Claudia Christian "fan fiction"

[Jan]

I'm kind of torn about passing this along since I'm pretty sure that this publication is probably not licensed by WB but for those fans out there who really wanted to see the book that Claudia Christian wrote for Mongoose, she's now selling them via her website at http://claudiachristian.net/CCBook.htm for $45.00 plus $7.00 postage.

Jan

[KoshN]

I'm kind of torn about passing this along since I'm pretty sure that this publication is probably not licensed by WB but for those fans out there who really wanted to see the book that Claudia Christian wrote for Mongoose, she's now selling them via her website at http://claudiachristian.net/CCBook.htm for $45.00 plus $7.00 postage.

Jan

$45.00 plus $7.00 postage! You gotta be kidding! (Yes, I know you're not.)

[OmahaStar]

No, thanks. Isn't this one of those that jms read and said they weren't up to snuff?

[Jan]

He didn't mention any that he specifically read except to mention that:

The manuscripts came in on the books currently in progress, and
unfortunately the level of writing is at very best amateurish, on a
level somewhat below what one would find on the average fan-fiction
website. In some cases the manuscripts had net handles not even actual
names, they were unprofessionally put together and edited, and the
writing is just not there. This is not the sort of thing that can be
easily corrected with just some notes or asking for re-dos. They
haven't done much publishing in the area of fiction previous to this
time, and my feeling is that as well-intentioned as they might be, they
don't really have the chops when it comes to fiction. And their
statements on their website are again somewhat overstating the
situation and not being entirely accurate in the projects and processes
being announced.

I had read that Claudia's was one of the ones completed at the time the project was dropped.

Jan

[glindros]

$52.00 ?? I'd love to hear the rational for a price point like that.

I don't doubt that it will be a very limited run, but come on Claudia. I bought your last "book", on a whim, but this is stretching it, even for a fan like me.

[Jan]

I bought your last "book", on a whim, but this is stretching it, even for a fan like me.

Was that the 'freaks and geeks' one? Talk about *not* worth the money! Once bitten...

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

I suspect if Warner Bros gets wind of this, they'll come down on it like the wrath of God. Most studios have traditionally turned a blind eye to fan fiction, provided the writer in question is doing it for the love of the series and isn't making a profit from it. I'm not all that sure that if you take a project that was originally going to be written as an authorized book, slap the words 'fan fiction' on it and sell it for $45 a pop, you would have any moral or legal wriggle room. And if Warners lets this one go through, somebody else could easily do the same thing pointing out the principle of 'implied consent' to strengthen their argument. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[glindros]

Was that the 'freaks and geeks' one? Talk about *not* worth the money! Once bitten...

Jan

Yes Jan. Heck of a price for an autograph. Who were all the people in that book? I thought I was buying a book about Claudia.

Fool me once...

[Jan]

Since there's a link to ask questions, I just sent a message asking if it's been licensed. I'll post any reply here.

ETA: Andrew Swallow made a good point over on B5TV that there were advance copies printed of the books and these may be Claudia's authors copies or remainders. We'll see what response I get.

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

Jan, the cover on Claudia's website references it as 'fan fiction,' which suggests it's not the actual cover if these are original author copies, or they've printed a new cover, which is less likely.

Author copies vary from contract to contract, usually around 10-20 copies depending on the publisher and print run. On my last book, The Creatures of Farscape, I got a hundred copies in my contract because the actual fee was going to be significantly less, so I was able to take those copies around to conventions and offer them to fans on various websites.

Remaindered copies are normally offered to the author at a significantly reduced price, although a lot of publishers won't even bother. On my Blake's 7 book, I actually bought a couple of remaindered copies for a few bucks in a London clearance shop, which was the first time I discovered it had been remaindered. Although it was in our contract to offer them to us first, it was my understanding that one particular B7 fan bought them dirt cheap and sold them at a significant profit. There wasn't much to do with the publisher, because at that point they were already gone and it became a moot point.

All of that being said, it's unlikely that Claudia would have been given too many copies by the publisher in advance of publication. If they were given to her after the books were pulled, Mongoose could be found liable for copyright infringement for knowingly distributing books without the license.

Just a few thoughts, for whatever they're worth.

[Jan]

Good points, Joe, thanks. I'd noticed the "Fanfiction" (one word) on the cover of the book but hadn't really processed it. If they had been author's copies or remainders, I'm pretty sure they'd be the legal to sell since they had been written and produced under license. For that matter, while we know the project was dropped, we don't know the circumstances; whether Mongoose just cut their losses or WB pulled the license or if the license simply expired (I'm assuming they have time limits).

One thing I'm reasonably certain of is that if WB comes down on this, Claudia will blame JMS personally. She made a point of saying that JMS squashed her "little book" (her words, not mine) several times in panels last year.

Jan

[glindros]

One thing I'm reasonably certain of is that if WB comes down on this, Claudia will blame JMS personally. She made a point of saying that JMS squashed her "little book" (her words, not mine) several times in panels last year.

Jan

Does JMS still have yea or nay on all B5 properties?

[Jan]

Does JMS still have yea or nay on all B5 properties?

Good question. He's said in the past

(blocked) asks:
> But you have some kind of influence when it comes to
> merchandising arrangements, right?

I have approval over what gets licensed, and the form it takes.
I work closely with all our licensees.

jms

but there's no indication of how far that approval goes in this instance since the books were definitely in process even after JMS declined to participate. There's also the question of what constitutes "merchandise" in his contract since he's mentioned in the past that the VCR tapes and DVDs aren't included in that.

I didn't say anything about it at the time but after JMS's last go-round with Mathew Sprange, he (Mathew) and I had an email dialogue going for a while. I did learn that, contrary to JMS's assertions, Mongoose had gone through the WB approval process for (iirc) some of the book covers and possibly even some of the book content. He sent me screenshots since it had been such a major point in their disagreement. Whether JMS would have had any further approval authority, I don't know.

Jan

[jonodan]

Does anyone know what the story involves in this book?... Is it Claudia's version of what became of her character?

[KoshN]

No, thanks. Isn't this one of those that jms read and said they weren't up to snuff?

I wouldn't have been interested if only for the fact that they are not from JMS outlines and are not canon.