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Need Input
Jul. 16th, 2012 03:35 pmSo the other night my brother and I were talking about publishing and ways to get published. Because, let's face it, I suck at writing short stories. It's not that I can't write short stories, because I can, and have, I just... really don't like it. I have very few short story ideas that have managed not to turn into novels but very little motivation to write them. And the one short story I do have I can't quite bring myself to publish as I'm feeling rather protective of it and don't want to send it in just anywhere.
And I know what you're going to say - if you want to get published, then you need to whip out those short stories and send them in where ever you can. Sometimes accomplishing goals means doing what you don't want to do.
But my very stubborn nature rebels at this. Most especially since forcing yourself to do anything where anything of an artistic nature is concerned is always a bad idea. It's not that I refuse to write short stories and send them in, but at the rate I'm going I might as well find another alternative.
So my brother - who apparently knows people who have gotten published (writing technical books and other such as) - came up with the idea of giving a story away for free. Either write it as a PDF file that people could download or post it to a blog or both. Then, once people start reading, offer it up for sale. I believe his exact plan was that I post the first part of a series or trilogy and if people like it, they can buy hard copies or downloads or podfic or what have you of the rest of the series/trilogy. The point being not so much to make a sale but to get my name out there so that when I am published I become a name people look for.
And... I kind of like this idea. At least some of it. I'm a little iffy about publishing part of a story then getting people to buy the rest, as that feels a bit skeevy to me, especially if they're only reading to find out what happens but overall end up not liking the story. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of getting people to spend money on something they may end up disliking (I'm paranoid like that). But I do like the idea of offering a free story, especially since I have a trilogy I could use (and, in fact, seem to feel more comfortable giving it away than trying to get it published. Don't ask me why).
However, on the other hand, thanks to my self-publishing experience I'm feeling rather hesitant about this. There's only so much you can do advertisement-wise and I would hate for this to end up another publishing attempt that peters out and leaves me back at square one. Mostly because I would hate to waste a story that I could have attempted to publish professionally.
So... opinions on the matter? Other than "I would totally read an original fic you post" as that's not really what I'm looking for. I know there are some who would read it, but does posting a story for free sound like a risk worth taking? Have you heard of others doing the same or similar with good outcomes to show for it or nothing but failure? Is this something you would try, or are already doing, yourself? Or should I stick to the usual method of getting short stories published (which I still plan on doing, but remember that I don't have that many short story ideas). Input would be so very much greatly appreciated on the matter.
And I know what you're going to say - if you want to get published, then you need to whip out those short stories and send them in where ever you can. Sometimes accomplishing goals means doing what you don't want to do.
But my very stubborn nature rebels at this. Most especially since forcing yourself to do anything where anything of an artistic nature is concerned is always a bad idea. It's not that I refuse to write short stories and send them in, but at the rate I'm going I might as well find another alternative.
So my brother - who apparently knows people who have gotten published (writing technical books and other such as) - came up with the idea of giving a story away for free. Either write it as a PDF file that people could download or post it to a blog or both. Then, once people start reading, offer it up for sale. I believe his exact plan was that I post the first part of a series or trilogy and if people like it, they can buy hard copies or downloads or podfic or what have you of the rest of the series/trilogy. The point being not so much to make a sale but to get my name out there so that when I am published I become a name people look for.
And... I kind of like this idea. At least some of it. I'm a little iffy about publishing part of a story then getting people to buy the rest, as that feels a bit skeevy to me, especially if they're only reading to find out what happens but overall end up not liking the story. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of getting people to spend money on something they may end up disliking (I'm paranoid like that). But I do like the idea of offering a free story, especially since I have a trilogy I could use (and, in fact, seem to feel more comfortable giving it away than trying to get it published. Don't ask me why).
However, on the other hand, thanks to my self-publishing experience I'm feeling rather hesitant about this. There's only so much you can do advertisement-wise and I would hate for this to end up another publishing attempt that peters out and leaves me back at square one. Mostly because I would hate to waste a story that I could have attempted to publish professionally.
So... opinions on the matter? Other than "I would totally read an original fic you post" as that's not really what I'm looking for. I know there are some who would read it, but does posting a story for free sound like a risk worth taking? Have you heard of others doing the same or similar with good outcomes to show for it or nothing but failure? Is this something you would try, or are already doing, yourself? Or should I stick to the usual method of getting short stories published (which I still plan on doing, but remember that I don't have that many short story ideas). Input would be so very much greatly appreciated on the matter.
