A tour of the genresI do not know, but they had better wake up because opportuni-
ties for new single-author, brand-name positions are being dimin-
ished by one of the most striking developments in publishing today:
the invasion of the media and game tie-in products.
Today a significant portion of SF/fantasy lists is devoted to books
connected to SF/fantasy movies, TV shows, role-playing games,
comic-book characters, and computer games. It is not hard to see
why. Media-related properties bring an instant audience. Their cost
of marketing is relatively low, making them attractive even where
absolute unit sales may be no better than those of individual
authors. It is an alarming trend.
What is most amazing is that authors are lining up to write these
tie-ins. Never mind that many of them are work-for-hire rip-offs with
low royalties attached. Those few series that have made their writ-
ers serious money, even at low royalty rates, are tempting others—
especially hungry newcomers.
To be fair, some writers want to write Star Trek and X-Files novels
because they love the shows. Many authors also legitimately need
the money. However, too many authors allow themselves to be
seduced for more insidious reasons: the ego boost, easy validation,
automatic status, less creative work to do.
The truth is that while certain work-for-hire assignments can pay
handsomely—indeed, 1 have a few clients who earn six-figure
incomes from such work—most of them do not repay authors more
than their own fiction would. Authors who do work-for-hire for ego
satisfaction alone are selling their own stores and opening fran-
chises for the large media giants. Ultimately, they are making others
rich at their own expense.
If I sound a little strident on this subject, it is for a good reason.
Publishing is one of the few entertainment sectors in which a lone
individual can turn himself or herself into a brand name. By embrac-
ing tie-ins, book publishers are giving away that birthright. They are
trading the power of authorship for easy profits. As a business we
are coming to depend on other media for our product, and that is
terribly shortsighted.
Fortunately, there is hope that this may be a temporary trend.
Not all media properties are well suited to novelization. Many tie-