'Star Wars' POD Fan Fiction Flap
by Heidi MacDonald -- Publishers Weekly, 5/1/2006
A copyright-infringing "fan fiction" novel set in the world of Star Wars that found its way to Amazon has created a storm in the science fiction community and led to questions about how print-on-demand books are listed on Amazon.
Another Hope is an unauthorized fan fiction novel written by Lori Jareo that last week was being offered for sale on Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and Powells.com. Jareo's book offers an "alternate take" on the events in Star Wars: A New Hope, adding two new cousins of Leia's who save the day for the rebels. The book was published via Jareo's own print-on-demand company, WordTech Communications, which previously specialized in poetry. WordTech's books are available through Ingram, which is how Another Hope ended up on Amazon.
Such "fanfic," as it is known, proliferates among the followers of fantasy empires and enthusiastic fans. Copyright holders generally look the other way, as long as the work isn't for profit. By selling her novel for $20, Jareo would appear to have crossed that line.
In an interview on her Web site, Jareo claimed that the book was "not a commercial project. I don't see any problems." In a passage roundly derided by SF bloggers, Jareo was asked if she had any concerns about copyrights. She responded: "No, because I wrote this book for myself. This is a self-published story and is not a commercial book. Yes, it is for sale on Amazon, but only my family, friends and acquaintances know it's there."
Lucasfilms thought otherwise, and asked for the book to be removed. Before it was taken down by Amazon, the book at one point ranked at #13,371 in sales.
The fanfic community is worried that Jareo's action will result in a crackdown on sites featuring amateur work. However, most industry observers think this is unlikely. Keith R.A. DeCandido, the author of many authorized licensed novels, wrote about Jareo on his blog and noted that fan fiction is not considered harmful to the bottom line of franchises. "I think it'll have a much bigger effect on POD publishers," he told PW. "Book distributors and book vendors now have to be more careful with the product they get from them."
