📚 Fact or Fanfiction

We’re solidly in what we believe shall be dubbed “the fandom decade.” More than ever, people identify online and IRL with communities based on the characters and stories they connect with, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to manga megahit “One Piece” to “Game of Thrones.” 

But not all fandoms come from an original work, and while “fanfic” used to conjure thoughts of lesser, derivative works that could have an audience only within the original fandom, that’s changed in a big way.

After the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and its publicly acknowledged roots in “Twilight,” fanfiction introduced the concept of fanworks to a broader audience, who wanted to know where they could find more stories starring their favorite swoon-worthy characters.

That’s where Wattpad comes in. Millions of global readers spend an average of about an hour a day reading and commenting on stories hosted on the platform, and it’s especially popular with one desirable demographic. 

Some of Wattpad’s well-known successes include originals such as “The Kissing Booth” on Netflix and Anna Todd’s hugely successful series “After,” which has had four movies grossing $168 million worldwide despite not having a certain One Direction singer in the lead role. 

Now Wattpad is ready to truly say the quiet part out loud and is shifting to make fanfiction its focus. It has big plans on how to encourage fandoms to grow, which Aron Levitz, the president of Wattpad, shared with us.

The Takeaway

The path to growing and monetizing fandoms can be a tricky one filled with cease and desist letters, accusations of exploitation, and just bad, unlucky timing (see: every Comic Con during the pandemic). So Wattpad’s approach of focusing on connecting creators and fans is a smart one. As Levitz told Sherwood News, “The creators that are most successful on our platform understand the contract with their fandom: ‘I am not in this alone as a creator.’” 

Read more.

Xbox is doing pretty well at everything except selling Xboxes

In Microsoft’s earnings report last week, the tech giant said its annual gaming revenue climbed to $23.45 billion. About $5 billion of that was from its subscription service, Game Pass (a record). But gaming hardware revenue fell 25% this fiscal year. Just see the staggering difference between Xbox’s hardware revenue and its competitor.

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