janeaustentextposts:

Anyway, as I said, this was just a bit of fun. But unexpectedly it’s
gained a bit of a readership. And despite my repeated reminders that I’m
basically just editing the original text, people keep complimenting my
writing in a way which makes me wonder if they realise just how much of
the original text is presented as is. I’m not sure all of these people
have read the original text and would therefore recognise it. On top of
this … I did receive one comment implying that I shouldn’t bother to continue
writing as it is so similar to the original and they were disappointed
by the fic. Is it worth continuing this fic? People keep asking for more
but I feel really embarrassed by it now, like it’s false advertising,
even though I keep telling people it’s just the original text edited.
It’s in the public domain so I don’t really care about that … I’m just
embarrassed. What to do?

—

Keep writing it. If Seth Grahame-Smith can get a MOVIE deal for his stitched-together reworking of the text with zombies, I do not hesitate to insist that your variation has at LEAST equal merit (and very likely more.)

Interactions with text and fandom are vast and varied, and your reworking sounds like a refreshing perspective on a much-loved dynamic and story. Austen fans will re-read the original novels countless times, and there are sequels upon sequels and almost as many retellings out there, both traditionally published and among fan works.

If yours has gained a readership–there is a reason for that. If readers wished to re-read the original novel, it’s everywhere and nobody is stopping them. There is enough in your retelling which is original and interesting to draw an appreciative audience, and God knows queer representation in historical fiction (particuarly involving love stories which end happily,) is not something we can afford to pooh-pooh just yet. The market is so far from saturated it’s really more like that sponge in the back of the cleaning-cupboard that fell behind some other stuff and hasn’t been touched for five years. Which is to say–KEEP THE LESBIANS COMING. (So to speak.)

You received one comment, which, may I say…is not reasonable feedback.

You know what I do when I’m disappointed in something I’ve read? I close the tab and move on with my day. Unless there’s legitimate cause for particular outrage in some error, what possible purpose could such milquetoast criticism serve? You’ve been nothing but upfront about the structure of your retelling, and yet this person seems to have read the label on the tin which said SAUSAGE RAVIOLI and then opened it and now is stomping back to where they got it saying “How dare you sell me ravioli!? I want this business closed immediately!”

Call me paranoid after recent events on this blog, but my homophobe-senses are tingling, and it seems to me like perhaps someone who maybe isn’t entirely comfortable going the full Westboro still has enough of a bee in their bigot-bonnet to try and shut you down any way they can without quite coming out (you’ll pardon the term) and saying they want you to quit because they don’t want anything queer in their Austen.

You sound far too thoughtful in even your brief message to me here, anon, that I could imagine your version of P&P to be anything so slapdash as to be unenjoyable. People (plural) are longing for you to continue. One has been needlessly over-reactive to something which simply wasn’t for them.

You are not taking up anyone else’s space with your work (and it IS work, and it IS art. I’m no defender of the flaws in the text of P&P&Zombies but the worldbuilding is there, I don’t doubt it was a fond effort, and that means something.) You’re not holding anyone hostage, nor scribbling screeds of damaging text, nor wasting anybody’s time. You are creating your own part in something you love, using elements you’ve never seen incorporated before, and that is no small thing. Moreover, it moves readers to positive enthusiasm–likely because they’ve never seen such a thing before, either. I won’t say “you’d better finish your fic, because representation!” because it’s your own fic and your own choice and heavily pressuring fandom creators to create is never a healthy thing; and you already know all about representation’s importance, no doubt…but I will reassure you as many times as I need to that you and what you create with love for your fandom experience are entirely deserving of a seat at the table and having your story seen.

The place you are occupying already belongs to you, and it always did.