Iconic publisher Simon & Schuster has hit upon a way to revolutionize literature: It’s going to crowdsource a book about Taylor Swift. This is clearly a brilliant idea, since it means not having to deal with a normal writer (most of whom are greedy, lazy, and just generally untalented) or whatever non-Taylor Swift subject matter most people write books about. The plan is for the book to be a celebration of how much people love Taylor Swift, and big Taylor Swift fans can go to SwiftFanBook.com to submit any great photos they’ve taken or touching works of art they’ve made over the years that really sell the idea that Taylor Swift is great and deserves a book about how great she is. Fans can also suggest their favorite “profiles, Q&As, reviews, poems, online lists” and other writings, but it doesn’t sound like you can just submit essays about her or whatever.
For that, the publisher is turning to actual writers (begrudgingly, we assume). As reported by Deadline, the book will feature stuff written by Chuck Klosterman, Jody Rosen, Jada Yuan, Lizzie Widdiecombe, Ann Powers, and Sasha Frere-Jones. Also, while this whole thing may sound a little bit like a scam, some of the people involved will actually be getting paid for their contributions. SwiftFanBook.com will be holding three contests to determine core aspects of the book, with the winners of those contests getting real money. First is the book’s title, with the winning suggestions earning its writer $2,500. Then there’s the “honorary author,” who will get $10,000 and be shipped around for signings and media appearances. Last is the contest to design the book’s cover, which will grant the winner $5,000.
The Taylor Swift book will be released on October 24, 2016, which happens to be the 10-year anniversary of the release of her first album, Taylor Swift (or “The Blue Album” as fans maybe call it).