Fan Fiction Fan Disputes
Reading Bethan Jones’ article, Fifty shades of exploitation: Fan labor and Fifty Shades of Grey, and Karen Hellekson’s article, Kindle Worlds and Fan Fiction, there was one main point that stuck out from both articles. Both authors stated that commercializing something made by fans – fan fiction being the subject of both articles – could potentially ruin the fandom from which it originated due to the other fans not approving of the way in which the fan-made item is presented or because the fans do not approve of the item being sold at all.
Hellekson, in her article, stated that some fans might be willing to publicize and sell their stories while other fans of the same fandom might not want to sell their items but she states that Kindle Worlds “will end up with…steady writers who create their own…fannish community” if “[Kindle Worlds] doesn’t fall under the onslaught of fan fury” (Hellekson). The idea that Kindle Worlds could be shut down due to angry fans shows that not everyone labeled as a fan supports commercializing fan-made items. Fan fiction, in particular, has long been considered written stories by fans for fans for free, not something that is sold to make profit. Kindle Worlds is based on the concept of fans creating their own stories based off of either pre-existing worlds or ones made up and used by multiple people in a legal way. With this system, the fans can sell their work to make a small profit but they are also giving up certain rights to their work, if the stories sell big. In cases such as Fifty Shades of Grey, fans are extremely unhappy with what one of their used-to-be fellow fans decided to do in order to gain money. “James originally wrote and published Fifty Shades of Grey…as a multichapter fan fic under a pen name…on FanFiction.net before moving to James’s personal Web site…the series was picked up by The Writer’s Coffee Shop…[and] became the best-selling book of all time in Britain” (Jones). Jones states that among several reasons why multiple groups of people are unhappy with E. L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, the fans are particularly angry because “the series is…badly written, poorly researched…[and] not representative of fan fiction and is potentially damaging to fandom.” It is not just because E. L. James abandoned her fellow fans in an attempt to make money that is causing fans both within the Twilight fandom and other fandoms to be angry, but also her poor writing skills being the example of fan fiction set for individuals not familiar with fan fiction.
Fans, according to both authors, are split into two groups: those that do not mind their work being sold for a profit and those that believe that their work, and the work of other fans, should be free because it is only due to the passionate opinions and creativity of the fans that their work exists. It is this disagreement that has allowed arguments over published fan work to arise, such as in the case of Fifty Shades of Grey. As seen in both articles and as can be agreed upon by both authors, fans are split themselves on whether they think their work can be sold or if it should remain free for the viewing of others. There will be fans that seek monetary gain from their work and the backlash from the fans that disagree with that point of view could become extremely problematic. Fan fiction authors on FanFiction.net have started to either remove their stories to avoid having their work stolen, remove their stories to publish their work to follow E. L. James in the hopes of making money, or expressed their desire to keep their work free and refused to publish their work professionally. Regardless of the choice, the fandoms on fan fiction websites are changing and whether that is for the better or worse remains to be seen.
Hellekson, K. 2013, May 23. Kindle Worlds and fan fiction. Retrieved February 01, 2016, from https://khellekson.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/kindle-worlds-and-fan-fiction/.
Jones, Bethan. 2014. "Fifty Shades of Exploitation: Fan Labor and Fifty Shades of Grey. " In "Fandom and/as Labor," edited by Mel Stanfill and Megan Condis, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 15.http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0501.