Question for the Writers

[Mistral]

How come none of the writers(published) ever come to the fanfic forum and leave comments about our crude attempts? I realize some of us are complete amateurs but some of the people posting stories have actual talent and others would benefit from your insight. I know you are busy little beavers but if y'all could at least drop by to comment on the Monthly Challenge it would be a real boost to our efforts-it doesn't matter if we are trying to join your ranks or are just having fun. So how come y'all hide over here? (Grins sardonically) I know you can't be afraid of us actually doing a better job than y'all.

Additional note-"no time" doesn't cut it-I saw how much time was spent commenting on the "I (heart) Greg Cox" t-shirt. So drop by once in a while!

 

[McCovey Cove]

I would like to quickly point out that Mistral doesn't speak for all of us, and we have no idea why he'd call down the thunder like that.

Mistral: My boot and your ass have an appointment!

-- ZC

 

[KRAD]

Because legally we have to avoid the fanfiction forums in order to protect ourselves from accusations of stealing ideas. It's ridiculous, of course, but it only takes one idiot with a lawyer to ruin it for the rest of us.

So you won't ever see the pro writers in the fanfic forum.

 

[Gibraltar]

I would like to quickly point out that Mistral doesn't speak for all of us, and we have no idea why he'd call down the thunder like that.

Mistral: My boot and your ass have an appointment!

-- ZC

Er, yeah, I'll second that. Mistral, I applaud your enthusiasm, but the junior varsity does not challenge the NFL to a game. Take my hand and we'll back slowly out of the room, where you'll find Zefram Cochrane and his boot waiting for you.

 

[Wowbagger]

Because legally we have to avoid the fanfiction forums in order to protect ourselves from accusations of stealing ideas. It's ridiculous, of course, but it only takes one idiot with a lawyer to ruin it for the rest of us.

So you won't ever see the pro writers in the fanfic forum.

Since the whole Trek thing is copyright Paramount anyway, don't you have every legal right to steal ideas from unlicensed works regardless?

Not suggesting that any of you would, of course; just curious how the legal jargon works out there.

 

[Mistral]

Because legally we have to avoid the fanfiction forums in order to protect ourselves from accusations of stealing ideas. It's ridiculous, of course, but it only takes one idiot with a lawyer to ruin it for the rest of us.

So you won't ever see the pro writers in the fanfic forum.

I would like to quickly point out that Mistral doesn't speak for all of us, and we have no idea why he'd call down the thunder like that.

Mistral: My boot and your ass have an appointment!

-- ZC

Er, yeah, I'll second that. Mistral, I applaud your enthusiasm, but the junior varsity does not challenge the NFL to a game. Take my hand and we'll back slowly out of the room, where you'll find Zefram Cochrane and his boot waiting for you.

Because legally we have to avoid the fanfiction forums in order to protect ourselves from accusations of stealing ideas. It's ridiculous, of course, but it only takes one idiot with a lawyer to ruin it for the rest of us.

So you won't ever see the pro writers in the fanfic forum.

Since the whole Trek thing is copyright Paramount anyway, don't you have every legal right to steal ideas from unlicensed works regardless?

Not suggesting that any of you would, of course; just curious how the legal jargon works out there.

I wasn't trying to put the JV against the Varsity-I just wondered why the Boys don't drop by.
KRAD-see what you are saying-but seriously, I can't see where there is any reason for lawyers. Or should I mention classical works that YOUR stories resemble. I, too, managed to garner an education(of sorts) along the way. I think I may have used a few ideas that some other authors have used. Hmm... thinking Shakespeare, Poe, and Stapledon(did I spell that right?). We all have influences-I just wondered why y'all didn't come into the fanfic forum-after all, isn't what y'all write, fanfic? Or is it scripts for the current series. Oh, wait, there is no current series. So how do you define what you are writing? Surely not $-they don't have money in the Federation.

 

[Defcon]

KRAD-see what you are saying-but seriously, I can't see where there is any reason for lawyers. Or should I mention classical works that YOUR stories resemble. I, too, managed to garner an education(of sorts) along the way. I think I may have used a few ideas that some other authors have used. Hmm... thinking Shakespeare, Poe, and Stapledon(did I spell that right?).

Just to be sure: I hope you're not really read KRAD's comments in the way that the pros would be the ones with lawyers, or are you?

It's the other way around. I'm sure 99,9% of the fanfic writers are totally rational people, but it takes only one idiot who sees a pro comment on his story, a while later reads a book by this author and then starts to complain that his story was ripped off and sues, only because both stories dealt with the Romulan War for example.

 

[Starfury]

What do you writers think of fanfiction at all? Is it good? Is it a waste of time? Do you start the same way?

 

[Dayton Ward]

A lot of the folks who write this kind of stuff started out writing fan fiction. KRAD, Terri, and myself, for examples off the top of my head. For myself, it was my writing Trek fan fiction that lead to me entering the first SNW contest, and we all know what happened after that.

(Whoops.)

As for why we don't inhabit the fan fiction forums, KRAD already explained the reasoning. It has nothing to do with any opinions on quality, of the writing or the writers.

 

[Amy Sisson]

Additional note-"no time" doesn't cut it-I saw how much time was spent commenting on the "I (heart) Greg Cox" t-shirt. So drop by once in a while!

KRAD gave the main reason, but I would also note that it's much quicker to type off a quip responding to the "I (heart) Greg Cox" t-shirt thread than it is to go over and read a whole story, think about it, and comment on it. I belong to two critique groups with other new/aspiring authors, and I spend several hours every month critiquing their work. It's rewarding, but very time-consuming.

Also, I can't speak for other writers, but I suspect it's all most of us can do to keep up with the published Trek fiction. There's a lot of it, after all!

 

[Christopher]

Since the whole Trek thing is copyright Paramount anyway, don't you have every legal right to steal ideas from unlicensed works regardless?

It doesn't matter whether the accusations of theft are valid or not. Heck, the majority of alleged cases of plagiarism are pure coincidence. Different people come up with similar ideas all the time. (By far the most common reason that any given story idea pitched to a TV show gets rejected is "We're already doing that one.")

The problem is, lawsuits cost money. Even if you win the lawsuit, even if it was totally bogus to begin with, you still have to spend a lot of time and money fighting it. So even if you win the case, you still lose just by getting sued. So pro writers have to avoid putting ourselves in situations that even create the suspicion that we might have "stolen" someone's ideas.

Besides, we wouldn't "steal" ideas anyway. It's easy to come up with basic concepts on your own; any given basic idea you come up with has probably been thought of by plenty of other people, so there's no need for "stealing" there. The rest of it, what makes it your own, is the specific approach you take to telling the story. And if you're capable of being a pro writer in the first place, you can handle that part on your own, and if anything would insist on doing so. (Unless you're working with a collaborator, but of course that isn't "stealing.")

 

[Mistral]

A lot of the folks who write this kind of stuff started out writing fan fiction. KRAD, Terri, and myself, for examples off the top of my head. For myself, it was my writing Trek fan fiction that lead to me entering the first SNW contest, and we all know what happened after that.

(Whoops.)

As for why we don't inhabit the fan fiction forums, KRAD already explained the reasoning. It has nothing to do with any opinions on quality, of the writing or the writers.

And without SNW the rest are left in the dust(no blame being assigned here-just pointing out the lack of an elevating forum)

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, the whole legal argument may sound paranoid, but really it's not. Granted, 99% of the people who post fanfic on-line are probably sane and rational people who would never thinking of suing someone over a plot idea, but, trust me, that 1% is out there. When I was working at Tor, we got angry letters all the time from people who claimed we had stolen their ideas. "I submitted a proposal about a boy and dragon, and then you published a book about a boy and a dragon . . . YOU'RE CROOKS!"

My favorites were the ones who claimed to have written our Tor Classics editions of THE SECRET GARDEN and MOBY-DICK. (Honestly. I'm not kidding.)

Getting more personal, I've been deposed at least twice in lawsuits like this. And so have KRAD, Kevin Anderson, and others. It's practically an occupational hazard these days. So you can understand where we might be a little gun-shy when it comes to reading fanfic and such . . . .

 

[Jim Johnson]

And without SNW the rest are left in the dust(no blame being assigned here-just pointing out the lack of an elevating forum)

There are submission guidelines on the Simon and Schuster site if you're interested in writing Trek novels. Don't let the fact that SNW has been discontinued dissuade you from continuing to work toward professional Trek writing. It's an ineffective excuse.

Best way to write Trek stuff professionally? Write original stories, mail them out, get some publishing credits, then approach the Trek editors and see what happens.

Also, keep in mind that the Trek publishing side of things is pretty small. Only so many releases a year and a well-established and talented writer pool the editors have to draw from.

 

[Rabid Trekkie]

For those aspiring writers out there (like myself) is there any advice the pros can give us? Doesn't even have to be about Trek specifically, but just writing and getting published in general.

 

[Mistral]

FIrst off-message CLEARLY received(and sorry you guys have to deal with lawsuit-happy morons) Second-Rabid Trekkie has a very useful question(ah, useful to us ams, not you pros but if you can answer-GREAT!

For those aspiring writers out there (like myself) is there any advice the pros can give us? Doesn't even have to be about Trek specifically, but just writing and getting published in general.

 

[Jim Johnson]

For those aspiring writers out there (like myself) is there any advice the pros can give us? Doesn't even have to be about Trek specifically, but just writing and getting published in general.

Most basic advice would be to:

Write, send, repeat.

What's that mean? Write original fiction, mostly. There are many media tie-in universes like Trek, but you're probably more likely to get an original piece published first.

Once you have a story finished, send it out to markets. Check out places like www.ralan.com and www.duotrope.com and Writer's Market for a list of markets looking for short fiction.

If you write novel-length works, research publishers and agents. Some publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts, some don't.

And repeat the process. Write new stories, send them out, and while you're waiting for the acceptance or rejection letter, start on the next story and send it out. Build up your inventory of stories and get them out there. No story will ever sell if you keep it sitting at home.

Consider joining or creating a writing group. Research the publishing business, learn all you can, and keep writing and sending.

 

[Dayton Ward]

For those aspiring writers out there (like myself) is there any advice the pros can give us? Doesn't even have to be about Trek specifically, but just writing and getting published in general.

Avoid hookers with 2-way radios.

Okay, seriously: The question is rather open-ended. What specific topic(s) would you like to discuss?

 

[Mistral]

My personal boogieman is "How to find a (more or less) honest agent who can actually get the job done?" as it's my understanding that without one you are dangling in the wind-very little chance of being saved from the slush pile, y'know what I mean?

 

[Greg Cox]

By all means, check out writerbeware.com. It's a site sponsored by the Science Fiction Writers of America that's full of good advice on how to avoid scam agents and publishers who prey on aspiring writers.