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Online writing platform Wattpad and independent publisher Sourcebooks are forming a new partnership in the US that will see the publisher releasing popular Wattpad titles.
The partnership, focussing on YA titles, will see Sourcebooks editing and producing Wattpad-branded editions of YA stories in print and as e-books, as part of Wattpad's Fan Funding scheme. The books will be distributed through Sourcebook Fire, the publisher's YA imprint.
Fan Funding will allow fans to provide imput on character names and vote on jacket designs, and has driven two titles scheduled for release in 2014, My Life with the Walter Boys, a romance by Ali Novak that has been read 22m times, and The Cellar by Natasha Preston, a thriller that has notched up 6m reads.
Sourcebooks will also sponsor the Watty Awards, a competition which showcases popular content on the site, while Sourcebook authors will also write material to go on the site.
Wattpad c.e.o. Allen Lau said: "This partnership will create substantial value for writers by cross-promoting their work and exposing their stories to millions of young readers, while also satisfying the avid reader’s need for original content. It’s a natural fit, as both Wattpad and Sourcebooks believe in finding innovative models that evolve the digital publishing landscape."
Sourcebooks c.e.o. and publisher Dominique Raccah said the partnership would provide "new opportunities for our existing authors to engage with new audiences". She added: "This partnership is all about helping connect talented authors with readers."