Self-Publishing On The Internet
One of the best ways to get your feet wet in the world of writing is to post your work on the internet. This is a form of self-publishing that allows the writer to gain some exposure and receive feedback from fellows of the writing community and those surfing the internet who enjoy your particul genre of writing.
The internet provides opportunity for substantial exposure to your work and at the same time provides a learning experience as a huge resource for reference and research into the area of writing that you are pursuing.
An important thing to remember is that although the internet has an enormous number of patrons worldwide, each individual is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to posting on the internet. There is a wealth of experts posting their writing/articles to the internet in various forums that I will discuss here in a moment. There are also a large number of posts by those who are less than expert.
The key thing to remember about posting to the internet is that you must have endless patience, post on a regular and ongoing basis to a targeted audience....stay involved and tuned in to the writing world as it unfolds on the internet (and other mediums). Gradually (hopefully) your work will have an impact on its readers and they will return to see more. Do not have false expectations that publishing on the internet will generate immediate results. It takes time and a lot of energy and committment and should be viewed as one of a number of ways to gain recognition in the writing community.
There are a number of ways to post written material on the internet that each in their own right helps a writer to gain exposure to their work. Forums, or message boards as they are commonly known, are a popular way to post, and in many cases archive, one's work to a relatively large audience depending on the size of the contributing membership on a given website.
Another great way to showcase and promote your writing is to set up your own website. There are a large number of free website hosts available that are a good way for new or emerging writers to get their feet wet setting up their first website. With the text editing, photo uploading and page template features now available, free websites have their merits. You don't have to know a thing about website creation to get such websites set up. Be aware though that free websites come with their limitations as to webspace available for page creation/archiving and features offered.
Paid websites are available in a wide range of plans to suit everyone's budget starting as low as well under ten dollars per month and offer advanced features including email service and much more and most can be upgraded when more services and webspace are desired. Run a search engine query with the key words "free website hosting" or "website hosting" and you will get a huge number of listings to browse.
Publishing your own periodic newsletter is another great way to gain exposure and interest in your writing. Many website hosts offer free and paid "mailing list" services that are very easy to set up and send out. This is a great medium for not only giving your readers any news tidbits on your latest writing endeavors and events but also a place to post your own articles exploring or expounding on any desired topic that will be of interest to your targeted reading audience.
Of course exposure requires getting people to your website or other internet source of publishing and that means some advertising will likely be needed to drive internet traffic to your website(s). This may come in the form of paid or free advertising but it is an integral part of the marketing of your written work. Registering with search engines is also considered an important step in gaining exposure - get your website submitted to as many search engines and directories (free and paid) and resubmit regularly where necessary to keep your listings active and current.
In future blogs I'll go into more specifics about the various methods of publishing on the internet and what measure of success and downfalls I have experienced with each. Please take a few moments to view my other blogs posted here and also visit my website at http://www.apoetsview.org .
Until then, keep writing and get it posted for the world to see!
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
The internet provides opportunity for substantial exposure to your work and at the same time provides a learning experience as a huge resource for reference and research into the area of writing that you are pursuing.
An important thing to remember is that although the internet has an enormous number of patrons worldwide, each individual is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to posting on the internet. There is a wealth of experts posting their writing/articles to the internet in various forums that I will discuss here in a moment. There are also a large number of posts by those who are less than expert.
The key thing to remember about posting to the internet is that you must have endless patience, post on a regular and ongoing basis to a targeted audience....stay involved and tuned in to the writing world as it unfolds on the internet (and other mediums). Gradually (hopefully) your work will have an impact on its readers and they will return to see more. Do not have false expectations that publishing on the internet will generate immediate results. It takes time and a lot of energy and committment and should be viewed as one of a number of ways to gain recognition in the writing community.
There are a number of ways to post written material on the internet that each in their own right helps a writer to gain exposure to their work. Forums, or message boards as they are commonly known, are a popular way to post, and in many cases archive, one's work to a relatively large audience depending on the size of the contributing membership on a given website.
Another great way to showcase and promote your writing is to set up your own website. There are a large number of free website hosts available that are a good way for new or emerging writers to get their feet wet setting up their first website. With the text editing, photo uploading and page template features now available, free websites have their merits. You don't have to know a thing about website creation to get such websites set up. Be aware though that free websites come with their limitations as to webspace available for page creation/archiving and features offered.
Paid websites are available in a wide range of plans to suit everyone's budget starting as low as well under ten dollars per month and offer advanced features including email service and much more and most can be upgraded when more services and webspace are desired. Run a search engine query with the key words "free website hosting" or "website hosting" and you will get a huge number of listings to browse.
Publishing your own periodic newsletter is another great way to gain exposure and interest in your writing. Many website hosts offer free and paid "mailing list" services that are very easy to set up and send out. This is a great medium for not only giving your readers any news tidbits on your latest writing endeavors and events but also a place to post your own articles exploring or expounding on any desired topic that will be of interest to your targeted reading audience.
Of course exposure requires getting people to your website or other internet source of publishing and that means some advertising will likely be needed to drive internet traffic to your website(s). This may come in the form of paid or free advertising but it is an integral part of the marketing of your written work. Registering with search engines is also considered an important step in gaining exposure - get your website submitted to as many search engines and directories (free and paid) and resubmit regularly where necessary to keep your listings active and current.
In future blogs I'll go into more specifics about the various methods of publishing on the internet and what measure of success and downfalls I have experienced with each. Please take a few moments to view my other blogs posted here and also visit my website at http://www.apoetsview.org .
Until then, keep writing and get it posted for the world to see!
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
posted by Don MacIver at
1:57 p.m.
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