When to reveal the title of my novel on social media?

unthoughtknown

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Hi everyone. I have finished my novel (geez, it still amazes me to say that) and I've been thinking about doing a little bit of low-key promo for it.

The problem is that I have not decided on my publishing route yet. (Trad or indie etc.) I don't have an agent -- needless to say I don't have a publisher either.

What kind of promo you ask? I wanted to register a domain with my novel's title and just have a landing page that links to my mailing list. (Well, the working title of my novel, I guess.) *Edited* - It doesn't have to be a whole domain; might just be a separate space linking from my current domain. The point is, when is it okay/safe to mention the title?

Is it a bad idea to do this when you are not yet represented and/or don't have a publisher yet? I won't be publishing anything from the novel on this site unless I am advised to do so by my future agent, or, unless I decide to self-publish and want to put up an excerpt. Or, whatever.

Thanks!
 
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Marissa D

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My two cents is...why? Promotion is something that happens when you have a product that you want to encourage people to buy. You don't have that yet. If you have to do something, register a domain name in your author name and put up a very simple website that maybe includes a short bio, your social media links, and a brief description of the story you'll be seeking an agent or publisher for. That's not promoting your story--it's promoting yourself as a professional.

If you decide not to pursue trade publishing and self-publish your story, then the answer changes...so maybe the best first step is to decide exactly what it is you want to do.
 

cornflake

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Hi everyone. I have finished my novel (geez, it still amazes me to say that) and I've been thinking about doing a little bit of low-key promo for it.

The problem is that I have not decided on my publishing route yet. (Trad or indie etc.) I don't have an agent -- needless to say I don't have a publisher either.

What kind of promo you ask? I wanted to register a domain with my novel's title and just have a landing page that links to my mailing list. (Well, the working title of my novel, I guess.) *Edited* - It doesn't have to be a whole domain; might just be a separate space linking from my current domain. The point is, when is it okay/safe to mention the title?

Is it a bad idea to do this when you are not yet represented and/or don't have a publisher yet? I won't be publishing anything from the novel on this site unless I am advised to do so by my future agent, or, unless I decide to self-publish and want to put up an excerpt. Or, whatever.

Thanks!

Stop doing this unless you're committed to self-publishing.

If you're interested in finding an agent and pursuing trade publishing, this is meaningless to problematic. Titles are placeholders. It'd likely change by the time it ever got to market, which would be years from now anyway.
 

Scandal665

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I think a website with your author name is a better choice. You could talk about your project, even using the title you've selected, or other works in progress. People can go to your site and see info about whatever you're working on. Titles change, projects get added. Don't lock into one.
 

Treehouseman

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If you must, have a page on your Author Website with "Untitled Project #1" news or something.

The caveat might be that you don't want to have a "date" of your book being written or queried around. A manuscript getting "old" says to interested editors/agents that nobody else wanted it, and they might start getting cold feet.

Wait until the moment your novel sale goes up on Publishers Marketplace, or you have decided on a self-pub date. Then swing into action!
 

Laer Carroll

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I agree with the others. Create a web site which will be the brand you want to present to the public. Occasionally when you write under two pen names, as Nora Roberts does, your might create two sites and tie them together in some way. Alternatively, you could have the one site with two parts, one for each pen name.

In fact, it's a good idea to create a web site as soon as you get serious about a writing career. It takes time to master the art and tech of creating a simple but lovely site. Best to have it available before you need it, not try to do catch up once your career takes off.

As for publishing excerpts, I'd never do that until a book is completely done, including all rewrites. But once you've past that gate, posting the first few chapters of a book looks like a way to gain interest. Though it probably won't, it might. And it can't hurt. Excerpts on a site don't "date." They're just excerpts. So what if the book doesn't come out till much later? Agents and editors know more than most that the pipeline from Done to Published is a long one.
 

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Thanks Laer

As for publishing excerpts, I'd never do that until a book is completely done, including all rewrites. But once you've past that gate, posting the first few chapters of a book looks like a way to gain interest. Though it probably won't, it might. And it can't hurt. Excerpts on a site don't "date." They're just excerpts. So what if the book doesn't come out till much later? Agents and editors know more than most that the pipeline from Done to Published is a long one.

I do feel that it's risky to put up an excerpt. Perhaps I'll do this if I've been querying for 12 months and I'm still without an agent. I don't know. I might break before then. Haha.
 

unthoughtknown

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If you are planning to have a writing career, the domain you want is you pen name.

One thing I've got sorted.

For anyone else taking the time to reply to my topic here (thank you) -- yes, I already have my writer website up and running. : ) I only have one pen name, which is my actual name, and there are no plans to use another at this point.
 

eqb

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Thanks Laer



I do feel that it's risky to put up an excerpt. Perhaps I'll do this if I've been querying for 12 months and I'm still without an agent. I don't know. I might break before then. Haha.

If you decide to self-publish, I'd suggest waiting until you've had the novel edited. If you go with trade publishing, be aware that many publishers like to schedule when and where an excerpt appears (also after the novel's gone through editing and copyediting.)
 

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If you go with trade publishing, be aware that many publishers like to schedule when and where an excerpt appears (also after the novel's gone through editing and copyediting.)

You may also have contractual limitations on how much you can excerpt. I'm permitted to excerpt (IIRC) 10% for promotional purposes.
 

Treehouseman

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There really isn't that much required for a Writer website to start (mine is super boring!)

The lit agent Dong Won Song had a post recently that said you only needed 4 things:

1) A picture of you (eep!)
2) A list of what you've written
3) A contact form or email
4) A mailing list sign-up (I haven't got this yet, but I've used Mailchimp and they are quite easy)

You don't need anything special, at this stage of the game it's really only so people can get in contact. Later when you have books for sale you can put the links up too.
 

WeaselFire

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I wanted to register a domain with my novel's title and just have a landing page that links to my mailing list. (Well, the working title of my novel, I guess.) *Edited* - It doesn't have to be a whole domain; might just be a separate space linking from my current domain.

All of which goes out the window when you publish with a different title.

The point is, when is it okay/safe to mention the title?

Way too obvious, but it's the real answer: When the title is in publication. Traditionally publishers, for both ebooks and trade books, will generally set a title several months before the book hits the shelves and begin publicity then. If you self publish, when you are ready to publish and you are sure it's the title you'll use.

Jeff
 
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Laer Carroll

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If you are planning to have a writing career, the domain you want is you pen name.
One thing I've got sorted.
For anyone else taking the time to reply to my topic here (thank you) -- yes, I already have my writer website up and running. : ) I only have one pen name, which is my actual name, and there are no plans to use another at this point.
You're doing everything right. Nice social media presence. Good web site: simple, attractive, easy to navigate.

I'll fifth or sixth what others have said: Don't be afraid to post excerpts as long as it's just the first few chapters. But make sure your book is done and rewritten to a good state. You'd hate for an agent or editor to become interested and you have nothing good to show. Makes you seem very unprofessional.
 

unthoughtknown

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You're doing everything right. Nice social media presence. Good web site: simple, attractive, easy to navigate.

I'll fifth or sixth what others have said: Don't be afraid to post excerpts as long as it's just the first few chapters. But make sure your book is done and rewritten to a good state. You'd hate for an agent or editor to become interested and you have nothing good to show. Makes you seem very unprofessional.

Thanks again Laer - especially for checking out my website. Much appreciated.
 

eqb

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I'll fifth or sixth what others have said: Don't be afraid to post excerpts as long as it's just the first few chapters.

Actually, others said do NOT post excerpts unless you're going the self-pub route.

Trade publishers often want to determine when and where excerpts appear, and their contract will limit how much you yourself can post.
 

Laer Carroll

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Actually, others said do NOT post excerpts unless you're going the self-pub route.

Trade publishers often want to determine when and where excerpts appear, and their contract will limit how much you yourself can post.

That seems like a dubious statement to me. Where is your authority? Perhaps we should submit this question to Old Hack. Her advice has always struck me as very professional.

Amazon posts the first 10% or so of books it sells. That seems like a good practice to me. Enough for readers to get a good taste of a book, not too much to spoil their enjoyment. I doubt any reputable publisher would object to that.
 

eqb

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That seems like a dubious statement to me. Where is your authority? Perhaps we should submit this question to Old Hack. Her advice has always struck me as very professional.

Amazon posts the first 10% or so of books it sells. That seems like a good practice to me. Enough for readers to get a good taste of a book, not too much to spoil their enjoyment. I doubt any reputable publisher would object to that.

Well, foo. I had posted a response, then accidentally deleted it. (Memo to self: Never try to edit on my tablet.)

Two things:

We're talking about a book that is so far unagented and unpublished. That makes a difference when considering whether to post an excerpt or not. If you don't see the difference, I can't help you.

Also: You ask about my "authority," well what about yours? What is your experience with trade publishers, large or small?
 

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We're talking about a book that is so far unagented and unpublished. That makes a difference when considering whether to post an excerpt or not. If you don't see the difference, I can't help you.

First publication rights are worth money to a publisher. Publishing a substantive piece of a book you intend to sub to a trade publisher is, IME, risky at the very least.

Never mind if you discover later you want to make substantial revisions. There's your early draft, out there for the world to see, including agents and publishers. (Everything lives forever on the web.)

You can do what you want, of course. But it's a legitimate risk that has the potential to affect how you're seen by agents and publishers. Me, I'm a "better safe than sorry" sort of person; until I'm sure I'm self-publishing, I keep it to myself and my crit partners.

Also: You ask about my "authority," well what about yours? What is your experience with trade publishers, large or small?

FWIW, my experience with trade publishing is similar to yours. And yeah, we're only two data points, but I've never seen anything, even anecdotally, to suggest an excerpt limit is unusual. It's also logical: the publisher is paying for the rights to publish and distribute those specific words. It's perfectly reasonable for them to want to exercise control over how that happens.
 
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