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.

(um, did that sound ranty? sorry, it's a ranty sort of day....)

Wrod with a side of wrod cakes to everything that's been said.

I occasionally ask amazing ficcers if they already write professionally, because I'd really like to pay to read their work. And sometimes I've said "I'm an assistant editor at this magazine. Have you written any original fiction you might maybe want to submit to us? I'd love to be able to publish your writing."

I know a surprising number of professional writers who also write or have written fanfiction; as one of them said, "whatever gets you writing...." I don't think any of their work is archived on the net, though.

Signed, got a $200 kill fee for a week's worth of article research and writing work today, and is feeling like getting paid for one's writing is one of those things that, like Western civilization, would be a very good idea...

Aw jeez, Michele. I hate kill fees. Half the time, they barely cover materials costs.

So what's a kill fee?

It's what a magazine (or in my case, back when I was a researcher, a scholar needing or wanting some ghostwriting done) pays you in order to get out of actually publishing what you've done for them.

Generally it's a pittance. Evil prats. Worst of both worlds: you do all the work, possibly incur some expenses, and you get neither a full paycheque nor your work in print.

Squirrel bastards!

Does that mean you can sell it elsewhere, though?

That's where the "kill" part comes in, I believe.