Amazon's Kindle Worlds Lets Writers Publish Fan Fiction

Posted on May 27, 2013

Amazon has launched a new digital publishing platform called Kindle Worlds. Writers can create and sell fan fiction through the new service and earn royalties on their work. Kindle Worlds launches with licenses from Warner Bros.'s Alloy Entertainment for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries. Amazon says licenses for more "worlds" are in the works.

Amazon says the author's royalty rate - for works of at least 10,000 words- will be 35% of net revenue. The royalty is 20% for shorter works between 5,000 and 10,000 words.

Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars, said in a statement, "Seeing Pretty Little Liars fans adapt and create their own stories is both exciting and flattering and I think what Amazon Publishing is offering through Kindle Worlds is a great way to reward their ingenuity."

Kindle Worlds gives writers an unusual opportunity to create - and potentially profit - by writing in universes they did not build, but it doesn't come without negatives, such as Amazon's and Warner Bros' possible use of your work and content restrictions. A Wired article describes some of the cons associated with Amazon's new program.

Update: Kindle Worlds is currently closed to new submissions. Amazon says in a statement, "For five years, Kindle Worlds has been thriving, engaging writers and readers who enjoy writing in one another’s worlds. We’re proud of the work that we’ve done together. While we’ve decided to close Kindle Worlds, Amazon is constantly innovating on behalf of our authors and readers, and we look forward to continuing to do so."