It will not make me any money initially. I’m thinking of this as a farmer might. By presenting the book online, I can sow the seeds of readership for future books in the series. Maybe gain some fans? I’m hoping to make some advertising money once the site gets enough traffic, and possibly do an online campaign to bring the book to print if there is enough interest. All of which would help me cut the costs of publishing. It would also ensure a fan base existed for the book prior to printing.
The catch: I’m thinking of making short chapters, 2 to 6 pages each, like James Patterson does, and posting once a week. The outline of the book is mostly done, but I am concerned about my ability to bring the pieces together in a coherent way. I’m a new writer, and I’m sure I’ll make a few mistakes. Confidence, am I right? The ugly truth is if I have a bad week or completely wreck the plot, it will be on the Internet forever. Unless I edit the archive. Even then… I can’t tell if having beta readers would be necessary before I even post online. It would certainly be a good idea to have prior editing.
Please, let me know what you think. You can email me at [email protected], post to the Facebook page, or tweet to share your opinion. I’m interested if anyone has wisdom to offer. Have a good day, dear reader!