tikatu | Entries tagged with fanlib

Crossposting from FanNation's forums.

This is for my fellow FanLibbers mostly, but anyone can weigh in on it.

Someone is researching author's rights after a contest, and they're interested in what happened to the stories that were part of FanLib's contests like KvP. Did you lose your rights to your story if you didn't make the cut? For other contests, did you retain your rights to post the story you wrote elsewhere? I'm not talking about the member contests, but the official tie-in contests, like with Weeds and Dexter.

Reason is that Britney Spears's label is running a fanfiction contest, and the rules are - to my mind anyway - pretty scary. All entries are considered "work for hire" and not only do the authors lose all rights to their stories, they also lose their rights to privacy. Someone is writing a blog entry about it, and wanted to know some details.

Please reply ASAP, either here or by email.

Thanks!

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: my desk
Current Music: the kids playing on the laptop

(I drafted this entry before the events of September 8. See the relevant post for more details on that. Didn't want people connecting the two... which shows my state of mind since, I think.)

"That's the main thing I've found with fan-created sites; as real life closes in, the site suffers because, let's face it, real life trumps fan-stuff every time." Me, August 23, 2008.

I wrote this when I recounted the revival of an archive that I'd thought had been dead/dying, but that has been resurrected in a new form. My question was - and still is - will the owner's commitment to his archive endure? I hope so, but knowing his past history, I'm skeptical.

However, during the past couple of weeks, I've come to realize something else that affects fan-created sites of all stripes: the "bright, shiny, new". This happens when a new, cool show/movie/book/what-have-you catches someone's attention and they basically drop the fandom(s) they're currently involved in like a lead weight to reach after the new thing. This isn't always a bad thing; people do mature in fandom and moving out of a fandom isn't always precipitated by a new one coming along. Sometimes it's not a dropping of one fandom, but an adding of another, with a fan giving both equal attention. But, in my own experience, it's often the first case that leaves archives, websites or messageboards abandoned by their owners - unless they turn the sites/boards over to someone who is responsible and enthusiastic about carrying it on.

Why is this particular observation coming to me now? Because I think I've got the "bright, shiny, new" myself. Not for another fandom. But more for other websites, other opportunities on sites where concentrated participation is de rigeur. Sites where, if you want to be read, reviewed, whatever, you must reciprocate - and reciprocate a lot. Sites that require focused daily attention.

Now, this isn't always a bad thing, either. For any one site to have a lively, panfandom atmosphere is rare, I think, and can be an interesting place. FanLib was like this; a lot of writers bravely read outside their fandoms, outside their comfort zones, and not only read but reviewed and gave good constructive criticism. I enjoyed that immensely, both from the giving and the receiving ends.

It's just that, for me to participate to the level that was expected, I found I had less and less time to devote to those fandom-specific ventures that I myself have started, or that have been entrusted to me by others. My own sites, in particular my MSN Groups, have languished, with only the occasional news item and the monthly caption contests keeping the sites from looking like they've been abandoned. My C2 community has been comatose for the past couple of years; I keep wanting to revive it, but never seem to have the time. I have seen so many things happen to other sites - their owners don't want to destroy them, but they don't have the time or inclination to keep up with them, or add to them. It makes me sad and irritated when the only posts I find on an otherwise interesting site are from "lonely singles" spammers that a somewhat interested group owner could remove with a couple of clicks.

And it's not just sites, it's fanworks, too. How many WIPs have fallen by the wayside due to this? I've been moving like molasses on my own three, and I get angry at myself about it. I'm determined not to abandon them, but it gets harder and harder to make the time to write each day. There are other storylines clamoring for my attention, not just in fanfiction, but in my role play as well. The role play comes first, the WIP second. When will the new ideas get their time if I'm determined to finish what I've begun before I start something new? (Not to mention that NaNoWriMo is just around the corner!)

So, which way do I go? Do I reach out to the newer sites, give them my time and energy? Do I go back and concentrate my efforts on my older sites? Do I shrink my fannish circle or do I expand it?

It's time to reprioritize and decide what is most important to the fan in me.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: my desk
Current Music: the rumble of the air conditioner

I will miss FanLib... see y'all later, fellow FanLibbers!

Current Mood: sad

Grrr. A certain Welsh TBs writer is trying to pick my brains again for his terribly AU "reimagining". I'm finding it very irritating.

But, on to the main topic of discussion.

There's been some talk about the Orphan Works legislation on the FanLib forums.

Quite a few people are up in arms about it, and see it as a way for big corporations to make money by creating registries where artists (or anyone creative, really) have to register their works - for a fee. If they don't, then the artistic person can possibly lose the copyright on their works - they would by default be considered "orphan" because they weren't registered. This would allow anyone and his/her housecat to use them without recompense or recourse... or that's what some of those against this seem to be warning about.

With all this swirling around my admittedly non-porous brain (as in, I no longer soak up information like a sponge), I made a weird connection that makes me wonder: should I change my penname at Fiction Press to what I'd like to use should I become a professional writer?

I've used "Tikatu" just about everywhere I archive my fic, whether it's fanfiction or original fiction. But I'm beginning to feel like using what I'd like my professional name to be would perhaps forestall this whole "can't find the copyright holder" orphan works business.

Maybe I'm overthinking the situation - or feeling itchy about my original work. I did do a search at Fiction Press to see if I can use it. No one else has a penname exactly like it.

Friends and neighbors, what thinkest thou?

ETA: I had done some preliminary scouting around before posting this and found that the last notices on such a bill were in 2006 - hence the sort of ambivalent tone to the post. Since then, I've discovered that there was far more recent discussion in a House subcommittee on another introduction of the legislation. And I've also gleaned - through discussions in other journals as referenced by

partly_bouncyat Fan History - that the original article is not only terribly inflammatory (which was my opinion from the start) but highly biased and inaccurate. Check out the Fan History article for a whole slew of facts about the whole shebang.

Still, despite the lack of immediate danger, I'm looking for that advice. So if you have some for me, sock it to me, baby!

Current Mood: irritated
Current Location: wherever my muse takes me
Current Music: dogs barking outside

Whew! What a day!

Four big things with FanLib yesterday/today!

First, I wrote an entry for No Hiatus, the FanLib blog, concerning Script Frenzy, a script-writing challenge from the people who gave us NaNoWriMo. It went up yesterday (as Script Frenzy started today) and I noticed that I wasn't listed as a "guest blogger". Instead, I have my own byline there! Very cool! I have another entry coming up tomorrow or Thursday about the new Thunderbirds novels.

Second, I sent in my 50 Creativity Giveaway points. I heard later from Naomi at support that they'd verified them, and gave me the form to fill out for my prize: a leather-bound FanLib journal. I could have had a t-shirt, but I already have one of those so the journal it is! I've been told it will be in the mail tomorrow!

Third, I got a very interesting PM from Holly9000, one of the mods, asking me if I wanted to become a forum moderator! Now, I've never pressed myself forward there as I've always felt I didn't have the time to devote to the site... but, I'm there every day for pity's sake! I'm still not sure if I'm going to go for it; my family wants to know if it's a paid position - which it isn't. Still, I'd like to hear from my friends who are at FanLib to get their advice (hint, hint).

And fourth, I finally made featured author!!! I've been on the carousel twice, been a featured reviewer three times. I've been a featured member. But, to me, being a featured author takes the cake! It means my story is considered really good and I get my quote (which is: ..."Me, forget April Fool's day? No way!") up on the quotation carousel in the far right corner. I've been added to the long list of featured authors chosen during the past year. Can you say "validation as a writer"? To me, that does.

Now... to get back to writing my WIPs!

A good day all around!

Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Location: in front of my computer screen, where else?
Current Music: the hum of my PC tower and the bubbles of the air stone

I guess I'm living in them.

It's been an interesting past few days. We got the notice over the weekend that Boy #1 has been invited to go to the Arts Awakening weekend again. It'll be over his dad's birthday, but that's okay. We'll celebrate at some other point. The weekend camp is sp onsored by the YMCA for the public schools, is by invitation only, and this is the second year that he's been tapped for the honor. He's already said he doesn't want to go up into the high ropes like last year - and I hope he doesn't get sick like last year either.

Last night we had an interesting visitor. I had taken Lacey out for a constitutional and heard a scrabbling on the bark of one of the pecan trees between our yard and the neighbors'. The scrabbling turned out to be something climbing said tree. At first I thought it was Tika, with her tail all puffed out, but once I got the back yard spotlights on, I could see it was a raccoon! It got up into the first split of the pecan tree's branches, 15+ feet up, and stayed there as long as Lacey was outside. So, I tied her out and went looking for the camera. The Girl was still awake, so we grabbed a flashlight and the digital camera and headed out to take pictures. At one point, we disturbed the neighbors, who came out and asked what was going on. He was rather impressed that Lacey had treed a 'coon!

The new dishwasher is very good! It really cleans the dishes well, and has a disposal portion, too. It seems to take longer than the old one did, but it dries the dishes and everything gets really clean. It even works with the solid detergent tabs that I'd bought before the old one went completely.

We finally got Hubby a much-needed cell phone. He doesn't like it, but admits it makes his life on the road a lot easier. We've also used some of the tax refund to buy the rest of the fencing - not including gates. It came this past Thursday, and I'm looking forward to Hubby being able to get it all up.

I was featured on the FanLib carousel today - with my drabble "Green", excerpted from Mosaic. I'd entered it into a drabble contest, but hadn't won. This is a better reward, I think. I'm working hard on finishing one or more WIPs; new chapters up for The White Winds and Resolutions: Redux, with a second TWW chapter halfway done. The RP has picked up tremendously over the past couple of weeks and it looks like we may have another player - this time from Australia. We'll have to really shuffle things around for her to make it to brainstorming sessions!

More later!