Yes, I know some people who do that too. Frankly, I want a wider public if I can possibly get it. And I don't particularly want to work for free, just don't need the hassle of the normal route to professional publication for the pitifully small returns and incresingly poor marketing. I already share my stuff with my online (Yahoo) writing group and through my f'locked LJ and get plenty of feedback. That's what's pointing me towards self-publishing. Also, the blog format isn't ideal for novels - you spam everybody's reading page or you create an artificial WIP. That's what's so wonderful about AO3 for long fanfic!