u/hannahatl

Hi all!

I'm new here, and hoping for perspective from anyone who's turned a fanfiction into an original self-published novel.

Here's my situation. I wrote a long AU of a beloved novel. I moved it roughly two centuries forward, changed the setting and the characters' whole world (jobs, class, community), added characters, gave everyone fuller backstories, and deep-dove into themes the original only brushed. There's a lot of original material. But the overall plot still follows the same general map as the source.

I'm torn on what to do with it. I'm deeply attached to the story and the characters as I've written them. They don't feel like the source's characters to me anymore, so "just write something completely original instead" doesn't sit right, even though I know that's the clean answer. At the same time, I don't want to publish something that's really just the original wearing a costume.

So my actual questions:

- If you transformed a fic into an original novel, how did you know when it had become genuinely *yours* vs. still too close?

- At what point did it make more sense to keep transforming vs. start fresh—and how did you make peace with that call if you were attached to the fic?

- For those who've self-published—where do people actually publish these days, and how did you get started? (Total beginner here.)

- Is talking to an IP lawyer something people in this situation usually do, or is that overkill? Genuinely don't know

Would love to hear how others navigated the attachment side of this, not just the legal side.

Thank you!

I recently read a book like this, where the hero knows the heroine has some doubts and basically just sticks a ring on her finger and is like "we're married now." Looking for more of these!

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This happened in >!Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan.!<

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>“You know what? I don’t trust you. Here.” Leo grabs my left hand and shoves a thin gold band on my finger. This is less like a romantic gesture and more like the handcuffing of a fugitive. “We’re married now, okay? Like in your head, just get that straight. This is happening.”

&#x200B;

The handcuffing a fugitive thing took me out especially since this is a contemporary romance and the hero is this super sweet guy who's not pushy at all. Anyways, looking for this. M/F only please.

Thoughts on Epilogues?

I finished a 200k word longfic last week and I'm so so proud of it but ashamed of how much I am needing validation on it. I have this one commenter who has been loyal to my story, constantly commenting on each new chapter within hours of it being posted, which I've loved and getting to kind of go back and forth with them on the canon and theories has been a lot of fun. Honestly it has been an absolute highlight to have this kind of engagement.

They last commented on my second to last chapter, and the comment read very much like a goodbye with "be safe" and "I've enjoyed this story so much," and "I will miss these characters." Of course I thanked them since comments are truly a gift, and in that I gently reminded them that an epilogue was coming, and they responded to my reply with more story back and forth with me but never said anything about my epilogue reminder. At this point the epilogue has been posted, the story is complete, and it's been long enough that I'm realizing they're done with it and I see them commenting on other fics in the fandom.

I guess my question is, do people hate epilogues? Is it common to skip them altogether? If so, is it because epilogues are usually fluffy? Mine wasn't all fluff, it was a hard won HEA and my pairing had to work for it a bit even through the epilogue (such is life) and there were some loose threads that needed to be dealt with. I guess I just don't understand. Again, I know no one owes me comments, they truly are a gift, but I guess I still feel a little hurt and confused by this even though I know I shouldn't be.

I'm watching Sanditon right now again and this is the dynamic between Lord Babington and Esther. He pursues her shamelessly and she insults him constantly. He's very golden retriever to her black cat. But, there's also this depth to him, there's a scene later when she cries when a bunch of her nasty past comes out and he's just like "I wanna take care of you", basically. The man does not quit.

What I really love is just how he smiles whenever she insults him or turns him down. He doesn't, like, lament about it, it kinda just makes him pursue her harder. He even seems like he likes it.

I know this is kind of a niche, but does anyone know of any books with similar dynamics?

Title, basically. Not sure if y'all have watched Rivals at all, but there's an age gap thing going on between two of the characters Rupert and Taggie. He's basically this debauched playboy type and she's this innocent and kind 20 something and despite him being an absolute ass the first time he met her, he's totally like just seeing her as this angel (he actually calls her angel) and hates himself because of how she views him ("I see myself reflected in your eyes and I don't like what I see." 🥺). Last week, since the show is releasing weekly, my poor heart, he even saw her with kids and did the whole "I wish..." thing and trailed off while staring at her discretely adoringly in the car.

Anyways, looking for more of that. Debauched playboy type, meets an angel who is disgusted by him and it makes him view himself through that lens and go "oh damn, maybe I'm actually not a good person." Age gap is totally fine, only M/F please. Would like a FMC with a backbone who's not immediately going to hop into his arms. Make that man work for it 👏🏻

Thanks in advance 🙏🏻

Hi y'all,

I was watching Paradise (on Hulu) recently and while it's not my favorite show and I don't recommend it for romance lovers (>!the couple in question doesn't have a HEA, if you want me to spoil more, I will!<), there's a scene that I found really really good in it and I'm looking for more books with that dynamic.

In short, it's apocalypse times, Shailene Woodley's character is holed up in Graceland for years alone when a group of dudes come in looting. They're actually good guys, she does fight them a good bit but eventually she trusts them and her and one guy (Link) really hit it off. The scene I am thinking about is the whole group lets her give them a tour of the mansion and they slowly start to disappear, leaving her with Link. The tension is delicious and it's obvious that they're going to kiss and have sex but she starts crying before, sobbing because she'd been so lonely, all alone for years and it's just a lot for her to have this gentle guy there for her and make her feel not lonely but known and seen. They still have sex after, but I found the scene before it just so so touching. And of course she's embarrassed for crying which made the scene just very vulnerable.

Anyways. Does anyone know of anything similar? Doesn't have to be apocalyptic. Prefer M/F only, just basically looking for one MC getting emotional before intimacy and the other taking a comforting role.

Thanks y'all 🙏🏻