# Blogging/ web writing?



## Mezza (Feb 9, 2011)

So maybe I haven't looked hard enough on here but I've not found anything similar to my question.

Is it a good idea to get some of your own work out via the web in the form of blogs or online magazines and the like?  As in maybe every week updating a piece of writing for a story you're working on, or looking at online periodicals and getting chapters, or short stories published in them before trying to get a novel published?

Sorry if this has been covered before.


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## elite (Feb 9, 2011)

I wouldn't recommend it if the work you are posting is the one you want published. I don't think anyone would want to publish something that's available for free courtesy of the author himself.

But for those short stories and projects you don't plan to make money of, sure thing.


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## strangedaze (Feb 9, 2011)

i wouldnt recommend it unless youre doing something high concept, like tucker max did, which is more non-fiction than anything else. think the happiness project, etc. for fiction, its not a good idea.


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## Ilasir Maroa (Feb 9, 2011)

Don't post work you are hoping to get published online.  Certainly you can post old samples of writing, or submit short stories to the many professional online magazines.  But for novels, it's not a good idea.


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## WriterJohnB (Feb 11, 2011)

I'm blogging, but not about my writing. I'm trying to pull people in with "cute" stuff, and putting in references to my other writing. As to getting stories in on-line "periodicals", I've been published in many magazines and anthologies over the years and it has done absolutely nothing for my novels. An agent is more likely to take a look at your novel based on the subject matter first. If it's not his/her cup of tea, it won't even get a glance. After that, you have to hook the reader quickly and make sure it's well-crafted, including grammar and spelling. A lot of new writers think that errors will be corrected by the publisher, but that's not true. They'll accept something with a few typos, but not a "hash."

MonkeyJohn's Blog


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## strangedaze (Feb 11, 2011)

WriterJohnB said:


> As to getting stories in on-line "periodicals", I've been published in many magazines and anthologies over the years and it has done absolutely nothing for my novels. An agent is more likely to take a look at your novel based on the subject matter first.



for what it's worth, i've had the opposite experience. since publishing pieces in solid venues over the past year, i've had both publishers and agents contact me about sending them future manuscripts. so it happens.


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## Ilasir Maroa (Feb 11, 2011)

WriterJohnB said:


> I'm blogging, but not about my writing. I'm trying to pull people in with "cute" stuff, and putting in references to my other writing. As to getting stories in on-line "periodicals", I've been published in many magazines and anthologies over the years and it has done absolutely nothing for my novels. An agent is more likely to take a look at your novel based on the subject matter first. If it's not his/her cup of tea, it won't even get a glance. After that, you have to hook the reader quickly and make sure it's well-crafted, including grammar and spelling. A lot of new writers think that errors will be corrected by the publisher, but that's not true. They'll accept something with a few typos, but not a "hash."
> 
> MonkeyJohn's Blog


 
It really depends on the genre of your work, and the periodicals you are published in.

For literary fiction, those in publishing read many of the better-known journals and contact writers whose work they like.  In genre fiction, there are well-known online and print publications that agents or editors may comb, but the rate of manuscript requests that come out of them is relatively small.


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## TWErvin2 (Feb 12, 2011)

As others have said, publishing to your blog limits your ability to get the work published in other venues.  There is nothing wrong submitting finished pieces to ezines or magazines, for pay, exposure, and experience.

I do know some links from short stories I've had published have led readers to purchasing my novel, but posting to a blog or submitting short stories for the main purpose of getting an editor's/agent's attention isn't likely to be the most effective method. The best method would be to have an excellent novel or nonfiction work that they see as having an audience.

Terry


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## bysharonnelson (Mar 5, 2011)

I would like to say that from talking on other forums and with indie writers that more and more agents and publishers are asking writers to establish a self promotion plan. They want to know what you are going to do to promote yourself as an author. So it is a good idea to start building a web presence, to get your name and your work out there. Blogging and writing is a great way to gain followers. Definitely, like others have said, never post anything that you want to publish.


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## JennyBeanses (Mar 17, 2011)

I know a lot of authors who have actually had success podcasting their fiction to build an audience. After they had an established audience they were contacted and picked up by traditional publishers. It's a gamble.


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## garza (Mar 17, 2011)

I'm dumping all my fiction and poetry and some lesser bits of non-fiction onto a freebie website just for the fun of it. There's no danger of any sort. I'm neither a fictioner nor a poet, so none of it is material likely to be published.

Material that is marketable I do not post anywhere on the Internet.


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## daisydaisy (Mar 20, 2011)

A blog can be very useful in acting as a platform to get a buzz going about you and what you write. I wouldn't put any parts of your book on there, but you can surely talk about how your story came to be, and all the drama you had to go through to get there. People like to be able to relate to a real person, and this will get them intersted in your book. Great form of marketing.


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## devonhg (Mar 4, 2019)

I remember reading about the book "Raving Fans" and how it originally started as a series of blog posts. There are other sources that recommend that you can use a blog to build an audience which you can then use to launch a product/book. A lot of this is discussed in the book "Content Inc".


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