Naomi Novik ([info]naominovik) wrote,
@ 2007-12-12 22:34:00
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Entry tags:otw

Organization for Transformative Works
Yes, so, this is one reason among others ("others" including struggling on towards the end of book 5 -- not quite there yet, but getting close) why I have been scarce and quiet of late:

The Organization for Transformative Works

Our shiny new website, written and revised and designed and built by the work of a great many incredibly talented fans, says it all better and in more detail than I can, but here's the basics: the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is a nonprofit organization established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fanculture in its myriad forms. I myself have been and am a fan long before I am a pro, and the community of fan creators in particular is really in many ways my home. I believe deeply that transformative work enriches both those who do it and those who inspire it, and I am so very excited about this project.

If you like what you see, and you're interested in following along on future updates, we have a whole slew of places you can watch: mailing list, del.icio.us account, Twitter channel, and the [info]otw_news community, which is mirrored on LJ, on GreatestJournal, InsaneJournal, and JournalFen. The website announcement and our first newsletter are both up now in all those places, with details on our various projects and what's going on right now.

Hopefully some of you here may be interested in fanwork and fanfic yourselves, and find common ground with the org and want to get involved -- please do join us!

(also, yay, boingboinged! \o/)


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[info]marthawells
2007-12-13 03:39 am UTC (link)
Yay! The site looks great.

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[info]denyse
2007-12-13 03:50 am UTC (link)
Congrats on that, and looks like a nice site! It's great that you still support fanfic! Also, just read your 4th book, and wanted to congratulate you on that too. BTW, don't know if you'll spot this comment or anything like that, but we used to hang out at Brown (mostly at the CIT) and I'd actually been hoping to get back in touch with you for years since you disappeared off to the frozen north of Edmonton - then recently found out you'd become a famous author! If you see this, feel free to comment on my LJ - and I will detail who I actually am and stuff. (not a crazy fan or stalker, honest)

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[info]lovecraftienne
2007-12-13 04:17 am UTC (link)
How incredibly fortuitous the timing - I've just spent the day at an ER with my partner, happily escaping with first Black Powder War and latterly Empire of Ivory - and in the process, was imagining fertile areas for fanfic of this delightful world you've created. Thinking of how many other conflicts and stories might be interestingly updated to include a world that has dragons in't.

I wanted, also, to make my fangirl squee over reading the afterword in BPW, and finding a fellow Chandler fan. Finding a pristine copy of his great book was one of my best-ever eBay finds. :)

I have, btw, after I finish EoI tonight, managed to rip through all four in about eleven days. It's been some time since a series did that to me; bravissima, author! :)

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[info]bravecows
2007-12-13 04:30 am UTC (link)
Hurrah! *throws cap in air*

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[info]solar_cat
2007-12-13 04:38 am UTC (link)
Yay! I was hoping that progress was being made on this project; it's so exciting! =D Thank you so much for your continuing support of fandom - it really means a lot. <3

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Please?
[info]ladyfox7oaks
2007-12-13 05:10 am UTC (link)
Do you mind if I link/cross-post/ point people over here and to that site on my own journal? there are a few more writer types and quite a few fanfic authors on my f-list who might be interested...

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Re: Please?
[info]neery
2007-12-13 09:30 am UTC (link)
I'm in no way officially speaking for [Bad username: naominovik'] or anything, but from having been around her journal for quite some time, I'm sure that she'd be happy for you to point as many people to the OTW's site or this announcement as you can! This project is only going to take off if a lot of fans participate, after all.

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Re: Please?
[info]ladyfox7oaks
2007-12-13 04:56 pm UTC (link)
Oh thank you!
Cause,- to tell the truth, I went right ahead and did just that, figuring I could delete the post if I had been too free and stepped on toes...

And actually- it has sparked some interesting discussion on how things would work and what might happen.
(And a couple of raised eyebrows at the comment on the site about the writer's being "predominantly female", cause really- why should gender make any difference? Quite a few of the writers I know are male...)

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Re: Please?
[info]whetherwoman
2007-12-13 06:09 pm UTC (link)
I think it's interesting to make the point that most transformative writers are female because most professional writers, especially movie/TV writers, are male. For me, it raises the question of why male writers get paid and female writers get sued. More in general, mentioning gender makes a difference because like it or not, we live in a gendered world and ignoring gender differences tends to increase inequality rather than reduce it.

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Re: Please?
[info]ladyfox7oaks
2007-12-13 06:24 pm UTC (link)
Ah, see- most of my library (at least off the top of my head,) is stuff from Anne McCaffrey, and Mercedes Lackey, J.K. Rowling, and Elizabeth Scarborough, (With the occasional guilty pleasure of Nora Roberts thrown in...) so my brain didn't even think of that...

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Re: Please?
[info]naominovik
2007-12-13 09:43 pm UTC (link)
Glad you jumped ahead -- yes, thank you, please do!

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Re: Please?
[info]ladyfox7oaks
2007-12-13 10:03 pm UTC (link)
Thank you!
There's some very interesting conversations being sparked by this, both on my LJ and on that of a few friends.

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[info]foxfeather
2007-12-13 07:27 am UTC (link)
Very neat idea, thanks for sharing! :)

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[info]lizbee
2007-12-13 07:50 am UTC (link)
That's a great site -- sleek, professional, and very much needed these days. I hope the OTW goes on to do great things.

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[info]stormheller
2007-12-13 12:06 pm UTC (link)
Congratulations and thank you.

~ Stormy Stormheller
Duet Press

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[info]nolly
2007-12-13 07:31 pm UTC (link)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying "fan creators" and the like instead of "fandom". I'm so very tired of seeing the word "fandom" redefined to mean "people who create fan art (writing/vids/etc.)".

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[info]fancyspinner
2007-12-13 07:43 pm UTC (link)
you are a gift to the pro writing community -- and beyond price for fans. thank you!

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[info]b1u3too
2007-12-18 02:25 am UTC (link)
Smexy. =D Thanks for support of us little smugglers who like building on other ideas. =D *shifty eyes*
Almost makes me wanna pull that Drakengard series back out of its grave and finish it off. =D

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[info]unbonded_warder
2007-12-19 07:41 am UTC (link)
It is awesome that you're willing to forward a cause like this. Too many published writers and their publishers are unaware or feel threatened by such works. I hadn't realized that you began from fan works; I have just begun to feel up to starting a completely original project for publication, after realizing my skills have improved from years of writing as a hobby.

I do raise an eyebrow at "We value our identity as a predominantly female community with a rich history of creativity and commentary." That's a statement about your membership that will unnecessarily deter many males from supporting you (and there are a LOT of us out there). Think about how you would respond when facing a group with an all-male board of directors whose literature proclaimed it was "predominantly male." Why push people away?

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