Working The Web: Authorship Essay, Research Paper
Working the web: AuthorshipWanna be a writer? Seems a lot of us do. A survey carried out to mark the launch of WH Smith’s Raw Talent competition discovered we are a nation of would-be authors. Almost 50% of respondents said they would like to write a book, with thrillers and biographies leading the choice of genres. When you finally get around to taking the first steps to creating something, you will find plenty of support, information and practical help on the net – as well as outlets for your work. There is nothing to stop you setting up your own site and posting your work there, but you can increase your readership by submitting it to one of the thousands of e-zines dedicated to publishing original work online. They are often in the weirdest of niche areas that commercial publishers would not touch, and you are highly unlikely to get paid. But think of the glory. Since 1993, John Labovitz has been maintaining his list of 4,000-plus e-zines at www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list, and is asking for someone to take over its time-consuming maintenance. Or, you can go further, and publish your own e-book. Famously, Stephen King abandoned his e-publishing venture halfway, but there are authors who say they are making decent money from self-publishing this way. The e-author Angela Adair-Hoy tells you how she and others do it at www.writersweekly.com. If you are keener on the dead-tree route to published fame, screen-loads of advice is available at www.publishers.org, where some good people at the Publishers Association pass on infor