Episode 24: By the Fans, For the Fans

Whether you are aware of it or not, by 2016, there is a very good chance that a short story, novel, television series, or even film that you've invested time in actually originated from the existing work of another individual or individuals, be it published or screened. This basis of composition on another creative work is the core of fan fiction, which as we've discussed in previous recent episodes, can vary in scale from Twitter-based micro-fic, to full novel-length series. The breadth of scope isn't limited to the size of the work, either: the fiction created by inspired fans may reflect very closely to the original work (think Harry Potter extended fiction...that isn't part of Pottermore), or could be quite removed from the characters, setting, or devices that defined the starting point, as it were. If fanfic can vary so widely, but is still at its center an (and we're intentionally using this work for the moment) unauthorized extension of the original work, likely copyrighted, how could a talented writer actually use such wordcraft to transition into the mainstream circuits that they built upon? To that end, is the mainstream (and those working within it) starting to consider fanfic a child of its own creation, and welcoming it? Joined once again by (of and on the  podcast network), we explore the broad spectrum of fan-fiction as a new frontier of AU/EU, and industry acceptance.