Sure, we winced when ex-Twilight story 50 Shades of Grey became the giant bestseller of 2012. But for the world of fanfic, what’s worse than watching badly-written BDSM shoot up the bestseller lists?
Could it be… Boy band fan fiction? Penguin has picked up a story called Loving the Band, written by a 16-year-old “One Direction super-fan”. Maybe the cash will help take the sting out of the embarrassment she’ll feel about the thing in 5 to 10 years – assuming it proves even a fraction as sucessful as 50 Shades, anyway.
I find this more worrisome than 50 Shades, simple because it deals with real people. Even if they are celebrities, they’re not characters. The publishing company is making her changes the names which is good.
But I find the placing of real people in “fanfics” to be taking things a bit too far. You can’t hurt a fictional character’s feelings or personal relationships. Celebs, particularly young celebs have to fight enough bad info and pressure as is.