Hi, everyone. I hope this is the appropriate forum to post this question. What I'm wondering is how important do you feel that it is to network online, in order to ensure the success of your novel once its completed? I'm not really one for blogging or twitter, although I do have both, I find it a chore to keep them up. I do facebook. I'm not on a lot of forums, I don't have any prominent participation in any, but I feel like I should. I'd rather focus on writing itself and I find when I start to tweet, blog, and everything else it eats up my time. Is it worth it? Is this a must do in today's world? The other side of it is, I feel like I should be attempting to attract a fan base of sorts, so that when my novel is finished, there will be people there waiting to read it. Is that how it's done nowadays? I don't even know where to start, or what should be told about a book before it's published. I almost feel like I should protect it, like it's a well guarded secret for fear that...I don't even know! Any thoughts on this? thanks you, Isadora
Isadora, Both blogging and twitter are vitally important to pushing your book. The NYC houses are way behind the curve on the world in internet and digtal domains. Particularly if you choose to send your novel out as a e-book, then you will need to do it. Furthermore, e-books are selling more then hardcover's now, with higher royalty amounts. I've started a blog today, and I plan to write on it in between sit downs. Yes, to answer your question, it's a must-do. More and more marketing of books is being shifted onto the author, so it pays to reach out and get a fan base. Some authors, like David Weber, have gone so far as to "leak" their rough draft of a novel for people to buy cheap to add sales. Your novel is protected by copyright the minute it hits computer, thumb drive, disc or paper, so copyright isn't an issue. You can register if you want, but it costs $$$ and I doubt the Library of Congress will like being bombarded constantly. But throwing snippets up there on your blog doesn't hurt, provided you've sharpened them up for the public to see. The digital age requires this of our now. Plus with the advent of the digital age, the stigma of self-publishing has dropped a lot. There are big name authors (Pierce Anthony comes to mind) who are self-publishing and e-booking with success.
hmmm. Thank you for your insight. It's all definitely worth the effort it seems. Time to sink my teeth into it all and get down to work. No one said this would be easy, did they? Maybe writing seems like the easy part, now! Would it be wise to have a twitter and blog separate to the one I already have, one strictly for myself as a writer and promotion of my book? I think so, yes? And wow, leaking an entire rough draft? That's seems ballsy and brave!
Isadora, I'm on a private sci fi writing list and we get links to a lot of blogs. I might not be able to post them outright in the open, so when one comes up interesting on digital subject, I'll be sure to shoot the link. This is about the print/digital divide. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2012/07/09/how-i-got-a-big-advance-from-a-big-publisher-and-self-published-anyway/
Isadora, this is the lament of many an author. Their agents and publishers want them to have a blog, facebook, tweet -- everything they possibly can. Most authors don't like it -- they're writers, not marketers or salespeople, after all. But, if you want your book to do well, sadly it's part of the landscape these days. This seems particularly cruel, given that so many writers are by nature, introverts, and they're forced into doing the one thing they're probably least suited for and least enjoy -- put themselves "out there" and really market and sell themselves, in order to do the thing they most like to do, which is write.
How absolutely bang on Chicagoliz. It does seem to go against the nature of a writer. Now we have to be so much more than just a writer who writes. Are there any books on how to successfully do market your book? I feel I can have a blog, etc. but how does one even go about getting a following? I need to get it out there to the right people I know, but my head swims at the thought of it!
I haven't read any, as I'm not yet at the marketing stage. I'm on another site that has a lot of published authors, so there's a lot of discussion on marketing and publishing types of issues. It costs, however -- $40 per year. PM me if you want the link or the site. It's probably only worthwhile if you are close to being ready to try to sell your book and are very serious about getting it published.
Do a google search, Isadora, for the top writer's blogs in your genre and see how they're doing theirs. Might give insight. A basic marketing book or advertising book from the library will help too.
