I've decided to publish my novel on HubPages...

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   Edweirdoposted 13 years ago

   I'm taking the plunge!
   
   I wrote a short novel about 15 years ago and it's been collecting dust ever since! It needs some serious tweaking, and I'm hoping that some good feedback from readers here will encourage me to keep working on it...
   
   I've got the first few chapters in shape, and I've published an introduction hub to introduce this whole thing to the world!
   
   If feedback proves that I have at least a small readership, I'll continue publishing chapters, probably about once a week.
   
   Please take a look at the introduction hub - check my profile for the hub titled "Cursing The Darkness" - A Vampire Novel :: An Author's Introduction" and you'll find a link to the first chapter
   
   (Not sure if it's cool to post links here, but it's easy enough to find through my profile!)

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      poetlorraineposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      oh right thanks for that

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      Whisperindaveposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Good for you. Plus I would like to read your novel, since I am a vampire fan. (See my Hubpages Vampyre Society and Dracula's Book), I am published already with iUniverse. But am revising and correcting errors and republishing partially here. I feel that giving away the whole book is not a good idea. Get people to want to read more and buy the book! So I am leaving a few chapters out. Plus if I get no response I'll just pull it off and republish in paper and ebook form. i will be glad to give you some critique and insight on your publication.

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      IntimatEvolutionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How is it going for you?  Good?  Would you have done the same thing, since now you have a time line to judge by?

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   N. Ramiusposted 13 years ago

   Cool. You probably know this already but if you publish the story here or anywhere online you will not be able to get a publishing house to publish it. Usually they want unpublished works and this medium counts as publishing.
   
   Just something to keep in mind if you ever thought you may try and get it in print by a company.

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      Edweirdoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Ramius! It's been so long since I wrote this thing that I had pretty much given up on having it published by a real house!
      
      But that doesn't exclude the self-publishing route, which is perking in the back of my brain...

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         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Why don't you self-publish it now with the Amazon house (sorry forget its name) then write Hubs to publicise it instead?

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            Edweirdoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            If I'm really honest, Marisa, there are 2 reasons:
            
            1 - I'm not sure that it's good enough to spend the time and energy on jumping right to self-publishing Like most writers, I'm my own worst critic! I'm good at *taking* criticism, though, and this seems like it may be a good forum for that...
            
            2 - Ego. I want to be sure that I have a chance of gaining readers before I go ahead and publish! If I get good feedback, I can even stop publishing chapters for free and use the momentum of the already published chapters to sell my self-published book later...
            
            And I assume you're thinking of CreateSpace from Amazon for self-publishing?

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               Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Yes I was thinking of CreateSpace.  Self-publishing that way is not hard, and isn't expensive either. 
               
               The only snag with publishing several chapters is that some people will just sit back and wait for you to publish the rest...or will read enough that they go off the idea of buying the book.
               
               I'd be revising and revising Chapter 1 until it shone, and I'd make sure it had an irresistible "hook" at the end so people just have to read on.  If you're not sure it's good enough, I think asking other writers for critique might work better than publishing bits - people are less likely to be honest that way.

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                  deosfluviatilisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I agree with this actually. You'll be getting feedback from people whose feedback isn't necessarily wise. I've seen alot of crappy writing getting positive comments.
                  
                  Additionally, if you do post it publicly, and ask for critical feedback, some people may look to find something wrong in it, which may not really be wrong. Mindless bots will agree, before you know it you're second-guessing yourself, revising away and destroying what may have been perfectly wonderful in the first place.
                  
                  It'd be better if you allowed someone or someones trustworthy and knowledgable in the field review it. I'm not so much against posting samples, if self-published, or planning to, but I wouldn't open it up to criticism at large.
                  
                  If you choose to, just keep in mind that not all criticism -or praise for that matter- should be taken seriously.

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      Writer Davidposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That's not exactly true.  Some traditional publishing firms take self-published works if they reach a certain sales point.  I know that for a fact.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The magic number is 5,000 copies.  That's a lot of sales.

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            psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            There is no specific magic number.  They just have to think there is a suitable market for it that hasn't been exhausted.
            
            On the whole it is a lot easier to just submit to publishers than to self-publish and hope to be picked up.

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               slowpokevoyagerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I agree with this to a point. Self publishing works, but only if you have the right 'niche'. Sound familiar? Just because a book is self published, doesn't meant it will sell. You may just get a publisher that wants to get your money. You have to be very careful self publishing.
               The only other problem I see for submitting your work to a publisher, is submitting it to the right one. Which do you choose? Where do you go to find the right one? I've submitted more than one manuscript for publication, and all suggested I self publish.
               What happened to submitting; getting accepted; publishing; doing book signings; and then getting royalties from books sold?
               Never seems to happen very often. But, I keep trying. What's the worst that could happen? They'd reject it. Been there, done that. Don't be deterred. Happy writing everybody!

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         couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         The publishing world is in rapid upheaval because of the ebook and ebook reader.  Writers are becoming more saavy.  You need to research the differences between self publishing,vanity publishing, e-publishing and small press publishing.  I think what some of you mentioned about  traditional publishers not wanting previously published work may be true for the big 5 but there are a host of small presses that do want this work. 
         
         Regardless of which you go, you will need to do most of the marketing yourself.  I repeat.  You will need to do most of the marketing yourself.   If you think your book is sound in every way, story, plot, character development, structure and has been thorougly proofed for errors, you are ready to go.  Some feedback here is great for the ego but you need to love your story.  If you don't, no amount of ego feeding will get you to the point of taking action.

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   N. Ramiusposted 13 years ago

   The self publish route is also a good one. I need to actually write. My novel was stuck at its third chapter. Then I went and lost the file.

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   AEvansposted 13 years ago

   I agree with Marissa self-publish your book but if you truly wish to place it on HP, everytime you publish a page make certain you use www.myfreecopyright.com and register your work, there are thieves out there who would love to take your words right out of your mouth.

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      Edweirdoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yikes, that was way too easy!
      
      I just added my HubPages RSS "latest" feed to myfreecopyright.com and in about 2 minutes I was done
      
      I wish I'd realized it was that simple before!
      
      Do you know if it will eventually go backwards from my latest 10 hubs and add the older ones via RSS? Or do I need to manually add the older ones?

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         AEvansposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You have to manually add the older ones when I joined I had to learn that to but it is better to be safe then sorry. I also have them all neatly filed and organized in my e-mail. I am glad that I could assist you.

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   cruising.grannyposted 13 years ago

   I used to add the (c) on the heading of my work, but was told it was unprofessional to use the symbol.
   I have been writing for years, and apparently the fact that I've written it makes it mine and copyright is automatic.
   However the "word theives" out there don't give a flying fig about protocol and procedures with these things.
   I'm in 2 minds about blogging my books.  If an agent or a publisher haven't "adopted" me yet, why would they now, or why would they publish this work if it's submitted by anyone else?
   CG

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   theirishobserver.posted 13 years ago

   Good luck with that - I am presntly publishing two books on Hub Pages - my auto-biography and a history of Irish Republicanism - its hard work but very rewarding - good luck - Irish

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   M. T. Dremerposted 13 years ago

   One thing that I've noticed about posting longer works is that interest tends to fade the further you get into it. I say this both from having done something similar (I posted part of a book in chapters on a forum) and because when I personally read something from an editing standpoint, it isn't as enjoyable as when I'm just reading it for fun. So I could attack the first chapter of something with a lot of gusto and good comments, but after a few more chapters, its harder to maintain the same interest, especially if the later chapters are making the same mistakes as the earlier ones.
   
   That's not to say that you shouldn't post it. Obviously that is your choice, but when posting a short novel, you will probably get most comments on the first chapter. If you're aware of this going in, you might be able to get comments in a sneakier way (if revision is your goal). For example posting a hub like this: "Short novel climax and resolution; how am I doing?" versus "Short Novel, Chapter 12". The second one seems more intimidating to someone who maybe doesn't know about the other chapters.

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   SpanStarposted 13 years ago

   My suggestion
   
      If this is something you really want to do, life is story and I say Darn The Torpedos full steam ahead.
   
      I published a book years back and I did it hoping to get plenty of revenue out of it-IT DIDN'T, there were enough people who were even aware it was out there among certainly millions of other books.  However in the end the book was I'm not sure if it still is in the library and an unexpected benefit is when you tell other people you've been published they take a second look at you- I didn't see that coming.
   
   Write your book if it's in your heart to do.

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      SpanStarposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I guess my fingers are typing one think while my mind is thinking of sometheing else.
      
      I meant to say life is short.
      
      Also I meant: there wasn't enough

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   Lady_Eposted 13 years ago

   Great - I'm sure it will be well received.
   
   Dohn121 did the same with his story REVENGE and a lot of Hubbers enjoy it (including me) and usually can't wait till the next chapter as he leaves us in suspense.
   
   Good Luck with it.

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    Robert A. Harrisposted 13 years ago

    good luck with ur publishing, I have a book published with CreateSpace and my experience with them has been great! My book is now on Amazon through them.

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    torimariposted 13 years ago

    I've posted a portion of my novel in process but that's it. I'd keep it under wraps, and perhaps only post a chapter or two, or a taste of it in other words~
    
    You can get a fanbase that way whilst you polish it up and self publish in paper with say...like Lulu or send it into authentic publishers!
    
    Good luck!

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    Thorn058posted 13 years ago

    Thanks for this edweirdo. This answers some of the very same question I was having about posting chapters from my WIP and whether they will ever be finished. I know I want to finish them but time being a valuable commodity I never get back to working on them. I thought perhaps with more of an audience I would feel more motivated to make time to continue them. Thanks for asking the question and I will be checking out your story and commenting.

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    wannabwesternposted 13 years ago

    I had started publishing a novel I started on HP too, then took it down. Maybe it is a foolish hope, but someday I hope to publish it in print form. It's been in the works for 6 years and after a long time I picked it up and saw many fatal flaws, so now I'm back to work on it and am sure it is far from done.
    
    Everyone's comments here have been most illuminating. Thanks everyone! The publishing industry is famously cutthroat, but I think it is worth a try, even if the numbers aren't in an unpublished author's favor.
    
    Cheers, everyone. Thanks for all the new information.  HP is great!

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    loisryanposted 12 years ago

    Hey that is like my fantasy novel The White Knight.  It sat in my attic for over 20 years.  I tweaked it-well let's say I gave it a major over haul-and finally got it posted online.  This newest version is many times more better than the original.

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       slowpokevoyagerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I've got one myself. I hope to see it in print one day. Been working on it for a long time. I keep plugging away at it.

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       slowpokevoyagerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       By the way. Where did you post it? Maybe I could give it a try.

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    CkhoffmanKposted 12 years ago

    I'm not publishing my novel through here, but im publishing excerpts through here for when the full novel is published. (self published of course)
    
    If you're interested it's Fear Chronicles by Chelsea Hoffman in my hubs list
    
    horror lol of course <3

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    Angelladywriterposted 12 years ago

    Its wonderful that after all those years you have decided to publish your book. I wrote my book more than 17 years ago, got  copywrights which gave me some legal protection. In March of this year I decided to self publish. It has worked out pretty good for me because now I use Hubpages as a source of advertisement for my book. Hubpages is an excellent forum for that purpose. Please be careful about putting too much information out there about your book unless you already have  copywrights or self published. You will then have the legal protection and proof that it is your book. When I first wrote my manuscript for the book that I finally published called, "Nephilims:Children of the Fallen Angels," even though I had it legally protected, there was still more than five major motion pictures created from it and I did not receive one penny. Even when I pursued it, there was little that I could do. So please be careful with how you go about putting your book out there. I wish you the best.
    
    angelladywriter

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    Sunny Robinsonposted 12 years ago

    Publishers aren't as cutthroat here lately, from the crappy books I'm seeing entering the scene of the book world here.  Basically, publishers are getting cut out of the book world because of the newer technology of reading.  So, they cling tenaciously on and I hope the tide turns to where publishers can keep the jobs they enjoy so much.  I wanted to be a publisher once.

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    Frufflesposted 12 years ago

    I've got one too, though i'm not finished with it - i've got about 5 chapters posted of the 11 i've got so far
    I'll read yours if you read mine lol jk but i will read yours xD i need something to read

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    psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

    I think marketing is synergistic with publishing.  If your publisher has poor distribution you are marketing 'uphill' because people will have a harder time getting your book in the venues or format the trust or prefer.  So it always pays to get the best publisher you can, with the cheapest, most widely distributed and highest quality books--rather than assume that marketing will level the playing field.

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