The Pros and Cons of Writing Tie-In Fiction

Tie-in fiction is, generally speaking, fiction that is based in an existing universe. Whether it's the Star Wars extended universe novels, the books concerning the adventures of Drizzt Do'urden in the Forgotten Realms, or even video game novels for those who read the series based on Doom in the 90s, all of these are tie-in fiction because even if the characters and plots are unique to the author, the world they take place in is still not their own intellectual property.

It's something I'm passingly familiar with.

While I'm no stranger to writing tie-in fiction with stories like The Irregulars and Devil's Night in Pathfinder's Golarion universe, or my tales Almost and Waking Dogs for Warhammer 40K, it is something I'm considering increasing my efforts on in the future. And for those who are thinking on doing the same, I thought I'd take this week to talk about some of the pros and cons these projects come with... especially for folks thinking about trying their hand at their own.

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Because everything has pros and cons to it.

Let's start with the good things, shall we?

First and foremost, one of the biggest benefits of writing tie-in fiction is that a lot of the major aspects of the world and setting are already taken care of for you. Everything from how magic works (or doesn't), to what species exist, to what important world events have happened on the timeline are already part of the world structure. As a creator you don't have to wrack your brain doing all that heavy lifting and world building because it has, for the most part, already been handled for you. All you need to do is take this big bucket of ideas and setting, and tell a story using the tools provided.

As someone who has been doing so much professional world building this year that I wrote 5 Tips For Creating Fantasy Towns and Cities just to share some of my insights, I can appreciate projects that have the foundation laid for me.

The other major benefit of tie-in fiction is that it comes with a pre-selected audience of readers. Whether the story is set in a comic book universe, features a video game tie-in, or it's based in an RPG setting, fans of that universe/property are more likely to check it out. People love the familiar, and it is a lot easier to get people to read something in a familiar setting, or even with familiar characters, than it is to get them to invest time, energy, and cost into an untested universe.

But what about the downsides?

There are downsides to tie-in fiction, too.

Because large aspects of the world are already set in stone, it can limit your options as a storyteller. You often can't change too much in the way of a setting's magic or technology, for instance, and you have to respect the timeline and world events as they're established. This can make certain kinds of stories impossible to write in a given setting, and it may discourage you from certain tones and genre notes as well, which can be frustrating.

Perhaps an even bigger frustration, though, is when it comes to who is allowed to write tie-in fiction, who isn't, and under what circumstances.

For example, you can usually write fiction for established settings as long as you aren't directly making a profit off of it. I say usually because companies can still sweep in and hit you with a Cease & Desist any time you use their intellectual property without permission, though this often becomes a matter of optics and practicality rather than finances when creators are doing things just for fun, or when their work is increasing engagement with a property. This isn't an issue with properties in the public domain (things like Norse mythology, Arthurian legend, and characters like the Scarlet Pimpernel or the Phantom of The Opera), which is why you see so many different takes on those older works. Lastly, if a setting has a community content program then anyone who follows the established rules can write stories in that setting and get paid for them.

I wrote more about those in Community Content Programs For RPGs Are Another Avenue For Authors to Get Paid, for those who want a more in-depth look at how they work.

Will It Work For You?

The real question, at the end of the day, is whether writing tie-in fiction is going to be a net plus for you as a creator. And the answer unfortunately is... it depends on your goals?

Whether you want to use free tie-in fiction to draw attention to yourself as a creator in hopes that readers check out your original content, or you want to use the pre-built audience in order to sell copies of something made through a community content platform, the specifics are going to vary based on what you're trying to do, how active the community is, and just how big the desire for your particular type of tie-in is.

At the end of the day, it's a roll of the die. And while that die might come up a one, it could also come up a 20... you won't know if you don't try!

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That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

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