A Likely Stupid Question Here

[Miss_Misaki]

Let's say I was writing a novel (not quite as hypothetical as most things, lol), and let's say that, when I finish, I post it online somewhere public, so that people can view and critique it. Would doing so make a publisher not want to even consider it?

I've never published one of my stories before (through a commercial publisher, that is), and I'm still learning. My instincts tell me that the answer to my question is yes, but the more I write, the more I realize how little I really know about... well, everything. xD

Also, what kinds of online repositories would be ideal for a non-erotic, novel-sized fictional piece? Do you have any particular ones in mind that would be ideal? Granted, I'll probably not use them for the novel I'm working on if it will create complications when/if I decide to get it published, but I would like to know for future ventures that I won't take quite as seriously.

 

[slyc_willie]

Well, the majority of online publishers won't accept a work that is posted elsewhere. That is why when, say, Selenakittyn or Daniellekitten sell a work to a publisher such as Phaze or Ellora's Cave, the original story has to be pulled from Lit.

However, eXcessica Publishing (begun by Selena, and of which I and several other authors from Lit are part) makes no such demands. But we publish erotica. As for non-erotic publishing, the game is quite a bit different. I've only been published mainstream in limited-market magazines (except for two shorts in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, several years ago), and not online. So I don't have much to offer in the way of advice for that venue.

 

[togitc]

Non-Erotica pretty much shuns anything that has been online. The reasoning being if it can be read for free why would someone pay for it. At least that was my experience.

 

[sr71plt]

Once you post it on line, it has been published. (And any print publisher you sent it to would expect you to reveal that and would negate the contract if they found out it was posted and you hadn't acknowledged it). Whether or not they would still be interested in publishing it, knowing it had substantial been published on line, would depend on a lot of things--all things that depended on the level of their interest and whether or not they thought there was still a sufficient market for it. But as togtic noted, 9 1/2 times out of 9 3/4, a mainline publisher would cut it dead at that point.

 

[R. Richard]

As has been pointed out, publishing on-line will greatly reduce your chances of having that work published. However, you will receive feedback [hopefully] and learn from the feedback. The feedback process is something like having an editor review your work. However, the editor is a professional and the feedback is from amateurs.

Very few first time efforts see paid publication. A writer needs to develop skill over time and effort. If you find a forum where you can publish your work on-line for free, you can try to use the feedback to develop the skill you need to publish for pay. JMHO.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You can make it available via the internet, but not for the whole public to read-- you can offer it as a password only file, for instance, where only you send out the password... It's the interwebs equivalent of mailing a draft to your readers.

 

[Boota]

The one exception I've ever heard of was John Scalzi and the Old Man's War sci-fi series. He published the first book online and it ended up being picked up by a publisher. In general, though, it doesn't happen.

 

[sr71plt]

There seems to be another startling exception. Although everything mentioned here pretty much holds true for mainstream writing, I've been amazed to note that posting erotica to a free Web site like this doesn't seem to kill the profit future of that piece. Very nearly everything I have posted here for free has sold to be posted elsewhere--some it as many as four times--much of it even is in print now for sale and is selling. And it's still here as well (and with no requirement by paying publishers to take it off this Web site). Of course a good bit of book-length material I've taken on from here and put out for sale is augmented versions of what is here. So, go figure.

 

[Liar]

The one exception I've ever heard of was John Scalzi and the Old Man's War sci-fi series. He published the first book online and it ended up being picked up by a publisher. In general, though, it doesn't happen.

Did the publisher knew it was the first part of a series? I can see how that would be a factor. Guy posts pt I online, pt I becomes a dowenload hit, publisher purchases the right to that and the rest of the series, which now already has a fan base.

Could be a good way to market oneself. Same thing have happened to a few popular bloggers. First book is an non-fiction collection of selected and edited but already existing blog posts, and then the deal is two more books of non-blogged material, but in the same style.

 

[CharleyH]

Let's say I was writing a novel (not quite as hypothetical as most things, lol), and let's say that, when I finish, I post it online somewhere public, so that people can view and critique it. Would doing so make a publisher not want to even consider it?

I've never published one of my stories before (through a commercial publisher, that is), and I'm still learning. My instincts tell me that the answer to my question is yes, but the more I write, the more I realize how little I really know about... well, everything. xD

Also, what kinds of online repositories would be ideal for a non-erotic, novel-sized fictional piece? Do you have any particular ones in mind that would be ideal? Granted, I'll probably not use them for the novel I'm working on if it will create complications when/if I decide to get it published, but I would like to know for future ventures that I won't take quite as seriously.

All I can say is that on the web you can publish and get paid for anything. If you want to be published respectably, you work and work and work and then you reap the rewards of a hardcover preview on Oprah. LOL

 

[Boota]

Did the publisher knew it was the first part of a series? I can see how that would be a factor. Guy posts pt I online, pt I becomes a dowenload hit, publisher purchases the right to that and the rest of the series, which now already has a fan base.

Could be a good way to market oneself. Same thing have happened to a few popular bloggers. First book is an non-fiction collection of selected and edited but already existing blog posts, and then the deal is two more books of non-blogged material, but in the same style.

The book started out in his blog, and it was only intended for his loyal readers. Turns out it's pretty damn good, though.