"Saleable" and "good" are so very much not the same thing. And "saleable" and "real" are most definitely not.

nod nod nod

Kij keeps saying that to me. Along with loaded questions such as "So, have you had any free time to write any of the stories you've told me about?"

She is a Good Egg, and if there was a feasable way for her to pack me in her luggage and take me to IFC as her valet, she'd do it.

She said that she's keeping a list of the best ones she finds, because she plans on emailing those writers and putting them in touch with her agent and editor. I told her that was a very cool thing to be doing.

Good GOD, Jilli. Your friend is a SAINT.

I know so many hideously talented ficcers who can't sell a word. And then there are those of us who haven't tried...

Kij

Is this the Kij Johnson who wrote The Fox Woman? It's in my to-be-read pile, and it looks nummy.

Yeah, there's a subset of fandom that does this too. "No, you're too good to waste yourself on fanfic!"

Um. I know I've written to people and said "Damn, do you write professionally? Because you really, really should." Which maybe does sound like it's dissing the fic thing, but it's just - there's so much published fiction out there, much of which is pants, and when you read really good stuff for free you sometimes think the writer really should be being rewarded financially. Um.

Is this the Kij Johnson who wrote The Fox Woman? It's in my to-be-read pile, and it looks nummy.

Yes it is, and The Fox Woman is indeed nummy. And soon, soon! I will be getting a print out of her new MS.

Fay, that's my take on an awful lot of fic writers out there; besides liking what they do with the fic, I like their voices, period, and would like to see what they do with original fiction as well.

And gods, yes, a cheque for the effort, it's a lovesome thing.

Um. I know I've written to people and said "Damn, do you write professionally? Because you really, really should." Which maybe does sound like it's dissing the fic thing, but it's just - there's so much published fiction out there, much of which is pants, and when you read really good stuff for free you sometimes think the writer really should be being rewarded financially. Um.

Gack. I didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable. We all know, darling Fay, glorious Fay, that any feedback you send is darling and glorious.

It's specifically the "waste" thing that bemuses me. I mean, it's still a compliment, sure. But kind of...backhanded.

there's so much published fiction out there, much of which is pants, and when you read really good stuff for free you sometimes think the writer really should be being rewarded financially.

Fay's right.

On the other hand, it takes a certain amount of effort to do that. Not just the writing but the effort to get published. A friend of mine has a series of three vampire thrillers written but not sold. Several people on this board have read a longass trilogy she wrote, and have raved over it. So these novels would sell if she could get them before the right people. But it would take some effort on her part and frankly she has other uses for her time.

I know I should be writing original fiction. But I like writing fanfic, too, and while it warms my heart to have people tell me I should be paid for it, I'm not at the moment particularly inspired to go through all that trouble.

Oddly enough, I think I'd like to keep writing fan fiction even if I did sell original fiction to a magazine or publisher. I like playing with worlds and characters that other people have made, and seeing what happens if I push things in this direction vs. that direction.

Consuela, totally understood and agreed with. It is an effort; right now I have the ms for second book of my new series on my publisher's desk. She's had it for precisely one month. And I'm whimpering and losing sleep: what if she hates it? What if she doesn't buy it? The first book would be an orphan. Selling it to another house would be damned near impossible. What if she hates it and she's right? What if it sucks donkeys?

In point of fact, every single damned thing to do with publishing is stressful. And I'm an insanely lucky writer; my publisher loves me and my agent is there strictly for business stuff. She doesn't even need to see the creative bits until everything's done. And I am still curling up fetal at night and having all these doubts (this stage of the process, while Ruth is reading the new work, is the only time I ever do have those doubts, so they're extra strength fucked and miserable). But on the other hand, it's also a natural part of the process, and one of the big dealies is putting my ego away in a drawer, and digging that being told "no" a few dozen times can be very useful to me as a writer, so long as I'm also told why.

Anne, I'm with you. Hell, I'm writing fanfic even as we speak. For one thing, for me, it's a beautiful way to self-discipline. having to stay true to someone else's worldview and characters, while maintaining my own style and whatnot, is nice hard work.