Hey, all~
Wandering around the Internet and sites similar to this one, I often find writers promoting their novels, talking about them, posting excerpts and building fan bases before their novels are even finished. Now, I understand this can come in handy for the folks who want to self-publish, but let's put them aside from now, as there's also quite a few writers who do this even though they're new to writing, don't have an agent/publisher yet, and want to publish their book traditionally.
So, my question is, how much of this, if at all, is good to do? Would you advise for or against, for example, creating a website for your novel and slowly building a fan base for it before finishing the manuscript and sending it to the agents and publishers out there?
Now, I understand that the story itself can't be found online before it's officially published, for so many obvious reasons, but how about sidestories or world history, or fun facts and behind-the-scenes details which never appear in the actual story, or short quotes or art related to it? Would the agents look negatively on that as well, or would it possibly actually help you to get an agent, if they see that there's potential in you and you already maybe have a fanbase of some size without even a famous name/publishing house to stay behind you?
I'm sorry, that was long, and more than one question, but I'm really curious. Thank you in advance c:
This is a really interesting question and one that has cropped up in mind recently. I have followers for my music and song writing and constantly blog or update those on my mailing list about what I'm up to. Now im embarking on my first novel my gut feeling is to be more private on details of its progress . I've not let out any lines or plot to anyone, much to the frustration of those who know me. I have started a separate fb page as an author and posted photos of places I've visited for research . I hope I haven't shot myself in the foot with an agent for doing this.
Thanks, all! I was really quite worried about that, it's nice to finally have answers c:
What you're talking about is 'platform' and in general makes would-be agents and publishers very happy. This is different from sharing parts of the book you're submitting (which can cause problems). Building up a fan base, even if it's just a few people who know your name and would buy a book you wrote, is worth its weight in gold. The most obvious way to do this before publishing (either trad or self) is blogging, but like you said, short stories, art, 'my journey to being a writer' posts, etc., all build up a connection. I'd say go for it. If agents and publishers search for your name and see you plugged in to a creative community, that's good.
And, like Adrian said, debut authors can't expect too much marketing from their team, so anything you can do yourself is good. Getting to grips with social media is worthwhile exactly because it makes you easier to find :)