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Omnific began life in the Twilight fandom, with the explicit intention of publishing ‘filed’ fanfiction – stories with names, settings and other pertinent details changed to avoid plagiarism. They still actively solicit filed fanfiction in their FAQ, unlike most publishers.
Q: I have a fanfiction story about Ross and Rachel in Friends. Can I publish it through Omnific?
A: No. We do not publish fanfiction. What you can do is take anything that is your original idea (plot, characterization, etc.) and develop it into a manuscript using original characters that are your own creation.
Rumours have started circulating recently that SMeyer is unhappy about it all, but isn’t currently taking action. I’d take that with a huge pinch of salt, but it’s not surprising there’s a rumour, at least.
Now, as long as the fanfiction is sufficiently well filed, they’re not doing anything illegal. But what would happen if something wasn’t well filed? Say, in a fandom the editors aren’t sufficiently familiar with to realise the novel still contained large elements of the original source (for example, an original story about Barry, Ron and Persephone attending wizard school). By inviting filed fanfiction, they’re also inviting close scrutiny from rights holders.
On top of that, it’s extremely hard to do well. If your characterisation is good, then the characters are behaving in ways consistent with their backgrounds and surroundings. Change their back stories and setting and you need to change the characterisation, which will change the plot. At which point, well, why are you bothering? It’s more work editing than it would be to write something brand new. Trying to find an excuse for the ex-X-men to have powers vital to the plot that aren’t due to genetic mutation and don’t give away who they originally were is a good mental exercise but not something that makes me inclined to plow through 100k looking for every mention of ice or super speed. Honestly, I’m not against the process, I’m just against it being done badly, and frankly I’m too lazy to do it well!
The other issue is one Omnific are obviously fine with, but most publishers wouldn’t be. If the filed story is still sufficiently similar to the original that fans recognise it, has it used up first rights? That’s the issue that makes me very wary about finding this on a the website of a professional organisation. If you’ve got something on the hard drive you never uploaded, great, but something well read and recommended in the fandom? Hell, how do you know the editor your subbing to won’t recognise it? Well, I guess you sub to Omnific.
If you’re wondering how common the practice is, authors who’ve admitted to it (according to fanlore) include Sharon Bowers, BL Miller, Melissa Good and Alexis Rogers. And, of course, JJ Massa, who was caught filing the serial numbers off someone else’s fanfic.
Anyway, what’re your thoughts? Is it possible to produce a good original story this way? Is it ethical? Is it inevitably recognisable?
