XF Fanfic Writers Who Went On To Professional Writing Careers
Clearly these are just the folks I know.
Johanna Schaffhaussen (@syntax6) - She wrote fanfic as Syntax6 and is now a crime novelist. Check out her fanfic (very, very good casefiles). Check out her novels.
Claudia Gray (@claudiagray) - I don’t hear XF fandom bringing her name up as much, but I heard her talk once and even mention her background in fanfic. She wrote XF fic as Amy Vincent and now does paranormal YA romance / Star Wars novels as Claudia Gray. (Side note: CC said in a podcast interview last year that an author who had written Star Wars novels approached him with an idea for an XF novel, and he liked it and approved it. I really hoped it might be her, but I never heard more.) Check out her fanfic. Check out her Wikipedia page. Check out her novels.
Laura Bontrager (@writingwell) - I mentioned her recently because @randomfoggytiger is such a fan! She wrote XF fanfic as RocketMan, and she's gone on to write romance / mystery novels. Check out her fanfic. Check out her novels.
Sonny Whitelaw - She wrote as Spider and became an ecothriller / speculative fiction author. She apparently also teaches classes at the New Zealand Writers' College. Check out her fanfic. Check out her Wikipedia page. Check out her novels.
Y'all, I bet there are more. There are probably anonymous authors we'll never know. But add to the list if you know some. Including yourself, obviously.
Here are more authors, ones with public links between their fanfic and non-fanfic-writing. I'm sure there are more too, especially anonymous authors.
Jenna Lynn Brown - She wrote fic as Jenna Tooms and has written original fiction, largely M/M romance. Check out her fanfic. Check out her Old School X interview. Check out her website, which links to her fiction.
Paula Graves - She wrote XF fics as Anne Haynes (very classic fics) and later wrote a number of novels. Sadly, she passed away. Check out her fanfic. Check out her website. Check out her fanlore page for more info.
Roxanne Longstreet Conrad - She wrote fic as Julie Fortune and is a NYT bestselling author as Rachel Caine. Sadly, she passed away. Check out her fanfic. Check out her website. Check out her Wikipedia page. Check out her fanlore page for more info.
Sheryl Nantus - She wrote fic as Sheryl Martin and now has a number of romance novels. Check out her fanfic. Check out her Old School X interview. Check out her website.
Now I’m feeling old... :D