Daniel Handler’s Birthday- 2010

[Hermes]

I have a worry - there are potential legal issues with sending fanfiction to authors. A lot of authors refuse to read fanfiction of their own works, for fear that it may contain an idea similar to what they are working on, and they may then be sued for stealing the fanwriter's idea. My own feeling is that this turns on a misunderstanding, but nevertheless many authors feel that way. Does anyone know what Handler's attitude is? Has he been known to read fanfiction of his own works?

[Dante]

He's never outlined a position on fanfiction. We know he's looked at fansites, and there are the odd few bits of the books which you could read as being invitations to write fanfiction. That, and packages of fanfiction, fanart, and general tribute were what we sent him for most of the past few years, and we've heard no complaints. I will look into it, but for now I'd assume all's well. The sorts of authors who despise fanfiction tend to be pretty vocal about it.

[Hermes]

It's not a question of despising fanfiction. There are authors who say 'Fanfiction is fine but I do not want to see it'. (Though if we've sent him fanfiction before that seems to imply it's all right.)

[Vanja]

If you go with the fan-art idea, which I simply love, I want to write a fan-fiction if that's okay.

[Dante]

Don't worry, Hermes, I grasp the nuances of the situation. And Vanja, several of us are writing fanfiction - I have a pretty lengthy homage lined up, although everyone else will want to stay within about four pages.

By the way, in terms of the format in which we send this, I've thought of an idea that may appeal. Sending things by e-mail can mess with the formatting of text, and I think .pdfs are kind of awkward, although they're the next-best bet. But what about having all the submissions compiled in a thread on 667? I was thinking a formal DDocuments post, like the one in which last year's birthday card is stored; we send him the link in the framing letter. We can ensure that the formatting works, have the fanart displayed immediately, and on top of that, we'd know that Handler was visiting the forum to look at it!

[Emma “Emmz” Squalor]

Feb 4, 2010 4:43:07 GMT -5 Dante said:

Edit: Emma, as moderator of FFanwork, could you start sounding out individuals who might want to contribute art or stories?

Sure thing, Dante. I'll get right on it.

*EDIT*

Okay, I PM'd all of the artists and writers I could think of, so hopefully we'll be getting some more contributors soon.

*EDIT 2*

Dante: I think having us post our contributions in a single thread and sending him a link to it is the best way to go. That way, we'll have plenty of time to get our gifts ready, as well as not have to worry about him not receiving them by his birthday.

[MyKindEditor]

As I said before- could we not do a kind of electronic Sc rapBook? Each person does a page (not including fanfic) with art (if they wish to do it themselves- or comission someone) and a message or whatever they feel like sending Mr. Handler in apreciation? Then SherryAnn can put it together with a frontcover and a general 667 birthday wish then each individual page(s) and send it to him in pdf. format? Like erm... I big folder of birthday sentiment and fan dedication!

Reason for Editing: annoying SCRAPbook thing!

[Dante]

Sherry Ann's the organising force behind this, so we'll see what she thinks. At the moment, I think pasting the submissions into a single special thread or using a .pdf are the best ways to go about it. It depends on whether we get any musical or animated contributions. Emma, thanks for mobilising the troops!

[Christmas Chief]

The thread idea is perfect. As for the legal issue concerning Fanfiction- Handler knows it's a token of appreciation for his work, and by sending it to him we are accepting the risks of him taking the ideas as his own, which is incredibly unlikely seeing as he finished writing ASOUE almost four years ago.

[Dante]

I will look into the fanfiction issue, like I said, but for now assume it's not a problem. This is nothing we haven't done before.

So how about this for a plan: In a day or two, we start two special stickied Announcement threads - one in which people can submit the final copies of their fanfiction, fanart, or maybe even fanmusic, and one in which anyone who wants to can contribute the reason why they like aSoUE, adding their virtual signature to A Series of Dedicated Fans: The 667 Letters. Submissions can close on the 25th or so, and then we'll work out what order we want the submissions to appear in, write a framing letter, post the final arrangement in DDocuments and e-mail the framing letter (with link) to Daniel Handler.

[Christmas Chief]

Sounds good to me. Let's give one more day to work out final suggestions and ideas, and then I'll get the threads made. However I think someone who is skilled in the area of graphics and has the necessary software is going to have to add the signitures.

[Dante]

I did say "virtual" signatures; people can just put down how they want their name to be typed, and then we copy-paste it. Although if people want to do any signature-scanning like last year, that would be great! Especially on the fanart. But if you have a different idea, Sherry Ann, don't hesitate to bring it to the virtual table.

I agree, though, definitely give it another couple of days to make sure we've heard all ideas. PM me if there's any secret moderator power you want me to use, Sherry Ann.

[Christmas Chief]

Thanks, Dante. I get the two mixed up. Now, the front "cover" is where we're putting the reasons of why ASOUE is such a great book series, and the signitures, right?

[Dante]

Stuff like that is still sort of up in the air. I was seeing it like this:

• Fanart front cover (if we get a suitable candidate!);
  
• Framing letter in Snicket-ish style introducing the package, signed "667" probably;
  
• The "why we like aSoUE" tribute section;
  
• The various fanfics and pieces of art in some to-be-decided-upon sequence.

This is why we need a couple more days to decide on things, although for the fanartists and writers, right now it's a far simpler matter of "make something cool!" I'll be off now for the night; I'll return to this discussion tomorrow.

[Christmas Chief]

I think the fan products should be random: some fanart here, some fanfiction there, if we get any music then throw that in the mix. Just to avoid disputation.

I won't be here for the majoraty of tomorrow, but I think we have a pretty good idea of the things we need to consider. Layout, sequence, and format look like the biggest conflict at the moment, but even that should be a simple matter of agreement.

We have 23 days left; I think that's enough time to put something really Handler-worthy together.