Kindle Worlds: Do fan fiction writers want to make money?

Amazon has announced that fan fiction authors will be able to sell some of their work on the firm's Kindle e-book platform.

Fan fiction is literature inspired by popular books, films and TV shows, written by enthusiasts. Publication outside of blogs and online fanzines is often difficult because of copyright issues.

A deal with a TV division of Warner Brothers enables fan fiction based on three TV series to be self-published. They are Gossip Girls, The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars.

Authors will be able to upload their writing for sale via a new platform called Kindle Worlds. They will receive 35% of the overall price of their work in royalty payments if they have written 10,000 words or more, and 20% for works of 5,000-10,000 words under a new pilot scheme for shorter stories.

The fan fiction community is divided between those who welcome an opportunity to make money and others who claim it could lead to enthusiastic but inexperienced writers being exploited.

The BBC spoke to Jen West, Naomi Novik and Francesca Coppa, three passionate fan fiction authors in New York.

Produced by Anna Bressanin; images by Ilya Shnitser