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Interesting idea.The whole novel or just the first few chapters of each one? (Audible gives away free first chapters-so that's a valid thing) If it was me I'd do an excerpt otherwise there's nothing to make them buy the edited version.
I am paranoid. So I would be worried that someone stole my idea and published it before I could, so watch copyright. That might not be an issue, but I'm paranoid.
It's definitely a thing I've seen done, not on blogs, I haven't looked. There was a publisher who wanted to put my stuff up for free years ago to gain exposure. (Not sure who for!)
As long as it says unedited that wouldn't bother me as such as a reader- as a writer I can't even produce a blog post without editing it multiple times!
Just my thoughts. Obviously I'm no expert.
Alex wrote: "Erin wrote: "Amazon doesn't allow you to put more than 10% of your book online if you are exclusive to them, not sure if you are.Also, if you offer seriels can you be sure they will be interested ..."
You're correct. I understood your statement to mean that you wanted to publish unedited chapters to your site, get them edited and then publish to Amazon. Did I completely get that wrong lol?
Well, the chances of strangers who are interested in a short unedited story ending up visiting your blog for it are small. So you'd mostly be dealing with visitors who already know you and your work.However, Wattpad users love to read unpublished and uendited stories. They are already there just waiting for you. Take advantage of their user network and publish your story over there. Just make sure to link to your own blog and website in every post.
I'd be struggling with another place to stuff things out on, I have to admit. I know my kids use Wattpad. I should look at it. I don't think it's a bad idea. I just have this assumption that places like my blog are where people are going to go if I ever became more well known than having half a dozen people (which I'm grateful for) waiting for me to produce the next piece of work. And lets face it, sticking something I'd written out there adds another dimension to what is already on my blog.
This may be really out there and take a bit more effort than you want to put in...The main way I've seen this work is with fanfics, people are already searching a topic so you won't need to build a brand. They can be released a chapter at a time and keep people coming back and you can ask them to go look at your original work.
Is there a way you can tweak one of them into a fanfiction? You won't be able to release it on Amazon after it's out or anything but if you really want to test if this will work it might be an interesting experiment.
You're welcome! You don't even have to use their characters though, it could just be set in that world using some of the iconic concepts, perhaps with a cameo or a mention of some of the characters.
I put my new, unedited stories up on Wattpad. I take it down once I publish it, but in the meantime, I get feedback here and there on some of the chapters. Plus, it's already an established, targeted audience, so that helps. You've got to put some time and effort into building a following on there, though, just like any other platform, I suppose. I've serialized chapters on my blog before on my holiday romance short story and got some good view numbers on it. If you already have a good fan base, it could work well for you and also tell you if your readers are going to like the story.
Alex wrote: "Thanks, Nicole, I think that's the biggest problem I have, building an audience requires a level of social engagement I struggle with because of my mental health issues, it leaves me un-utterably d..."I've been focusing a lot of my time recently on building my email list/author platform. One of the most successful things I've tried so far is putting my already free book on Instafreebie - seriously, it's a short story under 7K words that took me a few hours to write - and using it to gain targeted subscribers. You can do the same with Bookfunnel.
I'll give you Instafreebie as an example. If you get a group of 10+ authors together with a landing page of Instafreebie books and a date the event will run, Instafreebie will send out a graphic (that you send them) to their vast list of email subscribers to help you advertise. They expect each participating author to spread the word, too, which helps Instafreebie gain exposure as well as the authors on Instafreebie, so it's a win/win situation.
You can find groups specifically dedicated to Instafreebie events, especially on Facebook, but I've never looked to see if GR has any. I'm sure they do. I'm running one for Romance books right now that will run March 27-April 2... I've already gained over 200 subscribers and we haven't even publicized the event yet. My open rate is 69% and click-through rate is 57% so far from this list.
I'm also running a paperback book giveaway to those who subscribe to my mailing list. That has not been nearly as successful, but it's something.
I'm not sure about Wattpad. I've been hearing about it but like Amy said, I'm paranoid.About whether readers care about unedited fiction, I think it depends. If your writing is decent, decent grammar and good spelling, generally easy to follow/read I don't think anyone cares. I say this as I've been in the fanfiction world for a long time and I've seen some things written terribly in terms of grammar and such but it gets a lot of view/reads/reviews/faves because it's such a good/fun story. That being said, the bar set for fanfiction is probably lower. But if you're reading it for free I think generally there's an understanding there that you can't expect perfection. I don't know how that translates for original fiction+author trying to sell a book though.
As an author I agree you have to be careful. If you want to put something out, maybe put out something you don't intend to publish into a novel? Like a short story for fun? Then compile it into anthology later if you'd like. I will say it's incredibly hard getting anyone to visit your blog and remain engaged with it regularly. I made websites 15+ years ago and it was so much easier getting traffic then. Now you'd be better off using social media/forums, maybe Wattpad (I haven't tried it), building a platform there and then hoping it spills over.
Personally, I'd rather write fanfiction to promote my writing only because it's not something I'd expect people to "steal" although people can and will steal anything. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to profit from it. I don't know how authors feel about it but I know as an author myself I'd be flattered with it as I would be with fanart. As long as you know...they're not claiming the characters are theirs, giving no credit and not profiting off of it.
@Melissa, on a side note from your comment, I've seen some authors not care in the least or be flattered by fan-fic. Then I've seen some who say they absolutely do not approve of anyone stealing the creativity they worked so hard to come up with. One example is Dannika Dark. She's a phenomenal writer of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and she's created this "world" that all her books takes place in, and it's so rich with details of how things work and why, I can totally see why she wouldn't want someone taking any kind of credit for it. But at the same time, I myself would probably be flattered. Then again, I write contemporary romance and haven't yet tried my hand at paranormal anything. I might feel differently then.
AlexOne author whose blog I read (as well as editing for them) has started putting up chapters of their latest book as they are written. Unedited. There was quite a lot of interest initially, although there haven't been any serialised chapters for a while. Sadly as I was enjoying it.
I've read a few NaNoWriMo stories on blogs too, some password protected, which is one option. One of the authors later took the whole lot down and self-published it. So, it can be, and has been done. Pretty much everyone puts them up unedited, but they aren't usually too terrible.
Maybe you're mixing in the wrong circles? The more I think about it, the more bloggers come to mind. Mix of Brits and Americans for what that's worth.
I think it's a neat idea Alex and I say go for it! Telling people it's unedited will help as there is almost always grammar nazi's out there dying to nitpick and rip a book apart for it's lack of editing. I like your idea so much I may do this myself with a few of my poems I put together as a free book I never did anything with. Perhaps putting it in your blog will help gain traffic to your site, blog and even hopefully your work. :) Best of luck to you!
Nicole wrote: "@Melissa, on a side note from your comment, I've seen some authors not care in the least or be flattered by fan-fic. Then I've seen some who say they absolutely do not approve of anyone stealing th..."Well when you think about it--it's the ultimate flattery. It's someone so engaged with your world that they want to keep it going, or even re-imagine it. I don't believe anyone is pretending to own the characters, and if anything it keeps the fandom alive. But I get why there would be differing opinions on it. :)
Oh yes I forgot about NaNoWriMo. I never did try it but it's basically this isn't it? People write bits of their story, share it for feedback and tracking progress? I'm sure people are able to build followings that way too.
Oh by the way Alex there's also Fictionpress. I've never created an account there but I might. You can check it out to see the atmosphere. If you ever do decide to start posting your story there you could backlink your blog. You can then post in both places and maybe that will help pull traffic.
Serialization worked great for Andy Weir's The Martian. There's even a new app specifically for serialized stories - what's it called again... Oh yeah https://www.serialbox.com/how-it-works
This is a fantastic idea, Alex. It's exactly what Andy Weir did, and look where that went. Could I offer a little advice? Firstly, make it a book relevant to your main writing. Don't make it a children's/Young Adult book if your a crime writer. If you release a crime fiction, then it will point people back to what you already have released, and could do some great things for you. Secondly, also release it on Wattpad as well. This is entirely your choice, but I'm thinking that this could get you more exposure and a larger audience quicker. The con here though is, people read it there and not at your website, so you do need to weigh up which you would prefer. Andy Weir did The Martian entirely through his website, so if you're a good writer, with a great story to tell then you have something that could definetly work! Goodluck with it, and please keep me updated with your decisions. If you go ahead with it, I would be very happy to do a chapter by chapter review on my book blog, and supply you with some social media support! I already owe you one for helping us out without any prompting. ;)
Could it be within your reach to write a separate crime fiction? It could even be a prequel (his first case — not sure if you've tackled this idea in your first book) to your Inspector Stone mysteries, or in the same world? You could do a spin off cold case drama, or have a completely new Detective solve the case, but have them from the same office. The options there are endless. I wouldn't rerelease your first book as a serial, especially if it's already been available in the public for an extended time. Making it free week by week could irritate people who did buy it. You could make it a whole perma-free later on? But I would definitely think heavily about it, and make it quite a while from its release date. I know the fresh writing sounds like a big task, but it does have great opportunities. I know I keep referring back to Martian, but that was written and released chapter by chapter, and the story grows very organically. I've read another paranormal tale that's doing the same thing, and Kevin is trying it through Miragestories.com although he's having issues with wanting to release them chapter by chapter once he gets super into it >.< It's all things to think about though, and I'm invested regardless of your decision. I push you to keep it crime though, you may as well showcase your talents.
I have a couple of comments - I've written fanfiction for years (it's where I honed my craft, but I was already semi-decent when I started. I can go on for a long time about the benefits of fanfic and fandom for aspiring writers, and definitely don't agree with authors who are against it). I have quite a following for it...and pretty much none of those people crossed over into my original work. Didn't work for me to build a following for my paid writing. Doesn't mean it's not possible, though!Another thing is, I know a lot of authors release books a chapter at a time for Patreon. So, there are writers that are monetising that strategy. Not saying you need to, but readers are obviously open to that. I don't know if that helps.
I would skip the serialization, edit the novel, and publish it on Amazon.Amazon has more reach than your blog - than ANYONE'S blog. Publishing stuff on Zon so their algorithms can find you is key. Keep throwing stuff up there, promote it, play with your keywords, etc. and you should make some headway.
I know you plan to publish whatever novel you choose eventually, but I think serialization is a step you don't need to take. You may get some views, but the time you spent serializing could've been used to market a complete novel.
Also, if you offer seriels can you be sure they will be interested once the completed version is available?
Lastly, I think all readers deserve for us to put our best foot forward as authors. I've only ever (knowingly) given unedited books to beta readers.
Just my two cents. I think seriels are a great way to reward readers and incentivize mailing list opt-ins but they really should be exclusive to your site or blog, imo.