As if we needed more confirmation the publishing world is in upheaval, a breakout "Twilight" fan-fiction book has won two authors a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster imprint, Gallery, based on the success of "Fifty Shades of Grey."
"Beautiful Bastard," a reworked version of hit fan-fiction novel "The Office," was written by Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings under the pen name Christina Lauren and will be released Feb. 12, 2013. The book's sequel, "Beautiful Stranger" will be released on May 28, 2013.
Reimagining the Edward Cullen-Bella Swan relationship as a steamy love/hate romance between a boss and his assistant, "The Office" was one of the pioneers of the "Twilight" fan-fiction genre, generating more than two million downloads before being taken offline by the author in 2009.
Simon & Schuster's Gallery imprint bought the rights to the story in a pre-emptive situation for what insiders describe as a "substantial" advance, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Beatiful Bastard" is the first project to go directly from fan-fiction to traditional publishing without an intermediary step.
Since being published last year, "Fifty Shades of Grey" has become notorious for its explicit sexual content and controversial portrayal of a relationship involving BDSM. The novel has sold more than 30 million copies in the U.S., and more than 10 million copies to British readers, making James' book the UK's fastest-selling book of all time. All three books from James' trilogy have remained in the top five of The New Yorks Times' bestsellers list for over five months.
James' books have become such a widespread phenomenon, the author was chosen as one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2012.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" type erotica/romance novels like Sylvain Reynaud's "Gabriel's Inferno," and Sylvia Day's "Bared To You," have earned seven-figure advances as publishers try to replicate the unprecedented success of E.L. James' surprise hit.
"The Office paved the way for Fifty Shades and a thousand other imitators. It turned fanfiction's "porn without plot" into porn as plot, peopling Twilight's basic plot structure with sexually voracious, assertive and snarky adults," says Anne Jamison, a professor at the University of Utah, who studies fan-fiction.
"Beautiful Bastard" tells the story of the sharp-witted Chloe Mills, an intern at a company who is about to earn her MBA and embark on a successful career, but finds her herself caught up in a steamy love/hate relationship with her "exacting, blunt inconsiderate" boss Bennett Ryan.
The authors say they tried to stay true to their source material, but admit that only about "20 percent" of the original story remains. The writing duo substantially reworked it for traditional publishing.
Originally Hobbs and Billings said they had no intention of revisiting "The Office," but in the wake of the success of "Fifty Shades of Grey" and similar books, interest in the story grew in intensity. The pair reworked Hobbs' original story into "Beautiful Bastard."
The book is being pitched with the tag: "An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered over 2 million hits in under a year."