Know your audience.
Zayn Malik published the latest preview of his forthcoming autobiography, Zayn, on the best of all possible places -- fan fiction hub, Wattpad.
Fans have spent over 17 million minutes reading stories about Zayn since 2015, including "She is My Slave" written from Malik's perspective and "The Nanny," in which a girl named Abigale tries to pay for college by working as a nanny in the Malik household. Now, Zayn has his own author page, and he's using it to praise his fans' creativity.
SEE ALSO:M.I.A. and Zayn just want to chill out and take over the world on their single, 'Freedun'"When I was still in One Direction, fans would write stories based on me and the other lads and publish them online," he writes. "I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty unnerving reading things about yourself as a character from somebody else's imagination – but it's cool to see that so many fans engaged with the band on their own terms like that."
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While the experience of reading fan fiction about yourself is pretty surreal, he's happy to he could be a part of the process of fans' discovering their creative outlets.
"It's crazy to think that we inspired so many different stories and the opportunity for so much creativity from so many people all over the world," he continues.
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The book, out Nov. 1, includes visual elements, like his own drawings and personal photos, so it's not surprising that he's particularly psyched to see fans' artistic spins on his lyrics.
"My favorite stuff, personally, is fan art," he writes. "I love seeing how many different ways people interpret my lyrics and my style, and it's so cool that they share that with me. It's also weirdly touching to see how many talented people out there choose to apply that talent to something connected with me and my music. It's really humbling."
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Reaching out to his fanbase on Wattpad is a clever move for Zayn, who hasn't had the smoothest relationship with Directioners following his decision to go solo.
Plus, Wattpad should not be underestimated as a platform for sharing creative work. Twilightstarted as fan fiction, after all.
After, a story about a fictional version of Harry Styles that was originally published on Wattpad was optioned by Paramount for a feature film. The author, Anna Todd, will also releasing a book called Beforethat tells the story from fake Styles' point of view.
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