The future of “Performance in a Leading Role”
So I have something to talk about with you guys, and I hope you’ll be excited about it. Confession: I am super nervous about doing this, and about announcing it.
After a long time, and a LOT of internal debate, I have decided to begin the process of editing “Performance in a Leading Role” into an original manuscript.
Many of you have urged me to do this in the past. I’ve been hesitant, and I wanted to be sure that I had completed all I wanted to do in the fannish incarnation of the story first. It’s been seven years since the story was first released (whoa), and I don’t plan to write any more fanfiction in the Sherlock fandom, so I think it’s time.
Another reason I was hesitant is that I’ve always been so honored and touched by the fandom response to this story. You’ve all taken it to your hearts in a way that I never anticipated, but which made the whole process of writing it a joy and one of the most rewarding writing experiences of my life. In a way, the story is as much the fandom’s as it is mine.
But that will never change (I hope). And in the end, it’s a piece of writing I’m proud of and I think I’d like the chance to share it with a wider audience, and hopefully use it to help me build my own writing career.
Initially, I had thought to offer it to the publisher who released “Zero at the Bone,” Dreamspinner Press, which is a fantastic gay romance publisher. But then my illustrious beta tzikeh said “You know, publishing has changed a lot since 2009. I think you could sell it to a mainstream publisher.” I consulted with another published-novelist friend who agreed, so…I am going to swing for the fences on this one.
So, you may have questions. Let me attempt to answer them.
Q: What does this mean for the story’s presence on AO3 and other fandom archives?
A: Honestly, I don’t know. Any change in its status is pretty far in the future (like, years, probably, if it changes at all). For now, nothing will happen. Everything will remain exactly where it is. If it were up to me, the fannish version would be able to remain posted (perhaps locked to registered AO3 users?). That might not be possible. I doubt it’ll be up to me. But if the story is removed from its current archives, you will have TONS of advance notice. And I will be generating a nicely-formatted PDF of the entire series plus all the extras, which will be available for free download.
In point of fact, you can do that anytime! Any work on AO3 can be downloaded in several formats, including pdf. There’s a “download” button in the upper right of every story. It’s always a good idea to save offline copies of your favorite fics, because stories come and go all the time. I’ve often been glad I saved so many BBM fanfics, as most of them are now unavailable.
Q: Will you need to get an agent for this?
A: Yes. If I’m going to shop Big Five publishers I need representation. That’ll be my first step - well, the first step is to complete an edit of the manuscript.
Q: What are you going to change when you edit?
A: Aside from the names, I’ll need to massage the Sherlock character to be less - shall we say, Sherlocky. Luckily being a frigid, difficult jerk isn’t unique to him. The John character will be American and bisexual from the start (not out publicly, but to himself and those close to him). The reason for that is I’m leery of the “gay for you” trope. I will likely downplay or eliminate the Moriarty character. He really never worked very well in the story and the only reason he’s even there at all was that readers sort of expected an appearance. “Sherlock” may still have an acting rival but it won’t be as ominous. I may make a few cuts or even additions to the story as I go along - there are a lot of things that could have used better build-up in previous chapters, but that’s the hazard of publishing serially. I won’t have that problem now, so I can make some changes to help the emotional arcs track better.
Q: What about the sequel and the extras? Will those be incorporated?
A: I don’t know! “Lifetime Achievement” isn’t quite long enough to be a bona fide sequel as it stands but it’s something to think about.
Q: Will you change all the real-people references to fake people?
A: Not right off the bat. I will make some changes needed by an updated timeline (Letterman isn’t on the air anymore, for example, and Alan Rickman has passed away). But it’s not illegal to reference real people in fictional works. It’s possible that if I can sell the manuscript an editor may want some changes, but for now I’m going to leave all those real-Holllywood references as they are.
Q: What about the sexytimes?
A: I may…tone that down a bit. But a lot of the sexy bits in the story do important character work, so I don’t anticipate cutting everything.
Q: Will you change the title?
A: I don’t plan to. I like it. I didn’t change the title of “Zero at the Bone” from its fannish incarnation.
Q: People will be able to figure out that it used to be fanfiction.
A: Probably. It won’t be the first (by a long shot). I’m not ashamed of the story’s origins.
Q: What about works based on it?
A: I don’t have jurisdiction over anyone who’s done fics inspired by or based off of the story. Where it gets uncertain for me is in the realm of translations and podfics. I don’t think it’s my place to ask someone who put in a great deal of work on a translation or a podfic to remove it. I don’t know the right answer to this.
Q: Can we see the new version?
A: Okay, so. I will post general updates about my progress here on my Tumblr, but I am also going to be conducting a lot of the work of editing the manuscript using my Patreon as a workspace. I would love to share some of the process and get input on it from readers, but obviously I can’t do that work publicly. So if you’re interested, becoming a patron there is the way to go.
I have no guarantee that any publisher will want to buy it, of course. But hopefully, someday you’ll all be able to buy the new version!
But again, if you want in on the process and to see the edited material ahead of time, Patreon.
Okay. If there are more questions, please send me an Ask. I probably won’t begin serious work on this editing until I’ve at least finished my rewrite of “Flagstaff,” although I’ve taken a bit of a crack at chapter 1. This won’t be happening overnight, that’s for sure.
I’m excited about the possibilities, and I hope you will be excited about them, too.
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