( CNN ) -- Macmillan Publishing has decided to do `` A Little Something Different '' by crowd-sourcing and letting readers pick some of the books it will publish . The publisher 's aptly titled Swoon Reads imprint targets readers in the market for a good young adult romance . Fans of young adult fiction are a passionate community and they know what they like . Jean Feiwel , a veteran of children 's publishing known for her work with popular series like `` The Baby-Sitter 's Club '' and `` Goosebumps , '' was eager to find a new way to hear what readers want . After witnessing the success of self-published authors like Colleen Hoover and Abbi Glines , Feiwel realized that much of the talent being surfaced by readers was n't reaching her or other publishers through agents . She wanted to establish a direct way for readers and writers to connect with Macmillan and fill the gap . Two years ago , she put out a call for Macmillan employees to attend a lunch meeting about how Macmillan could find these teen romance stories . Soon , the book version of `` American Idol '' was born , built by volunteers within the company who had a passion for young adult fiction . The Swoon Reads site launched in September 2013 . Unpublished writers submitted their manuscripts and users read and voted on their favorite stories , using comments and a Swoon index measuring the emotions the stories triggered . Out of the reader favorites , Swoon Read 's team of editors would award publishing contracts to a few writers each season . Feiwel 's goal is six books a year from Swoon , selected from the voting pool for spring/summer , fall and winter . While Swoon Reads is focused only on romantic young adult fiction , Macmillan Children 's Publishing Group President Jon Yaged believes the crowd-sourcing model could work for other genres like sci-fi , mystery and romance -- anything with a `` rabid reader base that is engaged and eager to share their opinions . '' The first book published was Sandy Hall 's `` A Little Something Different '' in August . Hall , a librarian who specializes in books for teens , saw Feiwel talking about Swoon and its quest for fresh manuscripts in an interview . As a librarian , Hall had a good idea of what teens were looking for and not finding . One student expressed a desire to read about two characters with parallel lives who ca n't seem to meet . Hall wondered what the familiar trope might look like if told from multiple perspectives of people who witness the two characters ' missed connections . After a couple of weeks of planning , Hall wrote the story in six days and submitted it to Swoon in November 2013 . `` I do n't think I 'll ever have that kind of magic again , '' she said . Hall started seeing feedback soon after posting the story and she became obsessed with checking the comments and ranking . `` There is something to be said about constructive criticism from strangers , because they are n't worried about ending the friendship , '' Hall said . `` And what 's great about Swoon is when a story starts to gain traction , the whole community takes notice . '' On a snowy day in February , Hall found out she had been awarded a publishing contract . Feiwel said that Hall 's story connected with Swoon readers and the editorial staff because of its quirky points of view and refreshing lightness . Hall and other Swoon writers have formed a debut author support group , sharing advice , asking questions and exchanging laughs over email and social media . The group will continue to grow as Swoon publishes more writers . It 's exactly the kind of community Feiwel envisioned for Swoon . `` Writers who are new to writing can get a nurturing community , so that they learn how to write and they are benefiting from being on the site whether they get published or not , '' Feiwel said . `` People are commenting on their work in a constructive way and helping them . '' Feiwel and her team post writing advice on the Swoon blog to mentor and encourage users on the art of crafting stories . They also want to `` pull back the curtain '' on the publishing industry for writers . Swoon Reads has hired Lauren Scobell , former consumer marketing director at Nickelodeon , as its director . This enables Feiwel to focus on her imprint , Feiwel and Friends , as well as think more creatively about opportunities for Swoon . In this venture , the publishing industry is learning , too . `` When we go to edit the books that we 've chosen , we gather the reader comments and many times they say things that we have n't thought of , '' Feiwel said . `` They 're choosing book covers we would n't have chosen . We are really cultivating a community of writers and readers and we 're grateful to the readers -- they 're doing a lot of the commenting , a lot of the work and expanding the definition of what we know appeals to people . ''
Swoon lets readers vote on the books they want published . The first book published by Swoon Reads was `` Goosebumps in February . Swoon will publish 6 books a year ; the new model opens up the industry , says a publisher .