'We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a
master'.
Ernest Hemingway
Introduction
One of the best things about the internet is the freedom that it can
give. Within reason, you can talk to anyone, anywhere about mostly
anything. It is a great communication tool.
Recently, during the Seattle earthquake, I was able to get minute-by-
minute feedback about what was going on from people that I've met
online - real-time information even though I was sat in my office
across the other side of the world in the UK.
One of the areas that is currently being revolutionised by the
internet is the world of publishing. You can have your writing
available to millions of people within a few hours. The frustration
of rejection after rejection from traditional publishers can partly
be assuaged.
You can do this too.
You can have your novel, your short story or your poem available for
the entire technological world to read. You can meet and talk with
writers from all over the world. You can critique other people's work
and get feedback on your own.
In short, you can become part of the biggest writing circle this
world has ever seen.
In this book, I'll be advising you how to get started - the things
you need to get yourself up and running. I'll be including links to
useful sites and resources. I'll show you how to build a website that
will be a showcase for your work. I'll also give you advice about
that most difficult of tasks: marketing your book.
I hope this book gives you the inspiration to get started.
'I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork'.
Peter De Vries
Getting Started
You've written your blockbuster. You've sent it off to a dozen agents
and publishers. Then...then it happens - the rejection letters start
to arrive.
I'm sorry, this really isn't for us.
This is only a personal opinion, of course, but...
You write well but we're not in the market for this kind of work at
the moment.
All the best in your efforts to get published.
The first two or three rejections make you feel small and pathetic.
The next two or three make you angry. If you're lucky, by the time
the sixth and seventh rejection comes your way, you're used to it.
You have a great story but no one seems to want to get involved.
WAIT...
There is an alternative to traditional publishing and it uses a
resource that is becoming increasingly popular - the internet.
You see, traditional publishers, bless them, are in a highly
competitive market. They cannot afford to take some of the gambles
that they might have done a few years back. They have to make sure
that the books that they publish make money. Now they all make
mistakes (anyone remember Anthea Turner's Biography?) but in the main
you can't blame them for being cautious.
Consider two circumstances:-
One
If I was a soap star, then I'd have more chance of being published.
I'd have celebrity, for a start, my name would be known. Not that I'm
suggesting that celebrities produce rubbish. It's just that if a
publisher had two books of equal literary value (in their opinion),
one by a major soap star and one by a complete unknown, I know which
one they'll pick to publish.
Two
Suppose I have written a superb biography of, for example, Prince
Rupert of Liechtenstein. It may be a truly well researched and well
written volume. It may allow the reader deep insights into the
subject matter. It may be one of the best biographies ever written.
However, it has no real market. Maybe only a handful of people in the
world are interested in Prince Rupert. Now, supposing that on the
same day a moderately well written biography arrives of a famous
Premiership footballer. Which one will the publisher pick?
You see, the above two examples show two things in the modern world
of publishing. You need to have an assured MARKET and you need to
have a PROFILE.
Granted, new authors are published every week. But it is getting
increasingly difficult to be published by the traditional route.
The internet is the great leveller. You can publish, within reason,
what you like. Someone in Brisbane who shares your passion about
Prince Rupert can type his name into a search engine and find your
glorious book.
You are no longer dependent on someone else to become published.
You are free...
