Serialization Pros and Cons

So I have heard rumors that serialization is the next biggest thing in English literature. (Or at least that Amazon is planing to make it so.)

What do you all think about Amazon's venture into this field? Are serials likely to become popular? What are the weaknesses and drawbacks to this form of publishing?

What sorts of stories best suited to this kind of treatment, and which audiences are most likely to be attracted by it? Which are the worst stories to attempt this with?

And, as an author, what skills are needed to find success in this field?

You mean we're going back to Dickens?

It makes a sort of sense. I know I'm more willing to read a short story or a chapter of a larger work on a digital device than I am to tackle a full novel, and the 'net makes distribution of serial releases easy and possibly remunerative. People like the prospect of "more to come." They read series; why not serials?

I think 'net-distributed text serials stand a better chance than Quibi anyhow.

I did originally serialize the first third or so of my only published work of fiction on my then-blog, when I was first composing it back circa 2003. That doesn't seem like too uncommon a process these days. John Dies at the End was originally a quasi-serial (a series of short pieces, anyway) on the 'net. The commercial proposition might actually dovetail with the work preferences of a fair share of 21st-century writers.

Serial publication does tend to oblige the writer to more coherence (and possibly supporting exposition) at the chapter level, compared to the latitude afforded in a full-book release.

There's also the fact that in Amazon's new Vella program, authors get paid 50%. My worry is that it's the thin end of the wedge for dropping author payment percentages in KDP.

I've been following discussions about Vella on a couple of other sites. The microtransactions don't appeal to me as a reader, particularly if there's no indication how long the whole story's going to be. I don't watch TV, but perhaps one target readership would be the sort of people who tune into weekly TV series of whatever sort?

As a writer, I'm not prolific enough to give it a go. And since I can't effectively plot/plan/outline in advance, I'd have to write the whole thing first to assure myself I had a decent quality book. (And obviously I'm unwilling to put up a *not* decent quality book :p )

I like serials sometimes, as part of a varied literary diet. (Also, as >6 MHThaung: points out above, I am someone who prefers TV to movies.)

Most of the experiences I have had with serials are either long-running fanfic, or manga (comics). I haven't read any commercially published literature that was something larger divided into parts until the whole work had been collected after the fact.

Pros: For me, the main benefit of a serial as a reader is being able to actively talk about it between installments (this applies to certain kinds of novel series too, like Harry Potter, when the balance is right with the of number of finite expected volumes and time between those volumes.) With serials, beyond engagement with the material as written, I feel a sense of participation in the creation of the experience of the story. It's hard for me to talk about a novel with others as I'm reading it, because they either don't know what I'm talking about and can't help, or they do know what I'm talking about and can't be a sounding board without spoiling. Afterwards, I usually have too much closure and the discourse is much more academic than it would have been if I'd talked about it when I was animatedly pacing the living room floor waving the book around having Thoughts. I have tried the chore of arranging to pick up a book at the same time as someone else, but that's not always doable and then you have to deal with varied reading speeds. I can't (won't) just stop in the middle of the novel on my own to wait for someone. The last time I tried to read together with a friend, I gave them a 90 day head start and then I just ended up reading the series 4 times before they were done. It was a little torturous not to be able to SAY anything. Even if we could keep to a schedule, novels are not necessarily designed with breaks. Serials make it much easier to keep the readers on the same page, literally. (Granted, not all kinds of novels evoke this kind of response or would even benefit from it.)

As for cons, there are two big ones: First, is that the author is stuck with whatever they already wrote, no matter how much they wish it weren't so. Minor details are one thing, but depending on how much planning goes into it, a piece can change tone, go a different direction entirely, or ultimately fail to go in any direction at all (big one, that. That's the WORST.) Second, there is the dreaded hiatus, which can happen for lots of reasons, not least of which is because humans are not automatons. "I have been waiting for the end of this series since it paused in the 90's..." or "We just got a new chapter 2 years ago!" are things that can happen... not that I am currently experiencing both of those...

Ultimately, a good serial can sustain you for years and if it ends well it's bittersweet. You'll have wonderful memories and also not know what do to with your life now that it's over. I don't know if I should put that as a pro or con :-)

>2 lilithcat: "You mean we're going back to Dickens?"

That's what they tell me. Apparently this sort of thing is already huge in Asia. But serialization was already big in the manga world anyway, so I think it ended up being an offshoot of that? Move the manga online, then add in light novels, and then regular novels too?

But I don't actually know that much about the industry.

Most of what I know about the Manga industry I learned from reading Manga. That's not a very safe source of information. :)

>3 paradoxosalpha: "I know I'm more willing to read a short story or a chapter of a larger work on a digital device than I am to tackle a full novel"

Really? Interesting. I don't think I care how long an ebook is... but I prefer my non-fiction to be paper. That way I can reference it while working on my tablet. Flipping back and forth between screens/windows is a more of a pain than glancing over sideways at a book.

...My husband just walked in and informed me that its time for bed. I guess I'll have to finish responding to this thread later.

As a reader I hate it. all system red is a prime example of a less bad version but even here its basically a collection of themed novellas, my least favourite format, neither full bodied and deep as a novel nor punchy as a short story but failing inbetween. I get especially annoying when they're sold at full novel price without any indication that they're half the word-count at best (with ebooks it's not like you can see how thick they are!)

I don't like the writing style where there isn't enough time and space for either characterisation or full world-building and I don't like the necessarily linear plots that don't fully resolve. The only upside would be if they were all published together as an omnibus.

>9 reading_fox: "As a reader I hate it."

In all honesty, as a reader I also hate it. I used to hardly ever watch TV. Now that we have internet streaming I watch TV... but what kind of TV do I watch? The kind that has an overarching plot line, the "Episodes" are the equivalent of chapters in book... and I wait until the story is finished before I start, and I watch all the episodes start to go in as few sittings as possible. Just like I read books. By preference, I read Manga in the same way.

As a writer I also hate it because of the points raised by >7 macsbrains: "the author is stuck with whatever they already wrote" and "the dreaded hiatus" (which with my health concerns isn't just a possibility but rather a forgone conclusion), leading me to be in the same situation as >6 MHThaung: "I'd have to write the whole thing first to assure myself I had a decent quality book".

If I have to write the whole thing in advance in order to be assured of the quality, and that there are no hiatus issues, then the only possible benefit would be if the readers actually prefer that format.

There are many who seem to?

But I have been told that even if they seem to love the format, they resent authors who write it all out in advance, and then only release it in dribbles. Also, The webcomic readers told me that they like to think their comments have some effect on the future of the story. That being involved in that way from the beginning gives them a greater sense of connection.

So maybe writing it out in advance doesn't work because writing it out in advance undercuts the reasons it is popular?

I remember that there were practically riots over people wanting to know if a particular one of Dickens' characters had died or not. Maybe if they knew it had already been written for nearly a year, but they still had to wait that month or whatever it was, they would have lynched him?