Hi.
I write and teach serial fiction.
Serial fiction helps you to be consistently productive while building an enthusiastic readership. This newsletter is all about how to do it.
“Excellent advice for anyone interested in learning how to use Substack to publish serialized fiction. Top-notch.” Brian Gibb
You’ll get a weekly dose of writing tips, interviews and inspiration, sent out every Monday to help kickstart your week.
From 2021 to 2026 I serialised sci-fi-fantasy-crime drama Tales from the Triverse. You can read the completed story here:
“Thank you for the Substack tutorials. I'm new here and they are really helpful!” Michelle Ray
Starter kit
If you want to sample some of my stuff before subscribing, check out these packs:
“Packed with how-to info for the newbie to Substack + an interesting take on serialised fiction.” Portals to the Past
“Substack's serialisation expert. Years of experience in helping writers to write both more and better.” ReidItWrite
My previous projects
I’ve been writing online serial fiction since 2015, and have completed four major projects.
“Simon is working hard to crack the code of publishing serial fiction online. He's also a hell of a great storyteller with a wide and deep imagination. For your consideration.” JB Minton
Some info on my previous books:
Tales from the Triverse (2021-2026) is a crime thriller set in a world that blends fantasy and science fiction. It is 1970s London as the Met police are trying to deal with an increasing number of portal crimes, as cultures from multiple worlds clash in the capital.
No Adults Allowed (2020) is an optimistic, post-apocalypse mixture of Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness, about responsibility and parenting and well-meaning but murderous AI. You can get this one as an ebook or paperback from Amazon.
The Mechanical Crown (2016 - 2019) is my epic fantasy adventure, packed full of airships, swords, battles and politics. It’s big and exciting and I’m very proud of it. Currently trapped on Wattpad, but I have plans.
A Day of Faces (2015 - 2016) was my debut and is a YA coming-of-age story about a snake girl and her shape-shifting friend who accidentally wind up changing the world. It’s hard to explain. Also only on Wattpad at the moment, but watch this space.
“Not only does Simon write serialised science fiction of the most enviably thoughtful kind, he also *really* understands the newsletter-delivered serialised fiction space - I don't think anyone else gets this stuff better than he does - and on top of all those signs that he has a brain the size of a planet, he's a really nice guy. I kinda hate him? Go read, learn and enjoy.” Everything Is Amazing
A bit about me
I’m a writer based in Norwich, England. Here’s me looking serious and overly beardy:
You might have heard me on The Writing Life podcast which I produced for several years. I’ve spoken about writing serial fiction at Primadonna Festival and for the National Centre for Writing and have taught workshops for the BBC, FutureLearn, LinkedIn Learning, Access Creative and Literature & Latte. These days I work at Creative PEC, where I support the creative industries in the UK and abroad.
“This newsletter is why I have a newsletter! And he’s an amazing fantasy, time-hopping sci-fi crime fiction writer.” Chapter by Chapter with Shannon Haynes
AI declaration
I experimented briefly with MidJourney in 2022, but as of February 2023 have not used generative AI for images or text. You might encounter some AI images in older, pre-2023 posts. Everything I publish now is created by real humans.
I’m not against using interesting technology as part of my creative process. At some point in the future I might incorporate AI tools into my larger creative workflow, but that’ll require resolving numerous ethical concerns first, and ideally wrestling the tech away from the 'orrible lot currently in charge.
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
