I've got a bad feeling about this

[rthstewart]

Yesterday, via duncatra and Club Jade, I saw that Random House announced that it has jumped the shark and will be sponsoring a fan fiction contest at San Diego Comic Con.  From the press release:

Random House Audio Invites Fan Fiction Authors to Record Their Stories at Comic-Con International in San Diego

One story will be selected by RH Audio producers to be recorded professionally and streamed online!

At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor–inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and released as a digital audiobook.

Stories from the following fandoms are eligible for the contest:

Star Wars®
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Aspiring authors (who must be legal residents of the U.S. and 18 years or older) can sign up for a time slot to record their five-minute sample during the convention, July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. Random House Audio producers will listen to the entries (no mashups, please) and select one to be professionally recorded and mixed by Random House Audio for streaming at www.randomhouseaudio.com. The grand prize winner and five runner-ups will have clips from their stories featured on the Random House Audio weekly podcast.

So, I suppose that those singing up think this is their big chance to jump to pro?  Maybe Random House is hoping to find the next Shades of Gray?  (though I can't see that sort of content being read via audio at SDCC).  As Dunc observed, and I agree, the whole point of fan fiction is to keep it separate from pro control.  Authors want to make the jump, fine, go for it and good luck.  I firmly believe though that it is better to keep derivative work out of the hands of those who control media dissemination.  That's what I thought was the most interesting story in 50 Shades -- how the author took control of the property herself, disseminating it as she and her readers wished. 

Comments

[amine-eyes.livejournal.com]

Ehhhhhhhhhh I'm really twitchy about it - mostly because I wouldn't do it, and I instinctly go NO WHY WOULD YOU.

But if they want to do it, and if they still get to keep control of it, then go for it :)

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

I don't see this working out well for anyone, except the winner of the contest. And, even then, the winner will be on the receiving end of major crap.

I completely think they're hoping to find the next person to pluck out of obscurity and sell millions upon millions of books.

Yeah. Trainwreck in process. There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed.

[harmony-lover.livejournal.com]

I'm all for people making the jump if they wish to, though I'm not sure reading audio at a con is the way to do it. I'm also for keeping control of your own work as much as you can, but I don't think that makes book publishers, even big ones, inherently bad.

I can't talk about 50 Shades. I haven't read it. Even the idea of it repulses me so much I get nauseous, and to think that there are so many women out there reading it just sickens the feminist in me.

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

There are so many different ways of slicing 50 shades. The yuckiest one, to be sure, are the women and the commentators who thinks this somehow reflects a desire by achieving women to be dominated and that we all really hope for the Cinderella dream come true. Yet, in these economically dicey times, hoping for someone else to provide economic comfort from the Cinder in the ashes existence isn't irrational. Then there is the fact that the author took someone else's property, made a HUGE name for herself on fanfiction.net, then took it down, took it private, filed off the serial numbers and started selling it to her readers -- who BOUGHT IT and then did SO WELL a major publishing house finally bought it too and now she's making gadzillions. That is, I think, an interesting part of the story.

There's also the whole OMG WOMEN READ PORN??? thing to which I just have an eyeroll.

But yes, you are quite right that there is a huge loss of self control implicit in this. you can bet Random House has got this thing lawyered up and the "lucky" chosen few are signing away whatever rights they did have and getting nothing for it than 5 minutes of audio fame at Comic Con.

How are you all doing, btw? We're on Day 4.5 without power. So life is hell and I've become a raving bitch lunatic with RL and fandom pretty much crashing down around my ears.

[harmony-lover.livejournal.com]

Okay, first of all, the "OMG, women read porn?" deserves an eyeroll. :)

Second, I have a really deep ambivalence to all of the BDSM in 50 Shades. (Again, I should say this is all hearsay; I've read some commentary on the book in order to understand the premise and plot, such as it is, but I haven't read it). No, it isn't at all irrational in times like this to want someone to come into your life and take away the economic pressure. It's a nice, relieving kind of fantasy. Nor is BDSM bad in itself for those who want to practice it. But when you put this kind of narrative into the culture at large, and you do get the commentators who say that this is all because achieving women really want to be dominated, that they are tired and angry and frigid because they haven't been tied down to a bed and ravished properly, that disturbs me. That moves into the kind of patriarchal power argument that has been in place for centuries, and that women have spent centuries fighting against, and I just can't stand it. This is similar to the problem that I have with pornography, btw. (Actual, filmed pornography, as opposed to fictional smut). I recognize that pornography is going to exist as long as free speech exists, and I respect its right to exist as free speech. However, I have serious problems with the messages it puts out about women, male power, and sexual relationships. (Same-sex porn is a slightly different kettle, I think, but I won't go into that here). 50 Shades falls into this category. I respect its right to exist, but I'm profoundly disturbed by the cultural messages (and the misogynist interpretations) that it generates.

As far as how this woman wrote her work, sold her work, and became famous, that is fascinating on so many levels, and more power to her for being able to do it. In this case, she kept control of her work and distributed it without any help, until she sold so many that a company took notice. That is wonderful, and I think it probably helped her keep the kind of control over her work that any of us would want. She was already successful, and so they weren't going to force her to change much.

The loss of control implied in the comic-con thing is rather disturbing. I do think that RH is probably looking for the next big seller, but doing it in such a way that they can assert some control over the work before it is published, and that's no good for the author(s). This is a sound-byte contest, not a book contract.

I'm so sorry you've been without power for so long! Was that a result of all the storms that have been going through? Are you without power at work as well? That has to be so difficult. It must be nearly impossible to get anything done.

We are hanging in there. Apartment nailed down, but still sorting things with the moving company. Article and book done, but still have another article to write. Have classes and schedule at SUNY Canton, but still no online ID or sign-in, so I can't receive e-mail or post anything course-related. Everything is in a sort of halfway state. Today and tomorrow are lost in a whirl of preparation and Fourth of July guests, so I may simply call it a wash and write fic tonight. :)

[cofax7]

I have a really deep ambivalence to all of the BDSM in 50 Shades

It's also worth noting that, aside from all the issues you point out, from what I hear is it's not particularly accurate BDSM. As in, the way the characters behave is not congruent with the standards of the mainstream American BDSM community (inasmuch as there is one, anyway).

So not only does the work lend itself to a misinterpretation of women's sexuality and women's roles in society (which the work is not really to be blamed for), it misrepresents the community it takes its substance from.

[harmony-lover.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. That's a whole problem in and of itself, isn't it? If she wasn't getting her standards of BDSM from the mainstream American community, where was she getting them from? And if she made them up, then is she misrepresenting BDSM as a sexual practice, as well as misrepresenting those who practice it?

Hmmm.

[snacky]

Well, to be fair, this is not the first time something like this has been done. Star Trek has a whole series of published fanworks - they held a contest every year, if I am remembering right - and there are several familiar fandom names among the authors. So it's not necessarily trying to cash in on FSOG.

[min023.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Don't these things usually come with a hidden sting in the tail? OK, yes, it's RH, therefore big publishing, and they shouldn't need to resort to some of the scams I've read about, like pay to enter and surrender your copyrights to the competition owner, but still. No free lunch, and all that...