> makes you wonder why the author bothered to "steal" the setting at all, when they could quite clearly make their own.
It gives the work a prefabricated audience. It's much harder to convince [random member of the public] to read "my original novel" than it is to convince [random ______ fan] to read "my ______ fan-fiction."
It gives the work a prefabricated audience. It's much harder to convince [random member of the public] to read "my original novel" than it is to convince [random ______ fan] to read "my ______ fan-fiction."