Well, there's my fail of an attempt at a humorous title. But with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child out and ready to read, three more short stories being announced, and The Trials of Apollo having released a few months ago, I find many of my friends are calling sell out and that Rowling and Riordan should have left well enough alone.
Which brings me to my new question: Is an author really milking a series when they come out with some sort of spin-off?
Others:
BLASPHEMY!
(Oh face it, you all know this gif by heart XD)
Don't kill me just yet, I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. But I do have a confession to make: whenever I hear people say that people are exploiting their own series, I legitimately get confused, angry, disappointed, and sad, all at the same time.
Sometimes its clear when authors are just making stuff up to get their money's worth. But other times, we all have to ask ourselves this question: if any of us wrote a bestselling series, and we loved that series with all our hearts, wouldn't we want to write more stuff about our universes? Wouldn't we love to explore the world that we created even further?
As for Rowling, in her defense, she has a website dedicated to the universe that she created. In order for that website to be used by many people as it is now, she has to come up with new material to keep it fresh and new. And while it may seem tired for some of us, a new generation (possibly) is eating it right up because they get even more material than what they were introduced to and interested in. When you really think about it, when was the last time an author created a successful website related to their series? When you dig deeper, Pottermore is most well-known and recognizable. (If there are any others, feel free to prove me wrong. XD)
Edit (08-22-2022): W O W, has this aged poorly. Reminder that I wrote this in 2016, well before any of the bullshit surrounding her got out. I could get rid of this tidbit, but honestly, it's a goddamn Time Capsule on how much of an a pass I was willing to give her as a creator and how idiotic that was to be honest.
Rick Riordan, he has written primarily about Percy Jackson's world. And while I do agree with the fact that he really hasn't done anything outside of PJO, (if you're wondering about Kane Chronicles, it eventually had a crossover with PJO, and the main character in the Magnus Chase series is Annabeth's cousin), he's still expanding the universe that he created. And to be perfectly honest, while I don't think that the stuff he created after Percy Jackson is perfect, its still something good and readable. But that just my opinion on the books. I mainly treat the majority of the books that came out after the original series as spinoffs at this point so maybe that's why my expectations aren't that high.
I know I'm not speaking for every author out there when I say all this but try putting yourself in their shoes for a minute. They love the universes and characters that they created way more than we probably do. For some, its practically their whole life.
Probably a bit short and I'll add more when I get more to talk about. But really though, I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, and I'm not getting angry. It's just something that I have noticed and thought I'd throw in my two cents.
Holy crap, its really windy outside my house. And its like 22 degrees Celsius outside. Anyway, just to remind everyone, I have entered Mysterious Fates and Shoot for the Sky, Where the Stars Live into the Wattys! So be sure to spread the word and all that shiz.
Anyway, what's your opinion on this topic? Comment below and let me know! :D