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Blogging to Create Fiction - What Charles Dickens and Web 2.0 Have in Common

Published Sunday, August 24, 2008 by bloggerblognet83460 | E-mail this post

A serialized story was released in segments, usually a segment per week, through an often released media form such as a newspaper or magazine. These stories were immensely popular from before the Civil War to after the Vietnam War. Then the concept moved to the realm of the soap opera. In the last few years, TV series have become essentially a serialized story with a centralized plot threading through the entire season. For example, the wildly popular 24.

The information explosion on the Internet has opened many opportunities for interaction and sharing. One of these is blogging. A blog is essentially a conversation between the writer and the guests. The writer can post his ideas, and the guest can comment on them. This technique can be used to connect with fiction readers and invite their participation in critiquing the story as it unfolds.

This innovative technique was used very effectively by Tom Evslin in his self-published novel hackoff.com, a mystery centered around Internet crime.

Evslin released small segments of his novel in serialized form on his blog. The story grew in popularity until thousands were reading daily, and his self-published novel saw success on several levels.

The benefits of using a serialized blogging technique to release a story are many:

Readers can comment on segments of the story as it unfolds, giving the writer valuable feedback.

Pre-sales escalate because the reader knows he loves the story, and he'll see an autographed copy as a prize and the book as a gift option for friends and family.

Publishers like a book that already has a wide client base.

This method creates a relationship that's much deeper than the writer/reader relationship stemming from a book purchased in a superstore. this invites greater sales the author's other titles.

Some writers would worry that their work could be stolen by posting it online. However, the opposite is true because blogs are dated and provide proof that the work is indeed the author's. Others would say, "But my story idea could be stolen." This is also a needless worry. Even if the root idea were garnished by another writer, the development of that idea would be much different since each writer has his unique voice and style.

Some may be concerned that once people read the story they won't want to purchase the book. My own experience has shown otherwise. I gave away my Christy award winner Reaping the Whirlwind as an e-book that was downloaded by thousands. Within 48 hours my Amazon rating jumped like never before. Having the opportunity to read the book increases sales because the story is known and the buyer takes no risk. That would be the case in the blog as well.

Dust off those old unpublished manuscripts. Tighten them up. Polish them up. And start blogging.

If the story is good, they will come.

And now I'd like to invite you to go to my novel blog at http://RoseyDow.com/coloradohomecoming/

Rosey Dow is CEO of Experts in Focus--http://expertsinfocus.com

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