Author of No More Dead Dogs and three 39 Clues books tells aspiring writer: “Post stuff on the internet.”
Just a few years ago, the mantra for anyone planning to go legit with their writing was to say no to the world wide web. Internet meant copyright headaches, dodging book theft, and the terrifying prospect of a publisher having googling skills–they’d track your novel down, and then brush you off as one of those. (Heaven forbid they find your fanfiction.net account.)
This Saturday at the DC National Mall, Gordon Korman added “Post stuff on the internet” to his list of advice to an aspiring author during the 2011 National Book Festival.
Write more, read more, and submit your writing, Korman continued at the Q&A session. “I can guarantee that nothing will happen if you don’t put yourself out there.”
And putting herself out there is just what one question-asker did. The young woman listened to Gordon Korman’s advice and, at the end, quickly put in, “Want to see my book?”
“Sure,” he said.
She walked up the aisle, pulled a copy of her book out of her backpack, and handed it over amid audience laughter.
Atta girl.
How have you put yourself out there? How have you seen authors getting out there?
The Book Canaries 
Yes I have, and for some reason it’s the United Kingdom that’s listening. Go figure.
I used to put my stuff out there more than I do now. However, after losing a professional sale of a short story because I’d already put it on my blog a couple years earlier while still working out the plot, I don’t go that far anymore. They considered it previously published. I could probably have not said anything and they’d never have found it, but that’s not very professional. Once I’d remembered I’d done it, I had to fess up. The editor did ask to see another story in the same world (just not the same story, reworked) and she still has it under consideration, so all is not lost – yet.
What I do now is post flash pieces ever friday to my blog. That gives anyone who might be cruising the net for snippets a chance to see my voice and style. And I submit everything I finish to the list of my favorite markets, starting at the top of the list and working my way down until it’s accepted somewhere.
I like the idea of Flash Fridays. I’ve been wary to post my best stories to my blog for the reason you mention. The result is a handful of short essays, experiments, and some of my early work are available on my site, but there’s not much to indicate what I’m writing now. Flash sounds like a relatively painless way to self-promote without devoting hours upon hours (and dozens of revisions, if you write like me) to put forth a sample piece.
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