As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher.

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being. As the author of the Twilight Saga, I control the copyright and it is up to the owner of the copyright to decide when the books should be made public; this is the same for musicians and filmmakers. Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn't mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.

So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here (at the end of this post). This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.

I do want to take a moment and thank the wonderful fans who have been so supportive of me over the past three years. I cannot begin to tell you how much each of you means to me. I only hope this note will stop all the confusion and online speculation so that the Twilight universe can once again become the happy escape it used to be. After this incredibly busy year, I am now focusing on spending more time with my family and working on some other writing projects.

--Stephenie


http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partialdraft.pdf

i can't get the file to open. but i just want to say that i'm very sad by this. i hate that she feels she's can't write now. no tellings if or when we will get to read the whole book now.

I got it to open but I don't know if I want to read it. I really feel for Stephenie this is a complete betrayal of her trust. I hope she doesn't give up on it completely.

OMG i don't even know what to say. I am soooo sad. What if she can never ever finish the book? I really do feel for her. what a horrible thing to do. i dont know if i want to read that now...i really don't.

I read the first chapter and I had no idea!

yeah i know that the fans are exploding all over the place right now. it's craziness! i mean people are so upset. people feel betrayed by her for falling into letting the bad guys win. people understand why she wouldn't want to do it. people are mad about everything..the leak..her..i mean it's nuts where i've been reading.

my heart is broken.. i don't know if i can read the draft she has up now. it just doesn't feel right. people have been waiting on this like nothing before! it would have been huge!

she should be upset and i think or hope that once she calms down that she will see the light at the end of the tunnel. i think when she sees that the fans care so much it will change.....i hope.i was looking forward to being in that crowd of people when this book came out.

she's gotten so much shit from breaking dawn (i still don't know why people are complaining about this book) the last few weeks i wonder if hearing of this break of trust just put her over the edge. maybe "edward" will talk to her and make her see the light. lets all hope that "jasper" can calm her down. these characters live in her..they have to have some kinda influence on her.

i'm just so blah...

I don't know but i can't understand how fans could be angry with her? It's not like it's her fault at all. I think that if i would be in her situation, i wouldn't think any different right now. I wouldn't know if i could continue to write it now, since i would know that a lot of people already read this.

I am really beyond upset right now and angry at the person who put it out there. We have read the 4 books and on soooo many points i wondered, what does Edward think? what is really going on in his mind and everything. Does that make sense? And now...more than anything i feel upset...upset at the person who put it out there. That person cheated us on finally being able to know a little bit more, i guess.

I haven't read that draft and to be fair i don't know if i will. I opened it like 3 times but i just couldn't get myself to read it. It feels wrong. And besides all that, what if i would read it? its not complete...so i guess that would make me even more upset because i don't know if she will write the full book at some stage. i really don't know if i want to read this draft.

I hope that she will somehow be able to finish the book at some stage. I really do. If Edward would be real wouldn't he want her to tell his side of the story?

I am just really upset, sorry for writing so much!

ohh never be sorry for writing much. we know how i can go on and on..lol. yeah i read the first chapter, cause she had that on her site like forever ago and i was like omg! couldn't wait. now.. ahhh just so sad

That is terrible that someone would do that. I'm not going to look at it though, I have the first chapter of the book at the end of 'Twilight'. I will read that only because I won't be able to help myself lol.

Well that just sucks !
Some dishonest fucktard has ruined things for us the true fans. I cant believe this has happened. I feel so sorry for her but selfishly I know Im even sorryier for the likes of us !

I went and had a look at the file, I actually ended up saving it on my computer. I read the first chapter at the end of my Twilight book. My book has the first chapter of Midnight Sun. It's kinda creepy, in a good way though, reading things from his perspective. I think I will read it while I wait to get my next book. Of course if and when she ends up releasing it, I will go an buy a copy. I wish that she didn't feel like she couldn't write. I wish that as fans we could let her know how much of an inspiration her books are. She has truly inspired me to read, something I never thought I would do. She is so very talented. ^_^