Should You Post Your Novel Online for Free?

July 11, 2022 – 07:54 am

Q: Is it a good idea to serialize an unpublished novel in a weekly blog? I have a completed sci-fi novel and was thinking about releasing it online, but I wasn’t sure if I should do this. Would it be good publicity for my novel, or would it make it harder to get my book published in the future? —Tiffany A.

Publishing your material online for free has pros and cons. Let’s start with the cons, because no one ever worries about the potential pros (sky-high blog hits, making too much money, landing on the cover of WD, etc.).

The biggest con you face by giving away your writing online is that you could potentially hurt future book sales. Those who take a stance against free online content are fond of asking: Why would people pay for the content if they could pop onto your website and read it for free (after all, isn’t that one of the major reasons newspapers are struggling)? Many agents and editors are also leery of attaching themselves to writing that’s already been published online—because once you post it online, it is considered published, albeit digitally.

You can set yourself up for personal discouragement, too—in an Internet world of anonymity, negative, tasteless comments are commonly posted on even the best writing. It can also be awfully disheartening if you post your work to your blog, check Google Analytics to see how many people are visiting, and find out that your readership consists of only four people—your two closest friends, your mom and someone named Spambot1.

On the flip side, there are significant pros to posting your work on the Web. For starters, some commenters could give useful feedback that gives you a glimpse of what’s working and what’s not in your novel. And it can be a boost to have that unpublished novel somewhere other than in your underwear drawer collecting dust while you shop it around to agents.

Of course, the No. 1 reason to post your work online is to build a following of loyal readers who enjoy your writing. In the publishing industry, that’s called “platform” and is highly attractive to agents, editors and publishers. If you’re able to create a built-in audience, you’ve already proven that there’s a market for your writing, and that can go a long way when it comes time to submit.

Writers like Cory Doctorow, Scott Sigler and Seth Harwood (to name a few) give their writing away online for free (the latter two do it by podcast) and have found great success. All have also enjoyed more traditional publishing success through book deals, speaking engagements and more. And all are adamant supporters of posting your work online for free for everyone to read.

So what does it all mean? Let me sum it up this way: Giving your work away online in the hopes of roping a traditional deal is a lot like online dating—you put all of your best assets on display for your potential suitors to see, and hope someone bites. It’s useful and practical and may provide long-term benefits, but there’s always the possibility you’ll be sleeping by yourself for the rest of your life.

how shopping cart works shein online shopping is from which country what to put on your shopping list how to use sbi maestro card for online shopping how to check if a shopping website is legitimate how to submit products to google shopping what are cheap online shopping sites how many people shopping online how much kwh does a house use uk when is late night shopping torquay 2017 when is exeter late night shopping what is the shopping challenge why is my house so dusty uk how to remove shopping deals from chrome how long do searches take when buying a house how many shopping malls in dubai when is dubai shopping festival 2014 starting how has online shopping changed the world how do you get priority shopping delivery when is primark starting online shopping where is meadowhall shopping centre how much to paint a house how to create a shopping cart on a website how has shopping changed since covid where is summer house located top boy how to describe a shopping centre where is the cheapest online shopping when do people start christmas shopping how to make shopping website in wordpress when does late night shopping start in ipswich 2017 who owns lakeside shopping centre why is there so much dust in my house how to do cheap grocery shopping when is black friday online shopping what time do asda take payment for online shopping where is taskmaster house where to go shopping on boxing day what is a safe house how to have a good shopping spree what shopping is near me how to contact asda online shopping

Source: www.writersdigest.com

You might also like:

Watch Novel Romance (2005) Free Online
Watch Novel Romance (2005) Free Online
Read The Rosie Project: A Novel Online Free
Read The Rosie Project: A Novel Online Free
The One & Only: A Novel Read Online Free
The One & Only: A Novel Read Online Free
EROTICA:ROMANCE: DARK BIG SEXY STRANGER MAN FANTASY (Best Friend Taboo Erotic Adult Short Sex Stories Books For Women): Contemporary Secret Online XXX (Naughty Contemporary Women's Fiction Tease)
eBooks ()

Related posts:

  1. YA novels on poverty
  2. Visual novels online free
  3. Online Literature