January 23, 2008
Writer calls Melissa Marr a “Laurell K Hamilton knock-off”
Posted by Lindsay York Levack under Laurell K. Hamilton, Melissa Marr | Tags: books, faeries, news, oh_snap |A writer for STLtoday.com accuses Melissa Marr of “taking a page” from Laurell K. Hamilton.
Of course the cliche is that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ but where does flattery end and copyright infringement begin? The book’s jacket even looks like the photos on Hamilton’s books.
Another issue: A lot of parents might not think this series should be marketed to 12-year-olds, as it apparently will be. There’s a lot of difference between a 17-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl.
On the other hand, most of the popular series being marketed to teen girls seem to involve beauty, sex and lots of designer purses. Maybe fantasy tattoos and paranormal love interests are no worse. I’m not suggesting that books lead girls down the path to teen pregnancy. But with the sexualization of girls starting so young in all facets of culture, should parents speak up about what they see? Thoughts?
Yeah. I have a few. Thanks for asking.
1) READ Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely. Spot the differences. Here’s a clue: they’re not even close to the same. Hamilton’s faeries are sex-loving, multi-coloured fey. Marr’s faeries are not multi-coloured or sex-loving. They are dangerous, wicked, and power-hungry. Completely different. I don’t know how anyone who’s read Marr’s work could even dare suggested her ideas came from Hamilton’s. Do your homework before even thinking of making accusations.
2) OPEN your eyes to the fact that faeries have been written about since the Middle Ages. Hamilton was not the first to write about faeries living among us. She doesn’t own the rights to all faerie stories. Anyone is free to write about faeries, whether it’s a poem, short story or novel, and have their work published. Do your homework on faeries.
3) Authors have no say in what goes on the cover of their books. This is decided by the marketing and editorial departments. Do your homework on the book publishing business.
4) Accusations of copyright infringement are not buzz words to throw around to get a wider readership. Copyright infringement is taken very seriously in the publishing world, and look, you just accused a huge publishing company of committing a very serious act. Do your homework on copyright infringement.
5) You cannot own an idea. Ideas are nice, but it’s the execution that counts. You can put thirty people in a room and tell them all to write about faeries and they will all write something different. But they are not copying each other, and they are not stealing your idea because you suggested it.
Do your homework.
January 23, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Thank you for your words.
It’s hard to remember sometimes that many readers simply don’t realize that faery tales aren’t new. I’ve found that sorta surprising the past year plus. Just because some of us grew up with faery lore doesn’t mean that all readers did. When people say things like this, I find it helps me if I try to remember that.
Incidentally, I did actually have a voice in my cover–I picked the model. The cover matched the first one: both feature a female with an iconographic image that ties to the plot. The palate matches it as well. The the two UK covers match each other two–cityscapes with heightened use of warmer colours.
Interestingly, the idea that a fully clad, not sexualized girl with wings is similar to LKH’s covers does confuse me a bit. No bare midriff or legs, no scanty attire–instead it’s a face and upper back . . . Hmm. To each his/her own, I guess. I actually think it’s closest covers match in the US is Libba Bray’s latest (which I love) or the second book inthe Luxe series (also gorgeous–and fwiw, features the model from the WL cover). YA covers in the US of late often have a single iconic image or a girl–Libba Bray’s, Jen Barnes, the Luxe series, the re-release of the Midnighter’s series . . . It’s not that unusual.
Her take was interesting to read though. Thanks for pointing this out
Melissa
January 24, 2008 at 11:10 am
[...] of Laurell K Hamilton, posted a comment over at the original article, in response to my reaction here. Here it is for your convenience: The cover of the teen book is very similar to Hamilton’s [...]
January 28, 2008 at 5:55 pm
[...] K Hamilton Knock-Off for Teens” at StLouisToday.com and then comes here with “Writer calls Melissa Marr a ‘Laurell K Hamilton Knock-Off’“, continues in the comments, and on to another post here “St Louis Writer Writes [...]
January 29, 2008 at 10:33 am
[...] with “Laurell K Hamilton Knock-Off for Teens” at StLouisToday.com and then comes here with “Writer calls Melissa Marr a ‘Laurell K Hamilton Knock-Off’“, continues in the comments, and on to another post here “St Louis Writer Writes Back” and [...]
January 29, 2008 at 11:17 am
[...] with “Laurell K Hamilton Knock-Off for Teens” at StLouisToday.com and then comes here with “Writer calls Melissa Marr a ‘Laurell K Hamilton Knock-Off’“, continues in the comments, and on to another post here “St Louis Writer Writes Back” and [...]