Dorian’s no-code, interactive storytelling app turns fiction writers into game developers –
Summary
As users navigate the free-to-play app, they can spend in-app currency to unlock alternative story routes, directly putting a cut of the payment in the author’s pocket. Instead of publishing a short story, where writers are usually awarded a flat fee (or no pay at all, for smaller markets), Dorian offers a more continuous revenue stream. But FanLib required submitters — even those who didn’t win the contest — to forfeit the rights to their work, allowing it to be used for commercial purposes (the platform was sold to Disney and shut down two years later). Dorian is targeting a different market — it’s not about writing “Harry Potter” fan fiction, but rather building off of the stories of peer writers on the platform while helping the original authors retain some financial stake in the derivative works they inspire. But as the Ukrainian founder grows her company from San Francisco, she is also coping with the brutal attacks on her home country and trying to help her family, who remain in Ukraine.
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