Fan Fiction: The Secret Launchpad for Bestselling Authors

by Scott Lorenz | Blog, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Fan Fiction, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications

“Ever thought about writing fan fiction? Many authors started out writing on fanfic sites.”

Anna Todd started writing fan fiction on her phone, published chapters to Wattpad, then after garnering 1 million+ views she was pursued by numerous literary agents. Fast forward five years, her story AFTER is a Simon & Schuster NY Times bestseller and Ann Todd is making millions.

Amanda Hocking started out writing fan fiction, and she was signed to a multimillion-dollar book deal.  Erika Leonard, aka E.L. James discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Taking a stab at fan fiction under the pen name Snowqueens Icedragon has certainly served James well. The fan fiction morphed into the Fifty Shades of Grey series and movies which as of December 2018 give her a whopping $150,000,000 net worth.

Convinced yet about the value of writing on Fanfiction sites?

Before you dive in check out my list of top 52 fan fiction sites and see where your work could fit in and most importantly stand out.

1. Commaful — For a different flavor of fan fiction, visit Commaful. This site takes a new and exciting spin on fanfiction, offers a unique picture book format and is ideal for shorter works.

2. Quotetv — While Quotev is a fan fiction site that offers a wide variety of fan fiction categories for readers to choose from, it’s also a platform that gives writers the opportunity to post their original poems, stories, and quizzes.

3. TONFA — TONFA is a purely Naruto centric website. It features a comprehensive archive of Naruto fanfiction. Users can read fanfiction on this site or submit their own.

4. MediaMiner — MediaMiner brings together those who are interested in reading and writing fan fiction. The three major sections of this site include fan fiction, fan art, and anime.

5. FanFiction — FanFiction is considered to be world’s largest fanfiction archive on the web. The site launched in October 1998 and currently has well over 2 million users. The most popular sections on Fanfiction are Harry Potter (675,000 titles), Twilight (215,000 titles), and Lord of the Rings (51,000 titles).

6. Webnovel — Webnovel has established an interactive online reading experience as its core while being an online literature platform that combines copyright licensing and cooperation.

7. Wattpad — Based in Toronto, Wattpad’s monthly audience is over 10 million readers. Every minute, the site connects more than 10,000 readers with a new story. Wattpad is more about fanfic driven by celebrities and comics. There are over 100,000 stories about One Direction. You can also find fanfic about Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, or Zac Efron.

8. Internet Archive — Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library. The Internet Archive allows users to download digital material, but also to upload their own.

9. Archive of Our Own — Archive of Our Own is a project founded and operated by the Organization for Transformative Works. It’s a non-profit, non-commercial archive for fan fiction of all formats, including writings, graphic art, videos, and podcasts. Currently, there are over 170,000 users.

10. Asianfanfics — Asianfanfics is mostly about Asian characters and topics that often revolve around Asian culture. One-shot fanfiction, which is characterized as stories no longer than one chapter, is very popular on Asianfanfics, with over 35,000 stories listed in the category.

11. Tumblr — You can stay logged into your favorite network and search for new, fresh fan fiction; it’s just a matter of using the right tag to search the posts, and finally picking up Tumblr posts you want to follow. Try searching #fanfic, #fanfiction, or any book title you’re a fan of and read what Tumblr has to offer.

12. FicWad — FicWad is an archive of both fan fiction and original work, launched in 2005 and managed by K&D Lynch. The site is currently in beta stage, but you are able to read the stories even if you are not a registered user.

13. Twilighted — Twilighted calls itself all-inclusive, high-quality Twilight fan fiction. Founded in 2008, the site already has a large following. The most popular, and arguably most interesting category is AU-Human: stories in which all the vampires are humans.

14. Deviant Art — There are 176,092 deviations for fan fiction, grouped in 6 categories: drama, general fiction, horror, humor, romance, and sci-fi. The most popular one, however is Not in Harry Potter, with quotes and words that should be included in Harry Potter books – but aren’t.

15. Fiction Press — This is the fan fiction site for all things sci-fi and fantasy. One unique attribute of Fiction Press is that there are many dedicated communities of authors on the site who help edit and encourage the work of one another.

16. Inkitt — Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered publisher, providing a platform to discover hidden talents and turn them into globally successful authors. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books our readers love most on our sister app, GALATEA and other formats.

17. Booknet — Booknet is a global self-publishing literary platform that makes reading and publishing of e-books. It has 3 language versions – English, Spanish, and Ukrainian.

18. ReadFanFic — Read fanfiction stories online. This website also stores your reading history. Join their team on Discord.

19. Writer’s Cafe — It is a very active community where writers can post their work to get instant feedback from other fellow members of the platform. Not only that, but you can also join different groups to learn more about different writing techniques.

20. Live Journal — LiveJournal is a Russian-owned community-based journaling platform where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. LiveJournal encourages communal interaction and personal expression by offering a user-friendly interface and a deeply customizable journal. With more than 50 million journals on topics like politics, entertainment, fashion, literature, design, fanfiction, and more.

21. InsaneJournal — InsaneJournal, built on open-source software, is a simple yet very customizable online diary that allows you to keep in touch with all of your friends. At InsaneJournal, you have freedom of speech/expression. There’s no censorship unless the content obviously violates United States law. Most importantly, the site is fanfic friendly.

22. Dreamwidth — Dreamwidth Studios is a home and a community for all kinds of creative folk. Share your writing, your artwork, or your innermost thoughts. Find others who create the sort of things you like to enjoy.

23. Whofic — An extremely long-running BBC TV series (and books, comics, audio dramas, movies, etc.). The Doctor is a time-and-space traveling alien from the highly advanced planet of Gallifrey. They accept all kinds of Doctor Who-based fan fiction, whatever the subject matter, as long as it is indeed related in some way to Doctor Who.

24. Fic.fan — “FicFan” is a website created to make it easier for authors and readers of fan fiction to find each other. Everyone can publish their work here and read thousands of texts published by other authors. The website also has a mission that authors and users should try to adhere to.

25. Fanon — Fanon is a platform for fan-led storytelling! We want to enable anyone to create and share their stories.

26. Reedsy — Short stories are brief works of prose fiction that focus on a single event, character, or theme. Typically designed to be read in one sitting, they aim to create a powerful mood or emotional impact. On this website, you’ll find a range of short stories that highlight the richness and depth possible in concise storytelling.

27. Royal Road® — Royal Road® is the home of web novels and fan fictions! In this amazing community, you can find various talented individuals who write as a hobby or even professionally, artists who create art for them, and many, many readers who provide valuable feedback and encouragement.

28. Project Gutenberg — Project Gutenberg is an online library of more than 75,000 free eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related content today.

29. Kobo — At Kobo, they embody everything you love about your favorite local bookshop, perfected for your modern life. Their mission is to bring the power of reading to your world — because they’re booklovers, just like you.

30. Simon Teen — Riveted by Simon Teen is an online community for anyone that loves young adult fiction! Here at Riveted by Simon Teen, you can read YA books for FREE, discover your new favorite books and authors, enter for the chance to win new and upcoming releases, and more!

31. Children’s Library — The ICDL Foundation’s goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world. Ultimately, the Foundation aspires to have every culture and language represented so that every child can know and appreciate the riches of children’s literature from the world community.

32. Smashwords — Founded in 2008, Smashwords is a global online retailer of independently published ebooks. Browse over one million original DRM-free ebooks, including nearly 100,000 priced every day at free

33. Open Culture — Founded in 2006, Open Culture brings together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Web 2.0 has given us great amounts of intelligent audio and video. It’s all free.

34. Harlequin — Enjoy free serialized romance stories written by Harlequin authors. Our newest stories are listed below or explore our library of free reads by category.

35. Library of Congress — The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

36. Free-ebooks.net — Create a free account and browse 47,000+ books in nearly a hundred categories, search in your own words, or follow our editors’ picks.

37. Book Riot — Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America and home to a host of media, from podcasts to newsletters to original content, all designed around diverse readers and across all genres.

38. Booksie — Booksie is your creative home. Here, writers can publish their work instantly, connect with a supportive global community, and build a loyal audience eager for new ideas. From first drafts to finished masterpieces, Booksie empowers you to share your words without barriers—and receive the feedback, encouragement, and exposure you need to reach your writing goals.

39. Fantastic Fiction — Search and browse the complete works of over 70,000 bestselling fiction authors, with all the latest books and series listed in order.

40. Web Novel Finder — With over 145,000+ novels and 16 million chapters indexed from sources like Scribble Hub, WebNovel.com, Royal Road, NovelUpdates, Honeyfeed, Wattpad, and more, we’re bridging the gaps in the web fiction world. Say goodbye to juggling apps and hello to seamless discovery, tracking, and community.

41. Anystories — Anystories is a goodnovel land where you can indulge in thousands of bite-sized webnovel of the best-seller: love stories, romance fiction, and fantasy novels about popular werewolf romance, bad-boy stories, attractive vampires series, and forced marriage with billionaire bosses or blood spurting bad marriage revenge stories.

42. Itch — Itch.io is an open marketplace for independent digital creators with a focus on independent video games. It’s a platform that enables anyone to sell the content they’ve created. As a seller, you’re in charge of how it’s done: you set the price, you run sales, and you design your pages. It’s never necessary to get votes, likes, or follows to get your content approved, and you can make changes to how you distribute your work as frequently as you like.

43. Fanficable — Fanficable is home to all things e-reading, with an emphasis on digital reading platforms, original stories, fanfiction, romance, amateur writing, and user-generated content.

44.  Fanficauthors.net — Fanficauthors.net is a moribund collection of authors dedicated to writing fanfiction. The authors on this site, and their historic updates, are listed on the website.

45. Fanprose.com — Fanprose.com is a community-driven website built for reading and publishing fan fiction. It is frequently used by authors transitioning from platforms like Tumblr or LiveJournal, specifically within the K-pop and RPF (Real Person Fiction) spaces.

46. Writing.com — Writing.com is an online community and social networking platform created in 2000 specifically for writers, poets, and readers. It functions as a workspace for authors to store their works, collaborate, share poetry and stories, and receive peer feedback.

47. NovelCat — NovelCat not only includes best-selling novels, but also exclusive original classics: – Multiple Genres, Daily Update, Precise Tags, Multiple Lists and Intelligent Recommendation.

48. AsianFanFics.com — AsianFanFics.com – Every fandom. One community. A global home for readers and writers sharing the stories they love. Start reading for free or write your own — everyone’s welcome.

49. InsaneJournal — InsaneJournal is a simple yet very customizable online diary. It is built on open-source software from Danga Interactive.

50. WTR-Lab — WTR-Lab is a free, community-driven novel reading website where millions visit to read novels online. We provide a vast collection of web novels, light novels, and translated works using cutting-edge AI technology.

51. Glimmer — Glimmer is a site for Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories, where you actually play as the main character. Glimmer started as a project by three friends who love stories, fandom, and games. We built Glimmer so people can escape into worlds they’ve always dreamed of!

52. Liminal Fiction Facebook Group — Liminal Fiction is a new, progressive, inclusive group for speculative fiction readers and writers that pushes the boundaries of what sci fi, fantasy, paranormal and horror can be, encouraging inclusion of characters and creators from across the spectrum and stories that go beyond the speculative fic of yesteryear. Perfect for Sci Fi Readers, Sci Fi Writers, Fantasy Readers, Fantasy Writers, Horror Readers, Horror Writers, and Paranormal Readers and Paranormal Writers.

The Bottom Line: I encourage you to post on fan fiction sites and take your writing to the next level. Reach out to new readers, get feedback from others and fine-tune your craft. You never know, it might be the start of something big!

About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.

Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.

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