If You Believe ...
Congratulations to ex-fanfiction writer extraordinaire Jennifer Pelland for her SECOND Nebula nomination for Ghosts of New York (Dark Faith). Aside from being tickled pink by Jennifer's much-deserved nomination, I'm posting this here to remind those of you out there with one-day aspirations that yes, it can be done. And has been done, actually, by many, many folks, some of whom you know and some of whom you've only heard (or not heard) about.
There are those who get their jollies telling fanfiction writers that nothing good, or paid, can come from writing fanfic. In case you haven't already figured as much out for yourself: they are full of shit.
Fanfiction is a great venue in which to learn your craft and exercise it amidst a built-in audience willing to provide copious feedback on both successes and failures. Off the top of my head, I can say that I personally know of seven writers with whom I've personally fanficced over the years who are not only writing professionally now, but writing professionally to great success and/or critical regard.
All of which is to say this: don't listen to the naysayers who have good (financial) reason to dishearten their potential competition. If you believe in yourself, and if you use fanfiction as a form by which to learn and experience and evolve as a writer (rather than simply to porn and wank and ego-stroke), there is no limit to what you can accomplish, if you want to accomplish it.
What you do accomplish, on the other hand, is all up to you. And, just on the FYI front, often quite contrary to what those so-called "professional" fanfic bashers would have you believe.
I'm jes sayin ...
And congrats again to Jennifer. Huzzah.