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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PaulKemp" data-source="post: 5099841" data-attributes="member: 2809">*smoke and brimstone.  Kemp materializes.*WHO HAS SUMMONED ME!?  Oh, it's you.  Well, I guess that's okay, then.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I'm not sure what I can add.  I stand by the position that generalizing about the quality of tie-in fiction is misplaced.  It's difficult to change folks minds about this, especially if they're dug into a position, so I don't go at this with the same zeal I once did.  Still, I suppose I can say a couple things, based on my own experience.  First, I haven't seen any issues with tie-in fiction that select for lower quality writers ex ante.  Publishing professionals are the gatekeepers of quality for both tie-in and non tie-in lines and the incentive in both cases is to select writers who will produce quality fiction so that it is more likely to sell well in the marketplace.    In support of this:  Consider that there is a lot of overlap and movement of professionals between tie in and non-tie in lines.  I could name many, but two editors jump to mind because I've corresponded with both recently:  Marc Gascoigne and Christian Dunn both edited Warhammer novels for Black Library (Christian is doing so again, I believe), but both also edited (or are currently editing) non-tie in lines. Solaris for Christian, and Angry Robot for Marc.   I think both would tell you that moving from one line to another (and back again) did nothing to affect their standards.  They're still looking for and signing writers they deem talented.  In both cases, they have an enormous pool of potential authors to choose from and so can afford to be selective.Consider too that there is considerable overlap across tie-in and non-tie-in lines not only among editors but also among authors:  Dan Abnett, RA Salvatore, Weiss and Hickman, Christie Golden, James Lowder, Ari Marmell, and I could go on for a very long time, have all written both tie-in and non-tie-in novels.  Certainly the talent level of these authors doesn't fluctuate depending upon whether they're writing tie-in or non-tie in.In my case, I've had a few non-tie-in short stories published in anthologies but that's it.  Of course, that's primarily because I hadn't written much outside of the lines to which I contributed (like everyone, my time is limited).  When I did, however, and circulated my non-tie-in novel to literary agents, I had over a dozen of them offering representation.  Presumably they deemed the work of a high enough quality that it warranted them trying to sell it (still hasn't sold yet, though; natch). Moreover, my novels are reviewed very favorably by and at many of the same sites that review non-tie-in novels.  Unless those reviewers are grading on a curve (and I have no reason to think they are), they apparently deem my novels the equal of the non-tie-in novels they review.  Here's a link to many such reviews, should you be interested:  <a href="http://www.paulskemp.com/id13.html" target="_blank">Reviews of Paul's novels</a> .A final thought:  While it's true that tie-in writers sometimes operate under different constraints than non-tie-in writers, it's often easy for those looking in from the outside to outsize the effect of those constraints.  Some lines probably have considerable creative constraints, but those I've written in do not.  The creative constraints I've experienced typically go something like this:  Editor: "Write a story about your character, Erevis Cale, okay?"  Me:  "Okay."  In other words, I've always been able to tell the stories I wanted to tell, featuring the themes I've wanted to feature, and doing so through the eyes of characters that I've created.   Any constraints associated with the lines in which I've written have been purely theoretical.  I've never bumped up against them. There's been no heavy hand of a brand manager or beancounter requiring this or that.   And in any event I think a quality writer can tell a great story irrespective of the constraints of the setting/line.  All writing takes place within a set of constraints, whether its self-imposed or imposed from the outside.  A skilled writer can spin a great tale within the bounds of those constraints.One final thing in response to a point raised in another post:  The idea that an author writing tie-in doesn't love his/her story, characters, and/or the setting is both offensive and, frankly, ignorant.  I don't know any author who fits that description.  Certainly I do not.  I only write in settings that I love, and rest assured I have high regard for my characters and stories.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  In fact, I strive with every book I write to earn new readers and re-earn the loyalty of my established readers.  You can't do that by slapping words on the page.  No one I know phones it in.  You wouldn't last long in the business if you did.</blockquote>

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