tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post820480686358208758..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Query Question: previous use of materials---and the Shark flips outJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17946649592604180622015-01-24T15:21:24.546-05:002015-01-24T15:21:24.546-05:00Lynn said: "Julie, my point was more about th...Lynn said: "Julie, my point was more about the questioner saying "The world and story of the RP are unique and completely unrelated with my novel..." so changing the names and descriptions seemed logical. It's completely different than having successful stories on their boards and turning them into a novel."<br /><br />It may seem completely different to the guy writing the novel, but will it to the buddies who collaborated on the RPG? They might see a lot of similarities, in plot, themes, character backgrounds. I'd bet it's not hard to find something there, and the buddies will be motivated to search for them. They probably won't start out thinking in terms of trying to claim a share of ownership, but once they find a similarity, it'd be easy to become bitter if they believe they assisted this guy with the novel and now they're getting cut out of the credit.<br /><br />I'm not saying it's a guarantee this will happen, but it's certainly possible enough to be worth sorting out before trying to publish.Jenzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652680551107638557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4081681837328173202015-01-24T11:03:13.858-05:002015-01-24T11:03:13.858-05:00Dena, I was so hoping you would clarify that one! ...Dena, I was so hoping you would clarify that one! And the asterisks really make the entire comment ... *Snerk* at the woodland creature reference.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-35855529059846303462015-01-24T09:51:59.677-05:002015-01-24T09:51:59.677-05:00Elissa,
I'm not overly concerned about the na...Elissa,<br /><br />I'm not overly concerned about the names. Most of them are fairly common or with a slight twist, Dorion, Gallatin, Ardam, Recht, (Recht is a nod to Zach Recht author of Plague of the Dead who was in my guild and was a writing mentor. I asked his mother if I could use his real name.) Mikafar is a bit odd. As I said, Blizzard would have a tough time doing anything with those names, but they would howl if I borrowed game characters.<br /><br />TOS and EULA do indeed state fan fiction written on boards, player characters etc, belong to the game. I actually read that bit because I'm paranoid. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64359377039212735652015-01-23T21:37:36.406-05:002015-01-23T21:37:36.406-05:00DLM – Legal Definition! Something I can help with...DLM – Legal Definition! Something I can help with :)<br /><br />According to the Underground Legal Dictionary of Techno-Geek Slang (c)(TM)(patent pending) -<br /><br /><i>Basically wrote</i>: proper verb clause, also spelled Basic-ly wrote, to type words and symbols on a computer keyboard in the Basic programming language. Archaic. <i>See also:</i> Fortran-ly wrote, Cobol-ly wrote. Modern usage: PHP-ly wrote, Java-ly wrote.<br /><br />Synonyms: Basically typed, Basically keyboarded<br />Antonyms: Basically deconstructed, Basically deleted<br /><br />*The above information is not intended as legal advice. If you desire legal advice tailored to your specific legal situation, please seek out a legal professional properly licensed in your state.<br />**Send legal demands for correction to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500.<br />***No woodland creatures were inconvenienced by the production or testing of this blog post.<br />****All rights reserved.Dena Pawlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444683810125395220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86120092599381278452015-01-23T18:52:58.323-05:002015-01-23T18:52:58.323-05:00I'm left asking myself, what is the legal defi...I'm left asking myself, what is the legal definition of "basically wrote" something ...DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-91722405616399685612015-01-23T18:33:44.328-05:002015-01-23T18:33:44.328-05:00Julie, my point was more about the questioner sayi...Julie, my point was more about the questioner saying "The world and story of the RP are unique and completely unrelated with my novel..." so changing the names and descriptions seemed logical. It's completely different than having successful stories on their boards and turning them into a novel. I have to admit, though, I know absolutely nothing about RP games, series, etc.<br /><br />Carolynn, thanks! Now I have do-do-do-do do-do-do-do playing in my head!<br />LynnRodzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796099106913990163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-60467907070160240772015-01-23T14:38:55.911-05:002015-01-23T14:38:55.911-05:00It seems to me this is where the writer's ener...It seems to me this is where the writer's energy and creativity is challenged the most. The easy way out (seemingly) would be to risk the lawsuit and run with what you (and possibly your buddies) came up with all those years ago.<br /><br />The harder choice is to take that inspiration and create something new. And possibly better.<br /><br />Case in point: Marissa Meyers' wonderful "Lunar Chronicals" series. This started out as "Sailor Moon" fan fiction. Marissa developed these stories, blending them with classic fairy tales, and turning them into something new and original. And while my Asiaphile daughter, who really knows her "Sailor Moon," can detect hints of what inspired the stories--perhaps a familiar-sounding character name, or a nod to a particular plot strand--she'd be hard-pressed to call foul. Because CINDER, SCARLET, CRESS, and WINTER (due out later this year) are not "Sailor Moon." Not in the least.<br /><br />To our writer friend: avoid the issues and accept the challenge. Take the best of what you learned from your time developing the RP story with your friends and craft something new. Something better.Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-11284008137695832332015-01-23T14:34:23.711-05:002015-01-23T14:34:23.711-05:00Julie M. Weathers,
About World of Warcraft charac...Julie M. Weathers,<br /><br />About World of Warcraft character names--it might be that Blizzard owns those rights. Not that they would act on it, I'm sure. You'd have to study the EULA and/or ToS to be sure.<br /><br />Still, if your friends agreed to your use of their character names without further remuneration (get it in writing) you should be okay.Elissa Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10727748060605823895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-15033967739142304032015-01-23T14:01:28.385-05:002015-01-23T14:01:28.385-05:00LynnRodz Cue Twilight Zone theme music.LynnRodz Cue Twilight Zone theme music.Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-13767926016029343902015-01-23T10:01:45.769-05:002015-01-23T10:01:45.769-05:00Lynn,
"That said, I really don't see how...Lynn,<br /><br />"That said, I really don't see how anyone can try and claim rights to an author's novel if the author decides to change the names and descriptions of the characters."<br /><br />That's like me saying I wrote a book about a boy wizard who goes to wizarding school and plays an awesome game of flying skidditch. My character's name is Larry Kotter, no relation to Welcome Back Kotter.<br /><br />The problem with the RP games is they really are a joint effort. The dungeon master may lay out the basic premise, but it's up to each individual player to play their part. I'm going to guess the author has drawn on some of those adventures for the novel. <br /><br />Now, add in the idea if this rp adventure is based on a published game and this fan fiction adventure was published, the terms of service in all these games state that characters in the games and stories posted on their forums are the property of the developer. Names are going to be kind of hard to enforce because there may be three hundred different people using that name on different servers, plus how is a game going to say, "Hey, someone published a fan fiction with the name Ruth, so it's ours now."<br /><br />Would some big developer come after you if you had successful stories on their boards you turned into a novel and sold? Who knows?<br /><br />I've stopped writing much fan fiction. It isn't worth the chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69049053722141662982015-01-23T09:32:52.584-05:002015-01-23T09:32:52.584-05:00I am wondering if a disclaimer on the original RP ...I am wondering if a disclaimer on the original RP site such as "The original concept of ____ as well as any contributions by other writers/blog commenters is the sole intellectual property of___, and cannot be blah,blah, blah" might have helped?S.D.Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05707682524268581476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-72796947214649505692015-01-23T09:20:46.089-05:002015-01-23T09:20:46.089-05:00The operative word here is "collaborative&quo...The operative word here is "collaborative" story, so it doesn't belong to just the person asking the question. If there's any money to be made, it belongs to everyone who contributed to the series. <br /><br />That said, I really don't see how anyone can try and claim rights to an author's novel if the author decides to change the names and descriptions of the characters. Like s/he said, the novel was just a project when they launched their RP series. Who's to say those RP characters have anything to do with the novel? And how can they prove it?<br /><br />Oh yeah, I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but that universe (the one next to ours) is starting to get a little too pushy if you ask me. I'm not talking about the parallel universe next to ours, they're going about their own affairs and couldn't be bothered with us. I'm talking about the one that's perpendicular to ours. We need to keep an eye on them!<br />LynnRodzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796099106913990163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-76722056795235341792015-01-23T08:28:05.343-05:002015-01-23T08:28:05.343-05:00At the red letters I paused just to see if I knew ...At the red letters I paused just to see if I knew - and my feeble little brain sputtered out "rights issue." <br /><br />That was all I knew though, certainly not all the ins and outs of how this could impact said writer. This question simply points out, once again, the value agents bring.<br /><br />But we already know that. <br /> <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-51225004109102264632015-01-23T07:59:33.156-05:002015-01-23T07:59:33.156-05:00Just because you're the lead singer doesn'...Just because you're the lead singer doesn't mean the rest of the band doesn't get paid.<br />Tra la.Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-83710193405312109712015-01-23T07:49:19.213-05:002015-01-23T07:49:19.213-05:00Well, that leads to an interesting question. I ask...Well, that leads to an interesting question. I asked some friends in an mmorpg, World of Warcraft to be specific, if I could use their character names for some characters in my book. The characters in the books are not based on their characters in game and have no resemblance. It was just a nod to them for the years of friendship. Now I'm wondering if that might cause problems down the line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com