you can bet they didn't mention their fan fiction as a selling point when they were trying to go pro
Actually, Sarah did. For months before her first book was published, she wrote a series of LJ entries about her adventures writing query letters, finding an editor, &c. Her editor even published Sarah's query letter in her blog, and Sarah did make a point about already having a succesful blog. It doesn't mean her editor took that into account, or that her fanfic rep in any way helped getting her a book deal, but her fans certainly helped make a bit of a buzz at the first signings and events, pushing the book into casual buyers (and of course it doesn't mean she owes her success to her fans, either). And outside of fandom, I've seen many bloggers get published, even some being approached by the publishing industry. The internet does help when one's good enough- but it's one in a zillion chance.
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Date: 2011-12-04 02:14 pm (UTC)Actually, Sarah did. For months before her first book was published, she wrote a series of LJ entries about her adventures writing query letters, finding an editor, &c. Her editor even published Sarah's query letter in her blog, and Sarah did make a point about already having a succesful blog. It doesn't mean her editor took that into account, or that her fanfic rep in any way helped getting her a book deal, but her fans certainly helped make a bit of a buzz at the first signings and events, pushing the book into casual buyers (and of course it doesn't mean she owes her success to her fans, either).
And outside of fandom, I've seen many bloggers get published, even some being approached by the publishing industry. The internet does help when one's good enough- but it's one in a zillion chance.