UK author Silvia Hartmann is aiming to achieve a world-first by offering her readers the chance to see her latest novel being typed live online. 
With the rise of eBooks and print-on-demand paperbacks, many authors are now using the web to bypass traditional publishing houses in favour of self-publishing. This project, known as “The Naked Writer”, aims to go one step further and give fans the chance to not only see the manuscript being typed, but to also comment on the storyline and provide feedback as the novel develops.
Silvia Hartmann said, “This is an amazing opportunity for me as an author to push the boundaries of the author/reader relationship. It will be amazing to write knowing that people will be viewing each word, paragraph and chapter, each backspace as I go along! Some authors plan their manuscripts in advance, but my stories tend to have a life of their own and I look forward to seeing what unfolds with everybody else!”
On Wednesday, 12th September at 9am the author will let her social network followers know that the first session is about to begin. By using the Google Docs cloud-based office suite, the author will start with a blank document and begin to write. Fans will be provided with a public-accessible web page (http://goo.gl/c1BW4) to see the book being written before their eyes. This represents a completely new level of interaction between readers and their author and was made possible by the advanced collaboration tools built into Google’s software.
Silvia Hartmann said “Google Docs is a fantastic, freely available tool that allows readers to communicate directly with their author. It is bit of a dream come true. Scary – and exciting!”
Traditionally once a manuscript has been written and gone through a series of agents, editors and publishers, a finished book can read quite differently to how it started and in some cases even have a different ending. Through this project, readers engage with this process of writing & editing in real-time, literally collaborating as the magic unfolds. Alongside Silvia Hartmann’s main readership, this will be an interesting project for budding authors, literature students and all those who are fascinated by the processes of creative writing.
The author has also already begun accepting suggestions for the title, with a signed copy of the completed first edition book as a prize for the winner. This project is expected to take between 4 to 8 weeks to complete, depending on the final word count.
Silvia Hartmann is a member of the Society of Authors and the author of The Inserein Trilogy, Vampire Solstice, The Magician and The Golden Horse.
Silvia Hartmann lectures internationally on creativity and visionary genius. She is the creator of Project Sanctuary and The Genius Symbols. Her latest book, released in August 2012, is Infinite Creativity.
More details: http://SilviaHartmann.com/live
PR by Josh Allison at DragonRising Publishing
