A general idea I had (need feedback)

(I didn't post this in the "Share Your Work" board, because this is more of a general idea of something I thought of)

Currently, I am working on an extensive novel series (possibly 8-10 books) and it will probably take a while to map out the entire story. But, I want to release something that I wrote to keep people satisfied until my books start to emerge, and that will start a sort of fan base. So, I had an idea on something, and I wanted to get some feedback on it, to see if you think it is a good idea.

I have a huge folder of poems, short stories, editorials, and ideas that I have no where to put, that don't really fit anywhere else. So, I thought this: I could put together some sort of booklet, filled with all my poems, short stories, editorials, and even some autobiographical articles (and maybe some stories about how I write and what I'm all about), and sell it through my website. It wouldn't be anything fancy, just a booklet. But it would have lots of my writing in it. It would be sort of an "E.G. Gammon Sampler" of what I'm about, what I write about, and samples of my work. I could also include some sort of preview of my works that are in development. (And maybe as a bonus, my digital camera takes video, and I could also make some video journals, describing some of my work that appears in the booklet and what it means to me, etc... and include it on a cd-r).

So, what do you think? Is this a good idea? I was thinking of having it put together by the end of January, put it through the copyright process (which takes around 4-5 months) and have it out by the end of July (July 26 is my birthday). Any suggestions, on how to improve this idea, or anything else, is greatly appreciated.

E.G. Gammon

Honestly:

I say skip the booklet and start a blog. Post your writing in the blog a little bit at a time. When one of your books is about to come out, blog it.

This way people get samples of your writing for free and in a form and a size in which they might read it. And you'll reach people you normally couldn't reach with a booklet you pass around.

If you don't currently have a fan base, who would buy the booklet? How would you market it?

Unless you already have a fan base EGG, I think you might be putting the cart before the horse. Who do you see buying this booklet now?

On the other hand, should the first in your series of books find a publisher and do reasonably well, I can then see a potential market developing for some of the other writing you're talking about.

Building a site and having samples available to whet folks' appetites couldn't hurt. I just have a hunch you'd have a difficult time selling what you're describing at this point in your career.

I considered putting some of my work on my official website (that I am working on), but I am afraid of posting it without copyrighting it. Wouldn't it be a good way to get my work (like poems and short stories) stolen? Any tips on preventing something like this? (Oh, by the way, I have a blog on my upcoming website, and putting some of my writing throught entries is a great idea! But, again, I am a very paranoid writer, and would hate to get some of my work stolen).

Stealing others' work is rare. People who liked it would be more likely to link to it.

E.G., let's suppose you met a guy at a party named HConn. Let's say this guy tells you he's an unpublished writer who's trying to get people interested in his unpublished books, and he offers you a booklet right there at teh party.

How much would you pay? How much of it would you read? Would you read it at all, or would you toss it on a shelf and go back to the book you already started?

Don't try to create interest in your work before the work is published.

Yeah, I see what you are saying. I doubt anyone will steal my work. I'll just post enough on the website to showcase what I write, but I won't give EVERYTHING away. And I'll use my blog to write autobiographical articles. Would these things be enough to start an interest in my future work? Or would people need to see MORE?

Ok... all of your ideas have set me off. I have a bunch of plans for the website now. I have to get my website online, ASAP. Thanks. You all can keep replying if you want, but you don't have to. My first idea: a bust... Hopefully by putting myself out there on my website, it will strike some interest. Thanks again! (I love that everyone on this board is so nice about everything. I've been to so many boards that would have been mean and harsh, without giving me alternatives).

My suggestion would be to forget everything, including mapping out the series. Concentrate on writing and polishing book one, then find a good agent who can find a good publisher for it.

Another thing, registering the copywrite, which is what you're actually talking about, won't prevent someone who's inclined to steal your work from stealing it. It would just save you a little time should you need to pursue legal action later. As others indicated, though, having someone steal your work would be very rare.

But having a website where you can direct potential customers to samples of your writing is not a bad idea.

Lori's Website

There's no way you can actually prevent people from stealing your writing. What you can however do is sue them if they do, or have criminal charges filed against them.

But if you think about it, anything anywhere in print or posted on any website can easily be stolen. A copyright notice doesn't stop that -- it's not like a magic spell. In that sense, it's as much of a shield as a restraining order on a drunken ex-husband. Look how good they work (shotguns are a lot more effective).

But I digress. Go ahead and start a blog (or something like it), and post either excerpts or summaries on your website.

If you already have a "fan base" you're beyond most of the people who visit this forum. Either way, just "advertise" on your website and if people want to buy a compendium, they will make an offer.

By the way, I have a lot of stuff posted on my own website. I don't have a blog per se, more like a "what's new" page.

But I've got excerpts and summaries and such of much of my writing. You're welcome to take a look at the site and see what you think.

Sam Waas

Stealing material from a website and putting it on one's own website is common. Something else to be cautious about: if a story/poem/essay... is on your site, you may have trouble selling it later. Some publishers count display on a site as prior publication.

Save your stuff until you're published and establish your fan base, then perhaps you could persuade a publisher to publish your poems, essays, etc.

Not the other way around. Focus on your book. It's good to dream big, but have your feet firmly planted on the ground.

isn't it true, though, that you literally don't make any money having poems published? i've always heard that most poetry publishers don't even pay you anything or very little. okay, if you're the next maya angelou, you're the exception, but, gawd, why pay for poetry? or unpublished short stories? not to be mean, but if it's not published, how do i know it's quality work? at least ostensibly, having gone through an editor means it passed *someone's* muster. i think you're pretty hep to that now, though, eh?

this is pretty simple stuff right here: if you don't want your stuff stolen, don't put it up on the net. 'copyright' on the net holds about as much value as a peso, ironclad like the titanic and intimidating as a stop sign. i'd just assume anything you put on the net WILL be stolen, which is a catch 22. you can't build a real fanbase by not putting the top shelf stuff up, but then you risk your grade A junk being pilfered. if i ever did a website i'd just put up stuff i'd let go. let's face it, what are you really going to do if your material gets ripped? sue? sure, pay a lawyer $100 pr/hr just so you can reclaim damages amounting to what? that's just the whole thing with suing, you have to prove damages. some judge just isn't going to award a ten thousand dollar settlement in your favour over a 2k word story. since you can't copyright an idea, that's why i and most writers don't go overboard with describing WIP.

BUT, there is protection for your web material. most of us aren't hackers. those who are, well, they're going to steal your stuff if they really want it, but, honestly, what's the likelihood of that? and what real damage would it cause? if you're worried that it'd hurt your book sales, i'd worry more about the libraries letting any joe schmo walk right in and borrow the thing for FREE! (library bastards!) most people copy/paste stuff, and there are security programmes on sites that actually prevent that, believe it or not. i don't mean to sound harsh, but unless you're some kind of phenomenal kind of writer, i truly wouldn't worry about someone ripping you off. i'd certainly pull back from that stance once i became a professional, but as it is, there are only about 46 billion blogs and writers out there to sift through already: chances are that if your material is that outstanding, a few hackers stealing your web stuff isn't going to hurt considering how much your limitless talent is drawing people to your site.

now, don't go putting up entire books or anything, lol, but at the same time i've read some flat-out wonderful fiction, for free, and have not seen one reason were i even a crook to steal it. a thief's probably not going to spend that much time and effort considering the risk/reward of trying to profit from your work on a scale that justifies doing it as opposed to stealing his neighbour's lawn furniture and putting it on ebay.

I believe people have built a fan base from websites. It would not hurt your chances with a publisher if you have developed a few hundred, or eve a few thousand fans who are waiting for your novel to come out.

I'm going to step in here to note something else (and this is not meant to trample all over Lori's post). If you copyright your unpublished work now, this can slow things down when/if you sell it to a publisher. If you sell it to a book publisher, for example, they will most likely request revisions and rewriting be done to your material. But if it's already copyrighted, then that can be a problem.

Er, hope I made sense with this post...

Excellent point, Dawn!

I think copyright covers revisions and edits. Only when it's a total rewrite that I think you need to re-register?

Ok, everybody... what about this: Autobiographical stories. What if I strictly post autobiographical stories? Wouldn't they be LESS LIKELY to be stolen? I mean who is going to steal writing about someone else's life? I'm already working on an autobiography of my life so far (not intending to release it any time soon) and I have been through a lot in my life already, believe me. What about just some stories and poems that I have written about my life? THEN, I can save all my fiction for future release (if it ever happens). But, I could post a little (very little) information ABOUT my works in development, but not enough that people will have enough to create their own idea from it.

This suggestion might take a bit of time, but might be worth it.

To into the web and find sites, blogs, etc. other writers have set up. See what they have done. See how well you think it works. If they give e-mail addys drop a line and ask what they think works and why.

But if it's already copyrighted, then that can be a problem.

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How, exactly? You post makes sense but you didn't 'splain this.

You may be misunderstanding what a copyright is all about. It doesn't prevent you, the author & copyright holder, from making changes. It has no effect on this at all.

A copyright is your protection for your writing, and will give you better standing if you have to sue someone for stealing your stuff. It's not required but it can be helpful.

What do I do? When I first finish my novels, I copyright them. Then I let it lie. If (when) my agent sells the book, the publisher may elect to have me copyright the finished version again. Or I may do this anyway.

What if I strictly post autobiographical stories?

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What get stolen isn't the plot idea anyway. After all, there are only the 12 basic plots anyway, and it's been that way since prehistory.

What someone might steal is the writing in snatches -- paragraphs and good construction and so on.

But like I said earlier, nothing is going to prevent someone from stealing your writing. It doesn't matter whether the writing is on your website or in a book published by Random House.

I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you. Just go ahead and post your blogs or your writing as you wish. People aren't going to steal it.