Author "punishes" readers for copyright violation breach

[Selena_Kitt]

Only 165 of her readers signed a petition for her to finish the fifth book. :x

 

[drksideofthemoon]

"I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on "Midnight Sun," and so it is on hold indefinitely."

I know exactly how she feels. I have to be in a certain frame of mind when writing, and if something changes I can't write. Well, I can write, but it's just not worth reading.

Meyer said the draft that was released on the Internet was incomplete with messy and flawed writing but she was making this draft available to everyone to be a fair and because it added a new dimension to the "Twilight" story.

I'm confused. Is she making the draft to the 5th book available online?

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I'm confused. Is she making the draft to the 5th book available online?

Yeah, it was released on the sly, without her permission, but after it got leaked, she made it available on her website so everyone could see it, since it was already out there anyway.

 

[Belegon]

I know of the series...

I wonder, if the reaction was highly negative, if she is actually wanting to do a rewrite and just really made a poor excuse for doing so?

Frightfully mishandled if that is the case. Petulant and childish in any case.

 

[buxxxom]

This is likely to be an upopular opinion on this thread, but oh, well. I have read the books, all four of them, plus her other novel, The Host. I initially began reading because my oldest daughter, herself a voracious reader, was devouring them. I found them entertaining and an easy summer read. I can easily see the appeal to teen girls. I am sorry that she feels the need to delay indefinitely the release of the final book of the series due to these circumstances. I am of the opinion that any book that gets kids reading is a good one, and the more they read, they'll be able to form their own opinions on what they like. As for it being about Mormon vampires, it just doesn't matter to me. The book is what it is. I can like or not. I can read it or not.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Buxxom, that opinion is shared by thousands of her readers.

They just don't like it, if I've read the spoilers correctly, that this very smart, deeply romantic, young woman turns into a baby factory for her vamp-- and his brother...

That won't go down well with most of our young adult population.

 

[fieryjen]

Yeah, it was released on the sly, without her permission, but after it got leaked, she made it available on her website so everyone could see it, since it was already out there anyway.

Sounds like a lot of celebrity sex tapes, now that I think about it.

I haven't been able to write in a few months either because of an event I perceived as jarring, writing-wise. So to some degree I understand the way she might be feeling right now as well, and why she might not be able to write. Then again, I don't understand why, with a finished draft, she had to come out with this dramatic statement right away instead of waiting a little while and seeing whether it gets better before giving her fans such a shock. That's why I thought the anger/bruised ego might be responsible for this instead of writer's block.

 

[buxxxom]

Buxxom, that opinion is shared by thousands of her readers.

They just don't like it, if I've read the spoilers correctly, that this very smart, deeply romantic, young woman turns into a baby factory for her vamp-- and his brother...

That won't go down well with most of our young adult population.

I don't remember a possible pregnancy by the brother being part of the story, nor do I remember any promise of further babies being born. I'll have to go back and check.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Buxxom, that opinion is shared by thousands of her readers.

They just don't like it, if I've read the spoilers correctly, that this very smart, deeply romantic, young woman turns into a baby factory for her vamp-- and his brother...

That won't go down well with most of our young adult population.

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh spoiler spoiler!!!!!!

*covering ears* I'm not listening!!!!!!

 

[3113]

IShe had better write and publish all she can before people realize how bad she really is.

Only 165 of her readers signed a petition for her to finish the fifth book.

Um...I think they realized, Boota.

 

[3113]

That won't go down well with most of our young adult population

Bad, Stella! Bad! Didn't you read the first page of posts? Selena didn't want to know the "happy" ending! Bad, Stella! No spankings for you.

 

[CWatson]

Wow, 3113, that's harsh. Withholding of spankings? Remind me never to cross you.

I actually haven't read any of these books, though they come with high recommendations from some of my friends. The major critiques I've heard are that the author apparently doesn't understand what makes actual relationships work--besides, you know, sparkly vampire beauty. So, not my cup of tea.

You learn something new about your friends every day, I guess.

(Not to mention that I look at the Applied Phlebotinum in the series and go, "Jeez, didn't I used to write that crap?" Only, I realized it was crap later, and changed it. Looks like Meyer hasn't gotten that far along yet.)

 

[3113]

Wow, 3113, that's harsh. Withholding of spankings? Remind me never to cross you. :eel:

You've got to take away privledges that matter or they'll never learn.

 

[CWatson]

I was in a bookstore and I tried opening the first book in a random place and reading it.

I got about one page in before the bad prose and dialogue made me feel nauseous.

I wish I were joking about this.

 

[3113]

I got about one page in before the bad prose and dialogue made me feel nauseous.

You know, there are books you read as a young teen that you think are wonderful; years later you re-read them and, hey, they are wonderful or pretty good...and then there are others that you re-read and wonder: "What *was* I thinking?"

But I don't think good prose and dialogue are what readers were after here. Certain popular television and soap shows have terrible stories and dialogue, and people still adore them because the characters hit just that right nerve.

What I wonder, however, is how the draft of this book got leaked on the internet. I know it's all too easy, but surely Meyers and her publishers/editors have some idea of who could have gotten their hands on it and done such a thing. I mean, an unknown author I can understand if they've no idea. But a big name author like Meyers, who had big release parties at bookstores and such...wouldn't they keep her manuscripts tighter under wraps till publication?

 

[Ssunstorm]

This is likely to be an upopular opinion on this thread, but oh, well. I have read the books, all four of them, plus her other novel, The Host. I initially began reading because my oldest daughter, herself a voracious reader, was devouring them. I found them entertaining and an easy summer read. I can easily see the appeal to teen girls. I am sorry that she feels the need to delay indefinitely the release of the final book of the series due to these circumstances. I am of the opinion that any book that gets kids reading is a good one, and the more they read, they'll be able to form their own opinions on what they like. As for it being about Mormon vampires, it just doesn't matter to me. The book is what it is. I can like or not. I can read it or not.

I'm a librarian and i love the series because it gets kids reading. It may not be a classic, but teens who hate reading are hard to reach! Show them it can be fun and enjoyable. These kind of books do that. I'm with you. They're a quick, fun read and if thats all you want, they work!

 

[Stella_Omega]

I'm a librarian and i love the series because it gets kids reading. It may not be a classic, but teens who hate reading are hard to reach! Show them it can be fun and enjoyable. These kind of books do that. I'm with you. They're a quick, fun read and if thats all you want, they work!

I agree, but I hate it -- not that they're reading crap, but that they get praised for reading crap, and that the authors get rewarded for producing crap. Read, read-- just don't nominate these books for "best of the year" awards, like that reeking Lord Of The Rings fanfic "Eregon."

Back in the '70's, I got an illiterate boyfriend reading, via x-rated comics...

He became a comics artist, and was pretty well-known, I think. But he never really learned to read.

 

[CWatson]

What I wonder, however, is how the draft of this book got leaked on the internet. I know it's all too easy, but surely Meyers and her publishers/editors have some idea of who could have gotten their hands on it and done such a thing. I mean, an unknown author I can understand if they've no idea. But a big name author like Meyers, who had big release parties at bookstores and such...wouldn't they keep her manuscripts tighter under wraps till publication?

In the article / press-release / whathaveyou, Meyer says she knows. A beta-reader leaked it, and she says she can tell because each beta-reader got a slightly-different copy.

Still, this final novel isn't really a final novel: it's just the Special Edition of the first novel, now told from the male lead's viewpoint instead. The ending's already been spoiled; there's only so much she can say about it, you know?

Read, read-- just don't nominate these books for "best of the year" awards, like that reeking Lord Of The Rings fanfic "Eregon."

If you think that's bad, don't ever EVER EVER read The Sword of Shannara. It's just Tolkien with different names: you can tell which character Terry Brooks is ripping off merely by how and when they enter the story. ("Ah, a human character who befriends our heroes on their way. Is he a prince or king in disguise? Gee, how'd I guess.") The irony is that Brooks was praised at the time for penning such a splendid example of Epic Fantasy.

 

[Boota]

Um...I think they realized, Boota.

Good point. I get more hate mail than that.

 

[Stella_Omega]

In the article / press-release / whathaveyou, Meyer says she knows. A beta-reader leaked it, and she says she can tell because each beta-reader got a slightly-different copy.

Still, this final novel isn't really a final novel: it's just the Special Edition of the first novel, now told from the male lead's viewpoint instead. The ending's already been spoiled; there's only so much she can say about it, you know?

She's writing her own fanfic?

If you think that's bad, don't ever EVER EVER read The Sword of Shannara. It's just Tolkien with different names: you can tell which character Terry Brooks is ripping off merely by how and when they enter the story. ("Ah, a human character who befriends our heroes on their way. Is he a prince or king in disguise? Gee, how'd I guess.") The irony is that Brooks was praised at the time for penning such a splendid example of Epic Fantasy.

There are a million unwanted copies of it in the used bookstores...

 

[Corylea]

Back in the '70's, I got an illiterate boyfriend reading, via x-rated comics...

*laugh* God, that's brilliant!

 

[manyeyedhydra]

I agree, but I hate it -- not that they're reading crap, but that they get praised for reading crap, and that the authors get rewarded for producing crap. Read, read-- just don't nominate these books for "best of the year" awards, like that reeking Lord Of The Rings fanfic "Eregon."

Back in the '70's, I got an illiterate boyfriend reading, via x-rated comics...

He became a comics artist, and was pretty well-known, I think. But he never really learned to read.

Story-telling vs. good writing. They get there, but it ain't necessarily pretty how they tell it (cf. Rowling).

Eragon was indeed awful. So awful they even made a film out of it

But the author was smart. He got Daddy to publish it and generated enough hype to sell the book (and idiots like me who should have known better to buy it). All the other people who wrote better boy-and-his-dragon stories sent them off to agents and publishing houses where they even now rot without ever seeing the light of day.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

This should be called what not to do as a writer.

But, then, I don't write vampire stuff.

I find mythology much more interesting, particularly where some philosophy and mysticism might be worked into it. But, then, I'm a Stoic and a pagan. What do I know? I suspect that one looks well enough, there are hints of my classical, Greco-Roman ideals in them.

 

[3113]

She's writing her own fanfic?

Yep. That's what it sounds like. Maybe that's why the fans are so angry?

There are a million unwanted copies of it in the used bookstores...

Ah, the Sword of Shannara. The god-awful Tolkien clone that started this mess.

You see, Children, after Tolkien hit it big, many good writers were inspired and started writing some amazing fantasy books of their own. Had they been allowed to go on, fantasy *might* have grown up in much the way that Science Fiction has, with many rich directions to it.

Which, yes, it does have now, but it got derailed and delayed in its development for a while thanks to the Sword there. The book was a publisher's creation. They said, "Lord of the Rings is hugely popular. Let's put out a book *just like it* and take advantage of all those Tolkien fans." They hired Terry Brooks to do just that. Packaged in hardback with paintings by the Brother Hildebrandt (artists that were doing Tolkien calendars and, at the time, popular themselves). The book was a huge best seller. It launched Terry Brooks career (and trapped him doing Shannana books ever after), while starting a stampede in publishing to publish Tolkien clones.

Which then became popular and created writers who wrote clones of those. And created writers who wrote clones of those....*sigh*