Inside The Multi-Million Dollar World Of Fan Fiction

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When Anna Todd signed a six-figure publishing contract in 2014, her romance series, After, had already been read one billion times (Yes, that’s “billion” with a “b”). Why? Because Todd, 25, is one of the superstars of fan fiction.

Her One Direction tale, After Ever Happy (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), is just one in a thriving literary universe where amateur writers pen elaborate (and often erotic) fantasies using real-world celebrities and literary characters (think Benedict Cumber-batch’s beloved Sherlock Holmes).

But, now, fan fiction – once the domain of teenagers and the more nerdily inclined – is gaining legitimate publishing credibility (and big bucks). L.J. Smith, author of a series based on The Vampire Diaries, is a bestseller on Amazon’s ebook portal, and E.L. James still earns $185,000 a day in book royalties from Fifty Shades Of Grey. Plus, don’t forget Todd’s six-figure advance, which sent the internet reeling last year.

And that’s just the start. Fan fiction has a teeming underworld of sub-genres. There’s slash fictions (homoerotica), Mary Sues (impressionable female characters) and – brace yourself – Mpreg, where male characters (like Twilight’s Edward Cullen) end up pregnant.

Think you have a book in you? Start daydreaming. Your fan fiction fantasies might just make you millions.

After Ever Happy is out now.

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