I did some searching on the forum to see if there were prior discussions about fanfiction writers transitioning to published authors. I really didn't see anything. There were a few folks that said they had or did write fanfiction but that's about it.
I've been writing fanfiction since 1999, one particular fandom over others, but in various fandoms nowadays. From a marketing/business standpoint, I'm really hoping many of my readers from these fandoms will make the same transition as me into my original works.
I'm curious whether anybody has had such an experience...? Whether anybody has been able to gauge how much of their fanfiction readers transitioned with them and became customers? If so, did you do anything in particular with your fanfiction readers to encourage them to be paying customers? It's one thing to read a free fanfiction versus now paying your favorite fanfiction writer for a book. Or if anybody was a published author first, later did fanfiction, and drew in new customers thanks to the fanfiction?
I have a minor sense of what it may be like because many fanfiction writers in my main fandom became published authors. I've never spoken to any of these authors about the transition. However, they use a very particular technique in their writing to transition their fanfiction readers into customers. But, that's for one fandom, and I feel like they kind of pigeonholed themselves. I want to market to a larger crowd. The more readers I can bring with me is important.
Anyway, I'm hoping somebody has been through the experience from fanfiction writer to published/self-published author. Any pearls of wisdom from experience would be awesome.
I've been writing fanfiction since 1999, one particular fandom over others, but in various fandoms nowadays. From a marketing/business standpoint, I'm really hoping many of my readers from these fandoms will make the same transition as me into my original works.
I'm curious whether anybody has had such an experience...? Whether anybody has been able to gauge how much of their fanfiction readers transitioned with them and became customers? If so, did you do anything in particular with your fanfiction readers to encourage them to be paying customers? It's one thing to read a free fanfiction versus now paying your favorite fanfiction writer for a book. Or if anybody was a published author first, later did fanfiction, and drew in new customers thanks to the fanfiction?
I have a minor sense of what it may be like because many fanfiction writers in my main fandom became published authors. I've never spoken to any of these authors about the transition. However, they use a very particular technique in their writing to transition their fanfiction readers into customers. But, that's for one fandom, and I feel like they kind of pigeonholed themselves. I want to market to a larger crowd. The more readers I can bring with me is important.
Anyway, I'm hoping somebody has been through the experience from fanfiction writer to published/self-published author. Any pearls of wisdom from experience would be awesome.