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  1. Mouthwash

    Mouthwash Senior Member

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    Is writing a web serial a good idea?

    Discussion in 'Electronic Publishing' started by Mouthwash, Jun 18, 2017.

    I'm considering writing a web serial like John McCrae's Worm. There are two advantages I perceive in this:

    1. Getting immediate feedback about my writing and what sort of attention it draws.

    2. Developing writing experience without taking risks. I am not going to sink huge amounts of time into writing and publishing a novel on the off-chance that it will be the one that succeeds. That's a sucker's game if one ever existed.

    Of course I will use Wordpress, unless there's a better site I haven't heard about.

    Is this a reasonable strategy? I can always try publishing traditionally if I manage to make a name for myself. But McCrae is a lone success story, and I have no way of gauging how much attention a web serial should get (most of them listed here are terrible, so it's hard to draw conclusions).
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2017
  2. I.A. By the Barn

    I.A. By the Barn A very lost time traveller Contributor

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    I am planning on doing the same.
    The only risks I can see are theft and reuse of your work. To me it presents a ready made portfolio for any publishers if you decide to traditionally publish at a later date.
    I'll be watching this thread with interest.
     
  3. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    I posted my first novel as a WIP on LiveJournal for about a year. I don't know that it made any different in publisher acceptance (because I did mention in my query that it had a small but loyal following online), but the critiques and feedback I got on the first draft absolutely made editing it to a second, submittable draft much easier. It was like having a whole bunch of betas in real time, and it worked fantastic for me.
     
  4. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    I share chunks of my second (sequel) WIP on my blog, but they are very rough and
    are refined as I go.

    Though I would not post an entire work of such a large scale to the masses.
    A short here or there sure. I have shared a complete short on another
    site with a subforums for that type of story. Though I am using my profile
    page to advertise my first novel, and my blog in addition too.
    Granted the theme for such a place is more Adult in nature, on cannot pass
    up an opportunity for free advertising. :D
     
  5. Hervey_Copeland

    Hervey_Copeland Member

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    I think it’s a good idea, provided you can attract readers to your site. Publicity is what determines whether you are successful or not.
     

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