I’ve spent that last few years trying to figure out how to convert this blog from one that reaches writers and indie publishers to one that reaches more readers.
After a lot of failed attempts to attract readers using pictures, blog posts, and complete randomosity, I realized something.
I’d completely lost sight of what readers want from writers.
So I started thinking about what I look for when I visit other writers’ websites.
That led me to a startling fact: I don’t visit many other writers’ websites. Not for the purpose of fangirling, anyway. (I visit other indie authors’ sites for work purposes, however.) I don’t visit the blogs of the writers I read strictly for pleasure.
Then, I asked, “Why not?”
As a reader, I’m not passionate about the writer. I’m excited about the books the writer creates. I may have a passing interest in how they write or how they got started. I may take a peek at maps or artistically rendered quotations. But ultimately, I want more books, and I want them yesterday.
So that leads me to the belief that readers want more of what they read.
Readers want more stories. They want books faster!
As a writer, I want to share books with readers as fast as I possibly can. The problem is that the complete writing process takes a lot of time, at least for me. Two months are devoted exclusively to professional editing. That’s not counting the time it takes for me to write and rewrite and re-rewrite the text. It takes me time to write, edit, and prefect each book–not as much as George R. R. Martin. But still, it’s a long process.
I wish I could speed up this process, but I cannot guarantee the quality if I try to work faster. And I don’t want to ask readers to pay for a book or story that isn’t the best it can possibly be.
But I can give it to you for free.
And so I give you…
Here’s what you need to know about SnapStories.
SnapStories may be deleted scenes, short stories, and/or sneak peeks at upcoming novels.
Or they may also be unpublished novels that are released chapter by chapter in serial fashion. (The SnapStories edition will self-destruct when the final novel is published.)
- Content will only be available online (as .pdfs) at BectonLiterary.com.
- It will be available for a limited time.
- The stories won’t be perfect. They will be released online before final editing and additions have taken place.
- But they will be complete. Eventually. (In the case of serialized novels, they will be completed over time.)
- And they will be subject to change. In fact, in the case of novels, that’s a guarantee. What you read in the free version will not be the same as the final, published book. The published version will likely be quite a bit longer, and the ending may change, all the way down to whodunnit. It’s been known to happen late in my process when a better idea strikes.
- Once the final book is published, the free version is gone forever. (I’m not allowed to give away books that are for sale. Ethics, yo.)
Here’s the very first SnapStories installment: the first chapter of Dead Inside, my unpublished paranormal mystery.
