Last w/e I went to FantasyCon in sweaty Brighton. Quite a few panels discussed web presence, in relation to authors. On the whole, there was agreement that a website etc, doesn't necessarily lead to sales. However, on one panel the editors from Orion and Angry Robot agreed that they wouldn't take on an author if he didn't have a web presence. Which sounds like a contradiction at first, but they both said they believed web presence is good for pulling in readers even if it doesn't always directly result in sales. The general view was that having a website is a must, then being on one of the social media networks, e.g. Facebook or Twitter. There seemed to be a consensus that you shouldn't use these as a hard selling tool, since that puts people off; rather, make them interesting both in relation to your writing and to yourself, e.g. talk about stuff you do outside of writing that has unique elements to it. 'Be yourself - to a point' was the advice. There was also agreement that these principles probably apply more strongly in speculative fiction at the moment, since readers/fans there tend to well up on new technology. But clearly, the principles will apply to all genres eventually.

On a different point, I was once again struck by the tremendous work ethic displayed by writers who write for a living - usually a mixture of mostly work-for-hire and their own stuff. One guy, who now writes a lot of tie-in books, usually with three or four on the go at the same time, said he spent years regularly submitting 20,000 word treatments in the hope of getting a job. When he finally was given the chance, he quickly became a regular; at one point, an editor said this was because he always delivered on time and to the brief. He was surprised when she said this was rare amongst writers, since he thought that would be normal. And an editor from Titan Books said the same thing, that the key quality for her in a writer is that he/she delivers to deadline. Interestingly, on the write-for-a-living panel all 5 writers reacted the same way, when a question from the audience suggested writing for hire meant producing stuff you didn't necessarily like - no, they said, you have to love what you do. At the Titan meeting, it was revealed that one writer, who'd taken on too much, once produced a 50,000 word Dr Who novel in two days.

Terry

the editors from Orion and Angry Robot agreed that they wouldn't take on an author if he didn't have a web presence.

That's really scary. I don't have a website because I don't think there is any point: who wants to read about a very minor writer who has sold a few short stories and won a few contests? I have always thought that the time to get a website is when there is a chance that more than a handful of people would want to look me up online - ie, when something bigger is starting to happen.

I used to think like you. But what people were saying at the Con is that leaving it till you have a book out there is too late. You need to already be building your web presence. Someone else at the Con had run a couple of polls, the first asking people if the fact an author didn't have a website had ever put them off buying his book; the other asking if they'd ever bought a book by an author after visiting his website, following him on Twitter etc. Hardly anyone said No to the first but a lot said Yes to the second.

Possibly, those editors would buy a book if it was truly exceptional. But then again, I suspect the actual determining factors for most publishers today (may be different with the small presses) is that a book/author pushes as many promotional buttons as possible, i.e. an average book by a well-connected author is more attractive than a great book by an author who's living in a cave with no electricity. Those particular two (and it's probably the same for others) certainly made the point that publishers really don't have much promotional budget anymore.

The lesson I'm taking is that you need to try to write an exceptional book AND develop the presence publishers are looking for. Which is why I'm finally about to put together a proper website. I mean, I submitted a book to Angry Robot last year. Okay, they may not have taken it anyway, but I'm now thinking my current lack of web presence could have been a factor.

Incidentally, those two editors agreed that Jo Fletcher is doing everything right in the way she's launched her new imprint. So it may be worth checking out her site and authors to see what they jointly do. She also seems to be using old-fashioned promotional methods, too: everyone who attended FantasyCon was given a black bag with the Jo Fletcher logo, containing all sorts of handouts including a sampler book she'd put together, with extracts from all her novels coming out over the next year or so.

Terry