Potter for Profit? Maybe!
Is selling your fanfiction at $80 dollars per book bad? Especially when the entire hardback 6 volume original series is only $20 more? Apparently, not if you are a Harry/Ginny shipper.

So, the backstory. Over here a prominent Harry/Ginny fanfiction author has a series of Harry Potter fanfiction novels for sale. The prices seem rather high--the lowest of them is $50.00 for a single book. Particularly when other novel-length fanfictions on the same site are a quarter or half the cost. Additionally, there is an audio book partially available as well, though apparently it's free.

There's been a recent upsurge in posts on F_W regarding fanfiction being sold. In this one, a poster makes a comment pointing out that not only in the Star Wars fandom does this happen, but also the aforementioned Harry/Ginny shipper has done it as well. The first few posters agree it's a bit ridiculous. But then the H/G author herself shows up and claims that it's not copyright infringement to be selling her fanfiction for large sums of money. I guess the reason why is that, allegedly, she makes no money off the deal, so it's a-ok to do this. It's also allegedly a "zine" in theory, though I've not heard of any $80 zines lately, and as far as I know most zines tend to have more than one story and different authors in them.

Needless to say, people who ridicule Harmonians for just about anything show up in droves to defend this author's right to charge very large sums of money for her fanfiction. I guess if a known H/Hr shipper points it out, it cannot be wanky (a H/Hr shipper noticing wank makes it nonwanky? Who knew?), or it's the H/Hr shippers fault for pointing it out. Even mice cannot comment without being lambasted. It's good to know you can sell your fanfiction all you want and for 4 times the price of a regular book as long as you call it a "zine". It's not copyright infringement then, I suppose.

I have here a 200 page fanfic, er, "zine". I'll charge $45 dollars "for publication costs." Any takers?

ETA:While the author of the fanfic has denied making money on this deal, another zine publisher states that they have dealt with the same publisher, and that at these prices, profit is happening, and most likely by the author, since the publisher only takes a commission. Unless directed elsewhere, the author gets the rest of the profit.

ETA II: Apparently, the fanfic author has some correspondence online with the site in question.

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Re: IMPORTANT!

agent_hyatt
2006-04-26 04:09 am UTC (link)

I also don't get where you're coming from with AWS is "mostly distribution", as I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

I'm getting it from the second link in the ETA, in fact.

However, to clarify, Agent With Style is a zine distributor --yes, she publishes her own zines -- but mostly she agents for other zine publishers. She takes a commission for her work. (And no, I am neither for or against this practice, just stating a fact.)

Yet again, I say, positive proof from this zine, rather than speculation, because the thing is enough of a mess without jumping to accusatory conclusions.

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	Re: IMPORTANT! phosfate 2006-04-26 02:22 pm UTC (link)
	In AWS's case, 'distributing' often means 'keeping her own master copies and doing the printing herself.' There have been several incidents in which her accounting methods, reproduction, and prices have been disputed by the the people who made the zine in the first place, often leading to bad blood between AWS and zine creators. (Not to mention customers.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: IMPORTANT!

agent_hyatt
2006-04-26 05:35 pm UTC (link)

This isn't exactly related, but in the email correspondence, there wasn't any mention of Barb paying a commission that I could see. (I could've easily missed it, though.) Do you know, is that unusual?

Barb mentioned AWS printing Replay, advertising it on the mailing list, and being asked to destroy all copies of Replay. Those advertisements could be verified by a ML member, and it'd be a good sign of reproduction issues, at the very least.

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	Re: IMPORTANT! phosfate 2006-04-26 05:44 pm UTC (link)
	This isn't exactly related, but in the email correspondence, there wasn't any mention of Barb paying a commission that I could see. (I could've easily missed it, though.) Do you know, is that unusual? I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking me. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: IMPORTANT! agent_hyatt 2006-04-26 05:48 pm UTC (link)
	None of the emails said anything about PS paying AWS to publish and sell the zines. As that other publisher talked about commissions, the lack of a commission price being referred to in PS's post struck me as odd. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: IMPORTANT!

phosfate
2006-04-26 06:09 pm UTC (link)

Okay. If you're asking what I think you are, my understanding is that AWS does the printing (and incurs those expenses), and the commission, if any exists, would go to the author. This does not, however, mean that the author is actually taking a commission.

Say you decide to do a zine and ask me to agent it for you at MediaWest in May. It can work several ways.

--You've already got a bunch printed, and send me a boxful to offer on my table. I sell them, and send you the money and any leftover copies. I may ask you to kick in a little for the expense of the dealer's table, or I may sell them gratis just to be a bud and because I like zines.

--You've got master sheets, and you send me those (or an electonic file or whatever). We agree that the price will cover my printing expenses, plus maybe a little extra per-copy to help defray the cost of the dealer's table, and if you need it a little extra per-copy to help defray your own expenses (e.g. trib copies if anybody else contributed). That would be your commission. I get them copied here and take them to the con, or get them copied at the Kinko's by the hotel.

Now, in an ideal world, I'm not going to gouge you or fandom by charging more than is necessary to help defray expenses. Fanfic zines are supposed to be a hobby, and not for profit -- otherwise I'm no better than Crazy Star Wars Lady offering her 'book' on Amazon. Indeed, the hobby is incestuous enough that the customers know approximately what producing a zine should cost, and few people going to buy a zine that is obviously overpriced. Overcharging is a very good way to find yourself without buyers, because there's somebody at the next table over who's equally happy to accept money and isn't expecting her customers to underwrite the cost of her plane ticket or new laptop.

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