Jean Feiwel

Ellen Harvey is a freelance writer and editor who covers the latest technologies and strategies reshaping the publishing landscape. She previously served as the Senior Editor at Publishing Executive and Book Business.

The rise of self-publishing has already catapulted a few lucky writers to the top of bestseller lists. And major publishing houses often try to woo these stars into their fold. Swoon Reads, a new young adult romance publisher, is taking this dance a step further. It has added crowdsourcing to the mix, promising a contract to the writer whose book wins the hearts of a community of online readers.

On Friday - Valentine's Day - Swoon Reads announced the winner of that contract: Sandra Hall a teen librarian in Morristown, N.J.

Inspired by the recent flux in authors sidestepping the traditional route, Feiwel and her team last month launched Swoon Reads, a crowdsourcing publishing platform for authors of young adult fiction.

In short, it's a network where aspiring authors like Hoover can submit their manuscripts and have them critiqued by both Macmillan's staff and users of the site. Once enough submissions are collected and reviewed, Macmillan will publish the top-rated stories.

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