Online Novel

[WeAreOnTheLoose]

Anybody here ever done a online novel? I have a 100,000-word manuscript going down, but this time, I want to try it on blogspot with Google Ads, so I can get a penny for every 100 visitors (or less).

Got the idea with Helium, I'm do some writing on Helium dot com where one can be paid to write (have to reach the $25 mark in order to get it). You have to get at least one rating star and people need to view your articles to get your quarter of a penny, pending on the ad.

Any thoughts?

[Luke]

You'd probably make more money selling something alongside. Like a t-shirt or something.

"If you like my writing, buy a tee" sort of thing.

[FBaron]

Sounds like a lot of time and effort for a pitiful return on your investment. Why bother?

You could make more money collecting empties from the side of the road.

Does anyone starting out these days even try to write for newspapers, magazines and commercial publishers?

[Ultimate Cheapskate]

Sounds like a lot of time and effort for a pitiful return on your investment. Why bother?

You could make more money collecting empties from the side of the road.

Does anyone starting out these days even try to write for newspapers, magazines and commercial publishers?

Amen! Or even cold-query a legitimate content-rich website or news website and ask if they work with freelancers? There's such a huge demand for timely content on the WWW (and I ain't talkin' about "content aggregators" like Helium), why not at least approach those markets first?

[EccentricKim]

Yeah WeAreOntheLoose . . . you should either try to get an agent or go through a small publisher for a novel.

Even self-publishing online as an ebook would bring you more profit than what you're attempting now, and not even more profit, but just more readers in general, I would think.

You might not think it is possible to get published in so-called "traditional" venues. I think that's why some people seem to think they have to go the helium route (or, uh, the blovel route). But I have had op-ed pieces published in magazines and been paid for them, and have short stories and novels published and forthcoming through a small press myself. There are others in this forum who are going through small publishing companies, Cheapskate has books published through Random House, I believe, and pls self-publishes his stuff. If you have questions about trying those kinds of things any of us could answer questions about it.

[M G Kizzia]

Kim! You said the "bl-word." Lets not get into that.

My 2 cents. Why start at the bottom and work so hard for minimal return? At least shoot for the stars. You may be surprised where you end up.

[rosebud]

Anybody here ever done a online novel? I have a 100,000-word manuscript going down, but this time, I want to try it on blogspot with Google Ads, so I can get a penny for every 100 visitors (or less).

Got the idea with Helium, I'm do some writing on Helium dot com where one can be paid to write (have to reach the $25 mark in order to get it). You have to get at least one rating star and people need to view your articles to get your quarter of a penny, pending on the ad.

Any thoughts?

No, I've never done an online novel. But 100,000 words is quite an accomplishment. It doesn't seem to me that you'll find an audience for such a grandiose feature. Not knocking what you're trying to accomplish here but red flags are flying everywhere from my perspective. I recommend trying the other posters suggestions, or self-pubish it and offer it on amazon or one of the other popular sites. jmo

[EccentricKim]

Sounds like a lot of time and effort for a pitiful return on your investment. Why bother?

You could make more money collecting empties from the side of the road.

Does anyone starting out these days even try to write for newspapers, magazines and commercial publishers?

Amen! Or even cold-query a legitimate content-rich website or news website and ask if they work with freelancers? There's such a huge demand for timely content on the WWW (and I ain't talkin' about "content aggregators" like Helium), why not at least approach those markets first?

So many of those web sites do have submission guidelines if you know where to look. Usually at the very bottom of the home page will be "contact us" or "submission guidelines" links.

And WeAre I did check out your Amazon page, so I see that you have gone down some different routes. If you want to try something like an online novel for sensationalism or to attract readers, I would say it might be better to do an online short story . . . let your books be published in a better way.

[EccentricKim]

oh crap, now I've done it! lol

I still think WeAre should go with a small press, agent, or self e-pub.

[WeAreOnTheLoose]

Thanks for your input.

When I posted that question, I was ill and surely not thinking.