Posting WIP on blog?

coryleslie · Aug 17, 2009

I've noticed a lot of writers post their WIP on their blogs. Some call it their "Tuesday Teasers." I'm interested in doing this, but not if it ruins my chances to get that same work published. Are there any guidelines for this?

Sorry if this has been previously discussed!

Maryn · Aug 17, 2009

I'm no lawyer, but I would think posting a significant portion of a work to a website open to the public would be giving away first publication rights. Posting teasers intended to entice purchasers seems safe--if you have a product ready to sell them.

Maryn, who has neither

tjwriter · Aug 17, 2009

Some people post little snippets of their in progress stuff, but note that it is first draft material and subject to huge changes before publication.

Mostly I see this with well-established authors who already have a contract for the work. Also, it's choice pieces of material, making the reader want more.

Red-Green · Aug 17, 2009

Well... since I hold the copyright to everything I post on my blog, I've always imagined I was safe. But, like Maryn, I'm not a lawyer.

However, I do have an agent, as do many of the people I know who do "Teaser Tuesday." My agent knows about my blog. He visits my blog. He's aware I post these little 500-word excerpts of WIPs. If he were concerned about this ruining the saleability of my writing, I expect he'd tell me to knock it off. After all, he only gets paid if he can sell my books.

Feathers · Aug 20, 2009

I love it when authors post these teasers, because then I can decide right off if I like them or not. Many times, I learn that I don't. But if I find that I do like it, I'll become a loyal reader before the book ever even comes out, and I'll sure support it when it does.

As for the legal stuff, I think it's okay in moderation. It's better to post short snippets rather than whole chapters, and would help to have some kind of copyright license posted somewhere public. You'd want to avoid scenes with major plot points, and show scenes that are most interesting. And you would definitely want a polished draft! Your writing has to be good. If it's not, you'll singlehandedly kill your story before it's ever born. So It really depends on how much you trust your talent!

Other than that, it's a small risk, but one others have taken with good success.

My 2 cents.

-Feathers

Capes&Corsets · Aug 20, 2009

I'm definitely no expert on this but I agree with the others here; it's best to be careful. It depends on how much you want to publish. I've seen some writers who post little snippets of their work and I don't see anything particularly wrong with this - I've also seen people who post the first few chapters to their blogs, sometimes more.

I wouldn't do this personally as, like tjwriter stated, first drafts will undergo major changes.

coryleslie · Aug 21, 2009

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I have to say, you hit upon what my instincts were telling me. I wasn't so sure I'd want to post my writing on my site until I'm published and can provide small snippets. This definitely helped!

DMarie84 · Aug 21, 2009

I wouldn't post your entire WiP but snippets are OK. That's all I've ever posted.

YAwriter72 · Aug 21, 2009

I actually have a friend who's agent specifically mentioned she wanted to see the three books that friend had snippets of on her website. She loved them and it helped solidify the offer of rep for friend. You never know who's looking! My hope is that any editor who is looking at my current sub might see an excerpt and love what they see and ask my agent about that book too.

Mercurio Cavaldi · Aug 27, 2009

Personally, I don't post my WIP on my blog; instead, I've been posted unused scenes that I believe are as good as the WIP but just didn't make it into the final manuscript. Now that those sections have been used up, though (I don't want to publish sub-par scenes that I cut for a good reason), I'm not quite sure what to do either... I guess I have until Tuesday to figure it out!

Feathers · Aug 28, 2009

Personally, I don't post my WIP on my blog; instead, I've been posted unused scenes that I believe are as good as the WIP but just didn't make it into the final manuscript.

I know that Karen Duvall does that. She also posts scenes that are fun, but don't give away the plot. Maybe you could do that?

Trish · Sep 18, 2009

I sent a full manuscript to a publisher over four months ago and hadn’t heard back from them. Now I’ve finished the second book in the series and wanted to post snippets on my blog. I phoned the publisher and they said they were behind in their assessments and would get back to me. I asked them if they approved of unpublished writers posting snippets on there blog and the lady I spoke to said they like their writers to do that and to network. They were all for it.

So I have posted a few snippets from one of my books and added pictures. I’ll be adding snippets and pictures from the first book too.

I wouldn’t post a full chapter though although I did post an outline to the story.

nitaworm · Oct 7, 2009

I only post snippets of copywritten works. Just my personal prefererence. I also give a lot of thought into what I am presenting, to make sure it gives the best selling point of the work. My publisher who's been in sales forever, likes to see what I am posting before I post it, and has made suggestions on what intrigued them most.

Remember, what you post on the internet can stay there forever. It is a representation of you and your work as an author.

Also, I figure if you are going to post something, make sure it has them begging for more.

TereLiz · Oct 9, 2009

I gave in to Teaser Tuesday twice. Both posts were pretty short, only two or three pages of the manuscript.

Now I have a link in my sidebar to the post of the first three pages, so it became a permanent part of my blog, and within that post I provide links to the other teaser and two virtual tours of my main character's city.

I think of it as a promo packet, something an agent might see immediately if they happened upon my site or Googled it on purpose. But, like the word "teaser" implies, the snippets are just enough to generate interest (I hope) in the novel I'm querying.

Check out the link in my sig for more details.

coryleslie · Oct 9, 2009

Hi, everyone:

I'm sorry I haven't been back in a while to thank everyone for their feedback! I've been so busy making edits, I haven't been as active on AW. I certainly appreciate your viewpoints, though!

I like the idea of posting deleted scenes or the promo packet idea. I'll definitely check out your blog, Tereliz.

Cory

coryleslie · Oct 13, 2009

Okay, I went for it! I decided to start doing a Teaser Tuesday with excerpts and deleted scenes. Hope you like it! I'm curious to see what the reaction will be.

http://corrinejackson.wordpress.com/

Posting WIP on blog?

coryleslie

Has anyone seen the sun?

Maryn

I Tried

tjwriter

Emerging Anew

Red-Green

KoalaKoalaKoala!

Feathers

emerging from the writing cave

Capes&Corsets

Exceptional ass-kickery...served.

coryleslie

Has anyone seen the sun?

DMarie84

I wish I had a time machine

YAwriter72

someone let me off this crazy ride

Mercurio Cavaldi

A shrubbery!

Feathers

emerging from the writing cave

Trish

nitaworm

AW Addict

TereLiz

Necromancer to the stars

coryleslie

Has anyone seen the sun?

coryleslie

Has anyone seen the sun?