Fan fiction has long thrived online where writers don’t need to worry about pesky things like intellectual property rights. A new deal from Amazon could change all that. Kindle Worlds will be the first commercial publishing platform that allows fan fiction authors to earn royalties from their work. Kindle Worlds has already teamed up with Warner Bros. TV’s Alloy Entertainment to secure licenses for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries. Let the brainstorming begin! Chuck and Blair in the White House? Ezra has been “A” all along? Stefan and Damon give up all that brooding and decide to go into show business where they star in an all-vampire revival of Sweeney Todd? The sky's the limit.
Authors that publish through the self-service submission platform will receive 35% of the net revenue for works over 100,000 words (compared to 70% for writers that self-publish e-books featuring original characters). Kindle Worlds is hoping to add more licenses soon, probably eying potential cash cows like Harry Potter, Star Trek, Twilight, and Star Wars which already have thriving fan fic communities. Kirk/Spock shippers beware though, although the two can engage in a little harmless flirting over a cup of Romulan ale, Kindle Worlds’ guidelines prohibit “pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts.” So keep it clean and leave the kinky Bella/Edward sex scenes for the darkest corners of the Internet (or, you know, the best seller’s list).
[via Forbes]