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Posted By: elle Would you blog your novel? - 07/13/07 04:27 AM
Read about Dave Wellington, a horror author who ended up with multiple publishing deals after he began a blog to serialise his horror novel.

You can also read my reviews of his books here.

How do you feel about this? Would you do it? Was it an inspired piece of marketing? Or do you think Dave copped out in the beginning by giving away his writing for free?
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/13/07 05:09 AM
I have always wondered about that. Would it be smart to post some of your writings for free to get exposed?

How about posting a chapter or two for free and then charging a per chapter fee after that.

I believe Stephen King did that. Didn't he write a book and then post it on the internet and charged people by the chapter? I believe it was around the late 90's when he did this.

I feel that writers trying to break into the business today could post some free stuff for exposure and if readers like your stuff, they will pay to read more.

Of course there is the thing that if people can read your stuff for free, why would they want to buy it? That is why I think post a couple of chapters to pique the readers interest and then charge them for the rest of the chapters or an e-book or something.
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/13/07 06:44 AM
Yup, Stephen King did post a book online on a pay per view basis. If my memory serves me correctly, he cancelled the project part way through because of lack of interest, or at least said he wouldn't be doing it again because it wasn't worth it. But that's Stephen King, and he was probably expecting the same number in the millions logging on as those buying his paperbacks. For an ordinary Joe, the numbers SK got would probably have him drooling to the bank.

Some other writers have used the options to read some free, pay for the rest. One way I've seen is to post a chapter and then ask for donations - once the donations reach a set amount the author releases the next chapter. So some lucky people can still read it for free, but those who really want to read it will pay to get it released.

Another thing to bear in mind with the way Wellington is doing the blog novel, is that many readers prefer to read print rather than screen. You may well have huge numbers reading the whole thing for free, but you'll also get some who read part of it, like it, and buy the paperback to read the rest. Those readers may then just go ahead and buy all the books if they liked one. In many cases, purchasing the paperback is less hassle and expense than cutting, pasting, and printing the whole thing out even for the stingiest reader. Also, you have the feel good factor - nice guy, letting you read for free, you like his work, why not just buy the book as a thank you?
Posted By: Jeanette - Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/13/07 02:56 PM
The only time I have posted chapters from the novels I am writing on the internet is when I want someone's opinion about the chapter or just to see the reaction the storyline is getting. I posted 3 versions of one chapter on one of my sites and had people chose what they thought which was better. It is a way to get people interested in your work and also I have gotten several editing jobs by doing this as well.
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/13/07 04:01 PM
GREAT article, Elle! This really caught my imagination because it's such a creative way to reach people. Of course, Wellington had to have a well-trafficked blog with a high page-rank in order to have the exposure in the first place, but you mentioned that he had that other guy handling his publicity from the beginning.

I'm with Amadeus on this one: I think posting the first chapter or three chapters for free is fine, but then it's time to charge a fee. Otherwise, I really don't understand how Wellington would even get offered book contracts (though he did) on the novels that were already completely available for free. Or were the contracts for future work based on how good his writing was in his free samples? (Even so, four novels seems way more than he needed to post for free in order to prove himself).

I do remember reading about a secretary who lived in Brooklyn, I think, who decided to cook every recipe in Julia Child's 700-page cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she blogged about her experience. Her blog got very popular, and it led to a book contract for her!
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/14/07 12:52 AM
Along with Elle's point of view though, I can see where people would buy his book after reading it on the net because there are a lot of people who do not like reading from a computer screen and would rather have a tangible book in their hands and I read a little bit of his book on the site and waiting to click on the next chapter just takes away the from the flow of reading it.

It is a good way to get exposure but I think posting two or threee books for free on the web is taking a chance on not getting paid for your work.

Tease the readers and make them want to purchase your stuff. If they don't then you are no worse off than before, right?
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/14/07 01:17 AM
Originally Posted By: Karm at Mystery Books
Otherwise, I really don't understand how Wellington would even get offered book contracts (though he did) on the novels that were already completely available for free. Or were the contracts for future work based on how good his writing was in his free samples? (Even so, four novels seems way more than he needed to post for free in order to prove himself).


No, the four books that have been published are all almost exactly as they were when they were posted on the blog and they are still available to read for free. I believe that there have been some editorial changes made to the print version, though - a slightly neater wrapping up, better flow from chapter to chapter, and typos fixed of course.

Wellington is close to finishing book 6 online now. When he received the contracts last year to publish essentially reprints of books that appear on his blog, he promised his online readers that he would continue to offer free fiction on his blog - really as a thank you for sticking with him (and also for the word-of-mouth advertising they did). I think a lot of those fans have bought his books (and he did offer extra content to make up for the fact that they were buying something they'd already read).

I think the contracts were actually offered based on the huge fanbase Wellington had managed to build up. He was obviously able to convince the publishers that the readership was there and that it was worth the investment.

Also, Wellington's original intention was simply to have his work read by real readers. He had reached the stage where he was sick of submitting to agents and publishers and not getting anywhere. When he reached this point, he decided just to put it out there and entertain a few people. I don't think he believed it would get this big, but it's paid off for him.

Quote:
Of course, Wellington had to have a well-trafficked blog with a high page-rank in order to have the exposure in the first place, but you mentioned that he had that other guy handling his publicity from the beginning.


No - this was a brand new blog that he started in order to offer the novel. They had to do the advertising and get traffic from scratch. But, yes, Wellington was very lucky to have Alex Lencicki, who actually is a book publicist, as a long time friend. I think Alex had a lot of contacts in the industry he could call on for publicity as well.
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/14/07 02:59 PM
Elle, thanks for clearing up my misunderstandings. That is really an amazing story. I find it very encouraging that Wellington managed to build so much momentum for his book/writing while starting from scratch as it were. I find it even more encouraging that his fans were so loyal and willing to buy something that they'd already read.

Particularly interesting is what you said about how he'd reached an empasse with submitting his book to agents and getting nowhere. I've never gone through that myself, but I understand that it's a hugely inefficient process that can tie up an author for years: no submitting your book to multiple agents, no emailing the agents to ask if he/she has gotten to your book yet, etc.

You can literally wait for months for one agent merely to turn you down, and then you're back where you started. And if you get an agent after all that time, you face the same wait-and-see process with finding an editor. Then, if you find an editor, sometimes due to budgetary constraints, your novel is never published! Not to point out all these horrible things that aspiring writers hear too much about anyway.

But the point is that Wellington found away around it. Good for Wellington for bypassing all of that and "leapfrogging" his novel straight to the readers. I think that's very creative.
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/14/07 11:45 PM
Yes, that's what caught my interest about it too. All that waiting and submitting makes you wonder what you're really writing for. If you take a step back like Wellington did, and realise you just want someone to read it and be entertained, it puts it in a different perspective suddenly.
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/15/07 03:29 PM
Yes! That aspect of the publishing world is of interest to me, too. I mean, the rise of blogging proves that, essentially, everyone and his grandmother wants to write. I mean, who knew? But the rise of all those countless creative writing programs in universities and community colleges through the last 20 years proves this, too. Gone are the days when people just read fiction and wondered how people like F. Scott Fitzgerald or John Cheever could do it (and because they, the professional writers, were relatively few in number, they could actually support a family in style on their earnings).

But now everyone wants to write which is great except that publishing companies, at least in the U.S., have the perception that supply vastly outweighs demand. I'm not so sure that this is true because if we're all writing, we're probably all avid readers as well. I mean, are we not each other's built-in audience? But the publishing companies, agents, editors, hangers-on, and other gate-keepers now have a stranglehold on what few submissions actually make it to the giant publishing houses.

(I hear that the publishing industry is not nearly this bad in Australia -- at least according to Max Barry's website! smile He says it's still possible for unagented and otherwise brand new writers to get a foot in the door.)

Anyway, the whole submit-and-wait thing is frustrating because there really is this vast population out there that is committed to writing and reading as never before. The problem is how to get around the publishing industry and reach them as Wellington did in your article.

One way to do it might be through e-publishers because it's so new a field that they are actually ASKING for submissions! I reviewed a book over on the Mystery site called Underdead by Liz Jasper, and her e-pub Cerridwen Press is seeking new fiction. Her situation is interesting in that she blended genres (comedy + horror + mystery) and various agents wouldn't touch her book because it didn't conform (due to its comedy) to the now established Laurell-K-Hamilton formula of very-dark-very-violent-very-sexy vampire stories.

What the various agents were forgetting is that back in 1993, no one would touch Hamilton's first Anita Blake book (Guilty Pleasures) either because she herself was blending genres (horror + mystery). Now Hamilton has single-handedly created her own sub-genre. Janet Evanovich has blended genres successfully (comedy + mystery + romance). These days, I suppose, if you believe in your writing and you're trying something even slightly creative and new, you're going to have to get around the traditional publishing industry to find your readers -- as Liz Jasper and Wellington did.

Wow, sorry about the length of this post!
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/16/07 01:07 AM
Quote:
(I hear that the publishing industry is not nearly this bad in Australia -- at least according to Max Barry's website! He says it's still possible for unagented and otherwise brand new writers to get a foot in the door.)


Actually it's worse in Australia. Most publishers won't touch anyone (not even an already published author*) without an agent, and most agents prefer that the new writers who submit to them already have the "interest" of a publisher. So, how is a new writer supposed to gain the interest of a publisher in order to gain the interest of an agent without an agent to introduce them to the publisher, who wants all submissions through an agent, in the first place? It's enough to make your head spin like Linda's sometimes.

(* a respected Australian author tested this theory last year by sending an unsolicited submission to a large publishing house only to be sent their form rejection letter. They weren't interested, but the newspapers were... The publishing house responded by deciding to "fire" the person responsible for rejecting the author (ie, the submissons editor), only when the journalists did a little further digging they discovered that this person didn't actually exist. The publishing house had been giving out a fake name to those who asked for the name of the submissions editor so that any submissions that came in addressed to this person were simply turned around and sent back unread. It was a great scandal - journalists were delighted - authors less so.)
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/16/07 05:38 PM
Oh, my God, what a disheartening story! I hope the journalists had a field-day crucifying those publishers in the newspapers!

I wondered at the time when I read Max Barry's website if it sounded too good to be true. Maybe he's remembering his own experiences awhile back before things got like this? Who knows.

It really is enough to make you say to hell with traditional publishers -- and put the fiction on a blog/website as Wellington did, or go to the epubs, or something to get the story to the people who count: the readers.
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/17/07 01:18 AM
I read the point you're talking about on his website. I think that was written either before this scandal, or he doesn't know about it, because it sounds like he's talking about how Aussie publishers haven't reached the hard-heartedness of US and UK publishers who straight out say no unsolicited submissions. In Aus, some claim that they do accept unsolicited, but then you have something like this happening where it seems that rather than pay an editor to scan through submissions and pull something promising out, they just pay a mail clerk or receptionist to open the envelope, slap a form note on it, and send it straight back in the SASE.

To my mind that is worse than simply saying "No unsolicited submissions", even though the perception is that the industry is "kinder" because they "appear" to be giving new writers a chance. Hundreds of authors waste their time and money on boomerang mail assuming that they have some sort of micro chance of getting someone's attention. The publishers "look" nicer because they're not saying no. But they don't need to say no, they just need to return some manuscripts.
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/17/07 01:55 AM
When I first sent a partial manuscript in to a publishing house years ago, I got a rejection letter stating that they enjoyed it but they have nothing to do with book publishing as they only publish magazines.

I was more excited about the rejection letter lol I yelled, "Yes, I am officially a struggling writer." lol.

The story you told Elle was very disheartening indeed. It really would have baked my muffins if that was me that it happened to.
Posted By: joanj Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/17/07 12:20 PM
I think anyone out there who wants to write either fiction or non-fiction, should really keep track of the new marketing techniques coming along. I am involved with marketing ebooks and there is an entire industry out there built around this. There are books on HOW to market ebooks!

I am watching with interest how this all will relate to fiction. I was actually thinking of some type of strategy for putting some chapters up for free and then charging something like $1 per chapter after that. For a 15 chapter book, you'd get more than you would for a print book.

I used to go to authors' fairs when I was a reporter and it is truly discouraging to be in a room of 50 writers, books piled high on a table in front of them, while they try and interest people in the purchasing. When they sell via Amazon, they only sometimes make a couple dollars a book so selling direct to readers is about the only way they can make anything. Printing costs are high so unless you get a publishing house to buy your manuscript and help market you, you aren't going to make much.

It was discouraging to me how many writers there are out there not making a penny for all their hard work. I think new marketing strategies are going to help tho if we keep up on the latest info there.

Joan
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/17/07 04:25 PM
These traditional-publishing/publisher stories are harrowing and infuriating -- it really bakes my muffins as well!
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/17/07 07:16 PM
Yeah not only does it bake my muffins but these stories really frost my cookies too.
Posted By: joanj Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/18/07 02:33 PM
Is everybody hungry or are you all writing cookbooks?-lol
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/18/07 05:07 PM
It might even puff my souffle! Or set my custard! lol
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/19/07 10:06 PM
LOL.

Well considering the trends towards adding cooking themes to mystery novels, I'm not surprised.
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/19/07 11:16 PM
Cooking themes in mystery novels really molds my jello
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/20/07 03:29 AM
Me, too! It could even be said to baste my turkey.
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/20/07 06:39 AM
I know what you mean Karm. It really salts my chips.
Posted By: joanj Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/20/07 11:54 AM
Somebody should be taking notes here for book titles!
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/20/07 03:59 PM
LOL! That's the best one yet, Amadeus. I think "salts my chips" is going to permanently creep into my vocabulary.

But seriously, Elle, do you have any idea why some of those Australian publishing houses might say that they accept manuscripts when they have no intention of doing so? Maybe they're understaffed (so they can't pay an editor to read through the "slush pile") but they want to appear bigger and more accomodating than they are. So they pretend to take manuscripts? Or is it to take control of the market somewhat to keep other people's potential novels from competing with their publications? (Okay, I admit that was paranoid!)

Joanj, is e-publishing the new way to go? I mean, there's no printing costs.

(I read with great interest your description of those book fairs with those poor authors at tables trying to peddle their books. I heard that E. Lynn Harris who writes African-American romances got his start by peddling his books out of the trunk of his car at beauty salons -- but he must have been the exception because he's on the best-seller list these days.)

I've heard that ebooks aren't catching on quite as fast as the epublishers had hoped. Maybe it's because the ebook-readers are still pricey. Or people are afraid to learn something new?

I've seen various ebook publishers actually putting out a call for submissions, believe it or not! (When was the last time we saw any publisher doing that?) But the downside to me is that I don't think you can market an ebook on Amazon. No ISBN!

I think Amazon used to sell ebooks, but now they just sell these little tiny things, e-short-stories I guess, and they've rolled all the other ebooks over to their subsidiary Mobipocket, which of course no one has ever heard of. Mobipocket doesn't even offer an affliate sales program!
Posted By: Vance - Crime Editor Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/20/07 06:26 PM
I think the problem with e-books is that most people do not like reading books off of a computer screen. More people like to hold an actual book in their hands and put it down when they want to stop.

However, I think as this computer generation of young people get older, e-books will become more and more popular because they will be cheaper and easier to access and you won't have to go to the pricey bookstores anymore.
Posted By: MB2345 Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/21/07 03:46 PM
I hope you're right, Amadeus! I'm not quite into the whole electronic thing myself. I recently asked a very nice author who wanted me to review her mystery ebook to mail me the manuscript which I then put in a three-ring binder so I could read it on the treadmill, in bed, at the kitchen table with my bird climbing all over me. I felt guilty about it, asking her to print the whole thing out, but I would have ended up reading it at a fifth of my usual pace if I had to sit at my computer screen to do it.

I've heard something about how we'll soon be able to read ebooks off our cell phones! I guess anything's possibly if we can now check our emails using our phones ...
Posted By: elle Re: Would you blog your novel? - 07/22/07 02:27 AM
Originally Posted By: Karm
But seriously, Elle, do you have any idea why some of those Australian publishing houses might say that they accept manuscripts when they have no intention of doing so? Maybe they're understaffed (so they can't pay an editor to read through the "slush pile") but they want to appear bigger and more accomodating than they are. So they pretend to take manuscripts? Or is it to take control of the market somewhat to keep other people's potential novels from competing with their publications? (Okay, I admit that was paranoid!)


I don't really know. I can only speculate along with the rest of the bemused literary establishment here. Personally, I think that they wanted to seem "nice", although I can't fathom why they would want to have to deal with unsolicited manuscripts when they couldn't handle it. I am certain that they used a fake persona in order to separate those authors with a pre-approved "in" from those authors phoning up and trying to get the name of the acquisitions editor from the switchboard staff. Instead of putting pressure on the receptionist to have to deal with begging, pleading authors, they just said "say this name". Perhaps they employed an editor to come in once a week and take a pot luck drawing of the envelopes addressed to the fake employee. If it was promising, it went higher up, if not, it and the rest were handed to the mail clerk for a RTS with a form note. Envelopes addressed to the real person, of course, went directly to him - supposedly the really good agents would know this person. Newbie agents might only be given the fake name themselves until they had a track record.

As I say, that's just my speculation.

Another funny thing about it was the form letter apparently suggested that this well-known author join a writer's group to get feedback and critiques... meanwhile I think the case was that this author runs one of the biggest workshops for writers in Australia.

Originally Posted By: Amadeus
I think the problem with e-books is that most people do not like reading books off of a computer screen. More people like to hold an actual book in their hands and put it down when they want to stop.

However, I think as this computer generation of young people get older, e-books will become more and more popular because they will be cheaper and easier to access and you won't have to go to the pricey bookstores anymore.


You've hit the nail on the head. And of course, the other thing with "cheaper" will come in when paper becomes scarce (unless we start using hemp or other non-tree resources.)

But what concerns me is the growing visual preference our children are heading for. Video games/playstation/x-box, etc create a need to see their adventure, and television and movies add to the concept of the story as a visual thing rather than text based. If we're not careful children will choose You Tube shorts over text e-books, even though they probably have an easier time reading screen than their parents do. Or children's stories will have to be VG rather than print. I think even audio books will be less popular because kids may not be able to visualise for themselves. And that is a seriously sad scenario.

(Incidentally, I can read on screen at almost the same pace as print. I hardly ever print anything out anymore. But I do still like curling up in the corner with a real book in my hands.)
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