing, like death insurance companies (you really want to think about that subject?) But there's got to be value, or the illusion of value, or else you're just producing stuff that no one is buying. And that's called bankrupting yourself.
The demand is what I don't get about Kindle Worlds. I think someone at Amazon has definitely recognized that there are a lot of people involved in fandom, a lot of people writing and also consuming fic. There are numbers. But in general, attempts from fic writers to monetize their stuff gets shot down pretty badly; even charity auctions skirt the line. There's also filing off the serial numbers, but that doesn't always go down too well either, unless it's very well disguised and totally unrecognizable unless you're told (*cough* dragons).
But suppose writers accept the terms they're given, write fic that follows Amazon's guidelines, and put it up for sale.
I suppose you can argue that well-known authors might try to get their already-built fanbase to buy their stuff--there are examples of authors writing original fiction and talking about it to their fans of their fic about it (e.g. Captive Prince). But original fiction is a different thing, namely: why pay when you can turn around and read anything on the internet about that fandom, for free? Selling fic through their site does nothing to the thousands of sites where fic is up, 24/7, for anyone to read. And many of them are 'anything goes'--a much broader selection of story subjects (most restricting are probably Amazon's no-pornography, no-excessive-swearing-&-violence rules).
You can argue that Amazon is doing a light version of gatekeeping, like editors and publishing houses. One of the rules says
Sturgeon's law aside, I'm not sure how they're going to go about this, and secondly, if you've been in fandom any time at all, you've probably learned how to find good fic, where "good" means "to your taste". Rec lists and lists of favourites by authors you like are the most obvious; ditto for communities or blogs dedicated to reccing as well as fellow fans. Many archives also have ways to sort by characters, pairings, tropes, which is useful if one of those mashes your buttons and you don't mind shortcomings in other areas as long as you've got that one trope or the like, which helps too. But after awhile you also get a really good sense of what the fic is probably going to be like by the summary. When I see things like "this is a way off version of [redacted] and it's an intro but plz leave a review" (actual verbatim summary I just found on fanfiction.net), I know I probably won't enjoy it. Sometimes you get duds, but after awhile you know what's probably going to be enjoyable and what's just not going to be your taste. It's telegraphed.
I think in this regard, Amazon might do well for fans just wandering into fandom--maybe people who don't yet know how to navigate and find what they want, but do know and trust Amazon. Maybe people who are outside of fandom might use it, perhaps as a gift giving strategy (I know you like Gossip Girl, so I bought you a Gossip Girl story instead of merch.) I'm just not sure why fans involved in fandom now will ever buy stuff from there. Amazon can't do anything about the rest of the web, especially since they don't own the rights to the canons.
Because by putting through the deal, I don't think Amazon will effect change immediately. Maybe over time, this will change--Amazon is, if nothing, setting a precedent. But for now, I don't understand their business model. Do they expect the mass of fandom to suddenly switch to buying their fanworks? Haven't they noticed fans pirating their beloved canons, which they have much greater emotional attachment to than fic?
---
1 *giggle*
2 In case you ever wanted to know, yes I do spend a lot of time learning/thinking/talking about economics.
A lot of people have talked about this. I found out on f_fa, thought that someone was pulling my leg, but nope, it's true. Here is Scalzi's thoughts on it, which come from the perspective of someone who has been published and knows a little about contracts for writing, more than fic writers probably do: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/amazons-kindle-worlds-instant-thoughts/
Right, so I'm not even going to touch the fan side of it, except to boggle: I can't believe it's happening! Just like I was surprised at the mainstream-ing of Fifty Shades of Grey, I can't believe that fic is getting out there like that. Holy cow!
No, my main thought is: who's buying2?
SUPPLY AND DEMAND AND EVERYTHING, you know, blah blah Adam Smith, but the upshot of business is that no matter how hard you try to "push" products or services, there's got to be some kind of demand for them. There are lots of industries that do a lot of pushing, especially through marketing, like death insurance companies (you really want to think about that subject?) But there's got to be value, or the illusion of value, or else you're just producing stuff that no one is buying. And that's called bankrupting yourself.
The demand is what I don't get about Kindle Worlds. I think someone at Amazon has definitely recognized that there are a lot of people involved in fandom, a lot of people writing and also consuming fic. There are numbers. But in general, attempts from fic writers to monetize their stuff gets shot down pretty badly; even charity auctions skirt the line. There's also filing off the serial numbers, but that doesn't always go down too well either, unless it's very well disguised and totally unrecognizable unless you're told (*cough* dragons).
But suppose writers accept the terms they're given, write fic that follows Amazon's guidelines, and put it up for sale.
I suppose you can argue that well-known authors might try to get their already-built fanbase to buy their stuff--there are examples of authors writing original fiction and talking about it to their fans of their fic about it (e.g. Captive Prince). But original fiction is a different thing, namely: why pay when you can turn around and read anything on the internet about that fandom, for free? Selling fic through their site does nothing to the thousands of sites where fic is up, 24/7, for anyone to read. And many of them are 'anything goes'--a much broader selection of story subjects (most restricting are probably Amazon's no-pornography, no-excessive-swearing-&-violence rules).
You can argue that Amazon is doing a light version of gatekeeping, like editors and publishing houses. One of the rules says
We don't accept books that provide a poor customer experience. Examples include poorly formatted books and books with misleading titles, cover art, or product descriptions. We reserve the right to determine whether content provides a poor customer experience.
Sturgeon's law aside, I'm not sure how they're going to go about this, and secondly, if you've been in fandom any time at all, you've probably learned how to find good fic, where "good" means "to your taste". Rec lists and lists of favourites by authors you like are the most obvious; ditto for communities or blogs dedicated to reccing as well as fellow fans. Many archives also have ways to sort by characters, pairings, tropes, which is useful if one of those mashes your buttons and you don't mind shortcomings in other areas as long as you've got that one trope or the like, which helps too. But after awhile you also get a really good sense of what the fic is probably going to be like by the summary. When I see things like "this is a way off version of [redacted] and it's an intro but plz leave a review" (actual verbatim summary I just found on fanfiction.net), I know I probably won't enjoy it. Sometimes you get duds, but after awhile you know what's probably going to be enjoyable and what's just not going to be your taste. It's telegraphed.
I think in this regard, Amazon might do well for fans just wandering into fandom--maybe people who don't yet know how to navigate and find what they want, but do know and trust Amazon. Maybe people who are outside of fandom might use it, perhaps as a gift giving strategy (I know you like Gossip Girl, so I bought you a Gossip Girl story instead of merch.) I'm just not sure why fans involved in fandom now will ever buy stuff from there. Amazon can't do anything about the rest of the web, especially since they don't own the rights to the canons.
Because by putting through the deal, I don't think Amazon will effect change immediately. Maybe over time, this will change--Amazon is, if nothing, setting a precedent. But for now, I don't understand their business model. Do they expect the mass of fandom to suddenly switch to buying their fanworks? Haven't they noticed fans pirating their beloved canons, which they have much greater emotional attachment to than fic?
---
1 *giggle*
2 In case you ever wanted to know, yes I do spend a lot of time learning/thinking/talking about economics.
Future considerations?
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 07:33 am (UTC)But I guess that's an argument for another day and (maybe) for another space.
I think Scalzi (I really need to check out his fiction one of these days!) touched on the answer to your main question, in his Point 2. Namely, I suspect Amazon sees the real money here coming from the original creations to which they will own all rights. Every once in a while, they figure, will appear another 50 Shades of Grey, another Spider-Man, another Star Wars, created by a wide-eyed and innocent fan who is expanding on something they love — and who will never see more than a coupl'a hundred bucks from the people who bought her (or his) fanfic through Amazon, while the Major Motion Picture makes zillions for the corporate overlords.
Re: Future considerations?
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 03:36 pm (UTC)I've heard both good and bad things about Scalzi. I read his novel Agent to the Stars which is free here (http://scalzi.com/agent/) which was lots of fun (it involves aliens and Hollywood). But I definitely see their objections--his characters all sound like each other (and probably Scalzi himself) and so I've never felt like finding his other work.
Someone else raised the point that they're perhaps removing the professional tie-in writers' sort of niche, because they can get fanwriters to do it much more cheaply. I definitely think Fifty Shades of Grey is the impetus for this. For sure.
no subject
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 01:34 pm (UTC)Mostly I'm puzzled by who would want what are, in effect, tie-in novels for properties that were novels first (admittedly novels produced by book packagers, but still) before becoming TV series. My local Waterstones gives about as much space to tie-in novels as to poetry, but the tie-in novels they stock are mostly Warhammer 40 000 books, followed closely by Star Wars Extended Universe. Neither of which are an obvious crossover market with Pretty Little Liars - I mean, I know people who enjoy both, but I wouldn't have thought the correlation was significant.
no subject
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 03:52 pm (UTC)I think there's a pretty significant tie-in market out there, but admittedly when I get into a bookstore I walk straight towards the fantasy & science fiction section. There's scads of Star Wars (biggest I think) but also Star Trek, and tie-ins to games like Halo. I've also seen novels for Supernatural, come to think of it. But those are much smaller. (I also go to big bookstores when I go, though, so maybe that's a factor).
I think that for the cross over thing, Amazon's going to add more canons. If this venture is successful, I doubt they'll limit themselves. I wonder if they chose these four because of their similarities to Twilight? (And also willingness to go on this venture.) If I were looking for massive fandoms, I'd go for Teen Wolf or Marvel or Sherlock or (right now looks like) Hannibal, which are the rising fandoms from what I can see.
Mostly I'm puzzled by who would want what are, in effect, tie-in novels for properties that were novels first
No matter how much canon you get, you still want more.
no subject
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 04:08 pm (UTC)Yes, that's true. And if what you want from a particular canon is more canon, you're not going to be that bothered that Kindle Worlds won't serve you crossovers or slave AUs or whatever. Particularly, I suppose, if what you want is a particular style of storytelling - first person with every detail of what the heroine thought and ate and drank and bought, for example. ;)
I do wonder how strongly Amazon's going to enforce the 'no porn' rule.
no subject
Date: Jun. 8th, 2013 06:34 pm (UTC)After Gone with the Wind I was so desperate for anything with closure that I read both Scarlett (by Alexandra Ripley) and also Rhett Butler's People. On the whole, I actually liked Ripley's novel better--I was furious at how RBP had butchered Scarlett's character--although I see from the wiki page that Scarlett was "universally panned by critics". I don't care!
(Then I found fandom, and GWTW totally has its own, sizeable category on FF.N!)
first person with every detail of what the heroine thought and ate and drank and bought, for example. ;)
-AUUUUUGHHHHH
how strongly Amazon's going to enforce the 'no porn' rule.
-This makes me wonder too. I know that erotica titles get randomly hidden (so they just don't show up in searches), but on the other hand, it'd waste a lot of manpower trying to skim all the fics. Maybe a search algorithm picking up on common terms, or scanning summaries.