Out Of Control
January 13th 2009 02:50
Don't make me write. You wouldn't like me when I write.
It's big. it's uncontrollable. It's grown out of all proportion.
No, I'm not boasting, or talking about the Hulk. It's this darned article I'm writing. It's become a monster. Someone surreptitiously blasted it with gamma rays and then took away its favourite Barbie doll, because it's big, green and angry. It's already over 2,500 words long and it's only half done.
This has given me food for thought. How on earth am I supposed to deal with such a monstrous piece of work? Do I see if I can put it together as an e-book and pretend I'm really an author, carefully disguised as a fledgeling freelancer? Do I try to publish it as it is, covering several pages with text? Do I try to chop it into pieces and sell it as a series?
I went and did a little research to help me decide. Looking on lulu.com - pretty much the site for publishing, at least for those of us without agents and book deals - I found that the subject was already pretty well covered. A quick search returned some 14,000 replies. Given that I am not a recognised expert on this particular subject, I figure my chances of even getting seen are virtually nil, let alone actually publishing or selling it. Scratch option number one.
Next, I stopped in at Constant Content. They don't have a search for articles by length (at least, not one I could find), but I did see a couple of about 1,500 words available - at a pretty high cost. If I assume my finished product is going to be two or three times that length, I'd need a very solid reputation behind me to be able to sell it. That's assuming anyone would want something so ludicrously large. Exit option two, stage left.
This leaves me with the third option of chopping it up and self-publishing it, either as a series or a set of linked pages. The thing is, it's an article that I don't want to waste: a lot of what I write is purely for pleasure, so cash is just a bonus. This one's taken quite a bit of work and I don't want it going for free. A tad mercenary, yes - especially for me - but such is life.
I think, after all is said and done, I shall end up publishing it as a set of linked HubPages, where it will hopefully generate some ad revenue. Either that or Associated Content, though I'm having difficulty seeing it as a series of articles that would do well.
Can you switch off the gamma rays on your way out? Thanks.
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