Many of you have e-mailed us over the last week asking for us to comment on the leaked chapters of Midnight Sun. We have refrained from posting anything about the leak until we had some official comment about it from Stephenie Meyer or Little Brown. Tonight Stephenie updated her web page to let all of her fans know what was going on and what this means for the future of the book. You can read her official statement here.
Stephenie Addresses Midnight Sun Leak
August 29, 2008 By
What makes me feel sick almost is how much work was put into this manuscript. 260 plus pages… countless houts of Stephenie Meyer giving up her time, her efforts, her creative energy, everything…and all for nothing now! Sometimes I feel that the internet has done nothing but allow people do become heinous jerks under the anomity that the internet provides. All I can say is that as a devoted fan, I feel horrible that this book will not be released. The release of Breaking Dawn was bittersweet for me, but I knew that Midnight Sun would be released eventually. I think the people who did this need nothing more than to get an actual LIFE! I hope Stephenie can find it within herself to return to the Twilight Universe one day. My deepest sympathies to her, and my sincere thanks for all she has done already.
Oh my god. This can’t be happening. She will NEVER have Midnight Sun published? I refuse to believe that! :’[
I was so eager to read it…
How could anyone do this? They have ruined this for all of her fans and worst of all, they have completly ruined it for Stephenie!! They have possibly taken one of the best authors away from us!!! And if Mrs. Meyer ever reads this… I respect whatever decision you make. People have taken your wonderful stories for granted and now we may never get to see the rest! So sorry
By trade I’m a lurker, not much into posting, but very grateful for the time and dedication you guys put into your site. This is a very sad day, but I agree with some who’ve said they will not read the manuscript.
Stephenine, I support your rights to publish and distribute on your own timeline. If you were waiting for that beautifully bound Midnight Sun than that is exactly what I’m gonna do, even if it never comes. These are your characters, and I respect your control of them (not to say that you’re horrible if you do read the post from her website, I just feel strongly that Midnight Sun, her time, her way will be worth the wait)
okay Im not going to lie. I did read Midnight sun before it was on stephenie’s website. I’m not exactly proud that I did but I am also not afraid to say that I did either.
she is being melodramatic.
i just adore the twilight series and all the characters that were involved.
sure she put so much input of herself for so many years–so much that this was one hectic year for her–touring, release of breaking dawn, movie, etc..
but she has to realize that she isn’t writing for herself anymore–but for all the fans who followed her beloved literature for so many years.
she’s being quite immature by just saying “you want the draft? FINE! HERE is the link. i’m done.” she should just get over herself and finish the book like a grownup. she’s not the only author on earth that this has happened to. i.e. jk rowling.
ridiculous.
i think she will finish it, someday. i did start reading it, and i’d almost say it had the potential to be the best yet! i just found out about the leak about an hour ago (more or less), but still. if this story isn’t continued, it would seem like an injustice (of sorts) to the literary world at large, let alone the honest fans among us (those who would not have leaked the book, in it’s current form or otherwise). overall, i think it would be good if we gave stephenie our best wishes, some time to gather her thoughts and such, then encouraged her to finish… generally, being rational- yet supportive- fans of one of the greatest female (or otherwise) authors of our time!
I wont read the draft regardless. not til whenever the midnight release party is for it…someday…when she is ready
Oh… and I just noticed that I spelled Stephenie wrong… it’s late and I had a full shift… my fingers are drousy. But I still support you Stephenit! (that was a joke… I know it’s Stephenie, I’m laughing through the pain)
mina-
that is NOT melodramatic. people were being awful to her a/b bd, which i luved, now this. she is trying to make us happier by posting the draft.
I feel terrible that Stephenie’s privacy as a writer was violated. I really looked forward to MS, so I can’t help but agree with the others..we’re being punished and it’s not fair.
I honestly don’t believe Stephenie is as shocked about the leak as she’s portraying, her saga is a phenomenon. I understand that she wanted to believe this wasn’t going to happen. But it did. As horrible as it is, of course there were going to be dishonest people out there. Perhaps the draft fell into the hands of an overeager fan, who decided to share with other overeager fans?
Just speculating.
I have to agree with Mina on all points.
Then WHAT! MINA and KATE… you are not true fans… and obviously not writers… if you were you would understand how it feels…
those who want to send encouraging Steph to continue writing
send all letters to the following email…
savemidnightsun@yahoo.com
They will be sent the first week of October!
All I know is, this sux…
SM is feeling a little emo right now…but who could blame her??? I can understand how she feels…I mean I would be crushed if my book was leaked too…and not just a few pages TWELVE CHAPTERS!!! thats a BIG BLOW
She just need a little time to work through her emotions and figure out what she wants to do…She may or may not continue but all we can do now is show her all the support and encouragement we cant…and maybe just maybe by our out-pouring of love and devotion we can change her mind in time.
I HOPE she will continue…it might take 3 years but I know I would wait.
This is so depressing.
I just got my boyfriend into the series after just completing the series myself. We both were looking forward to Edward’s side of the story.
I really do hope that she can continue, and show that her writing intensifies over all the drafts. This will show her true colors as an author and someone who is dedicated to her real fans.
Being upset is completely understandable, but she should also understand the hype that she created herself about the series, and that this would happen! As someone said earlier, it’s definitely happened before…Harry Potter. And his legend continued to live.
so…. she’s just giving up in the face of adversity. Well. That’s very inspiring, isn’t it?
I don’t think it’s fair to compare this situation to JK Rowling’s work being leaked. When Harry Potter was leaked, even though I’m sure that probably hurt/bothered her too, she couldn’t just not have it published because she’d already started the series. Stephenie was just publishing this book because she cares for us fans and wanted to share Edward with us. She was not under contract like JK Rowling to publish a book, she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart to show she cared for the fans.
And I can totally understand why she’s upset, especially with this being on top of all the BD negativity.
I just hope she can move on and continue to write.
my thoughts on this-
- It was totally unforgivable to do this to Stephenie…whoever leaked it shoud be sued.
-I agree with Mina on most points
- I read it and it was amazing…it made me love the series again because it’s the best book of them so far ( i think) I really didn’t like BD and was ready to get over the whole obsession till i read this…
- that said…in a few months when she feels better and the money starts tickling her ears, she will write the rest of it…why? because we will all love it, and her and edward all over again and would gladly pay even $50.00 for MS just to see it on our shelves….at least i will! so everything get’s smoothed out in time…while we hunt the jerk that released it of course!
How can you say that Mina??? after the way Stephenie has been treated by some “fans” since Breaking Dawn came out. This is just the Cherry on top of everything that’s been done to her and said to her in the last few weeks, wouldn’t you crack under all that pressure????
She’s a human, she has feelings just like the rest of us, try to imagine all the work, all the effort and emotion a writer must put on their work. To then have some idiot do this to them… She’s hurt and I’m sure she needs time away from Twilight and Midnight Sun. If this would’ve happened to JK Rowling she would’ve probably sued the crap out of the person or persons involved, since that’s her pattern. But, SM seems to be more emotional person and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all deal with things differently… Let’s give SM a break, give her time to get over this blow… I’m sure once she’s over the hurt she will finish it. She’s a very nice woman, I can’t see her holding a grudge forever. Just give her time to get over all she’s had to live through in the last few weeks. Put yourself in her shoes, to have all that hate, to have all those evil people trying to hurt you.
Mina, if you are going to be mad at someone, be mad at the ignorant idiots that did this, that ruined this for the rest of us. Be mad at the rest of the fans that helped spread this illegal copy and shared it with their friends. Non of this is SM fault! She’s the victim here, yet you seem to be upset at her and the her reaction??? I wonder how you would react? after working very hard at something and having some stranger maliciously ruin it for you????? think about it…
While i understand that she is angry at the breach all Stephanie Myers is accomplishing from her actions is the alienation of her fans. Midnight Sun was a highly anticipated book and while the breach was tragic it has happened to other authors and they still continued… as the saying goes the show must go on… the fact that she was so willing to abandon this project at the slightest problem only proves that she is not a strong writer. Her books were great but her attitude in regards to her fans is lacking. By posting the draft on her site she is allowing the breach to continue. There are those readers, myself included, that refuse to read a partial unedited draft for it will ruin the illusion that has been so beautifully crafted. I just hope that this crucial error in her judgment does not come back to haunt her in the future.
One mans mistake is just that, the mistake of ONE man and thus she should not punish her fans for someones bad judgement.
I hate how someone did this to her…it’s not fair to her or the fans that were loyal to her. I was really looking forward to the release of this book, but now I can’t because someone ruined it for thousands of people. This might mean an end for Twilight.
I didn’t want it to end this way.
I hope Stephenie recovers well from this terrible experience, and will right more…preferably a sequel to The Host? One can only hope and pray now.
But still, with all the points Mina brought up, to have your work stolen from you like that…
You gotta understand, she feels hurt right now…I know you’d all be angry and upset too if it happened to any of you.
Alright listen,
If any of you have ever tried to write a book or have, you must understand what it would feel like to be so excited, so absouletly thrilled about what you are putting down into words. When you write you pour your heart and mind into it.
Stephanie isnt just a writter shes part of the story herself, everything she has goes into her writting and OF COURSE she is devestated to have her characters unfairly treated along with herslef. Im sure she’s upset that someone would do this to her but even more important that someone would betray Edwards side of the story before he and she really got the chance to tale it.
I hope with all my heart she finds a peace with Midnight Sun eventualy, but dont call her names or think shes being melodramatic. Her ideas, hopes, thoughts, heart was taken out form underneath her from someone she trusted.
She’s hurt. Let her greive.
IF YOU ALL CARE!!! THEN SEND AN ENCOURAGING LETTER!!!
I’M COLLECTING THE LETTERS IN EMAIL FORM TO BE PRINTED OUT AND SEND!!!
SEND THEM TO: savemidnightsun@yahoo.com
I think it’s horrible that someone who Stephenie had complete trust did such a thing to her.
I do hope she does decide to contiue with the story. But it’s her decision.
Ohhh, that’s so tragic. I honestly think that whoever leaked it wasn’t expecting this, but it’s still kind of a letdown to the entire fandom. And it’s not even just that; it’s that Stephenie doesn’t want to write any more because of this. I’m guessing she feels she has no respect.
Still, you guys, we need to respect her decision. Midnight Sun was not written to appease fans. If she was a different kind of author, we would not know if it’s existence. Think of it this way: if she had forced herself to continue to write, it would probably not be good quality. It would be published, and everyone would bitch about it – probably from the “glorified fanfiction” angle again – and it would be a loose/loose situation.
Be glad this didn’t happen with BD.
She does not owe us anything. We already got an entire world; we shouldn’t push our luck.
Wow.
This is just horrible and
so sudden.
I completely respect Stephenie Meyer’s
decision. Such an event is terrible for her and the entire Twilight fandom,
who were anxiously waiting for Midnight Sun.
Hopefully, she’ll be able to continue Edward’s
point of view someday.
i had heard people talking about it being leake and i told epople not to look for it as it wasnt mean to be read yet. i am so upset that she has decided to stop writing it! i hope she decideds to continue.
i hope whoever leaked it out is happy now!
this is aweful. how can you say she’s being so dramatic! you’re supposed to support her! I was so excited about midnight sun, and now no one will be able to read it. this sucks, i didn’t even read it when it got leaked over the internet, i’m so sorry that it hurt stephenie’s feelings, this never should have happened.
I agree with Mina. Yes it does suck for her that it got leaked, but she’s being over dramatic. Life happens and when you give out copies of your unfinished book… expect the worst. I don’t feel sorry for her though not if she’s going to act like this.
I think most writers would still, ultimately, be writing for themselves. I don’t see why, just because Stephenie Meyer has so many fans, it should be any different for her.
So if her heart and her head aren’t in the right place to finish Midnight Sun after this incident, she’s perfectly entitled to put the project on hold. She’s not required to give us anything.
To those who think this is an overreaction,
I’ll admit, initially, the reaction to the leak reads as a bit of a tantrum, but on a second glance you realize that judging from her past novels the halting of Midnight Sun in light of her betrayal really couldn’t have been avoided. The unique thing about Twilight and Stephenie is that for her, this saga has always been so closely tied to her emotions. She writes, not to please or sell other people on her ideas, but because there are stories in her head that demand to be written. We are graciously let along for the ride.
To say that she needs to get over herself because her fans want the next installment, that somehow she should choke back the essence of the saga, namely her ability to convey and evoke her great emotion is… dare I say… selfish, and immature. To guilt her into finishing or chide her for being oversensitive would lead to a version of Midnight Sun more unsatisfying than the absence of the book entirely. Furthermore, just because piracy has happened to others doesn’t make it right that it should continue to happen. I’m glad that she’s making a stand and showing the true emotional impact of creative theft.
I don’t know if this will change any opinions about what has happened but it’s an interesting thing to think about.
Gah!
Well that’s super sucky. And it’s a shame that she doesn’t want to even finish now. Millions of fans are going to be quite disappointed in the morning, myself included. I just don’t know why a person would feel the need to leak something. I feel bad that it was someone she trusted too. I imagine that’s the worst part. I hope she does finish and publish it one day though. She shouldn’t let this mess with her. She could always tell us who leaked it and let the Twilight fans take care of it… I think that’d be a fair punishment..
I can answer the sequel to the host query….
at the Chicago BD concert/signing she mentioned a sequel in the works…beginning stages but in the works…
direct from her mouth to my ears
Like the first comment said, I feel hollow. This is the book I was looking forward to the most. I hope she decides to continue writing. It’s terrible that some moron’s mistake ruins it for the rest of us.
I’m so upset that isn’t going to be published anymore
I was looking forward to it SO ridiculously much.
I could cry
why why why why!?
Please have a change of heart Stephenie!!
There’s so many of us who would like to have Midnight Sun on the bookshelf next to the rest of the Twilight Saga, too!
I just really can’t believe this is happening.
SO UPSETTINNGGG
I can’t say I agree with Mina though.
I want to be mad at Stephenie for putting it on hold forever,
but I just can’t.
It would be misplaced anger.
It’s..easier..to be mad when you think there’s someone to blame,
but Stephenie is not the person to blame.
She can do whatever she wants.
Now all we can do is just hope and pray that she has a change of heart.
Would we really want Midnight Sun if she wasn’t putting anything into it though? I wouldn’t.
So I just really hope she has a change of heart and that someday we can enjoy Midnight Sun in all its glory.
I really think some people are being insensitive towards Stephenie Meyer when they say they think she should just finish the book and stop being “melodramatic”? The woman has every right to feel this way. And when J.K Rowling’s books were spoiled they were due to an early release, Stephenie hasn’t even finished hers. And plus, they are 2 different people, their reactions won’t be the same. And this thing where Mina says that she is writing for fans now and whether she’s tired or not doesn’t matter just means she isn’t really a fan. Give people a break! I support Stephenie Meyer fully in her decisions whether she releases Midnight Sun or not. If I was her, I mightn’t because I understand how she feels.
Grr… I’m so annoyed by this. =_= I can’t believe people would take advantage of such a great thing like that!
I mean… I’m so bummed by this I wanted to have Midnight Sun complete my Twilight Set…I would have been proud to have Edward’s POV in book form..
Is there a way we can like…send a huge ginormous fan letter to Stephenie and encourage her to ignore those idiots? Seriously?
None of us deserve this. we all WANTED to read Midnight Sun in book form.
I’m not reading the Transcript…I’m way to upset about this to even WANT to.
I’m sorry but I’m seeing more and more that there is a lot of fans that have ruined a lot of this for me. Seriously why are my fellow fans SO IMMATURE? Gosh, grow up up fans… the world doesn’t belong to us.
Man… I do wish Stephenie would learn to accept that the world is different now, with internet and stuff. I mean the majority of fans are going to take this as a kick in the teeth. We hurt as much as she is hurting… in my opinion….
*siiigh* Whatever.
I’m stunned. And angry…and grah…I don’t want a DRAFT version I wanted a BOOK. I hate sitting at my computer and reading things…
So disappointing.
Wow!! She seems so classy in how she handled this. Thanks Stephenie
Ah! I feel terrible. I’m reading the draft she posted a link for. I know it isn’t finished, but I do hope she continues I don’t think she should allow herself to focus all the negative energy on the illegal leak. If she hadn’t posted about it tonight, I wouldn’t have ever known. It’s a shame that someone would do something so disrespectful though.
I totally agree with Mina. Like she IS being melodramatic. C’Mon! Like when some one broke into that warehouse where they had Deathly Hallows and took pictures of the first chapter and posted them online. Rowling didn’t say “OMG, PULL IT OFF THE SHELF! BECAUSE EVERY ONES WHAT’S GOING ON.” Or when someone leaked the new Coldplay album, they [Coldplay] didn’t say, “OH WE’RE NOT GOING TO TOUR CAUSE NOW THEY ARE GOING TO KNOW THE NEW SONGS.”
Look I love Stephenie Meyer and I totally understand that some one leaked Midnight Sun online and it sucks a lot because, she’s offened. I mean she said that she was still editing it. Didn’t she? Should I just pull her off her high horse and slap her around a couple of times and tell her, “GET OVER IT, WOMAN!” I wouldn’t imagine her just giving up like that on Midnight Sun. You know?
Eff the person that did this to her and to us, her loyal fans. I think that she should just get over with it and keep writing it. And if she doesn’t then, what was all the hype for Midnight Sun anyway? Getting all hyped for nothing? Thanks a lot.
I know online petitions don’t carry much weight and there’s a ton of them out there in the Twilight fandom, but I promise this one is different. I made this petition in response to the recent leak of Midnight Sun. It is in support of Stephenie Meyer and calls for a stop to the abuse and theivery of Stephenie’s work. Please take the time to check it out, sign it if you agree and I pray that you’ll help get the word out and pass it along to you online friends.
Here’s the link:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/respectstepheniemeyer
Below I’ve attached the body of the petition so you can see what it’s all about:
This petition is a demand for respect for Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga and the work she has created (both Twilight related and otherwise). Ms. Meyer has suffered brutal attacks against her work and her personal character since becoming a famed best-selling author. This comes with the territory to a certain extent and is expected from critics, but the injustices that inspired this petition are the crimes committed against her by her own fans. She has been berated & belittled, set to extremely high and unreasonable standards & expectations, and worst of all, repeatedly had her work actually stolen from her and illegally mass distributed by people who call themselves her fans. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the last and most grave injustice, the thievery of a partial rough draft of her unfinished novel, Midnight Sun. A huge section of her fan base has taken their obsession to a level so mutated by greed for all things Twilight that they have seemingly come to believe that their “loyalty” has given them some sort of claim on anything Ms. Meyer creates. They are under the delusion that they are entitled to her work, whether they have her permission or not. Also, they believe that their opinions on her stories and characters should be the final word on what gets written by Ms. Meyer. This petition is a call to all who will sign it. It calls for a promise to never read a piece of work produced by Stephenie Meyer without first being absolutely sure that Ms. Meyer intended for it to be read at that time and in that capacity; to never say a word against Stephenie Meyer or her work that is not an honest and constructive opinion or criticism; and to first and foremost, always respect, love and appreciate Stephenie Meyer and the amazing work that she has so generously shared with us all. Please sign if you agree to keep this promise and feel that others should as well. I refuse to call myself a Twilighter again until there are at least 1,000 signatures on this petition.
I am totally brokenhearted. Edward’s account was what I have always looked forward to the most. I feel like he’s the character I know the least about, and I am just so upset, I was REALLY looking forward to Midnight Sun.
My heart goes out to Stephenie, this must be a really difficult time for her, but I really hope, no, if she ever read this, I BEG that she will continue with the project. I understand her pain but it is also not fair for her millions of fans that have always respected her copyrights to have such a wonderful possibility taken away from them… Please!
As somebody put it in another blog I was skimming through: “I think we broke Stephenie Meyer”.
With all the criticism of Breaking Dawn in the past weeks and then this leak we have totally and completely broken her. I can’t believe how much the fandom has thrown at her in the last month. We are not all to blame of course… people are allowed to hate the book but the way alot of those who hated it go about things has been appalling. I think that more than anything else it is all the Breaking Dawn controversy that has really brought her close to the edge. This leak to her probably felt like somebody just pushed her off. If I were her I wouldn’t know how to go on either. But I really hope she does. I think that her response has quite a bit to do with how disrespectful people have been to her.
I say, if someone is a fan of a book then they need to respect the author of that book as much as they do the story. If you treasure the story then treasure the author…
The bottom line? Remember that Stephenie is a person, she is not a machine that churns out books for our pleasure. It seems to me that the fandom as a whole has been treating her like a machine. She is a person who works hard to please us fans with her stories, she deserves to be respected. That means we respect her work, we don’t leak it on the internet, and we don’t chastise her for what she chooses to write!
I say that if we ever want to see the rest of Midnight Sun then we need to try much much harder to stop suffocating, and disrespecting her!
And yes I do feel very cheated, I didn’t do anything! And now I feel as if I am being punished. Like the child who gets grounded for what their older sibling did. I know I am not the only one who feels that way. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs that this just isn’t fair! I know where Stephenie is coming from but to me it still stings like a slap in the face.
omg
i feel so so sorry for
i cried as soon as i found out and havnt been able to stop crying
i have been waiting for midnight sun for like 2 years
but i never wanted it like this.
I’m truthfully astounded that this could have possibly even happened!! I was sooooo excited for Midnight Sun esp. after B.D. This really can’t be the end of Bella and Edward!?!
How someone could honestly sink that low and disrespect Stephenie so much is beyond me!! After everything she has done and given us!! And for what selfish greed? Idiocy? Nerve?
I can’t even imagine what she could possibly be feeling right now! I would be so devastated! I mean this has been a side project for a couple years and now that B.D. has finally been released she could have given Midnight Sun the amount of attention it deserved…but someones arrogance had to beat her to the punch??!!.. Its unfair and unjust and pathetic and disgusting…
Stephenie doesn’t deserve to be spit upon!! And neither does her work!! She has dedicated time and soul and heart into everything she has written..we have no right to show her any form of cruelty or disrespect!! How dare anyone!!! I can’t even believe that high school antics are to be truly continued in the world of twilight…esp. in discussion!! I agree with melooza, one hundred percent!! Props to her!! Anyone who has a problem with Sm, or even BD that can’t act mature should find another site because arrogance and immaturity is not welcome!!
I hope she is able to recover and continue in whatever direction she chooses..because to let such an incredible thing not be continued is a mistake…
~I’m deeply saddened and appalled
Please Please Please Do NOT tell me that Midnight Sun will never come out! It must! This was so important to me, I know it will sound silly, but I really felt like hearing his account was just SO important for us to really understand what was going on, why he really left, who he is.
Please Please Stephenie, don’t take this away from us. I know you’re hurting right now but PLEASE do not let the single minded stupid people that leaked this stop you from writing midnight sun. All our hearts go out to you, but please don’t stop writing!
No offense to Stephenie Meyer, but her reaction is a little over the top. Should she be upset that someone betrayed her? Yes. Should she be allowed to feel a sudden disinclination for the project? Most people would. But this whole dangling the carrot in front of the horse and ripping it away thing is just ridiculous.
Most of the fandom doesn’t agree with the leak. Why alienate all of us when a select few are responsible? If she thinks the Breaking Dawn backlash was bad . . .