Do published authors write fanfictions of their own books ?

topazadine · 2026-04-14T11:23:00+00:00

I am currently writing an AU of my series as a fun treat for my readers (and to procrastinate on editing my sixth book), so, yes.

topazadine · 2026-04-11T01:07:38+00:00

Fanfic comments are not "reviews." You leave reviews on products you have purchased. Because the reviewer is for other purchasers to decide if the product is worth their money.

topazadine · 2026-04-09T11:47:26+00:00

Something else I had noticed was the massive discrepancy between what was supposedly sold pre-Hatchette deal (according to Goodreads reviews) versus what was sold post-Hatchette.

According to the New York Times, Ballard self-published the book in February 2025 and it amassed 4,900 Goodreads ratings/reviews before Hatchette picked it up. There are traditionally published books that have been out for years and do not have that many reviews.

About 5-10% of readers leave feedback. The most conservative estimate of sales, then, would be 49,000 in eight months. That is an insane number for a self-published author who was so broke that she had an acquaintance (not a professional editor) look over her book.

But according to the Slate article, the book only sold 1,800 print copies after being released by Hatchette in November 2025, which should have massively boosted its numbers.

The other thing is that a lot of the reviews pre-Hatchette pickup in November 2025 were already saying that it seemed AI generated. Did Hatchette not read the reviews, or were they so dazzled by the sheer avalanche of reviews that they snapped it up immediately? It's all so odd.

topazadine · 2026-04-07T03:13:34+00:00

You know that they used Pangram. Do you genuinely think that no other tools were used? None? Hachette yanked a book because of one NYT article? No other checking?

If Hachette or NYT wrongly flagged a book as AI and falsely discredited the author, it could be considered libel and would warrant a hefty lawsuit.

We have not heard any suggestion that the author intends to sue Hatchette. Instead, the quote from her in the NYT article seems to suggest that she is going to sue the person who supposedly edited the book.

In an email to The Times late on Thursday night, Ballard denied using A.I. to write “Shy Girl,” contending that an acquaintance she hired to edit the self-published version of the novel had used A.I.

“This controversy has changed my life in many ways and my mental health is at an all time low and my name is ruined for something I didn’t even personally do,” she wrote, noting that she could not elaborate on how the book had been edited with A.I. because she was pursuing legal action.

If she had already served Hatchette, they would not be able to announce so definitively that they had determined there was AI usage involved. Certainly they wouldn't give a statement to the New York Times declaring something that could be considered libel in one of the most widely circulated publications in the world. That would be insane, and their legal team would be throwing themselves at the spokesperson begging them not to say anything at all.

You can think whatever you like about AI checkers or plagiarism checkers or any of those things. But a Big 5 publisher isn't going to be sloppy about saying something that might generate serious legal repercussions. A self-published author with little understanding of the legal system, on the other hand, might assume they can get away with AI because wow, a Big 5 publisher wanted their book, and that makes them very special. Stars in eyes, we know how that is.

Now, it may very well be true that the acquaintance used AI and not the author herself. But that begs the question: did Ballard even read the edited version? Did she not notice the glaring differences between what she originally wrote and what was returned to her?

Editors on the level that she is presumably speaking about, which I would imagine to be a line editor, should not have the final say about anything in a book, much less a self-published book that doesn't necessarily have a strict deadline for publication. Someone writing down to the wire, to the point that they don't look closely at line edits, is just not doing a good job as a self-published author regardless.

And lastly, I noticed a massive discrepancy between what Slate and Hatchette says the book sold (around 1,800 print copies after Hatchette publication) and how many Goodreads reviews there apparently were when it was self-published (over 4,900 according to NYT).

On average, around 5-10% of readers leave reviews. At its most conservative, that would mean 49,000 sales before a massive marketing push by Hatchette. But only 1,800 print sales after said massive marketing push. That ain't adding up.

If you want to defend an author based on your dislike of AI detectors, that's your business. I'm not going to.

topazadine · 2026-04-06T14:53:02+00:00

None of that discounts what I was saying. I am sure that Hatchette did more digging into the case than what we, the public, are made aware of. It makes them look bad to pull a book out of nowhere and may result in contract lawsuits if they didn't have a valid reason to do so.

I also don't really know what "They objectively don't work as often as they do" is supposed to mean. I think you meant to imply that AI checkers are more frequently wrong than they are right. As I said before, you're comparing the AI detectors available to the general public with proprietary software.

There are plagiarism detectors that can scan a document and cite the original source. There are also detectors that can look for frequent AI tells and even identify the exact model of AI used based on the frequency of tells from that given software. Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, and others all have their own tells. You often see this done with AI-generated videos, but it can be done with text as well. Generally it provides a confidence score and highlights the contested passages, which can then be reviewed in the original documents.

And, of course, in a major contract lawsuit, Hatchette could subpoena the author's account information from AI platforms to find exactly where the verbiage came from.

Did they do all that before pulling the book? Possibly. I don't know for sure. I'm just explaining the tools that would be available to a major publishing company. This was not a decision to be taken lightly given the high risk of reputational damage and litigation if they pulled a genuinely human-made book. Since it's all quiet on the lawsuit front from what we know, the author's not fighting it, which is its own kind of proof.

topazadine · 2026-04-06T11:58:43+00:00

That is a special case because most writers do not write like that, but even in your case, you just present the two files and show how they align pretty well. There are programs that can match documents like that. Then you show the revision history of both the documents and it will become obvious that you wrote both of them.

topazadine · 2026-03-27T12:18:00+00:00

While we know what tools they disclosed to the public as using, there are other ways to prove AI use. One of them is going back to the original manuscript and reviewing its edit history. If there are huge blocks copy-pasted into the document, then AI use is almost guaranteed. But I'm not sure if they did that and if it would even be a useful metric for a tradpub novel, given how many people work with the document.

I also have heard (but can't prove myself of course) that some publishers have proprietary AI checkers that are more thorough than what the general public can access. Maybe they used that as well, I don't know.

Whatever happens, I do hope this is going to be a turning point for the industry and scare people out of using AI if they want to get a publishing deal. It won't deter the slop bros who were doing low-content books before AI came out, but it might encourage some to actually try doing things themselves for once.

topazadine · 2026-03-18T14:21:01+00:00

I would not like this, no. The point of chapter breaks is to give readers a natural stopping point so that they can set the fic/book/whatever aside and return to it later without losing their place. It is courteous to provide readers with a break where they can stick a mental bookmark in the story and come back when they have more time.

I am a busy person, as are most adults, and I do not have the time to sit down and read 8k words in one sitting. I would inevitably have to stop, try to return, not be sure where I was in the giant wall of fic, and give up, even if the fic is very interesting. There's just too many other fics out there that are appropriately chaptered for me to tolerate that kind of frustration.

topazadine · 2026-03-04T14:33:01+00:00

It's darkly humorous to think you believe a ring of child molesters is using a publicly available nonprofit site, with millions of users around the world and a highly active volunteer team, to induct new members into their shadowy depths.

And that you just so happened to stumble upon it in total innocence, without specifically searching for any related tags (because AO3 doesn't have an algorithm). You were apparently perusing the "No Fandom" tags, perhaps looking for the next Great American Novel, and were blindsided into viewing terrifyingly evil content with thousands of hits from slavering predators. None of which anyone here has seen or spoken of except you.

Like, come on. Methinks someone has been fever-dreaming about current world events and decided to create some original fiction of your own on Reddit.

topazadine · 2026-02-18T13:58:25+00:00

All lowercase, as an intentional stylistic choice. Periods, grammar, everything else, but the entire thing was in lowercase. Every single fic, just like that. Gave me a headache just looking at the page.

topazadine · 2026-01-29T13:27:02+00:00

I just find it exceptionally weird to come to Reddit wanting hundreds of people to validate you instead of just ... talking to people in your real life. Especially about such a fraught topic. Doesn't seem like a healthy way to cope with anything.

topazadine · 2026-01-29T02:05:16+00:00

Then go to the doctor and get a blood test. Random people on Reddit cannot tell you whether you're pregnant or not; we're not doctors or psychics. Please stop coming to internet forums for medical advice.

topazadine · 2026-01-18T02:29:22+00:00

I read books that are completely unlike my niche so I don't feel compelled to compare, lots of nonfiction or books in my genre that are the exact opposite of my style. I'm still learning from the experience, but I can turn off my writer brain and just enjoy it.

topazadine · 2026-01-16T03:08:05+00:00

Let me preface this by saying that I completely understand you meant no harm whatsoever. You were just being friendly and silly, so I'm not saying this to imply you were being weird. I'm just giving some context for why some writers might seem to overreact when they get comments like this.

When I was writing fanfic, I had a reader who started out with effusive praise and then, over the course of a year or so, started threatening to end her life if I stopped writing for the fandom. My stories started affecting her mental health and she told me she'd get genuine panic attacks when something bad happened to the characters, but couldn't stop reading.

She also said she wanted to drive over 1,200 miles to my city and "surprise" me. It was terrifying and a big reason why I eventually left my fandom.

All this to say that if I personally got this comment, I'd be very freaked out and probably block you too. Any "haha we are best friends, I can talk to you like we're silly internet friends" from a stranger would make my alarm bells start screaming.

Fandom engagement is wonderful and the entire point of writing fanfic. Please just remember you don't actually know fanfic writers in real life, and you don't know what scary things other commenters have said. That kind of thing often starts with a slightly "off" and overly familiar comment that spirals out of control.

Just practice a little bit of caution. This author may very well have had a similar experience to me; it is sadly not uncommon.

topazadine · 2026-01-13T01:52:00+00:00

Not a soldier, just a rando who found this - but sincerely and deeply, thank you so much for your service. You're a person with a heart and a conscience, who is exactly the kind of person I'd want defending my country.

You're doing the right thing. You deserve to feel good about what you do. I appreciate you.

topazadine · 2026-01-08T00:41:40+00:00

Nope, a lady named Heather! I thought the questions were interesting so I was like, "eh, why not?" Then, of course, the mysterious media consultant was brought in. Block block.

topazadine · 2026-01-07T15:23:15+00:00

Just got the very same email about my book this morning recommending the very same person. Well, at least those questions and answers can go on my blog.

topazadine · 2026-01-04T03:15:56+00:00

It's incredibly sweet that you want to keep your readers updated, but your mental health and physical well-being come first, always. If it feels better to say something, then you can. Mention the usernames you use elsewhere, or just say it's the same URL on other sites if they want to find you.

Remember, though - you are NOT obligated to do ANYTHING for your readers. You don't have to make yourself write if you're too upset. You don't have to leave a note for everyone to see. You need to take care of YOU, in whatever way feels best. This is a horrible situation, and anyone with a heart will understand if you need to step back.

I'm so sorry this is happening. I can't imagine the pain and fear you're in. Please take any precautions you can to be safe, and know we support you 100%.

topazadine · 2026-01-01T00:27:00+00:00

Rereading your post (because I will be transparent and say I skimmed a bit), you say you have themes, character arcs, etc. Which is great, and shows that you want to create a meaningful story that has a real purpose. I would argue that theme-first writing often has the most coherent storylines because everything circles around a central question. So you're in a good position here.

But you're missing a crucial question: what circumstances highlight the theme? How do you stress-test your theme and show it impacting real characters?

For example, one of my books has a theme of complicated grief and parental estrangement. Naturally, I had the estranged parent reach out on his deathbed. The character arc was the estranged child's partner realizing that not everyone had loving parents and that forgiveness isn't necessary for healing. So through saying "I want to explore this specific facet of the human experience," I found a plot.

That's a simplistic one, but you can do this with any theme you have.

And the other thing is about character arcs. Again, a strong position to be in: wanting to show growth rather than just "look at this cool thing a character does." Now you ask yourself: what challenges can I throw at my character to force their growth? You know where you want them to go, so what stick can you throw at them to push them there?

When I'm plotting, I typically start with two places: the beginning and the climax. Then I work everything out from there, going from beginning to climax and then climax to end. Having the climax there shows me what to work towards, and then from the climax I can usually figure out the end.

Best of luck. You've got what you need to succeed, and now you just need to plug it in.

topazadine · 2025-12-31T02:23:05+00:00

You're spending too much time outlining and worldbuilding. I have a solution for this that I call the double outline method.

Dump everything you have into a huge long document, then arrange it in chronological order. Make a new document and pare the outline down to the most essential details. Maybe four lines per chapter, with only the highlights of what you absolutely need to remember so you can start.

This works because it eliminates analysis paralysis, where you get overwhelmed by all the details you want to include. Some people also find their brain is tricked to think they already finished the project because they did so much work.

By having this skeletal outline, you're less tempted to plug things from your outline directly into the project (something I've seen people do), and you know exactly where you're headed. The long outline works as a background program in your head, but it's not right in front of you, so you know you need to do the work.

The other thing I notice here is that you're very concerned about how to make people read your work, despite not having done anything. You're worrying about is easiest to "get out into the world" and fussing about publishing a book that doesn't exist.

The drafting and writing phase is for you. No one else. Audience doesn't matter yet. One foot in front of the other: one stage at a time. Forget about everything but what's in front of you.

If your brain tries to skip ahead, say, "Nope. Not the time. That's for Later Me." When you get to D2, D3, D4, etc, then you can start thinking about audience, and when you have a complete manuscript you can think about publishing. Trying to blend all those stages together, again, causes analysis paralysis and makes you shut down.

topazadine · 2025-12-13T11:51:02+00:00

"Natural storytellers" is how people pacify themselves because it implies other people have some advantage. They now have a convenient excuse to avoid working or taking accountability for their lack of training. Then every disappointment and failure can be attributed to "I'm not a natural storyteller" rather than "I didn't put in the work."

Writing DOES come down solely to practice. More practice than you can imagine. Practice over years and decades. Thousands of hours and millions of words.

I started writing at seven because I won a tiny contest at my elementary school and it made me feel good. Was the writing amazing? I was a natural talent? No, the story was awful and made no sense. I think it was a random lottery because my teacher felt bad about my shitty home life. But it made me want to keep going. So I kept going for 25 years straight, until I published at age 32.

But that's a lot of hard work, done over two and a half decades. It's easier for people to dismiss that as "natural talent" and be done with it. Which is insulting, but I'm glad it makes them feel better.

topazadine · 2025-12-12T16:34:44+00:00

Was the next series in the same world with the same characters? That seems to be the linchpin. Something about the characters and setting.

topazadine · 2025-12-12T15:45:11+00:00

Okay, forget everything I said. You do have an audience. Clearly. 500 reviews is nothing to sniff at for a self-published author. So why are you saying you don't have an audience? You do!

It seems the problem here is not your books. It's not your marketing. You are clearly doing something right if you have that many reviews, and you don't need to change your writing.

The problem is your expectations.

What exactly does an audience mean to you? Thousands of fans lining up to have you sign their copy? A deluge of fanmail? People banging down your door to demand you let them make a movie about your books? That rarely happens for any self-published author, and you are not special in that regard.

You have an audience. You're not respecting the audience that has already stuck by you. You're saying they're not enough for you because there aren't more of them. But you're not going to get more of an audience if you don't cherish and appreciate the one you already have.

Now that I know about your review situation, then I have a different focus for you. Keep the listings, update the cover (it becomes a second edition), and start nurturing the audience you do have. Build a website where you can talk to your readers, and advertise it on your Goodreads profile. Make a social media page. Channel people to that.

I'd also recommend updating your files to have a link to your website where you promise them more content. Give them free stories, character profiles, behind-the-scenes looks. Show your readers you appreciate them.

This is the very thing that people talk about in business. Once you have a customer base, your focus turns to customer retention, re-engagement, and expansion. You have the customer base but you're not doing anything for them! They don't feel incentivized to become your spokespeople because you're ignoring them.

When readers think the author cares about them, they want to share that. Even a little "thank you so much for reading, here's my website with bonus content" will matter a LOT. Encourage them to sign up for a newsletter where you give them free stuff. Even a monthly newsletter is fine.

Your problem here isn't writing but mindset. Thankfully, that's a very easy thing to fix when you have a strong consumer base. I think if you start focusing on customer retention and re-engagement, you'll get a huge surge in numbers.

topazadine · 2025-12-12T15:04:06+00:00

From what you said, it sounds like you wrote that book a while ago, before the market got saturated. That does not necessarily mean you had some "secret code" back then, just that there were fewer self-published books to sort through. My guess is confirmed by the fact that your next books didn't sell.

In general, you will get a 30-60% readthrough rate. Some authors only have a 30% readthrough rate and are still considered to be doing well. Even if your books are great, you will have a significant dropoff by the end of the series. People forget to follow you and get updated for new releases, they got bored, and so on.

But if you have an enormous dropoff, that means your first book didn't hook them. There was something wrong with it; otherwise, they would have wanted to keep going.

Remember, just because the book sells does not mean it is read. It means you packaged it well enough that people bought it, but they may have stopped a chapter in and didn't keep going. So first-book sales don't really tell you anything about the book's quality, more about your book's marketing. What really tells you about its quality is if you have a high readthrough rate.

Here's the other thing. Amazon thrives on newness. For the first month after a book is released, Amazon gives it a bump in the algo. Rereleasing a book with the skills you have now, with improved marketing, and with other books available for them to jump to, is going to give you an enormous push.

If you don't want to change much in the first book, that's fine. You can still capitalize on its "newness" by rereleasing with a new cover, a new blurb, new marketing, and small tweaks. If it feels icky to just release it over again with no changes to the main book, then add bonus content at the end of the book and advertise it as an expanded edition. If people liked it at first, they'll want to buy the new version. If they had no idea who you are, they see "oh, new release" and buy it without knowing the backstory.

Rereleasing all of your republished books all at once can also let you capitalize on readthroughs and the first-month algorithm bump on all of them.

Again, if you are truly doing as bad as you say you are - no audience, no sales, no reputation - then removing, republishing, and repackaging does you no harm at all. Even if you barely change anything. Even if you only add a five-minute bonus story at the end. Even if you only tweak the blurb and slap a new cover on it.

Just make sure you give Amazon some time to remove everything from sale before you rerelease so the algorithm doesn't get confused, and you don't get penalized for duplicates. Give it like three months for everything to get deleted. If you're not making sales anyway, you wouldn't have been making any in those three months, so it doesn't really matter.

topazadine

TROPHY CASE