Oh good lord - I’m so glad that I was busy breaking copyright law yesterday instead of hanging in the Chris Colfer tag.

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@fyiklainesucks
Oh good lord - I’m so glad that I was busy breaking copyright law yesterday instead of hanging in the Chris Colfer tag.
Oh for fucks sake! Chris is breaking no laws. The characters are in the public domain. Much as Gregory Maguire can write rifs on Oz (or in his most recent book, Alice in Wonderland) He can use the characters as long as he does not quote from the earlier work verbatim.
Hey Nonny! THAT’S what finally got me, to be honest. I was ignoring their drivel just fine until they had to post, multiple times, about Chris “breaking the law”. I couldn’t care less about their criticism of Chris’ writing. Honestly, if you look at all the reviews, some not friendly at all, that have been posted in the tag, this is- I believe (Wouldn’t want to be called a LIAR, after all)- one of the only, if not THE only review I’ve commented on. I don’t give a rat’s ass about Baby Butthurt’s mean wittle comments about Chris’ writing. It’s irrelevant. As I said to them, who cares? They’re nobody and their opinion means jack shit. But to accuse Chris of violating the law- which could have real-world consequences- is taking things too far. And following the blog of some lawyer does NOT make this damn fool a legal expert. The repeated “beta reader” comments were hilariously pathetic, but accusing Chris of violating laws is a whole different matter. No “compartmentalizing” necessary.
This ridiculous fuck is defending themselves by saying that it’s just honest “critique” and their garbage doesn’t belong in the “lol” tag because they’re “not applying bullying tactics” while they’re literally accusing Chris of a civil crime. Seriously? And they have the audacity to try taking the high road. I’ll take a review of “This book sucks” any day of the week over this jackass throwing around baseless accusations. And then trying to claim that they “like” Chris, while spouting nonsense that could possibly have real-world ramifications, if true.
Wow, okay, I’m done now, sweet Nonny. I think. ;) LOL Thanks for the Ask, Nonny and for sharing your thoughts. :)
Sorry, should have been clearer before - one of the reasons it comes under fair use is that Chris's use of Lucy is transformative.
Hey “Fair Use” Nonny! Wow, thanks for this. It’s really interesting and you explained it very well. I appreciate it. :)
The rest of the Ask:
In US copyright law there is such a thing called ‘fair-use’.“ By carving out a space for creative uses of music, literature, movies, and so on, even while the works are protected by copyright, fair use helps to reduce a tension between copyright law and the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression.” You do not need to seek permission if what you use or do with the work comes under the term Fair Use. Colfer Wrote about Lucy Pevensie, but he did not use any of CS Lewis’ narrative, Cont
2/ He used her character in a transformative manner. She became part of his narrative, so there is also nothing where he could be accused of plagiarism in his novel either. He had ‘Lucy’ speak 7 lines in a novel of 517 pages long and he also mentioned Narnia. His use was so minimal, that it would 99.9% sure be seen as being fair use, so he would not have needed to seek copyright permission. He also would not have had to ‘source’ on his copyright page, because by mentioning Narnia and giving
3/ Lucy her full name, it would have been considered as a good enough credit, due to the fact that the Narnia tales are so well-known, and also copyright infringement, or non-infringement, does not depend on giving credit to the source from which you copied. Fair-Use is also not illegal, and the public is free to make “fair uses” of copyrighted works. A simple explanation can be found here https://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/fair-use-faq
Thanks for the Ask Nonny, and for taking the time to share the info. :)
I didn't go in to that much analysis for my English literature assignments in college.
Hey Nonny! LOL Seriously. I feel you. But it’s all just “constructive” criticism, right? I’m sure they have no other agenda. Thanks for the Ask, Nonny. :)
Rubio's posture as a moderate Republican exposed by a middle aged voter yelling, "Why do you want to put me back in the closet?" before 92-year old woman asks the Senator if Lindsey Graham is gay.
DAMN. LOL This is gold.
I'm so sorry that some chris stans are so agressive and butthurt. Some of them think chris is a perfect angel who can do nothing wrong.. ugh. You have every right to your opinion on his books and they are very welcome in his tag. :) Have a nice day/night!
Thank you. :) No worries. I really do like his books, but on Booklr we acknowledge we can like something while still noticing its flaws. I really do think he’s a nice kid and a great actor and singer. I just think he needs a better beta reader or something. Or a fact-checker. Something like that. It’s all good, though. Thanks for the good wishes! <3
A better “beta reader”? Beta reader? Holy hell. Chris is an author under contract with one of the oldest, most distinguished, publishing houses in the country. He’s not some glorified fanfic writer having his work show up in ‘zines or being made available as a Kindle download for .99. Chris has a professional editor. Little, Brown and Co.have attorneys, including those who specialize in copyright law, to ensure that no laws are violated, despite the rantings of trolls who want to clutter up the tag with their dreck. We get it- you don’t like Chris’ writing and you believe that you’re far superior. Do you want a cookie? Fortunately, the millions of kids who devour his books and wait impatiently for the next one, LOVE his books. So do the the teachers who’ve made lesson plans around them, the school superintendents who’ve added the books to the CORE curriculum, and the librarians who can’t keep Chris’ books on the shelves. That’s the audience Chris writes for and he’s never claimed that his books are anything other than a labor of love.
We get it, you’re pissy because Chris is a New York Times Best Selling author and you’re a whiny fanfic writer who gets excited over receiving a $200 check. You’re also, apparently, an amateur lawyer. You’re certainly not the first to come through here, tearing Chris’ work apart and cluttering up the tag with your opinions and you won’t be the last. So continue with your little posts, that will be mostly ignored, until you get it out of your system, get enough of the attention you’re seeking, and find something better to do.
Apparently you don’t speak English very well, or you just didn’t feel like reading. Either way, I’ll reiterate what I’ve said already using screenshots of what I said already.
Here’s some examples of objective critique. The words underlined in different colors are all synonyms used in the same sentence, btw. That’s generally a no-no. And why he needs a beta/fact-checker.
Here is where I say multiple times that I actually enjoyed The Wishing Spell.
Here’s where I said I liked big parts of The Enchantress Returns but that it’s not as good as The Wishing Spell.
And here is what other people had to say, some of them much less nicely than I did.
Also, random fact: plenty of NYT authors don’t check their facts and then make mistakes.
- Lauren Destefano, in her novel Wither, had a plot point revolving around the concept that once a baby is given formula, they’ll refuse to breastfeed. This was a major plot point based on a piece of information that wasn’t even true.
- Ann Aguirre’s Razorland Trilogy has a human girl subsisting on a diet of nothing but fish, mushrooms, and water, with no way to get vitamin D (she lives underground), calcium, vitamin C, fruits or vegetables…and yet this girl is incredibly healthy, without any kind of evolutionary reasons. She didn’t get scurvy, she didn’t get rickets, she didn’t have any kind of health deficiencies at all despite the lack of any kind of balanced diet. They didn’t even have vitamin supplements.
- James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series hinges on the idea of teenagers with bird wings who can fly, because they have hollow bones (like birds do). Never mind that the delicate ratio of human muscle strength to bone density is in fact so delicate that if you upset it at all, your own muscles could snap your bones like toothpicks. And the kids in Max Ride have double the muscle strength of humans but their bones are twice as fragile.
Just some examples. It doesn’t matter who you work for. People can still be wrong about the laws of physics, or a random tidbit about human anatomy, or about how genetic evolution works, and sometimes people might not catch it.
Lastly: the copyright for The Chronicles of Narnia is such that without written permission from the estate (which Colfer is required to put in the copyright page at the beginning of his book), he can’t feature a character from the books in his own profitable work. I had to look this up when I wanted to quote a song in one of my novels and it turned out I couldn’t without blah-blah paperwork.
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law. That would simply mean they decided to let it slide. Authors, publishers, and estate holders do it all the time. But sometimes they don’t. Hence why when Neil Gaiman wrote and published a fanfic for The Chronicles of Narnia, he had to be very very careful how he wrote it.
Now normally I’d have more patience but I’ve been dealing with you children all day, and I’m sick. So, tiny sweet little nonnie-troll, go away and stop trying to make Chris Colfer out to be some kind of ignorant, obnoxious twit who doesn’t know how to act professionally. Judging from his long career as an actor and the lack of scandal surrounding his name, I think he can handle an objective critique. Unless you think he’s some sort of chump or coward, in which case the problem really isn’t with me or him. It’s with you. Now shoo.
PS - the tag doesn’t belong to you. It’s a public forum.
LOL “Children”. Based on what I’ve seen on your blogspot, I’m probably old enough to be your mother, child. I get it- you need attention and this is how you get it. I guess it’s better than throwing yourself to the floor like a toddler. You’re right, I don’t own the tag. Neither do you, so I will comment on your idiotic raving as I see fit. I’m also not a “nonnie”. I posted publicly because I don’t do anonymous. Apparently YOU don’t speak English very well, if you don’t even understand the definition of anonymous.
I don’t care how many bad critiques of Chris’ work you paste into your reply. They’re all posting those reviews on sites specifically designed for doing so. Only one asshole feels the need to spam the Chris tag with their opinion. Gosh, it’s enough to make a person want to punch said asshole in the face. Metaphorically, of course. Once you decided to accuse Chris of violating copyright law, (And I’m sure you’re totally qualified to do that, right? Would you care to provide you Bar number?) your useless drivel became useless drivel that belongs in the “lol” tag. Not that I expect you to comprehend or respect tagging etiquette.
You’re just another whiny wanna-be who’s mad that Chris has sold over a million books while you piddle along writing your oh-so-superior little stories, hoping for another “tiny sweet” check. Let me guess, if you piled all of your rejected manuscripts on top of one another, you’d have a several floors of a building, right? Like I said, you crybabies come through here every once in a while, throw your little tantrums, and move on. So go to it, while the rest of the tag mostly ignores you and Chris continues to write best-sellers for the next several years. That’s what I’m going to do. I only replied because your “beta reader” comment was so laughably ignorant. Chris’ professional editor would probably get a good laugh from it, as well. But you’re high if you think you can shoo me away, kiddo.
If you’re old enough to be my mother, act like it.
I made a typo, that should’ve said “nonsense-troll” but I’ve been dealing with other, actual anonymous whining and muscle memory took over.
If my beta-reader comment was so ignorant, explain how someone missed the fact that he keeps putting two 12-year-olds in situations where physiologically speaking, they would die? And yet they don’t. Even without magical protection. Hypothermia is a thing. Marine biology - also a thing. Water pressure is a thing that is relevant to more than just plumbing. The laws of physics are a thing. As I explain here.
You do realize that I tag/review other books, right? This isn’t a “Let’s All Beat Up on Chris Colfer” thing. I’ve reviewed like 10 other books and have reviews lined up for like 15 more.
Jack Frost by William Joyce Soul Music by Terry Pratchett Splintered by AG Howard Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire Enclave by Ann Aguirre Matched by Ally Condie Loki: Agent of Asgard vol 1 Wither by Lauren Destefano The Darkness After by Scott B. Williams The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
But none of those authors’ rabid fans started crying about it because Booklr knows that constructive book reviews are an acceptable form of editorial.
If you don’t know, Booklr is the book-dragon side of Tumblr. We review books, take random pictures of books, circulate book fan art, do photo challenges, and post videos talking about books. Everyone on Booklr does this.
Regarding copyright law: I follow this remarkable woman, who is in fact a lawyer, who writes a blog I also follow all about copyright law. So I know that using a copyrighted character (whose copyright you do not own) without the permission of the owner is in fact illegal.
Regarding tagging etiquette: when you write a review of a book, or a think-piece of a book, because book titles cannot be copyrighted, it’s customary to include the author’s name.
Also I doubt your old enough to be my mother unless you’re over 50.
Ahh, I see you misunderstood the part where I said that I’ve said my piece and that you and your worthless, inane, blather will be ignored from now on. Reading is HARD, I know. I only spoke up in the first place because you’re too ignorant to understand the difference between a “beta reader”- which, a whiny, wanna-be, like yourself uses for their “indie” published muck- and a professional book editor- which the best-selling authors from major, professional, publishing houses use- are two different things.
Also, and I don’t care if you’re BFFs with the whole damn Supreme Court, neither you, nor your lawyer blog buddy, are privy to what Chris’- once again, well-established, distinguished, professional publishing house- did or did not get permission for. YOU don’t know shit. You’re talking out of your ass because the FACT is, you are making assumptions and accusations with absolutely no factual evidence whatsoever. Which just further shows that you’re nothing more that a petty, envious, spiteful brat who wants to drag Chris to make themselves feel better about their own failure.
There have been plenty of less-than-stellar reviews of Chris’ work posted in the tag and this is one of the only ones I’ve ever commented on. It has nothing to do with your pretentious, meaningless, opinion and everything to do with the two issues above. Those aren’t “acceptable forms of editorial. Your unfounded accusations of Chris violating the law, your failure to recognize and give Chris his due as a professionally-published author, and your condescending dismissal of him as a “kid”, only serve to show that you came to the tag as just another resentful piss-baby who’s angry that Chris took an opportunity that they’ll never had, ran with it, and became a huge success. You’re utterly transparent, just like the utterly transparent, vindictive, little slugs who’ve pulled this same crap in the tag long before you decided to darken our doorway. Now, because you obviously didn’t understand my word from before, I’ll illustrate it for you:
Please don’t lie. Lying makes this too easy for me.
See, I love when stupid and/or ignorant people back themselves into corners in public. It’s funny. Because then people see who is and is not being professional here.
1) Don’t care if you’re done, because I’m not. Your lying may make my life easier, but it’s also irritating. You have at last succeeded in actually annoying me.
2) I own a copy of the book. I checked the copyright page before I made my statement. You know, the page where it should say “Intellectual property copyrighted by CS Lewis [with the symbol and date], used with written permission.” Except it doesn’t. Because I do read. And I checked. People like Stephen King, who actually puts his copyright information where it goes. And by the way, people accidentally commit copyright infringement all the time. It doesn’t make them evil. It’s not even a big deal with Chris; it’s just one of the many small things that bugged me about TER (in addition to everything else).
3) She’s not my buddy. She’s an award-winning author and publishing law attorney I follow on Twitter. She’s in the professional sphere of several published authors and literary agents and editors, including Jessica Sinsheimer, Thao Le, Julia Weber, and Monica Odom. But seeing as your ignorant of the real world and the publishing world, I don’t expect you to know who they are. But don’t whine about someone making an unqualified statement just because I made a point to look up the rules when you were too lazy to do so.
4) The only reason you would consider the word “kid” to be an insult is because you’re biased against young people. I refer to myself as a kid because I refuse to lump myself into the same category as people like you. Old, angry, bitter, people who are so set in their ways they wear ignorance like a worn-out coat.
And I’m older than Chris.
5) No one is due anything just because they’re published. Hitler published a book. Ann Aguirre has published many books and she’s a horrible person who thinks all victims are rape were actually asking for it. But I already said I hope Chris keeps writing. Please don’t try to lie, especially in public. Lying just makes you look pitiful. Seriously, don’t lie. It’s no fun winning against you and showing other people how hate-filled and cruel you are if you spoil it by making it easy.
Oh, look, proof.
6) Now if you’re done whining, and complaining, and throwing your hissy-fits, and are ready to act like a grown-up, I’ll treat you like one. Until then, go sit in your corner like a good little girl and stew about the fact that you were publicly schooled by someone who you claim is half your age because I actually make a point to learn how the publishing world works, and I happen to be better educated than you.
Also, don’t use slugs as an insult. Slugs are adorable as long as they stay outside.
Now we’re done. Unless you have something add?
JFC You are a persistent- if completely sad, sorry- little loser, aren’t you? YOU SAID:
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law.
Again, your ignorant, envious, little ass has NO WAY of knowing what went on behind closed doors. YOU DON’T KNOW if any contact or negotiation with the estate was made or not. You’re making an assumption, based on a precedent, but you still have NO WAY of knowing if any provisions were made or if something might have changed. You can continue to froth at the mouth abut what you supposedly “know” but, in the end, you DON’T know the particulars of CHRIS’ situation. The publishing company has lawyers, FFS. Real ones, not bloggers or the one you fancy yourself as in your little head.
You also know jack shit about my education, you delusional child. Educational and professional fields exist outside of your wanna-be author field. (As well as your fantasy legal one)
I have nothing against children or young people- hell, I brought two of them into this world. If you don’t want to admit to be a condescending asshole by referring to Chris- a man who has both endured and achieved so much more than you can ever hope to, and a man far more grown and mature than many people twice his age- as a “kid”, fine. But we see through it and I’m not the only one who’s commented on it.
I’m confused about how I “lied” and what some anonymous Ask has to do with it? Yep, you bought Chris’ book and hope he writes more. I’m sure you do, because that will give you another excuse to come to the tag and spew your sewage. Congrats. Is my “lie” saying that you don’t like Chris? Because you may “like” him, but that doesn’t keep you from resenting the hell out of him because he’s a star and you’re a failure. Of course you “like” him. In that passive-aggressive, double-speak kind of way that you think people are stupid enough to fall for when you come into the tag with your crying nonsense. You’ve got that whole Republican clown-car, delusional thinking thing going on. Just because I don’t buy your nonsensical bullshit doesn’t make me a liar.
And look, the little “book-dragon” knows how to use gifs, as well, Kudos. Maybe your time would be better spent feeding your cat or spending time with your husband. Or, better yet, you could park your sorry ass on Amazon and wait for someone to come along who’s stupid enough to throw .99 your way to read your rejected stories. Maybe another $25.00 check will come along for you to wet yourself over.
‘
No, I actually like him. He’s sweet, and he’s kind. Unlike you. See, I understand how to compartmentalize things. I can respect him as a person and an actor while saying his writing is less than stellar. I don’t need to buy his books to write a critique. There is such a thing as a library. It’s even free, did you know that? Or is this a new concept to you?
Yes, I’m persistent. It happens when I’m confronted by ignorant people who think they’re smarter than me. It’s a compulsion.
And yeah, I do know, because do you know what it looks like when you have work copyrighted by someone else in your work? It looks like this.
But the copyright page of The Enchantress Returns looks like this.
That’s a first edition, in case you missed that. Hot off the presses. First printing. So the first run of books is missing the requisite US publishing copyright information. People make mistakes. It happens. Let it go.
Don’t mock book-dragons because you’re not just mocking me, you’re mocking people who don’t even know you, who you don’t even know. See exhibits A-E.
Where did you lie? Here, underlined in red. Because the thing is, you know these things aren’t true. You’re just being mean. And rude, which isn’t quite the same thing.
I like Chris. I don’t see the word “kid” as insulting since I refer to myself as a kid. I may be better educated than he is (emphasis on may) but that doesn’t make me a better or superior human being. And as I just proved, I know a bit more about copyright than you. Oh, side-note: you seem to be under the impression I’m trying to prove something you. I’m not. I’m succeeding in proving it to the public eye. You’re ignorant and, in this situation, inconsequential except that you’re setting yourself up as the villain in this little net drama. But some people actually take the time to check provided sources before whining like spoiled children. Fancy that.
As for tumblr not being a place to put book reviews…
What was that about no book reviews? With author names in the tags? I can’t hear your feeble excuses over the sounds of your ignorance that a community exists online that doesn’t fall under your despotic control or even within your sphere of experience.
And my books cost about $10 and I can pay the rent with that. Yay, me.
Oh, FFS. Those weren’t lies, you intentionally ignorant fool. I assumed that you were around 25 or so, based on the pictures on your blogspot. So you’re older that you look. Most people, who aren’t bleeding assholes, would take that as a compliment. My oldest son is 25, so I, erroneously, assumed you were in fact young enough to be my kid. I’m also quite a ways from 50.
The bad reviews you screenshoted of CHRIS’ work have NOT been posted in the CHRIS TAG. I was talking about reviews of CHRIS’ work. I’m sorry I wasn’t clear enough for you to comprehend. I failed to take into account the fact that you live with your head lodged firmly in your rectum. I NEVER said that book reviews aren’t posted on tumblr. Again, not a LIE.
Questioning your legal “expertise” is hardly anything even remotely resembling a lie. You can read a copyright page and even work a scanner. Good for you. Again, no “lie”, though. Do you even know the definition of that word?
As for the rest of it, you can say whatever the hell you like. From what I’ve seen, you’re nothing more than a passive-aggressive, double-talking, butthurt, whiner. That, silly child, is called an OPINION. It not a lie. Sure you “like” Chris just fine. You just don’t like the fact that he’s far more successful that you’ll ever be.
I’ll damn well mock anything I please, thanks. With someone as awful as you among their ranks, you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t have much respect for your little dragon group. Although, since you happen to be the first of them I’ve come across, I’ll assume that they’re far better people than you are and give them the benefit of the doubt.
As for you proving anything to the “public eye”, you seem to be operating under the assumption that anyone gives a damn about you or you opinions. LOL You’re nobody. Another envious little troll who wandered into the Chris tag to start shit. You’re not the first, you’re not a special, unique, little snowflake, and you won’t be the last. You’re utterly forgettable and don’t matter at all. THIS is the only post of yours in this tag that has more than 3-4 responses. And you only got those because of me. Oh, look, baby got their attention. Yay, mission accomplished. Although I do so relish being cast as the “villain” in your nonsense. I just got tired of seeing you accuse Chris of “copyright law violations” and nattering about “beta readers”. And talking about “punching Chris in the face”, even metaphorically, is a totally ~classy thing to say about a young man who was so severely bullied, he had to be pulled out of school.
I do want to acknowledge that I was incorrect about your book on Amazon. Someone with a very similar name has a book for .99. Wow, perhaps you and your lawyer pal should consider suing them. Yes, your book sells for $8.99 for a hard copy. (Oooh, is it spiral bound?) You manage scrape together rent selling these? Good for you.
Since Chris didn't quote any of CS Lewis's words, his use of Lucy Pevensie as a character in The Enchantress Returns probably falls under fair usage, though it would have to be checked carefully and I'm sure Little, Brown did, not only for legal concerns but as a matter of courtesy. Neil Gaiman didn't have to get permission from Lewis's estate to write or publish The Problem of Susan which is about Susan Pevensie, so the same would apply to Chris using Lucy in his book.
Hey Nonny! Thanks for the info. I’m not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one, so I love when rational, respectful, people like you offer up their perspective to this ol’ computer nerd. :) Y’know, as opposed to screeching on about copyright violations, and “OMGZ He broke the LAW!!11!1!!!1″. ;) I do know that copyright law is a complicated as hell and that it gets even messier when “fair use” and matters of intellectual property are brought into it. Other than that, my biggest concern is keeping networks secure to help protect peoples’ data, copyrighted or otherwise, from falling into the wrong hands. I’m also somewhat interested as to how it might apply to, say, the reverse engineering in IT. But that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. :)
I’ve, of course, seen it on YouTube (Could the Fine bros be any bigger assholes, Nonny?) and looked a bit into what’s considered a “transformative” work. Thanks AO3, for being awesome. I would imagine that fair use might also depend on if there’s profit being made. After all, money makes the world go ‘round.
Anyway, the point here is that you are sweet and lovely and you offered an opinion instead of trying to pass yourself off as some legal expert. Much less a legal expert of the caliber I imagine Little, Brown, and Co. employ.
In the end, it still boils down to a butthurt writer being envious of Chris’ success and making the choice to come post their crap in the Chris tag. The damn fool can whine and cry about copyright violations and “beta readers” and it will never change the fact that Chris is a hugely successful, best-selling author and they’re a petty crybaby. Thanks for the Ask, Nonny. :)
Waiting...
For our current butthurt troll to pull out the “OMGZ I bought ALL of Chris’ books, HE HAS A HOUSE BECAUSE OF ME!!!11!!11!!”
Or is that strictly limited to the butthurt Klainers/Tinhatters?
This "fact-checking" person is utterly ridiculous. They have no idea of the concepts of fiction and art. I haven't come across such obtuse literalist thinking like ever. We call fiction fictional for a reason. Reality isn't transferred 1 to 1 into works of imagination. The argument they are trying to stage is logically absurd.
Hey Nonny! The stupidity is mind-boggling, isn’t it? Holy hell, we’ve endured these sniveling, idiotic, trolls before, but this one is persistent. Logic has no place in this fool’s world. I thought Fay was the worst with her constant screaming of “I HAVE A DEGREE!1!111!!!1!” but this sorry fuck is apparently not going to be satisfied until everyone knows that they live with their head lodged firmly up their own ass. JFC We get it already. The one thing these ignorant piss-babies all seem to have in common is that they’re all unpublished (Oh, excuse me, “indie”) authors. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence though, right? Thanks for the Ask, Nonny. :)
I'm so sorry that some chris stans are so agressive and butthurt. Some of them think chris is a perfect angel who can do nothing wrong.. ugh. You have every right to your opinion on his books and they are very welcome in his tag. :) Have a nice day/night!
Thank you. :) No worries. I really do like his books, but on Booklr we acknowledge we can like something while still noticing its flaws. I really do think he’s a nice kid and a great actor and singer. I just think he needs a better beta reader or something. Or a fact-checker. Something like that. It’s all good, though. Thanks for the good wishes! <3
A better “beta reader”? Beta reader? Holy hell. Chris is an author under contract with one of the oldest, most distinguished, publishing houses in the country. He’s not some glorified fanfic writer having his work show up in ‘zines or being made available as a Kindle download for .99. Chris has a professional editor. Little, Brown and Co.have attorneys, including those who specialize in copyright law, to ensure that no laws are violated, despite the rantings of trolls who want to clutter up the tag with their dreck. We get it- you don’t like Chris’ writing and you believe that you’re far superior. Do you want a cookie? Fortunately, the millions of kids who devour his books and wait impatiently for the next one, LOVE his books. So do the the teachers who’ve made lesson plans around them, the school superintendents who’ve added the books to the CORE curriculum, and the librarians who can’t keep Chris’ books on the shelves. That’s the audience Chris writes for and he’s never claimed that his books are anything other than a labor of love.
We get it, you’re pissy because Chris is a New York Times Best Selling author and you’re a whiny fanfic writer who gets excited over receiving a $200 check. You’re also, apparently, an amateur lawyer. You’re certainly not the first to come through here, tearing Chris’ work apart and cluttering up the tag with your opinions and you won’t be the last. So continue with your little posts, that will be mostly ignored, until you get it out of your system, get enough of the attention you’re seeking, and find something better to do.
Apparently you don’t speak English very well, or you just didn’t feel like reading. Either way, I’ll reiterate what I’ve said already using screenshots of what I said already.
Here’s some examples of objective critique. The words underlined in different colors are all synonyms used in the same sentence, btw. That’s generally a no-no. And why he needs a beta/fact-checker.
Here is where I say multiple times that I actually enjoyed The Wishing Spell.
Here’s where I said I liked big parts of The Enchantress Returns but that it’s not as good as The Wishing Spell.
And here is what other people had to say, some of them much less nicely than I did.
Also, random fact: plenty of NYT authors don’t check their facts and then make mistakes.
- Lauren Destefano, in her novel Wither, had a plot point revolving around the concept that once a baby is given formula, they’ll refuse to breastfeed. This was a major plot point based on a piece of information that wasn’t even true.
- Ann Aguirre’s Razorland Trilogy has a human girl subsisting on a diet of nothing but fish, mushrooms, and water, with no way to get vitamin D (she lives underground), calcium, vitamin C, fruits or vegetables…and yet this girl is incredibly healthy, without any kind of evolutionary reasons. She didn’t get scurvy, she didn’t get rickets, she didn’t have any kind of health deficiencies at all despite the lack of any kind of balanced diet. They didn’t even have vitamin supplements.
- James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series hinges on the idea of teenagers with bird wings who can fly, because they have hollow bones (like birds do). Never mind that the delicate ratio of human muscle strength to bone density is in fact so delicate that if you upset it at all, your own muscles could snap your bones like toothpicks. And the kids in Max Ride have double the muscle strength of humans but their bones are twice as fragile.
Just some examples. It doesn’t matter who you work for. People can still be wrong about the laws of physics, or a random tidbit about human anatomy, or about how genetic evolution works, and sometimes people might not catch it.
Lastly: the copyright for The Chronicles of Narnia is such that without written permission from the estate (which Colfer is required to put in the copyright page at the beginning of his book), he can’t feature a character from the books in his own profitable work. I had to look this up when I wanted to quote a song in one of my novels and it turned out I couldn’t without blah-blah paperwork.
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law. That would simply mean they decided to let it slide. Authors, publishers, and estate holders do it all the time. But sometimes they don’t. Hence why when Neil Gaiman wrote and published a fanfic for The Chronicles of Narnia, he had to be very very careful how he wrote it.
Now normally I’d have more patience but I’ve been dealing with you children all day, and I’m sick. So, tiny sweet little nonnie-troll, go away and stop trying to make Chris Colfer out to be some kind of ignorant, obnoxious twit who doesn’t know how to act professionally. Judging from his long career as an actor and the lack of scandal surrounding his name, I think he can handle an objective critique. Unless you think he’s some sort of chump or coward, in which case the problem really isn’t with me or him. It’s with you. Now shoo.
PS - the tag doesn’t belong to you. It’s a public forum.
LOL “Children”. Based on what I’ve seen on your blogspot, I’m probably old enough to be your mother, child. I get it- you need attention and this is how you get it. I guess it’s better than throwing yourself to the floor like a toddler. You’re right, I don’t own the tag. Neither do you, so I will comment on your idiotic raving as I see fit. I’m also not a “nonnie”. I posted publicly because I don’t do anonymous. Apparently YOU don’t speak English very well, if you don’t even understand the definition of anonymous.
I don’t care how many bad critiques of Chris’ work you paste into your reply. They’re all posting those reviews on sites specifically designed for doing so. Only one asshole feels the need to spam the Chris tag with their opinion. Gosh, it’s enough to make a person want to punch said asshole in the face. Metaphorically, of course. Once you decided to accuse Chris of violating copyright law, (And I’m sure you’re totally qualified to do that, right? Would you care to provide you Bar number?) your useless drivel became useless drivel that belongs in the “lol” tag. Not that I expect you to comprehend or respect tagging etiquette.
You’re just another whiny wanna-be who’s mad that Chris has sold over a million books while you piddle along writing your oh-so-superior little stories, hoping for another “tiny sweet” check. Let me guess, if you piled all of your rejected manuscripts on top of one another, you’d have a several floors of a building, right? Like I said, you crybabies come through here every once in a while, throw your little tantrums, and move on. So go to it, while the rest of the tag mostly ignores you and Chris continues to write best-sellers for the next several years. That’s what I’m going to do. I only replied because your “beta reader” comment was so laughably ignorant. Chris’ professional editor would probably get a good laugh from it, as well. But you’re high if you think you can shoo me away, kiddo.
If you’re old enough to be my mother, act like it.
I made a typo, that should’ve said “nonsense-troll” but I’ve been dealing with other, actual anonymous whining and muscle memory took over.
If my beta-reader comment was so ignorant, explain how someone missed the fact that he keeps putting two 12-year-olds in situations where physiologically speaking, they would die? And yet they don’t. Even without magical protection. Hypothermia is a thing. Marine biology - also a thing. Water pressure is a thing that is relevant to more than just plumbing. The laws of physics are a thing. As I explain here.
You do realize that I tag/review other books, right? This isn’t a “Let’s All Beat Up on Chris Colfer” thing. I’ve reviewed like 10 other books and have reviews lined up for like 15 more.
Jack Frost by William Joyce Soul Music by Terry Pratchett Splintered by AG Howard Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire Enclave by Ann Aguirre Matched by Ally Condie Loki: Agent of Asgard vol 1 Wither by Lauren Destefano The Darkness After by Scott B. Williams The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
But none of those authors’ rabid fans started crying about it because Booklr knows that constructive book reviews are an acceptable form of editorial.
If you don’t know, Booklr is the book-dragon side of Tumblr. We review books, take random pictures of books, circulate book fan art, do photo challenges, and post videos talking about books. Everyone on Booklr does this.
Regarding copyright law: I follow this remarkable woman, who is in fact a lawyer, who writes a blog I also follow all about copyright law. So I know that using a copyrighted character (whose copyright you do not own) without the permission of the owner is in fact illegal.
Regarding tagging etiquette: when you write a review of a book, or a think-piece of a book, because book titles cannot be copyrighted, it’s customary to include the author’s name.
Also I doubt your old enough to be my mother unless you’re over 50.
Ahh, I see you misunderstood the part where I said that I’ve said my piece and that you and your worthless, inane, blather will be ignored from now on. Reading is HARD, I know. I only spoke up in the first place because you’re too ignorant to understand the difference between a “beta reader”- which, a whiny, wanna-be, like yourself uses for their “indie” published muck- and a professional book editor- which the best-selling authors from major, professional, publishing houses use- are two different things.
Also, and I don’t care if you’re BFFs with the whole damn Supreme Court, neither you, nor your lawyer blog buddy, are privy to what Chris’- once again, well-established, distinguished, professional publishing house- did or did not get permission for. YOU don’t know shit. You’re talking out of your ass because the FACT is, you are making assumptions and accusations with absolutely no factual evidence whatsoever. Which just further shows that you’re nothing more that a petty, envious, spiteful brat who wants to drag Chris to make themselves feel better about their own failure.
There have been plenty of less-than-stellar reviews of Chris’ work posted in the tag and this is one of the only ones I’ve ever commented on. It has nothing to do with your pretentious, meaningless, opinion and everything to do with the two issues above. Those aren’t “acceptable forms of editorial. Your unfounded accusations of Chris violating the law, your failure to recognize and give Chris his due as a professionally-published author, and your condescending dismissal of him as a “kid”, only serve to show that you came to the tag as just another resentful piss-baby who’s angry that Chris took an opportunity that they’ll never had, ran with it, and became a huge success. You’re utterly transparent, just like the utterly transparent, vindictive, little slugs who’ve pulled this same crap in the tag long before you decided to darken our doorway. Now, because you obviously didn’t understand my word from before, I’ll illustrate it for you:
Please don’t lie. Lying makes this too easy for me.
See, I love when stupid and/or ignorant people back themselves into corners in public. It’s funny. Because then people see who is and is not being professional here.
1) Don’t care if you’re done, because I’m not. Your lying may make my life easier, but it’s also irritating. You have at last succeeded in actually annoying me.
2) I own a copy of the book. I checked the copyright page before I made my statement. You know, the page where it should say “Intellectual property copyrighted by CS Lewis [with the symbol and date], used with written permission.” Except it doesn’t. Because I do read. And I checked. People like Stephen King, who actually puts his copyright information where it goes. And by the way, people accidentally commit copyright infringement all the time. It doesn’t make them evil. It’s not even a big deal with Chris; it’s just one of the many small things that bugged me about TER (in addition to everything else).
3) She’s not my buddy. She’s an award-winning author and publishing law attorney I follow on Twitter. She’s in the professional sphere of several published authors and literary agents and editors, including Jessica Sinsheimer, Thao Le, Julia Weber, and Monica Odom. But seeing as your ignorant of the real world and the publishing world, I don’t expect you to know who they are. But don’t whine about someone making an unqualified statement just because I made a point to look up the rules when you were too lazy to do so.
4) The only reason you would consider the word “kid” to be an insult is because you’re biased against young people. I refer to myself as a kid because I refuse to lump myself into the same category as people like you. Old, angry, bitter, people who are so set in their ways they wear ignorance like a worn-out coat.
And I’m older than Chris.
5) No one is due anything just because they’re published. Hitler published a book. Ann Aguirre has published many books and she’s a horrible person who thinks all victims are rape were actually asking for it. But I already said I hope Chris keeps writing. Please don’t try to lie, especially in public. Lying just makes you look pitiful. Seriously, don’t lie. It’s no fun winning against you and showing other people how hate-filled and cruel you are if you spoil it by making it easy.
Oh, look, proof.
6) Now if you’re done whining, and complaining, and throwing your hissy-fits, and are ready to act like a grown-up, I’ll treat you like one. Until then, go sit in your corner like a good little girl and stew about the fact that you were publicly schooled by someone who you claim is half your age because I actually make a point to learn how the publishing world works, and I happen to be better educated than you.
Also, don’t use slugs as an insult. Slugs are adorable as long as they stay outside.
Now we’re done. Unless you have something add?
JFC You are a persistent- if completely sad, sorry- little loser, aren’t you? YOU SAID:
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law.
Again, your ignorant, envious, little ass has NO WAY of knowing what went on behind closed doors. YOU DON’T KNOW if any contact or negotiation with the estate was made or not. You’re making an assumption, based on a precedent, but you still have NO WAY of knowing if any provisions were made or if something might have changed. You can continue to froth at the mouth abut what you supposedly “know” but, in the end, you DON’T know the particulars of CHRIS’ situation. The publishing company has lawyers, FFS. Real ones, not bloggers or the one you fancy yourself as in your little head.
You also know jack shit about my education, you delusional child. Educational and professional fields exist outside of your wanna-be author field. (As well as your fantasy legal one)
I have nothing against children or young people- hell, I brought two of them into this world. If you don’t want to admit to be a condescending asshole by referring to Chris- a man who has both endured and achieved so much more than you can ever hope to, and a man far more grown and mature than many people twice his age- as a “kid”, fine. But we see through it and I’m not the only one who’s commented on it.
I’m confused about how I “lied” and what some anonymous Ask has to do with it? Yep, you bought Chris’ book and hope he writes more. I’m sure you do, because that will give you another excuse to come to the tag and spew your sewage. Congrats. Is my “lie” saying that you don’t like Chris? Because you may “like” him, but that doesn’t keep you from resenting the hell out of him because he’s a star and you’re a failure. Of course you “like” him. In that passive-aggressive, double-speak kind of way that you think people are stupid enough to fall for when you come into the tag with your crying nonsense. You’ve got that whole Republican clown-car, delusional thinking thing going on. Just because I don’t buy your nonsensical bullshit doesn’t make me a liar.
And look, the little “book-dragon” knows how to use gifs, as well, Kudos. Maybe your time would be better spent feeding your cat or spending time with your husband. Or, better yet, you could park your sorry ass on Amazon and wait for someone to come along who’s stupid enough to throw .99 your way to read your rejected stories. Maybe another $25.00 check will come along for you to wet yourself over.
‘
Jesus, this fact-checking person is taking it to absurd levels. If all books, TV shows, movies, operas, plays, paintings etc. have to get every technical detail right, they will be textbooks, not works of art and imagination. I'd like this person to give just one examples of a book of fairy tale fiction which got every natural detail scientifically accurate and correct. And lol them telling Chris to get better "beta readers". Yes, they are called editors in the real fact-checked world.
Hey Nonny! Holy hell, RIGHT? What the actual fuck. Chris writes children’s fantasy novels, FFS. He’s not writing science text books. I wasn’t aware that Chris was supposed to run every word past Neil Degrasse Tyson before going to publication. Wow, I guess we’ll need to notify Little, Brown and Co. about this massive oversight, huh? Not to mention Chris’ alleged copyright shenanigans. We’ll tell them a “book-dragon” crybaby sent us. I’m sure they’ll immediately drop everything to address our totally valid concerns. ;)
Couldn’t agree more with you Nonny- according to this fool’s idiocy, most media we’ve ever enjoyed has been improperly fact-checked. Oh, the humanity. How will we ever go on? lol JFC Absurd, indeed. I loved their, obviously, scrupulously, fact-checked, comment about the undead. Someone better notify TPTB of The Walking Dead. It must be cancelled, of course. ;)
Honestly, Nonny, it’s the same shit we’ve seen before. Some failed “indie” writer is mad because Chris is not only an amazing actor, but also a best-selling author. So, they post their pseudo-intellectual, passive-aggressive, (Because OMGZ They totally LIKE Chris’ writing, OKAY?!?!?11?!) garbage in the tag and try to pretend that it’s valid criticism, rather that plain, old-fashioned, resentment. Like the damn fools who came before this particular damn fool- oh, excuse me, this “book-dragon”- something shiny will catch their eye and they’ll wander off. Until then, I guess we’ll just point and laugh. Thanks for the Ask, Nonny. :)
I'm so sorry that some chris stans are so agressive and butthurt. Some of them think chris is a perfect angel who can do nothing wrong.. ugh. You have every right to your opinion on his books and they are very welcome in his tag. :) Have a nice day/night!
Thank you. :) No worries. I really do like his books, but on Booklr we acknowledge we can like something while still noticing its flaws. I really do think he’s a nice kid and a great actor and singer. I just think he needs a better beta reader or something. Or a fact-checker. Something like that. It’s all good, though. Thanks for the good wishes! <3
A better “beta reader”? Beta reader? Holy hell. Chris is an author under contract with one of the oldest, most distinguished, publishing houses in the country. He’s not some glorified fanfic writer having his work show up in ‘zines or being made available as a Kindle download for .99. Chris has a professional editor. Little, Brown and Co.have attorneys, including those who specialize in copyright law, to ensure that no laws are violated, despite the rantings of trolls who want to clutter up the tag with their dreck. We get it- you don’t like Chris’ writing and you believe that you’re far superior. Do you want a cookie? Fortunately, the millions of kids who devour his books and wait impatiently for the next one, LOVE his books. So do the the teachers who’ve made lesson plans around them, the school superintendents who’ve added the books to the CORE curriculum, and the librarians who can’t keep Chris’ books on the shelves. That’s the audience Chris writes for and he’s never claimed that his books are anything other than a labor of love.
We get it, you’re pissy because Chris is a New York Times Best Selling author and you’re a whiny fanfic writer who gets excited over receiving a $200 check. You’re also, apparently, an amateur lawyer. You’re certainly not the first to come through here, tearing Chris’ work apart and cluttering up the tag with your opinions and you won’t be the last. So continue with your little posts, that will be mostly ignored, until you get it out of your system, get enough of the attention you’re seeking, and find something better to do.
Apparently you don’t speak English very well, or you just didn’t feel like reading. Either way, I’ll reiterate what I’ve said already using screenshots of what I said already.
Here’s some examples of objective critique. The words underlined in different colors are all synonyms used in the same sentence, btw. That’s generally a no-no. And why he needs a beta/fact-checker.
Here is where I say multiple times that I actually enjoyed The Wishing Spell.
Here’s where I said I liked big parts of The Enchantress Returns but that it’s not as good as The Wishing Spell.
And here is what other people had to say, some of them much less nicely than I did.
Also, random fact: plenty of NYT authors don’t check their facts and then make mistakes.
- Lauren Destefano, in her novel Wither, had a plot point revolving around the concept that once a baby is given formula, they’ll refuse to breastfeed. This was a major plot point based on a piece of information that wasn’t even true.
- Ann Aguirre’s Razorland Trilogy has a human girl subsisting on a diet of nothing but fish, mushrooms, and water, with no way to get vitamin D (she lives underground), calcium, vitamin C, fruits or vegetables…and yet this girl is incredibly healthy, without any kind of evolutionary reasons. She didn’t get scurvy, she didn’t get rickets, she didn’t have any kind of health deficiencies at all despite the lack of any kind of balanced diet. They didn’t even have vitamin supplements.
- James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series hinges on the idea of teenagers with bird wings who can fly, because they have hollow bones (like birds do). Never mind that the delicate ratio of human muscle strength to bone density is in fact so delicate that if you upset it at all, your own muscles could snap your bones like toothpicks. And the kids in Max Ride have double the muscle strength of humans but their bones are twice as fragile.
Just some examples. It doesn’t matter who you work for. People can still be wrong about the laws of physics, or a random tidbit about human anatomy, or about how genetic evolution works, and sometimes people might not catch it.
Lastly: the copyright for The Chronicles of Narnia is such that without written permission from the estate (which Colfer is required to put in the copyright page at the beginning of his book), he can’t feature a character from the books in his own profitable work. I had to look this up when I wanted to quote a song in one of my novels and it turned out I couldn’t without blah-blah paperwork.
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law. That would simply mean they decided to let it slide. Authors, publishers, and estate holders do it all the time. But sometimes they don’t. Hence why when Neil Gaiman wrote and published a fanfic for The Chronicles of Narnia, he had to be very very careful how he wrote it.
Now normally I’d have more patience but I’ve been dealing with you children all day, and I’m sick. So, tiny sweet little nonnie-troll, go away and stop trying to make Chris Colfer out to be some kind of ignorant, obnoxious twit who doesn’t know how to act professionally. Judging from his long career as an actor and the lack of scandal surrounding his name, I think he can handle an objective critique. Unless you think he’s some sort of chump or coward, in which case the problem really isn’t with me or him. It’s with you. Now shoo.
PS - the tag doesn’t belong to you. It’s a public forum.
LOL “Children”. Based on what I’ve seen on your blogspot, I’m probably old enough to be your mother, child. I get it- you need attention and this is how you get it. I guess it’s better than throwing yourself to the floor like a toddler. You’re right, I don’t own the tag. Neither do you, so I will comment on your idiotic raving as I see fit. I’m also not a “nonnie”. I posted publicly because I don’t do anonymous. Apparently YOU don’t speak English very well, if you don’t even understand the definition of anonymous.
I don’t care how many bad critiques of Chris’ work you paste into your reply. They’re all posting those reviews on sites specifically designed for doing so. Only one asshole feels the need to spam the Chris tag with their opinion. Gosh, it’s enough to make a person want to punch said asshole in the face. Metaphorically, of course. Once you decided to accuse Chris of violating copyright law, (And I’m sure you’re totally qualified to do that, right? Would you care to provide you Bar number?) your useless drivel became useless drivel that belongs in the “lol” tag. Not that I expect you to comprehend or respect tagging etiquette.
You’re just another whiny wanna-be who’s mad that Chris has sold over a million books while you piddle along writing your oh-so-superior little stories, hoping for another “tiny sweet” check. Let me guess, if you piled all of your rejected manuscripts on top of one another, you’d have a several floors of a building, right? Like I said, you crybabies come through here every once in a while, throw your little tantrums, and move on. So go to it, while the rest of the tag mostly ignores you and Chris continues to write best-sellers for the next several years. That’s what I’m going to do. I only replied because your “beta reader” comment was so laughably ignorant. Chris’ professional editor would probably get a good laugh from it, as well. But you’re high if you think you can shoo me away, kiddo.
If you’re old enough to be my mother, act like it.
I made a typo, that should’ve said “nonsense-troll” but I’ve been dealing with other, actual anonymous whining and muscle memory took over.
If my beta-reader comment was so ignorant, explain how someone missed the fact that he keeps putting two 12-year-olds in situations where physiologically speaking, they would die? And yet they don’t. Even without magical protection. Hypothermia is a thing. Marine biology - also a thing. Water pressure is a thing that is relevant to more than just plumbing. The laws of physics are a thing. As I explain here.
You do realize that I tag/review other books, right? This isn’t a “Let’s All Beat Up on Chris Colfer” thing. I’ve reviewed like 10 other books and have reviews lined up for like 15 more.
Jack Frost by William Joyce Soul Music by Terry Pratchett Splintered by AG Howard Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire Enclave by Ann Aguirre Matched by Ally Condie Loki: Agent of Asgard vol 1 Wither by Lauren Destefano The Darkness After by Scott B. Williams The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
But none of those authors’ rabid fans started crying about it because Booklr knows that constructive book reviews are an acceptable form of editorial.
If you don’t know, Booklr is the book-dragon side of Tumblr. We review books, take random pictures of books, circulate book fan art, do photo challenges, and post videos talking about books. Everyone on Booklr does this.
Regarding copyright law: I follow this remarkable woman, who is in fact a lawyer, who writes a blog I also follow all about copyright law. So I know that using a copyrighted character (whose copyright you do not own) without the permission of the owner is in fact illegal.
Regarding tagging etiquette: when you write a review of a book, or a think-piece of a book, because book titles cannot be copyrighted, it’s customary to include the author’s name.
Also I doubt your old enough to be my mother unless you’re over 50.
Ahh, I see you misunderstood the part where I said that I’ve said my piece and that you and your worthless, inane, blather will be ignored from now on. Reading is HARD, I know. I only spoke up in the first place because you’re too ignorant to understand the difference between a “beta reader”- which, a whiny, wanna-be, like yourself uses for their “indie” published muck- and a professional book editor- which the best-selling authors from major, professional, publishing houses use- are two different things.
Also, and I don’t care if you’re BFFs with the whole damn Supreme Court, neither you, nor your lawyer blog buddy, are privy to what Chris’- once again, well-established, distinguished, professional publishing house- did or did not get permission for. YOU don’t know shit. You’re talking out of your ass because the FACT is, you are making assumptions and accusations with absolutely no factual evidence whatsoever. Which just further shows that you’re nothing more that a petty, envious, spiteful brat who wants to drag Chris to make themselves feel better about their own failure.
There have been plenty of less-than-stellar reviews of Chris’ work posted in the tag and this is one of the only ones I’ve ever commented on. It has nothing to do with your pretentious, meaningless, opinion and everything to do with the two issues above. Those aren’t “acceptable forms of editorial. Your unfounded accusations of Chris violating the law, your failure to recognize and give Chris his due as a professionally-published author, and your condescending dismissal of him as a “kid”, only serve to show that you came to the tag as just another resentful piss-baby who’s angry that Chris took an opportunity that they’ll never had, ran with it, and became a huge success. You’re utterly transparent, just like the utterly transparent, vindictive, little slugs who’ve pulled this same crap in the tag long before you decided to darken our doorway. Now, because you obviously didn’t understand my word from before, I’ll illustrate it for you:
I'm so sorry that some chris stans are so agressive and butthurt. Some of them think chris is a perfect angel who can do nothing wrong.. ugh. You have every right to your opinion on his books and they are very welcome in his tag. :) Have a nice day/night!
Thank you. :) No worries. I really do like his books, but on Booklr we acknowledge we can like something while still noticing its flaws. I really do think he’s a nice kid and a great actor and singer. I just think he needs a better beta reader or something. Or a fact-checker. Something like that. It’s all good, though. Thanks for the good wishes! <3
A better “beta reader”? Beta reader? Holy hell. Chris is an author under contract with one of the oldest, most distinguished, publishing houses in the country. He’s not some glorified fanfic writer having his work show up in ‘zines or being made available as a Kindle download for .99. Chris has a professional editor. Little, Brown and Co.have attorneys, including those who specialize in copyright law, to ensure that no laws are violated, despite the rantings of trolls who want to clutter up the tag with their dreck. We get it- you don’t like Chris’ writing and you believe that you’re far superior. Do you want a cookie? Fortunately, the millions of kids who devour his books and wait impatiently for the next one, LOVE his books. So do the the teachers who’ve made lesson plans around them, the school superintendents who’ve added the books to the CORE curriculum, and the librarians who can’t keep Chris’ books on the shelves. That’s the audience Chris writes for and he’s never claimed that his books are anything other than a labor of love.
We get it, you’re pissy because Chris is a New York Times Best Selling author and you’re a whiny fanfic writer who gets excited over receiving a $200 check. You’re also, apparently, an amateur lawyer. You’re certainly not the first to come through here, tearing Chris’ work apart and cluttering up the tag with your opinions and you won’t be the last. So continue with your little posts, that will be mostly ignored, until you get it out of your system, get enough of the attention you’re seeking, and find something better to do.
Apparently you don’t speak English very well, or you just didn’t feel like reading. Either way, I’ll reiterate what I’ve said already using screenshots of what I said already.
Here’s some examples of objective critique. The words underlined in different colors are all synonyms used in the same sentence, btw. That’s generally a no-no. And why he needs a beta/fact-checker.
Here is where I say multiple times that I actually enjoyed The Wishing Spell.
Here’s where I said I liked big parts of The Enchantress Returns but that it’s not as good as The Wishing Spell.
And here is what other people had to say, some of them much less nicely than I did.
Also, random fact: plenty of NYT authors don’t check their facts and then make mistakes.
- Lauren Destefano, in her novel Wither, had a plot point revolving around the concept that once a baby is given formula, they’ll refuse to breastfeed. This was a major plot point based on a piece of information that wasn’t even true.
- Ann Aguirre’s Razorland Trilogy has a human girl subsisting on a diet of nothing but fish, mushrooms, and water, with no way to get vitamin D (she lives underground), calcium, vitamin C, fruits or vegetables…and yet this girl is incredibly healthy, without any kind of evolutionary reasons. She didn’t get scurvy, she didn’t get rickets, she didn’t have any kind of health deficiencies at all despite the lack of any kind of balanced diet. They didn’t even have vitamin supplements.
- James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series hinges on the idea of teenagers with bird wings who can fly, because they have hollow bones (like birds do). Never mind that the delicate ratio of human muscle strength to bone density is in fact so delicate that if you upset it at all, your own muscles could snap your bones like toothpicks. And the kids in Max Ride have double the muscle strength of humans but their bones are twice as fragile.
Just some examples. It doesn’t matter who you work for. People can still be wrong about the laws of physics, or a random tidbit about human anatomy, or about how genetic evolution works, and sometimes people might not catch it.
Lastly: the copyright for The Chronicles of Narnia is such that without written permission from the estate (which Colfer is required to put in the copyright page at the beginning of his book), he can’t feature a character from the books in his own profitable work. I had to look this up when I wanted to quote a song in one of my novels and it turned out I couldn’t without blah-blah paperwork.
Now, the publishing company’s lawyer might have convinced the estate to let it go, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t break the law. That would simply mean they decided to let it slide. Authors, publishers, and estate holders do it all the time. But sometimes they don’t. Hence why when Neil Gaiman wrote and published a fanfic for The Chronicles of Narnia, he had to be very very careful how he wrote it.
Now normally I’d have more patience but I’ve been dealing with you children all day, and I’m sick. So, tiny sweet little nonnie-troll, go away and stop trying to make Chris Colfer out to be some kind of ignorant, obnoxious twit who doesn’t know how to act professionally. Judging from his long career as an actor and the lack of scandal surrounding his name, I think he can handle an objective critique. Unless you think he’s some sort of chump or coward, in which case the problem really isn’t with me or him. It’s with you. Now shoo.
PS - the tag doesn’t belong to you. It’s a public forum.
LOL “Children”. Based on what I’ve seen on your blogspot, I’m probably old enough to be your mother, child. I get it- you need attention and this is how you get it. I guess it’s better than throwing yourself to the floor like a toddler. You’re right, I don’t own the tag. Neither do you, so I will comment on your idiotic raving as I see fit. I’m also not a “nonnie”. I posted publicly because I don’t do anonymous. Apparently YOU don’t speak English very well, if you don’t even understand the definition of anonymous.
I don’t care how many bad critiques of Chris’ work you paste into your reply. They’re all posting those reviews on sites specifically designed for doing so. Only one asshole feels the need to spam the Chris tag with their opinion. Gosh, it’s enough to make a person want to punch said asshole in the face. Metaphorically, of course. Once you decided to accuse Chris of violating copyright law, (And I’m sure you’re totally qualified to do that, right? Would you care to provide you Bar number?) your useless drivel became useless drivel that belongs in the “lol” tag. Not that I expect you to comprehend or respect tagging etiquette.
You’re just another whiny wanna-be who’s mad that Chris has sold over a million books while you piddle along writing your oh-so-superior little stories, hoping for another “tiny sweet” check. Let me guess, if you piled all of your rejected manuscripts on top of one another, you’d have a several floors of a building, right? Like I said, you crybabies come through here every once in a while, throw your little tantrums, and move on. So go to it, while the rest of the tag mostly ignores you and Chris continues to write best-sellers for the next several years. That’s what I’m going to do. I only replied because your “beta reader” comment was so laughably ignorant. Chris’ professional editor would probably get a good laugh from it, as well. But you’re high if you think you can shoo me away, kiddo.
I have just read a post in the Chris Colfer tag, in which the OP said in reply to an anon that Chris Colfer was not drawing on Grimm, Anderson, or Perrault,
However, it can be seen, just by a little research that TLOS does reference the fairy tale versions of one or other of these three authors.
“Typically, the fairy godmother’s protégé is a prince or princess and the hero of the story, and the godparent uses her magic to help or otherwise support them. The most well-known example is probably the fairy godmother in Charles Perrault’s Cinderella.
Eight fairy godmothers appear in The Sleeping Beauty, of Charles Perrault’s and in the Grimm Brothers’s version titled Little Briar Rose the thirteen so-called godmothers are called Wise Women. The popularity of these versions of these tales led to this being widely regarded as a common fairy-tale motif, although they are less common in other tales.” X
There may not be a Fairy Godmother in the Grimm’s tale of Cinderella, but In Charles Perrault’s ‘Cinderella’, or ‘The Little Glass Slipper’ as it is also known, The Fairy Godmother definitely appears. Also, The Stepmother may be run over by a carriage and The Ugly stepsisters may have their eyes pecked out and body parts cut off, in Grimm’s fairy tales, but in Perrault’s tales, the Step mother is not run over by a carriage, the Ugly Sisters do not have their eyes pecked out, nor do they have any body parts cut off, and both the step mother and the Ugly step sisters are all alive at the end of the story. X
In Perrault’s fairytales, Sleeping Beauty may not be awakened by a kiss, but In Grimm’s fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty is awakened by a kiss. X
“There she lay, so beautiful that he could not turn his eyes away, and he stooped down and gave her a kiss. But as soon as he kissed her, briar-rose opened her eyes and awoke, and looked at him quite sweetly.”
In The Grimm’s version of Little red Riding Hood, and also in Perrault’s version of Little Red Riding Hood, she did not eat her grandma as the OP suggests. It was the Wolf who ate both the Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood, and Chris Colfer mentions this in his books.
So, although there are various other versions of all the fairy tales (and Chris Colfer has mentioned many of these versions in his interviews, especially the ones that are much ‘darker retelling of the fairy tales, so he is very much aware of these other versions), Chris Colfer definitely draws much of what he references (as the anon mentions) from Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Anderson.
As for Hans Christian Anderson’s, The Snow Queen, she is most definitely meant to be seen as Evil and this is evidenced in her actions and also in the way Hans Christian Anderson portrays other character’s in the story’s reactions to her. They fear her. They fear her power because of the way she uses it, they warn about her. The nearer they live to her palaces, the warmer they keep their houses, because heat drives her away. She kidnaps Kay, a young child, she kisses him to gain the power over his frozen heart which had been turned to ice by the fragment of mirror, and then after bewitching him, she enslaves him in her Palace of Ice.
Her breath has the power to kill living creatures and she uses this power callously and without reason, for example, ”Then the wood-pigeons said, “Coo, coo; we have seen little Kay. A white fowl carried his sledge, and he sat in the carriage of the Snow Queen, which drove through the wood while we were lying in our nest. She blew upon us, and all the young ones died excepting us two. Coo, coo.”
She sets Kay a task to perform if he wants to earn his freedom, but she curses the task to prevent him being able to complete it, and the only way Kay manages to regain his freedom is when Gerda finds him and her true love breaks the curse. X
So no, the Snow Queen Is not a ‘relatively good guy trying to help Kay’, she kidnaps and enslaves him, and she has no desire to rid Kay of the shards of mirror that have pierced his eye and his heart and turned it into a block of ice, because she uses them to keep him bewitched with her. The story also says that when she first bewitches him with her kiss, she does not kiss him enough to kill him, so the threat that she may eventually administer her Kiss of Death on Kay, hangs over the rest of the story.
As for Chris Colfer ‘mocking’ the ethnic origins of fairy tales, context is is all important here, as is ‘who’ (which characters) are involved, and why, in the context of the story itself, the characters may think it odd to have the Fairy Godmother portrayed as a Hawk, or even not mentioned at all, and think it funny that Cinderella was given her dress and shoes by a Tree, (TLOS2 Chpt 3 P45), etc.
The character’s, Alex and Conner, in The Land Of Stories, are the Grandchildren of The Fairy Godmother, so naturally, with that knowledge, they will think it odd that stories do not show the Fairy Godmother as she is, or do not mention her when telling the fairy tales, because they know the ‘truth’.
It is like in, for example, The Harry Potter books; the wizarding world are often portrayed as finding certain beliefs, legends and historical events in the muggle/Our world, ‘odd’ and ‘laughable’, because those things did not happen in the way the muggles/we tell it. According to The Harry Potter stories, many of the historical events that happened in the Muggle/Our world, were actually caused by events in the Wizarding World that the Muggles/We remain ignorant of, so the muggle/our telling of those events are vastly different to the telling of the same events in wizarding history. Thus many wizards seem to ‘mock’ the Muggles/Us for their/our ignorance. And in the context of the story, the Wizard’s versions are the ‘True’ versions. That does not mean that JK Rowling believes that these events and histories happened that way. It does not mean that she is ‘Mocking’ real past events and histories of Our world, or any of the myths and legends and tales of our world that are also debunked by the wizarding world. She is writing a fictional story. Same with Chris Colfer. The Land Of Stories (much as I personally would love it to be real) Is fictional, as are his characters, and as are the fairy tales he draws upon for his story, so again it is not the author who is ‘mocking’, it is just a part of the fictional thoughts of fictional characters, based on their own experiences within the story.
Chris Colfer also does not retell the tales, but merely references them as part of Character back-story, or to ‘inform’, because the main point of his book(s), (as the anon rightly says), is as a continuation, rather than an adaptation. It is telling the story of fairy tale characters after their ‘Happily Ever After’ Or After ‘The End’. You could call his books, Fairy-Tale sequels, as that is probably a more apt description. So he is not ‘romanticising’ Fairy Tales, but he is telling his own ‘original’ tale as an addition or continuation or sequel to the old fairy tales, and as such he can write them as dark or light as he wishes, as the stories of the fairy tale characters are of their lives after each of their ‘fairy tales’ has had it’s ‘The End’.
Just because some of the tales Chris Colfer references are not the ones that you personally would like to see referenced, does not mean that he is disrespecting his source material. There are a great many versions of the same tales, and none of them are right or wrong. They are just ‘versions’. Chris Colfer’s books do not contain full versions of any of the fairytales, but, the references he makes can be traced to a ‘mix and match’ of the tales of Grimm, Perrault and Hans Christian Anderson..
Besides, anyone with an internet connection feels they have the credentials to critique or belittle anything these days
The land of Stories, The Enchantress Returns, Chpt 4, P53 (via theawesomenessthatischriscolfer)