If Right Now You Could Choose Only One, Which Would It Be?

Fans write fan fiction out of love, novelists and short story writers do it for money and sometimes have no respect for the EU. If I read fan fiction, I am out no cash, if I don't like the story. However, a novel or short story is easier to cuddle up to in bed. (Where I do most of my EU reading.) However this can be fixed by pressing the print key and stocking my printer with paper. Lord Bane made me move this poll from EU Community to Fan Fiction Writers Resource which I feel was unjust. To see how skewed the results were so far, check links below:


http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=5673353&replies=6

http://boards.the force.net/message.asp?topic=5676173

What do my fellow, most esteemed, opinionated, fellow Lit Forum posters think?

 

Fans write fan fiction out of love, novelists and short story writers do it for money and sometimes have no respect for the EU.

I think that that statement, or at least the last seven words thereof, are quite assly, ignorant, and without basis.

 

Untrue, I Am The Dark Side, we all know who has a feel for the EU and who doesn't and you can't tell me all the authors who have written for SW and got paid, did it for love and not for prestige and a way to pay the rent and/or morgage.

 

That's why I singled out the last seven words. They all had respect for the materiel.

 

I disagree.

 

Then what's the point of signing on if you don't have respect for the job? All of the authors are already known for their own works and series, they don't necessarily need the money, and they don't need to make a name for themselves. And I'm sure they all have other opportunities--many have mentioned doubt that they could do a Star Wars book because of other projects.

I chose "Novel" because fanfiction, however good some may be, is in general very shaky. Rarely do I come across an author that actually has correct characterizations and realistic plots. IMHO, the authors choosen are definitely not worse than fanfic authors.

 

Then what's the point of signing on if you don't have respect for the job? All of the authors are already known for their own works and series, they don't necessarily need the money, and they don't need to make a name for themselves. And I'm sure they all have other opportunities--many have mentioned doubt that they could do a Star Wars book because of other projects.

I disagree. I think they all respect the materiel, but they aren't all big names, and let's face it -- for guys like Stover, Keyes, etc...one SW book will probably sell more copies than all their other books combined.

 

But all authors are chosen on the basis of their previous works. They're already repected for their talent, however their audience may not be as wide as Star Wars (but who can really compare any one author's audience to Star Wars's audience?). Even so, I highly, highly doubt these authors simply signed on for the "fame". If you don't feel the connection to Star Wars, you can't write it well.

 

They're chose by their previous work, but there's a balance. Some are chosen because they're established authors with good fanbases, others because they're relative newcomers who DR (or Bantam) think have potential.

 

Trust me they need the money and a lot of them need the prestidge, ask Stackpole, ask Salvatore, although on this two I can feel the love coming throught the pages, but not from all of the others. If you think that all authors love the EU, you are living in the fantasy world you read about. And if you think all of them are living like Steven King or Amy Tan, guess again. Many literary agents won't take on SciFi or Fantasy writers because the gendre has limited sales due to a select crowd of buyers. Maybe LOTR will change that, but the American Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers are saying that sadly, just a lot of bad fantasy books are being published that wouldn't normally see print. Just because a book is a New York Times bestseller, doesn't mean that the folks who wrote it get big bucks after LucasBooks takes their cut.

 

I'd like to present a quote from Matt Stover:

Finally, writing for profit is a worthy goal, but you better not do it because you are expecting to make a living at it. In terms of SFF, I am an EXTREMELY well-paid mid-lister -- and I make less money at it than your average high school teacher. I still tend bar thirty-odd hours a week on the side.

Write for love, and the money will eventually follow.

and from an earlier interview

I was approached by Jenni Smith, who had formerly edited Barra & Company over at Roc, but was by that time working with Shelly Shapiro at Del Rey. They had a specific book in the SW:TNJO story arc that they thought I'd do very well. I confess that it took a little convincing, but when Jenni laid out the broad concept of the story they wanted me to tell, I became very interested indeed. Jenni and Shelly went to bat for me with the folks at Lucasfilm Licensing -- who of course had no idea who I am; most of the other TNJO authors are better-known. Jenni sent them copies of Jericho Moon and Heroes Die, and they must have liked what they read, because here I am.

...It's not exactly PC for a Star Wars author to be luring fans to the dark side, is it?

A Star Wars book is absolutely a boost to my career; it would be for anyone in the field, I think.

And the Next Wave is where you find it: I never set out to limit myself to the Next Wave model, that's just a name for where my books fall. Of the writers we've been talking about, I'm probably leaning more toward the mainstream already. Hell, I'm looking forward to the Next Wave model becoming the mainstream. I don't see any particular merit in being a fringe writer; I just want to write good books. And get paid for it.