There’s been an overwhelming response to yesterday’s post, in which I talked about releasing my next novel for free, chapter by chapter, right here on the blog.
I had emails, tweets, DMs, Facebook and blog comments. A lot of them suggested I charge something for each chapter. Others thought I ought to self-publish the novel as an eBook. I also received many offers of help. It was lovely to suddenly have so much input from people who are clearly very keen on my fiction.
The most profound contact came from my old agent, Brie Burkeman, who closed her agency a year ago for family reasons. After speaking to her on the phone, it was very clear that she was opposed to me giving my work away for nothing.
The combination of her pep-talk and all the comments and messages of support that I’ve had have convinced me to hold off just for a little longer.
I do have several ‘live’ submissions with editors and agents but these are people who are, often-times, too busy to respond – or, if they do, it’s months and months later. I wanted to make something happen fast and I thought I’d come up with a good way of breaking the deadlock. On reflection, however, perhaps I was a little hasty.
So, I hope you’ll keep waiting – as I keep waiting – to hear from the gatekeepers who can make or break careers with their decisions. Tentacles crossed, there’ll be some big yeses from them this time.
Some of you have also asked me what the novel is about, so I’ll do a post with some teasers for you soon…
Joseph D'Lacey 
Count me in the ‘don’t give it away for free’ crowd, Mr D. As tempting as it might be, it’s not a good plan.
Cheers, Luke – I appreciate that.
Although it has worked for The Martian, David Moody and others. Nevertheless, I’m not sure it’s right for me, at this time.
Back to twiddling the tentacles!
I’ve only read one of your books. Blood Fugue. It was good enough to pay for, so I’m sure your others will be just as good. Have faith, the book shops are full of insipid work that doesn’t belong there.
By giving your novel away you will be giving your popularity a shot of adrenaline. But that will be sucked directly from your bank balance. I think your ‘wait and see’ approach is right for now if you have current submissions.
Thanks for stopping by with some good vibes, Joseph. Authors are often better at waiting than they are at writing! Though, I have a feeling that things are going to change very much for the better soon – just a hunch – and I’ll be making noise about it right here when they do! Meanwhile, I’m delighted to hear Blood Fugue was worth its cover price!