I have a new blog
where I play girly games and dating sims with you, then sit down to read you bad romance novels and erotica like I’m one of those awesome lesbian aunts who has no sense of what appropriate bonding time with her nieces and nephews should include and lets you do whatever the fuck you want when you stay over at her house. So you should follow that.
Today, Amazon announced the imminent launch of its newest endeavor, Kindle Worlds, a publishing platform for fanfiction. When I read the announcement, I was horrified, then angry, then sad. I want to take a moment to explain why this is such a tragedy.
Always always read the terms of use of a creative platform carefully, whether you’re a writer, an artist, a filmmaker, etc., whether you’re creating original or derivative content (fanfiction, fanart, etc.). A number of platforms have clauses like the one quoted here, and places like that are never the right choice for your work. No matter how much exposure they’ll give you or how prestigious they seem, never post anything to these sorts of platforms. As soon as you do so, you are no longer the owner of your work.
Places like tumblr, deviantart, and livejournal specifically say in their terms of use that, though you’re using their service to display your work, the content still belongs to you. Other places have terms of use that include clauses like he one quoted in the original post that say that you are essentially giving them the content you created. After you post your content there, they can take it and do whatever they want with it; you created the content, but it is no longer your property—it is theirs.
I’ve run into platforms like this a number of times, and I hope this will help people be more aware of what can be in those big blocks of legal-ese hardly anyone reads. Even if you decide you’re ok with posting content on platforms like this, it’s always best to understand what can happen to the content you create.
May.24.13
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