Writing Online

[Teatime]

Kind of on topic - what do people think on putting up, say, the prologue of your manuscript on a webpage? So that general internet users can read some of your work. Is this something to avoid, when I'm also trying to obtain agent representation/proper publication?

Thank you

[Doctor Sax]

One note of caution - some publications and competitions do consider a story that has been online in any form as previously published, so might not wish to consider it on that basis.

[Teatime]

Really? So it's advisable not to put any examples of this manuscript online while I'm still hoping to obtain representation? It'd be about 3,000 words of a 95,000 word book...

[Troo]

Really.

[Teatime]

Oh well. How about the hook/blurb thing? To give people an idea of what it's about (ie it'd be pretty similar to what I put in a query letter or a synopsis). Would that be OK, or should I make it noticeably different from what I'm querying agents with?

How about writing, 'if you like the sound of this, I'd be happy to send you the prologue, but don't want to put it online for these reasons...' (or something slightly more eloquent) - ie. sending it out in email if someone wants to take a look? Perhaps that a little risky, actually.

Cheers.

[SJAB]

Teatime;

There is a lot of various opinions on this. I know Scott Lynch had bits of his novel on his blog before he was snapped up by Gollanz (actually, the editor there was referred to the site ) Hal Duncan had the poem out of Vellum(plus other bits I think) up on his blog well before the book came out.

Simon Hayne's opinion

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/34547-quick-question.html

John Jarrold's opnion.

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/10900-personal-question-s-to-john-jarrold-7.html

In the end I doubt very much if someone is going to steal your work if that is what you are worried about. As to publishing rights, why not ask John on his thread, see what he thinks at this point in time.

[Miladysa]

I have continued posting my story online since I posted my question here and now the story has progressed to having a blog to itself away from my main blog.

The feedback I have had from readers is encouraging and only helping to improve my writing. In my case it has only been a positive experience.

I never started writing with an intention of being published - if it ever happened it would be a Billy Bonus

[Meadowhawk]

Teatime: my suggestion would be for you to write a 3-4,000 word short story that is a tie-in to your novel and publish that on your website. Make sure it's some of your best writing, and it will give folks a feel for the world your novel is set in as well as the style of your writing.

[Teatime]

Cheers Meadowhawk, might have a go at that - although I appear to be writing a second novel at the moment, and I'm pretty single minded (so one project at a time ).