What is canon?
Canon is the body of events and information an author treats as officially valid within a fictional universe. Once a detail is canon, later chapters or books are expected not to contradict it.
Why does canon matter?
Canon is the foundation of a reader's trust in your world - a detail that contradicts a rule or event you established earlier pulls the reader out of the story. Staying faithful to canon across a series keeps things consistent despite the time that passes between books.
What counts as non-canon (what-if/fanon) content?
Scenarios the author doesn't treat as official (a plot thread tried in a draft and abandoned, readers' own theories) count as non-canon - this kind of content isn't part of the world's official history and carries no risk of contradicting later books.
Does an unpublished draft count as canon?
No, only content the author has published or finalized counts as canon - drafts can still change before that point.
Can canon be changed if a mistake is found?
Yes, an author can revise an earlier detail (a 'retcon') - but it's an intervention that should be handled carefully and rarely, to preserve the reader's trust.
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