In a press release today Amazon Publishing announced that it "has secured licenses from Warner Bros. Television Group's Alloy Entertainment division for its New York Times best-selling book series Gossip Girl, by Cecily von Ziegesar; Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard; and Vampire Diaries, by L.J. Smith; and plans to announce more licenses soon. Through these licenses, Kindle Worlds will allow any writer to publish authorized stories inspired by these popular worlds and will make them available for readers to purchase in the Kindle Store....Beginning today, interested writers are encouraged to visit Kindle Worlds (www.amazon.com/kindleworlds) to learn more and get a head start on writing. In June, the Kindle Worlds store is expected to launch with over 50 commisioned works from authors such as #1 New York Times best-selling author Barbara Freethy, Bram Stoker Award -winner John Everson and RITA award winner Colleen Thompson. At that time, the Kindle Worlds self-service submission platform, where any writer can submit completed work, will also open."
In response to my blog post, "Something Different", William Doonan commented, "I'm eager to hear/read the results of your experiment." Well I'm happy to announce that in June, with the official launch of Kindle Worlds, you will be able to see, read and I know you'll enjoy the results of my experiment: a 35 000 word novella written in three weeks in the Pretty Little Liars universe.
I am pretty psyched about this new non-traditional publishing platform as it gives authors greater access to getting their work published. To learn more about this platform and how you can submit a completed manuscript go to www.amazon.com/kindleworlds, or Kindle Worlds for authors. I would love to hear your take on this new publishing platform.
9 comments:
Too cool, Jewel! I think you're onto something here. I'm looking forward to hearing more!
Certainly seems like something different, something of an experiment. I did one story once using the character Sailor Steve Costigan, created by Robert E. Howard. I started a story set on ERB's Barsoom once but never finished it.
William, until now, most fan fiction was done by fans for the excitement of exploring the characters and the world beyond what the books and videos offered. With this "experiment" Amazon is now taking it commercial and they have established authors on board.
I think it is a wonderful opportunity for authors to expand their horizons and their readership and keep their names out there.
Charles, you really should finish the story set. I'm certain there are some readers wondering what happens next :)
This is quite fascinating. How often do you get an opportunity to direct the lives of your favorite characters. Looking forward to reading, Jewel. Good job!
Very, very cool.
What exciting news, Jewel! Amazon really knows how to make the most of trends. Hmmm, I'd love to write something in the X-Men universe but don't know if Marvel will jump on this.
Thanks Carol, Lynn. Eugenia, Amazon promised more worlds in the future and it is a gain for both Amazon, the rights holders and the authors, so who knows, maybe Marvel will consider it? :)
I got the e-mail from Amazon and did not quite know what to make of it. There is such a glut of self-pubbed products on Kindle, much of it barely readable, I gather, and now this? An open invitation to fan fic dilettantes to compete with professional media tie-in writers--of whom we have at least two members in the group?
Of course, I had no idea at the time that one of us was intimately involved in this development. Congrats, Jewel. If this means another avenue for authors to get paid I'm all for it.
One of Amazon's approaches that "legitimizes" the whole project is that they recruited established, even bestselling and award winning authors on board for the launch.
I doubt it would be a free for all and based on the guidelines there is some built in quality control.
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