It's November time and this month we're tackling the wonderful world of fanfiction. With the highly anticipated release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we celebrate the wonderful world of Harry Potter as well as give out advice on how to...
Last month we asked you to nominate your FanFiction stories in need of a cover makeover.
Our chosen entry was from MadameTango, for her story Emerald. Here's what she had to say about her story:
I'm about to start writing the story again and relaunch it. I love the cover it has but I think it needs something new. Emerald is the fanfiction you have when you don't have a fan fiction—it blends the worlds of both Marvel and Norse Mythology, and also takes its own path into fantasy. I need a cover that reflects that.
The blurb for Emerald reads:
Caitlin Errikkson is a normal 20 something Australian actress. Her family comes from western NSW and are pretty crazy, but that's normal right? Mmm maybe not! Her Dad Tony is hiding a secret, and it's one that will affect Caitlin in so many ways. And of course it's a secret that chooses the worst possible time to reveal itself: Cait's first trip Australian Television's night of nights—The Logies. You see she's about to meet the ultimate in tall, dark and handsome, and to make it even more interesting he's from out of town. Way out of town?? The planet of Asgard............
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The Briefing
Emerald is a FanFiction partly set in the Marvel universe and the main character is a (fictional) actress.
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No real world celebrities feature in the story, although Madame Tango intentionally cast Tom Hiddleston as 'Loki' in the story. In line with this, I felt it was more than okay to represent the story without utilising his likeness as is done in her original cover. (A FanFic about Tom himself would be a different matter, however.) My main reason for this is licensing and legal issues; I work really hard to stick with legitimate stock I have either purchased or have explicit permission to use. You're unlikely to get sued for sticking a celebrity on your cover here on Wattpad, but outside of these tangerine pages it's just really, really not worth taking the risk.
Another reason I ventured away from using Tom Hiddleston on the cover (even if I purchased the rights to use his image/likeness), is that the story itself is about Loki—a fictional character—not the actor himself. While using a celebrity in one of their iconic roles for your FanFic cover can be great way to connect with your reader, you run the risk of mis-branding your story. For example, in this instance a Marvel Universe FanFic vs. a Tom Hiddleston FanFic.
Remember that you want your cover to instantly tell your reader what kind of story is inside, so be clear and concise with your image choices.
Aside from the use of Tom, there are a couple of other features on the original cover that jumped to my attention:
• The imagery of the lights, cameras and red carpet give the impression that this is a story about fame, rather than a modern/magical realism Fantasy story focused on Norse Mythology
