There are so many amazing writers in the world who are slogging their guts out on a daily basis just to try and even get a literary agent to give them the time of day and read a piece of original fiction. It’s always been a tough business, but it’s gotten even harder in the past decade or so, since now even the book business refuses to go for original creative content and instead prefers to repurpose shitty pop culture pieces in book form.
That’s exactly what’s happening with a popular Harry Styles fanfic called After. The story has apparently been published on something called Wattpad, which is for aspiring writers, and has had over 800 million views, which is depressing / scary. Scarier still, major publishing house Simon & Schuster has picked up the story and it’s a six-figure deal for the author, Anna Todd, which basically makes me want to go smash myself through the nearest plate glass window.
According to Hypable, After is apparently about an 18-year-old college student called Tessa who gets good grades and is a good girl… until she mades a wild child named Harry, with too many tattoos and piercings, who “shatters her plans”. WHY GOD WHY? Harry’s name will apparently change in the published book version to save them from a potential lawsuit, but dear God, this is just dire. Todd has also apparently signed the world audio and movie rights to the “story”, as well.
You can read the first chapter of the story here, if you’re a masochist.
OH MY! I READ THEM IM IN AFTER 3 !! XD REALLY LIGIT
After was the first fan fiction i ever read, the one that got me hooked on fan fics and reading, the one that started it all, and i just screamed my head off fangirling hardcore after reading this :) so happy
People really shouldn’t hate that it was a fanfiction. Most books derive from fanfiction such as 50 Shades of Grey that was first a Twilight Fanfiction. Nothing in this world is truly original. Every writer gets his or her ideas from something they read, watch, or love. It’s simply a neverending cycle.