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Arguably the best part of what we do at Written (besides helping authors sells their books directly) is… reading. On any given day, our team reads. A lot. And since we are a platform for self-published authors, it’s no secret that we have a soft spot for independent titles.
With the release of Threshing Day and the upcoming launch of A Court of Splintered Harmony, this month all eyes are on romantasy. And since self-published authors have made a significant contribution to this genre, we couldn’t miss out on making a list of the notable independent romantasy releases of 2026.
Here it comes:

Mila Finch’s Runebreaker…

For centuries, people around the world have craved the thrill of being spooked, seeking out dread as a way to disconnect from the monotony of daily life.
In fact, horror stories were so popular they became mass-produced pop culture. In 19th century England, millions of people read Penny Dreadfuls every week. Long before traditional publishing as we know it existed!
From the start, horror authors used the genre as a platform to explore deeper social issues: the world-famous Frankenstein is a commentary on the Industrial Revolution, and Dracula speaks to xenophobia and immigration.
But despite wide recognition and cultural depth, horror largely remained known as cheap, meaningless entertainment.

Until recently.…

On Written, you can publish almost anything: fiction, nonfiction, essays, serialized stories. Our authors range from individual writers building an audience one chapter at a time, to brands using the platform to tell a bigger story. Today, we're excited to share one of the latter: a new release from 1inch, one of the leading decentralized finance ecosystems, publishing a book about the very industry it helped build.
The book is called reDeFine Money, and it's the first-person history of decentralized finance, told through interviews with the founders and builders who shaped it. It first appeared as a limited physical print run at ETHConf NY in June 2026, and it's now available as a digital edition on Written.…

Do you write horror that lingers? Stories that unsettle, haunt, and make skin crawl? And have you ever pictured it on a big screen?
If so, Written in the Dark is for you.
Written in the Dark is a writing contest, created to spotlight emerging voices in literary horror. Authors of 4 best short stories will split $4,000 in cash prizes, and 1 will get an opportunity to pitch their work to film producers actively seeking horror material for movie adaptation.
To participate, submit your best work by October 15th, 2026.

Why horror, why now?

We are now in a unique moment for horror: after decades of being boxed into a “genre entertainment” category, horror writers no longer have to chose between literary recognition and mainstream success.…

Header image: Until I Loved You by Whitney LeShay

You’re registered on Written — congratulations!

Now it’s time to set up your author profile. It’s simple and fast, but if you approach it intentionally, it can become a valuable asset for your personal brand and visibility.
Think of your author profile as a personal landing page. Written profiles index well by search engines, which means that your page can show up when someone is looking for your name, genre, style, and relevant keywords.

Best practices

1. Use your full or pen name to make sure people can find you.…

Your favourite author likely has a newsletter that they use to connect with their audience, announce upcoming events and more. But did you know that a newsletter can turn into a book? Thanks to platforms like Substack, it's happening more and more often. And sometimes, these books really take off.
In this post, we are looking at three writers who took their mailing lists and turned them into traditionally published books, and quite successful ones at that.

Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American → Democracy Awakening

When a historian from Chicago started a newsletter in 2019 to explain the news through historical context, she likely didn’t expect it to grow into Substack's largest newsletter, with millions of subscribers.…

Over decades, fan fiction has become a widely acknowledged (and beloved) genre, providing an opportunity for fans to connect with their favourite fictional universes and likeminded people. From the writing perspective, this term was used to distinguish ‘amateurs’ from ‘professional writers’; and while some stories were read by millions of people, community recognition didn’t translate into any further opportunities for authors.
That’s changed. Thanks to unwavering support of readers and growing interest from attentive publishers, what used to be a purely passion-driven hobby is now a real path into a published author career.
In this article, we’re covering four bestselling authors, whose success in the publishing world started with writing fan fiction.…

Still think self-publishing is a second-best option to launch your book? These three authors proved that it can be the other way around.

Self-published titles have been breaking through for years, but if before it was a rare exception, today it has become a pattern. It’s enough to open any recent issue of Publishers Weekly: you'll find news about self-published authors landing six and seven-figure deals.
What was once stigmatized as a "not good enough" fallback has become increasingly popular – not only as a way to get a major publishing house’s (or a film studio’s!) attention, but as a long-term strategy to maximize revenue and maintain creative control.
In this article, we are looking at authors who did just that.

Andy Weir: from free chapters to a Matt Damon film…

What tools can I use to format my book?
How do I create a book cover?
Where should I self-publish?
These are the questions every independent author navigates before they turn their manuscript into a ready-to-sell title. With a growing number of self-publishing tools, writers have more freedom and agency over their publishing journey than ever, but they also face more decisions at every step of the way.
Choosing the right publishing platform is, arguably, the most consequential: it affects how much you earn per sale, when you get paid, what content you can publish, and how much control you keep over your own work.
This guide focuses on Written: what it offers, what kind of authors get the most out of it, and where it might not be the right fit.

What is Written?…

How do I self-publish a book, and which platform should I use?

This question is relevant not just to new authors, but to established writers and creators who are constantly navigating decisions around how to monetize their writing, add income streams, and maximize what they earn from their books.
In this article, we compare Amazon KDP and Written to help you choose the self-publishing platform that best fits your goals.

What is Written?

Written is a direct-to-reader publishing platform that allows authors to publish and monetize their writing while earning 90% on every sale. Free-to-use and currently available for ebooks, it also supports instant payouts, limited editions and resale, offering additional revenue streams for authors and creators with an audience.…