James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, started a company early in 2010 called Full Fathom Five which now employs more than twenty-eight writers. The purpose of the company, dubbed a “fiction factory,” is to work collaboratively with writers to produce the next big Young Adult novel sensation, hoping additionally to land movie deals and television shows and to develop merchandising opportunities. The goal, essentially, is to follow the wild success of series like Harry Potter and Twilight.

According to a story in New York magazine, after first having MFA students pitch story ideas, Frey then hires them to write drafts. Suzanne Mozes, author of the NY magazine story, was an MFA student at Columbia when Frey visited her class and eventually offered the opportunity to the students. Mozes, very interested by the prospect of working with Frey and perhaps making use of his marketing capabilities for her own work came close to signing a contract to work on a story for him. The contract, however, presents problems for those who sign it.

In exchange for delivering a finished book within a set number of months, the writer would receive $250 (some contracts allowed for another $250 upon completion), along with a percentage of all revenue generated by the project, including television, film, and merchandise rights—30% if the idea was originally Frey’s, 40% if it was originally the writer’s. The writer would be financially responsible for any legal action brought against the book but would not own its copyright. Full Fathom Five could use the writer’s name or a pseudonym without his or her permission, even if the writer was no longer involved with the series, and the company could substitute the writer’s full name for a pseudonym at any point in the future. The writer was forbidden from signing contracts that would “conflict” with the project; what that might be wasn’t specified. The writer would not have approval over his or her publicity, pictures, or biographical materials. There was a $50,000 penalty if the writer publicly admitted to working with Full Fathom Five without permission.

Bloggers, journalists, writers, and readers alike have since responded to Moze’s story. Maureen Johnson, blogger and YA writer, said, “I do take offense at someone who is blatantly and knowingly taking advantage of his own people—writers. People whose desire to work in publishing might blind them to the risks involved in signing on the dotted line. Or they might not understand the consequences.”

One of Frey’s first successes with Full Fathom Five, a book called I am Number Four about aliens disguised as teenagers, has been adapted for the big screen. It’s currently being produced in Pennsylvania with a budget reported to be around $60 million.