: Will blogging my fiction limit its ability to be traditionally published later? Somewhere, don't ask me where, I picked up the idea that publishers don't like works that the public has already

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It didn't hurt either David Moody or Amanda Hocking, both started by blogging and/or self-publishing their work and both now have deals with major publishers.

They are however both genre authors (horror and urban fantasy respectively) and I think genre work is a little more forgiving of this than mainstream thrillers or crime dramas as the ability to world-build and set tone and give backstory is far greater when you're making it all up as you go along and these days of 'transmedia' projects it's almost expected that you will have stuff online and in print to help sell your work.

Either way, blogging and/or self publishing is a great way to build audience, and if you can show audience you can parley that into a publishing deal.

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I believe that blogging will turn off some publishers, but it might also attract others. If you develop a strong, consistent following, then publishers are going to pay attention. They will see that you have already established a following and therefore have a built in audience. They might work with you to modify the blog content into a consistent book format (or more likely just suggest you do it). The bottom line is that by developing a strong audience, you have proven that people are interested in what you have to say, and that will make publishers interested in you as well.

Another consideration is to use your blog as a sounding board for what you ultimately write. If you have subscribers or followers who give you feedback on what they like or don't like, then it will help you develop your stories/characters better. Your readers can help guide you towards something that might be more readily accepted by the masses. However, don't try changing with every single comment. Instead, look for trends and let those trends guide you.

You should also keep in mind the possibility of self-publishing. I know a few people who have taken their blog content and repurposed it as books, and they have found considerable succes with both venues. The blog drives people to the book, and the book drives people back to the blog. They have the best of both worlds and have seen their audiences growing continuously.

Something to keep in mind, though, is that in order for your blog to become successful, you need to keep contributing to it. If you only post a random article every few months or so, then nobody is going to keep coming back looking for your new work. Make sure that you have the time and desire to make that kind of commitment, and you may just find yourself rewarded with a strong readership.

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To answer your question, yes, I think blogging your fiction will hurt your attempts to be traditionally published later. I think publishers have been following the same trends the record industry have followed with respect to technology. They fear that it will steal from their profits.

But here's something to consider:

Perhaps traditional publishing isn't something that's as valuable as it once was? Perhaps embracing untraditional ways to publish will be better.

I've been hosting a blog for four years now and my audience has grown beyond what I originally managed. I haven't worked tremendously hard at grow it. It just kinda happened. But it's been a healthy outlet for me, and has turned me into a beter writer. The world is online and your reach could be greater than what any publisher.

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Even though Kate mention valid points, I have a different point of view: The rules have not changed and probably will never.

Traditional publishers want to make money. If they think your writing will make money, they publish it, no matter if you have already published on your blog.

Yes, they will tell you, that blog publishing is a problem, and if they have to choose between two similar projects, one already published, one not, then it's likely they pick the unpublished one.

On the other hand you are building an audience with your blog upfront, which means: possible customers. A similar unpublished project with this advantage is hard to find.

Besides that, why shouldn't you publish them yourself, on your blog, as ebook, as POD? If you are successful, traditional publishers will probably approach you instead the other way around.

Last, but not least:

I'd have to write up an entirely new piece

So what? Are you a writer or not?

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The rules are changing, which makes it a bit hard to be sure what the hell the rules currently are.

Posting on your blog counts as publication. The traditional rule was definitely that, for fiction at least, most publishers want first publication rights, and you'd be blowing those rights by posting on your blog.

Is that still the rule? I think it is, for most publishers. But there are likely to be exceptions. If your blog draws a huge audience, then it could actually be an asset in trying to sell the book, since you've demonstrated the material's appeal. And even if you don't get a huge audience, you may find a smaller publisher that doesn't care as much about first rights. It's possible.

But I'd be really careful about counting on either approach. I totally sympathize with the motivation issue, and do myself post my WIPs to a blog... but it's a locked blog with a circulation of about ten people. Essentially, it's an on-line crit group, and I've never heard of a publisher having a problem with writers working with crit groups.

Do you have people in mind who'd read your on-line stories? If you do, you could make a locked blog (I use LiveJournal, but I'm sure there are other options) and only give access to those people. It might be a way to give you motivation without closing any doors for publication.

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