Serialized fiction is a format of storytelling in which a complete or ongoing narrative is broken up into smaller installments that authors or publishers release periodically over time. This storytelling format enjoyed great popularity during the 19th century, with authors such as Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle gaining fame and massive readership through their serialized stories. The popularity of such fiction waned by the end of the 20th century, and although no one knows exactly why, theories include impatient readers and media fragmentation due to cable television and the internet. However, serialized fiction has begun to make a comeback in the early 21st century with such reading platforms as Wattpad, Patreon, and Substack. But why should you as an author attempt serialized fiction, and what are some of the format’s drawbacks?
Short Form Content and the Appeal of Cliffhangers
Technology such as Twitter and TikTok has conditioned readers to consume short bites of online content, as brevity is built into these content delivery systems for the purpose of allowing viewers to quickly move from one content creator to the next. Many studies also show that today’s readers are reading social media posts rather than books, and are overall spending less time reading per day than in the past. Streaming platforms such as Netflix have hooked viewers on binging episodic television by releasing shows that end on cliffhangers, thus encouraging them to immediately watch the next episode. Therefore, serialized fiction is a natural addition to this shift in content consumption. Readers can enjoy small, manageable chunks of narrative while still being satisfied by following a large narrative over time, and each installment’s cliffhanger motivates them to wait for authors to release their next installments. The short form content format also appeals to modern reading sensibilities, as many readers are accustomed to instant gratification through delivery services such as Amazon. They are also already accustomed to reading series of short books, in such genres as fantasy, romance, and mystery, so it is not a dramatic shift for them to transition to reading short chapters of a longer narrative. Some of these books’ authors even simultaneously publish several of the series’ books, encouraging binge-reading in much the same way that Netflix encourages binge-watching.
The Advantage of Flexibility for Authors
The serialized fiction format offers significant creative flexibility for authors. Authors can experiment with story structure, either within an installment or across installments. For example, one chapter can be set in the past, and the next in the future, and future installments alternate between the time periods. This might not be as jarring as it would be in a novel, because readers are not moving quickly from one chapter to the next. Alternatively, each chapter could follow a different character, and a concluding chapter could tie the stories together. Future innovations in serialized fiction might even utilize choose-your-own-adventure elements or multimedia components, especially through the use of hyperlinks connecting one story path to another. Serialized fiction also allows authors to quickly adapt to reader feedback after each installment. If readers hated a plot twist (or other narrative concept) in one installment, authors could fix this problem in the next installment.
Instant Fan Engagement and Community
Quickly adapting to reader feedback is one benefit of the instant fan engagement that serialized fiction provides. Instead of having to wait until they have published entire novels, authors can view reader feedback after each installment to see whether those readers like their narrative voices and might become long-term fans of their works. Authors can potentially gain more fans at a quicker pace than with novels, provided positive word-of-mouth spreads after the release of each installment. And because readers have the opportunity to engage with authors and their stories more frequently, they might develop a quicker and greater emotional attachment to the author brand than if they had to wait a year or more between releases of novels. Readers can also form online communities with each other around authors’ serialized fiction, discussing theories about the plot and characters and predicting where the story will go in future installments.
Direct Fan-to-Author Monetization
Depending on the publishing platform and authors’ goals, serialized fiction also allows readers to directly, frequently pay authors for their work, so the authors do not have to wait for an advance or for residual profits down the line. The “freemium” model offers readers some installments for free and charges them for access to future installments or extra content. In a subscription-based model, readers directly pay authors a recurring fee for access to the authors’ ongoing stories. Some publishing platforms allow readers to tip authors for installments they particularly like, while other platforms might share ad revenue with popular authors. And naturally, if a platform offers more than one of these features, authors could potentially earn more money more often by publishing serialized fiction instead of novels.
Drawbacks of Serialized Fiction
Despite all of these benefits, however, serialized fiction features some drawbacks. Fans who expect story installments to arrive on time will be disappointed if an installment is late, and some might abandon the story (or worse, all of an author’s future stories) if this occurs too frequently. Conversely, other fans might prefer “binge reading” a whole story and could become impatient waiting for authors to publish a new installment of a serialized story. Revision is more difficult in the serialized fiction format because authors cannot rewrite chapters once they have already published them. And if you decide to commit to a single subscription platform for your serialized fiction, you are vulnerable if the platform changes its algorithms or goes offline.
Final Thoughts: The Future of Serialized Storytelling
However, if you believe that the benefits of serialized fiction outweigh its potential drawbacks, the future of serialized fiction is promising enough that you can enthusiastically embrace its creative and economic potential. If you need help editing each story installment or do not know where to begin, contact us today. One of our talented and experienced editors will be glad to assist you.
By Matt Wade
Matt is an Editorial Assistant at Technica Editorial