Having trouble sleeping is sometimes good for you. Last night it seriously got me thinking about my fiction strategy, as I’m getting ready to post the first part of the new short story on OrnTales.com. You see, while I do try to focus my fiction writing on the Orn project, I just can’t do just that, and I feel it is limiting me. Out of nowhere came two new ideas, and I found myself thinking about how to handle them, checking out domain names and such.
It didn’t take long to come to the conclusion that having several OrnTales.com-ish sites focusing on various projects is far from ideal, especially since some of my writing is more miscellaneous and not attached to a specific setting.
So I’m thinking maybe I should consolidate it all under one roof, a site dedicated to publishing my writing? What do you think?
The trouble with spreading your efforts over different sites is that you’re not operating under a single brand and you’re atomizing your work.
I’ve tried all kinds of alternatives to Syntagma, including a personal blog and various writing sites, but Syntagma was the only one with an audience.
The only sites that survived as standalone was Tech Biz Writing, which is a course, and Spiritual Nirvana, which is too esoteric to put on Syntagma.
It’s a close call, but for fiction, I would aim to brand it under your name on one site : HedengrenFiction, or something like that.
I’m thinking along those lines as well. I mean, it’s not like I can sell the brand created anyway, it’ll be me me ME, and who would buy that?
Perhaps just do a subdomain to tdhedengren.com could do it? Hmm.
I also need to be careful using Hedengren, since there are other authors in the family, and I don’t want people confused.
Thanks for your input, John!
Thord, consolidation is a great idea because you want to build a fan base who comes back looking for more of your work. A bunch of individual sites doesn’t optimize the effort you put into each project.
Pro consolidation here. It sounds like an easy way to get the fictional readers interested in your other writings as well.
I should probably consolidate it then. I wonder if I would benefit from doing it on a separate domain, or if I should put it under fiction.tdhedengren.com or something like that…
Better think on that.
I think that’s a good idea. Stick up a tab, “My Fiction” on your main site.
Good luck.
For all, bits and pieces - consolidating under your personal site is good. I like the Orn Tales site - it is regal, but as you said, it limits your writing.
I did not even bother going for a subdomain in my case. When I write for Chaos And Order (my fictional universe), I just file it under a category and leave it at that. My plan is, if there is enough writeup, only then would I fork it out, but only to a subdomain.
Obviously, I went with the crowd. Here’s my decision!
Thanks all, appreciate your input!