Jim C. Hines
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June 7, 2010 /

Open Books Post

All right, time for a break from the intense blog posts. Let’s talk books! Last night I finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] by N. K. Jemisin.

Wow. I’d heard a lot of buzz about this one, which always makes me nervous, because big book buzz doesn’t always translate to a book I’ll enjoy. But I have to say, this is the best book I’ve read so far this year, and as soon as I can remember how, I’ll be recommending it for the Nebula.

Was it a perfect book? No book is. But I loved the narrative style, I loved the worldbuilding, I loved the gods and most of the characters. It was a very well-written fantasy that sucked me in and kept me up late for the past two nights to finish it.

Jemisin has the first three chapters posted on her web site. Go forth and read.

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One of the nice perks of being an author is that you get the occasional ARC or review copy. This has been a good month. Sitting on my To Be Read pile are review copies of:

  • In Ashes Lie [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon]
  • A Star Shall Fall [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon]
  • Hulk Hercules, Professional Wrestler [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon]

I love being a writer 🙂 I’ve also got a copy of Nnedi Okorafor‘s Zahrah the Windseeker [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon], which I picked up at her signing in Lansing last week.

What about you? What have you read and enjoyed lately, and what are you looking forward to picking up next?

June 5, 2010 /

“I’m not racist, but…”

“I’m not a racist by any stretch of the imagination, but whenever people start talking about diversity, it’s a word I can’t stand … What these people don’t like is somebody forcing diversity down their throats.”  –Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair, supporting the decision to “lighten” the dark faces of a school mural.

Click here for a gallery of the offending mural.  This is an elementary school where, for several months, passers by have shouted, “You’re desecrating our school,” “Get the nigger off the wall,” and “Get the spic off the wall.”

ETA: Looks like Blair’s remarks have cost him his radio job.  (Thanks mouseferatu for the link.)

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“I don’t really care about reading their multitudes of hispanic fantasy, or their african american fantasy. It’s just not culture I’m interested in, so I end up flipping past half the magazine because they, without fail, -always- focus on some ethnicity I don’t care to read about.”

“DEATH, DEATH, DEATH to ‘Political Correctness’.  I like ‘pulp’ and ‘Sword and Sorcery’ in all its gory, sexist, glory … Women are to be barmaids, princesses, slave girls, dancers, victims to be rescued, etc. Blacks and MezoAmerican like peoples are either rare ‘Noble Savages’ or hideous cannibals with filed teeth. Orientals are sinister characters, though their women look hot but unless they are ‘Rescued sacrifice victim’ also very sinister. Of course, awesome ‘Noble Savages’ think Kubotai from ‘Conan the Barbarian’! Mix in lovecraft, westerns, maybe some not too queer Burroughs like stuff.”  (This individual later described himself as “Rabidly Non-PC but not necessarily racist.”)

-Two commenters, on separate blogs, responding to Realms of Fantasy’s call for new subscribers.

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And people roll their eyes and mutter about political correctness when someone gets angry about yet another publisher whitewashing a cover.  Or they grumble about quotas if someone points out yet another editor’s all-white “Best of” anthology.  Or they ask “Why are you making such a big deal out of this isolated little incident?”

Because none of these things happen in isolation.  Because I believe racism is learned, and the first lesson is less likely to be , “Let’s go lynch those uppity blacks,” than it is something like, “A story by/about those people in my magazine or anthology?  Down with political correctness!”

This is my country.  My genre.  I love them both, but sometimes I am ashamed and embarrassed by them as well.

June 4, 2010 /

What is Fanfiction?

This is partly a follow-up to my MZB vs. Fanfiction post from last week, and partly a response to a much-linked post at http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1044495.html which answers author criticism of fanfiction by saying, “You’ve just summarily dismissed as criminal, immoral, and unimaginative each of the following Pulitzer Prize-winning works…”  The post presents a list of works including the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthologies, the Tina Fey skits of Sarah Palin, Gaiman’s brilliant Holmes/Cthulhu story “A Study in Emerald,” and many more.

A recent (now deleted) post by a commercial fantasy author described works like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, among others, as fanfiction.  Though when I asked about my princess novels (fairy tale retellings), she stated that they were not fanfiction.

I’m officially confused.  To me, this feels like a very broad definition.  I’m not going to try to argue that my personal definition of fanfiction is the right one … but it’s difficult — almost pointless — to have a conversation when you can’t agree on what the words mean.

Do we define fanfiction from a legal/licensing standpoint?  If so, anything published either with the legal permission of the copyright holder (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) or based on public domain works (“A Study in Emerald”) would not be fanfiction.

Almost every fanfic author I’ve spoken to has explained that the culture of fanfiction strongly condemns commercialization of fanfic … if that’s so, then isn’t the bookshop LJ post violating that fundamental tenant by listing so many commercially published works?

For a much deeper legal analysis, see http://scrivenerserror.blogspot.com/2010/05/a528x.html

Or is fanfiction a matter of originality?  If so, my understanding of the term becomes so fluid as to make it almost meaningless.  What is a truly original work vs. one that takes inspiration from elsewhere?  Are my Goblin Quest books fanfiction because they riff off of Dungeons and Dragons tropes?  Is 90% of the fantasy genre nothing but Tolkien fanfiction?

I couldn’t find a fanfic definition on the Organization for Transformative Works site, but I did find this statement: “While some transformative works legitimately circulate in the for-profit marketplace — parodies such as The Wind Done Gone (the retelling of Gone with the Wind from the perspective of a slave), critical analyses that quote extensively from an original, ‘unauthorized guides,’ etc.—that really isn’t what fanfic writers and fan creators in general are doing, or looking to do.”

When I think of fanfiction, I think of two things:

  • Fiction written using another author’s (usually copyrighted) characters and/or world
  • Fiction which is may be shared, but never sold commercially (exceptions being quickly squashed by the fanfic community)

I also agree with scrivnerserror about excluding parody from fanfiction (the Tina Fey skits).  I see them as two different kinds of storytelling.  (Parody has its own legal definition as well.)

Like I said, I’m not saying my definition is the Right one, nor will I argue that it’s complete.  (It wouldn’t include the Scalzi/Wheaton fanfic fundraiser, for example.)  But it’s my starting point for understanding fanfiction.

What about you?  Do you buy bookshop’s claim that all of these works are fanfiction, or does that stretch too far in an attempt to defend fanfic?  Does commercialization really matter?  What’s your definition?

June 3, 2010 /

Reading Reviews

A discussion came up on one of my author e-mail groups about reading reviews of your work.  The point was made that positive reviews can lead to a swollen ego.  Negative reviews bring you down.  Neither of these are good things.

It’s a valid point.  When I saw the (ahem) starred Publishers Weekly review for Red Hood’s Revenge, it certainly pumped my ego up a notch.  “Transcends its predecessors”?  “Worth visiting again and again”?  Oh, heck yes!  On the other hand, Harriet Klausner called the plot thin and only gave me four stars at B&N.com.  (Klausner almost always gives five stars.)

I don’t consider Klausner as serious or influential a reviewer as Publishers Weekly, but the review still stung.  (Which is okay — it’s the reviewer’s job to review the book, not to coddle my feelings.  The reviewer’s obligation is to their readers, not to me.)

I’ve always read my reviews, both from major reviewers and casual bloggers.  (Thank you, Google Alerts.)  I plan to continue doing so.

Partly it’s ego and insecurity.  I want to know whether people are talking about my books.  Positive or negative, as long as people are reading and discussing, that’s still better thing than radio silence.

I also realized I could learn from reviews, though it’s a little tricky.  The problem is, everyone reacts differently.  One reviewer says a book is the best thing I’ve ever done.  Another throws it across the room after only one chapter.  Who’s right?  Both.  Neither.  Heck if I know.

But occasionally I read a review that just clicks.  Someone will point something out that makes me go, “Oh, wow.  They’re right, and how the heck did I miss that?”  I commented yesterday about the way I wrote Talia’s character in Stepsister.  It was a comment at a review that first got me thinking about that issue.

In addition, as I read more reviews, I start to see patterns.  I’m not the brightest guy in the world, but eventually it clicks that a lot of people were bored by this part, or a certain scene didn’t work for them, or everyone keeps complaining that I overuse this piece of description…  It reminds me of workshop critiques: if one person says there’s a problem, I can take it or leave it.  If many people point out the same issue, then it’s something I need to look at.

Some authors point out that in the case of reviews, it’s too late to change the book, so why bother?  They’re right of course.  But I can apply those lessons to the next books.

It’s not always kind to my ego, especially when people jump in and start agreeing with a negative review in the comments.  I also have to fight the occasional urge to argue with reviewers.[1. If you call my character “Little Lady of the Red Hood,” I won’t argue with you, but I will roll my eyes like … um … like a crazy eye-rolling thing.]  Overall though, I’ve learned a fair amount from reviews, and I very much appreciate everyone who takes the time to write them.

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June 2, 2010 /

Writing About Rape, Part II

In April of last year, I did a post on writing about rape, and how we as authors often do it badly.  Recently, I received an e-mail from one of my readers asking if I could do a follow-up on how to write about rape in fiction and do it well.

I’m not going to sit here and proclaim The Right Way to write about rape.  What I can do is talk about how I’ve written about rape in my fiction. I’m not saying I did it right, but maybe this can be a starting point for discussion.

~Spoilers for some of Jim’s fiction beyond this point~

More

June 1, 2010 /

8 Books in 8 Weeks: Week Four

Red Hood’s Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] comes out on July 6, and I’m counting down the days by giving away a book each week.  Congratulations to Jenn Johnson, who won the third giveaway.

This week, I think I’m going to go with something simple and straightforward.  Next Tuesday I’ll randomly select one of my Twitter followers to receive an autographed copy of one of the following books (your choice):

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Like many authors, I don’t get much info on how things are doing behind the scenes.  It’s one of the reasons many of us obsess over Amazon rankings.  Those rankings might not mean much in the big picture, but they’re the only indication I get about preorders.

I use TitleZ to track my books on Amazon.  It’s a dangerous tool, allowing authors to completely obsess, but I like it.  Among other things, I can pull up a graph of sales rankings over time:

Every one of those dips represents at least one person who was excited enough to order Red Hood’s Revenge.  I have no way of knowing exactly how many orders this represents, but it’s significantly better than the preorders for Mermaid’s Madness.

So thank you.  At the risk of getting all sappy, I very much appreciate your trust.  I know this series isn’t for everyone, but it’s an incredible feeling to realize so many people are excited about the story and the characters.  And it makes me want to work even harder on Snow Queen, to do everything I can to live up to that trust.

May 30, 2010 /

Autism Thoughts

Reminder: Tomorrow is the last day to bid in Brenda Novak’s Auction for Diabetes Research.  I’ve donated an autographed copy of Stepsister Scheme and a critique of a novel chapter or short story.  Go forth and browse!  There’s a ton of great stuff up for bid.

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that my son (alias: Jackson) met his school’s criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.  We had the IEP (individualized education program), which went wonderfully.  He’ll be in a mainstream kindergarten class next year, but we spent ninety minutes talking about his behaviors and some of the things they’ll put in place to help out.  I expect next year to present new challenges, but I’m cautiously hopeful.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself: I can say Jackson is on the Autistic Spectrum.  I can say he has Aspergers Syndrome.  But I have a really hard time saying he has autism.  My brain just rebels at that point.  (I edited this paragraph slightly for clarity.)

Part of this is probably the evolving nature of the diagnosis.  When I first learned about autism, there was a clearer line between autism and Asperger’s.  My sense is that this is changing, moving more toward the broader autistic spectrum diagnosis.  Mostly though, it’s just hard for me to accept that label for my son.  One of the things I’m working on in my brain…

We’ve looked into getting services to help him over the summer.  But of course, autism isn’t covered by our insurance.  We’ve been looking into one program that has been highly recommended; ten sessions would be a total of $3000.

Three grand.  For ten sessions.

(Editorial aside: to the woman who responded to my thoughts on health care a few months back by saying I was an elitest, lazy deadbeat, please consider this a formal invitation to kiss my ass.)

We’re still looking into options and trying to figure out what he actually needs.  It’s not about “Autistic children need _______.”  It’s about “Jackson, who happens to be ASD, needs _______.”

One of those needs is to improve his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.  Building with LEGOs seems like one way to work on that.  I’ve also started him on regular LEGO Star Wars video gaming therapy.  Now if I could only get him to stop blowing me up…

One final thought.  Jackson is very rule-oriented, which I’m told is not uncommon for children with Aspergers.  Yesterday, my wife was teaching him to play checkers.  He did quite well … and then he got his first king, at which point he announced, “But kings make their own rules!”

May 28, 2010 /

You Owe Me Nothing

I think a lot of authors, myself definitely included, are control freaks.  It’s understandable.  We have far less control over our careers than most people.  Just off the top of my head, we generally have little to no say over:

  • Cover art
  • Publisher’s marketing plan
  • Orders from the big chains
  • Release schedule
  • Reviews
  • Award recognition
  • Any of a thousand random glitches, from misspellings on the cover to database errors to distribution troubles (one of my books didn’t make it into Canada until more than a month after the release date)

So it makes sense that we’d focus on things we feel we can influence or control.  Since most of us aren’t in a position to make demands of our publisher, this can come out at the readers.  Usually it’s a request.  Sometimes it’s an outright command, telling you when and where and to post reviews, buy books, and so on.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with telling readers “This is how you can help my book succeed.”  Posting reviews, whether on your blog, at Amazon, or wherever, is helpful.  Buying a book the first week it’s out helps more than buying that same book two months later.  Buying from a brick and mortar store can be more helpful than buying from Amazon.

But it bothers me when we cross the line into pressuring our readers, or guilting them into not doing more.  If you want to post a review, great!  If you rush out to buy my stuff as soon as it’s out, thank you for helping with those early and important sales numbers.  But do it because you want to, not because I badgered you into it.

So, since I have a book coming out in five weeks and four days, I want to be very clear: you don’t owe me anything.  If you’re not comfortable writing reviews, or you just don’t want to, that’s fine.  If ordering from Amazon is more convenient, or if you just want to wait and check the book out from the library, then that’s what you should do.  (Heck, if you have no interest in reading my books at all, that’s okay too.  I’ll be very sad, but it’s still okay 😉 

An author can’t succeed without readers, but I don’t think authors can or should hold the readers responsible for our success (or lack thereof).  It’s my responsibility as the author to write a good book that people want to read.  And if any of my promotional posts ever start to cross the line into pressuring/guilting my readers, I hope you’ll all feel free to call me on that.

May 27, 2010 /

Miscellany

In addition to well over 100 comments on yesterday’s MZB Fanfiction write-up, I’ve received a number of e-mails on the subject.  Some thanking me for the research, others telling me I’m wrong about one or more details.  That’s very possible.  Heck, it’s probable.  First-hand accounts are often slanted, and (as was brought up in the comments) there may be settlement terms keeping some information quiet.  My write-up is the best I’ve been able to research, but please keep in mind that we don’t know everything, and probably never will.

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I discovered today, via a Twitter update from my agent, that Goblin Quest [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] is in its 5th printing.  Not bad for a little goblin runt and his pet fire-spider!

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Penguin just sent me 4000 bookmarks for Red Hood’s Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon].  Please contact me if:

  1. You’ll be going to a convention in the next few months, and would be willing to leave bookmarks on the freebies table.
  2. You work at/run a bookstore, and would like bookmarks for your store.
  3. Neither of the above, but you live in the U.S. and just want a Red Hood bookmark.  (In this case, I’ll probably send a handful or so and ask that you hand a few out to anyone you think might like the books.)

I’m also happy to autograph one for you, if you’re interested.

Thus endeth the promotional part of today’s blog post.

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Finally, over on YouTube, we get a sneak peek at the new line of LEGO toys.  (I don’t generally embed video in the blog, so I apologize in advance if I mess it up.)

May 26, 2010 /

Marion Zimmer Bradley vs. Fanfiction

Most writers, both commercial and fanfic, have heard some version of the Marion Zimmer Bradley “cautionary tale” regarding fanfiction. In one version, Bradley was a generous, nurturing author who encouraged fanfiction until a greedy fanfic author tried to sue her, torpedoing a book in the process. In another, Bradley had was preying on helpless fanfic authors, using their ideas to perpetuate her publishing empire.

If we’re going to toss this story around every time we talk about fanfiction, it would be nice to have a few facts to go with the fourth-hand accounts, guesswork, and rumors. Michael Thomas and opusculus have both posted about the MZB incident lately, and provided inspiration and starting points for my own write-up. But I wanted to dig deeper, and to avoid the wiki-style sources which in my opinion aren’t as reliable for this sort of thing.

To put my own biases out there, one of my first sales was to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine. I later sold a story to Sword & Sorceress XXI. In addition, I’m published by DAW, which also published Bradley’s work. I’ll leave it to you to read and decide whether this influences my research and write-up.

First hand statements are in red. I’ve included links wherever possible.

The Background:

Bradley allowed and even encouraged fanfiction in the beginning.  From Bradley’s 1980 introduction to The Keeper’s Price, the first Darkover anthology (page 14): “[I]n a very real sense, I regard myself not as the “inventor” of Darkover, but its discoverer. If others wish to play in my fantasy world, who am I to slam its gates and in churlish voice demand that they build their own? … Why should I deny myself the pleasure of seeing these young writers learning to do their thing by, for a little while, doing my thing with me?”

Bradley even edited the fanzine Starstone with her husband Walter Breen. (Though to me, this blurs the definitions a little.  Is it really fanfic if the creator is the one editing the magazine?  What about something like the Star Wars anthologies Kevin J. Anderson edited?  Some would say no, because these are licensed works, explicitly permitted by the copyright holder. Others would say it’s still fanfiction. Me, I’m gonna save that argument for another day.)

Years later, a fan named Jean Lamb published a short novel called “Masks” in the fanzine Moon Phases. (Possibly issue #8 in 1986.) Lamb confirms this in a newsgroup posting from 3/19/2001. And here’s where things start to get messy.

The Conflict:

In a letter Bradley allegedly wrote to Writers Digest in March of 1993, she explains, “one of the fans [Lamb] wrote a story, using my world and my characters, that overlapped the setting I was using for my next Darkover novel. Since she had sent me a copy of her fanzine, and I had read it, my publisher will not publish my novel set during that time period, and I am now out several years’ work, as well as the cost of inconvenience of having a lawyer deal with this matter.”

I’ve heard claims that DAW killed the project. I’ve also spoken to Betsy Wollheim at DAW, who states that this was Bradley’s decision, not DAW’s.

Lamb’s version of events is different: “I received a letter offering me a sum and a dedication for all rights to the text. I attempted at that point to _very politely_ negotiate a better deal. I was told that I had better take what I was offered, that much better authors than I had not been paid as much (we’re talking a few hundred dollars here) and had gotten the same sort of ‘credit’ (this was in the summer of 1992).”

Finally, here is Mercedes Lackey’s version.  Lackey worked closely with Bradley, and for that reason I count her as a valid primary source. “Marion had begun to write a Darkover book about Regis Hastur. She liked the ‘take’ a particular fan author had on the situations and asked to use that spin on things for her book in return for the usual acknowlegement in the front of the book. She had done this before with other fan authors.”

Bradley had indeed borrowed from fans and other writers before. From Elizabeth Waters: “Back in 1977 I wrote a Darkover story about Hilary Castamir. One of my friends knew MZB and passed it on to her, and she rewrote it into ‘The Keeper’s Price.’ Eventually it became the title story of the first Darkover anthology.” The story is listed in the Table of Contents as a collaboration between Bradley and Waters.

The Facts:

As far as I can tell, the following is not disputed.

  1. Bradley originally encouraged fanfiction.
  2. Bradley read Jean Lamb’s story “Masks” in Moon Phases.
  3. Bradley contacted Lamb, offering payment and a dedication in exchange for rights to use the ideas from “Masks” in the Darkover novel “Contraband.”
  4. Bradley and Lamb were unable to reach an agreement, and “Contraband” was cancelled.
  5. Bradley changed her policy on fanfiction, stating that she would no longer allow it.

The Unknown:

I’ve read various accounts and speculations, but have been unable to find definitive answers to the following questions.

  1. Who was the first to hire a lawyer, Lamb or Bradley?
  2. How much time and work was actually lost on Bradley’s part?
  3. How much was Bradley planning to use from Lamb’s work?
  4. What exactly forced the cancellation of “Contraband”?

That last question bothers me. Several statements suggest the book was already being written. If Bradley and Lamb couldn’t come to an agreement, that’s one thing, but I don’t see how that could ruin the entire book. If you don’t have rights to use someone else’s story, then you continue to write your own.

One possibility comes from the editor of Moon Phases, Nina Boal, who wrote, “Marion did offer Jean a special dedication and also $500. Jean refused this, saying that she wanted a byline for the novel. Jean also became convinced (erroneously) that Marion intended to plagerize [sic] from her fan-written work about Danvan Hastur.”

Whether this was actually the case or just a fear on Bradley’s part, I can understand where the potential for legal complications and accusations of plagiarism could be enough to scuttle the project. However, this is speculative on my part.

My Conclusion:

The MZB incident has been used for years as a caution to authors against allowing fanfiction. Looking at what facts I could find, I don’t believe this is valid.

I’m not saying authors should or should not permit fanfiction, but in this case, I believe the real problem arose not from the fact that Bradley allowed Darkover fanfiction, but from two other, very specific issues:

  1. Bradley was an active participant in Darkover fanfiction, editing a fanzine and reading unlicensed, fan-written works.
  2. Bradley tried to buy the rights to use a fan’s story.

You can argue whether Bradley’s offer was unfair or Lamb’s response was unreasonable. Without knowing the specifics, I couldn’t say one way or another. (Knowing human nature, my guess is there’s probably blame enough for both sides, if you’re worried about that.)

The lesson I take from all this is to avoid potentially putting myself in Bradley’s position, and that means not reading fanfiction of my work. Sure, most fanfic authors I’ve met and spoken to have been wonderful people … but it only takes one.  So if someone likes my work enough to write fanfiction, I find that flattering. But I don’t want to know about it.

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Jim C. Hines