There’s something beautiful about a series rising above that of just a collection of books by a single author. Star Wars, Warhammer, Harry Potter are all major franchises run by large companies with many authors and creators, but they also have something else in common – fans that have made that world a part of their identity, created fan content and formed a fandom.
I would love for the Katverse and Post-Cataclysmic Earth to form a fandom, where readers feel like they can truly belong in the Katverse and make it a part of their identity. And to do that, I would like to enable readers and fans to contribute to the Katverse by encouraging and allowing them to use the IP to make their own content. And perhaps even make some money from it.
This article is a guide on certain things you can do with the Katverse world and some guidelines around them.
In general, what’s most important to me is seeing people enjoying my books and the world I’ve created. And I want people to contribute to that world. If you have any ideas for something, you’d like to do around the Katverse, just do it! If you are unsure, ask in the Kat’s Crusaders group or contact me by replying to any of my newsletters.
Fan Fiction
Fan Fiction is a great opportunity for you to flex your creative muscles in a world you love. Basically, take the Katverse setting, and write a story in it. As long as you aren’t publishing the work for money, you can do whatever you want.
People write their own fan fiction of Harry Potter all the time, even writing novels longer than the original series.
If you would like to test your creative writing abilities and show it to an audience hungry for more stories set in the Katverse, please feel free to use the setting. And send them to me and publish them on the Kat’s Crusaders group! High quality fanfic may be published on the Kat’s Crusaders Website.
And who knows? If the story is consistent with the world of the Katverse and is of a high quality, I may even canonise it, making it an official part of the series and letting you sell it to make yourself some cash.
Lore Articles and Wikis
Fancy yourself an attentive reader and master of lore? How about collect the knowledge and facts hidden away in the series and collate them into lore articles for this site or even the Wiki.
This is a huge universe and even as an author, I lose track of a lot of the information I come up with. Having a Katverse scholar organise things is a great help and cements the series as a world full of discovery and knowledge.
Fan Art
There’s already some great fan art on the website, and the community is always hungry for more. Draw anything from the series or just inspired by the setting and post it in the group or send it to me. I love seeing the books come to life in art and in different styles.
And if you contribute enough, you may make it to the Hall of Fame.
Memes
Illustration may not be your interest, but that shouldn’t stop you from making some fun memes to communicate in-jokes from the series to other fans. There’s already a collection of fun memes on the site and we’d love to see more!
We even have a Google Drive with some assets to help you get started. Even if you don’t use Photoshop, Canva should be enough to help get you started.
Using popular meme formats to make something distinctly Katverse-y can go a long way to help cement the fandom and its particular culture of humour.
Book Selfies
If you don’t fancy yourself as that creative but still want to show your love of the series, simply taking a selfie of yourself with the book (in print or on a device) and uploading it to social media can go a long way to spread awareness of the book and help the community grow.
Graphic Quotes
Have a quote from the series that you like? Use Canva to make a picture incorporating the quote and upload it online. These can be very fun and a good way to spread what you loved about the series.
Merchandise
This is where I’m going to be quite different from other authors and companies. I want you to make Kat Drummond Series and Katverse themed merchandise and sell it. What do I want in return? No money. Just that you do the series proud and spread the word.
Got an idea for a Kat themed t-shirt? How about a Conrad Khoi mug? Design them, use a merchandise print-on-demand site to lower costs, and use the Kat’s Crusaders to market. If I like what you’ve made, I may even provide a platform for you to sell.
Just make sure you own the artwork and content you’re using to produce the merch!
Cosplay
Fancy dressing up and cosplaying? Dress up as your favourite characters from the Katverse. Who doesn’t want to own Kat’s flaming coat? I’d love to see some great cosplays, even if you’re just cosplaying a nameless hunter from the universe.
Dress up as a hunter of Hope City and send us photos to feature on the site. Or go the extra mile and make Katverse props and outfits to really enter the universe.
Podcasting
Do you love podcasting? Me too! If you run a podcast, I’d love it if you could discuss the series on your podcast. I’m even up for coming on as a guest if you’d like!
Additionally, I may want to start a Katverse podcast on my YouTube channel. If you’re keen, we could collaborate. Speak to me if you’d like to get involved with the YouTube channel!
Fan Narration
Audiobooks are an expensive venture. I’d love to produce more, but they are super expensive. But if you’d like to do a fan narration, we could arrange something.
As it stands, you are welcome to narrate ANY of my short stories or lore articles without prior permission. Please just credit me.
If you would like to do a fan narration of a novel, please contact me.
Conclusion
The Katverse fandom is rapidly growing and a lot of people are already doing this stuff. This article just serves to provide a framework for fans who want to get involved but don’t know how. In general, just know that I’m more excited about fan creation than copyright. So, get creative! I can’t wait to see what you make.