33 Comments

In the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries it was common for novels to be published first as magazine serials and then in book form if it was felt to merit publication in that form. I suspect and hope that process will repeat itself for online publication now.

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My favorite authors all were serial writers: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexandre Dumas, O'Henry

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I absolutely think that there's nothing to fear about posting online first! I will say that Unruly Figures the book covers 16 people who have *not* appeared on the podcast before, and I believe I'm contractually obligated not to cover them in full episodes for at least a year after publication. So it's not quite accurate that I just collected people from the podcast and turned them into a book. Publishers definitely want some amount of exclusivity, which I get. If the book covered all the same people as the podcast, what's the incentive to buy the book instead of listening to the free audio version?

But overall I think publishing online first, whether that's in magazines or on your own substack, is a great idea! If nothing else, it can be a proof of concept to editors that convinces them to invest in you.

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Ah, thanks for that clarification! And that's the genius of the Unruly Figures concept: there are always more people to write about.

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(I've updated the article)

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Totally! There are always more folks to write about! That’s the beauty of it.

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I never took this into consideration. This post that stops a fear I would have had before it takes root. It's great the self-publishing online is where it is today because I did use to have a stigma against it many years ago. A bit self-detrimental and unhelpful to hold such feelings when writing is already hard enough as is.

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Glad I got there before the fear set in! :)

Self-publishing in the very early days, especially pre-digital, probably deserved its slightly dubious reputation. I'm talking about 90s and earlier. But certainly in the last 10-20 years it's a completely transformed thing. I tend to see all the publishing routes as legitimate options, suiting different types of projects.

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Bloom Books buys only print rights from established indy authors. After 3 years in business, they have had over 100 million in sales. It's a model that's been proven, so I expect other publishers to follow. It's good news for self publishers.

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Interesting! Leaning into it more formally is something I hadn't encountered, but it makes sense as a deliberate business model.

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It's all about opportunity. If you publish something here or on Medium or anywhere and it gets eyeballs and it takes off, you've already done the hard work. So it's easier and less risky for a trad pub or someone from Netflix to predict they can take it to the next level.

What was Erica James's publishing path? Simon?

There used to be a platform for electronic autographs called Kindlegraph. I happened to meet the guy who invented it via Twitter and featured him on my blog.

Anyway, Erica had 50 Shades enrolled and I asked her for her digital autograph and she gave me one! It was so niche and I was touched that she did it. Respect. I read that series three times. Loved it. The sex was merely secondary imho btw. The real value was in Anastasia's hilarious inner monologues and self deprecation, and seeing the Beast Christian as so very loveable.

Anyway, great post, Simon. Thanks.

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Sarah Fay, who runs the "Substack Writers at Work" Substack is also writing a memoir, which is I think going to be published by Harper Collins - see https://www.curedthememoir.com/about - which is the example I was looking for when I mentioned this to you recently!

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Excellent! I imagine there's a ton of examples to be found if we dug around a bit - and that's before even venturing outside of my fiction/fiction-adjacent community.

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I think Anne Trubek of Belt Publishing wrote that most people have one good essay in them. A good editor can expand a good essay into a book. I have a few folks on my noggin who have written one good essay that vaulted them into a book deal. You probably know a few as well.

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A solid summary, Simon. :)

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Thanks, Frank!

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Very insightful and well supported with examples.

I found it interesting because it used to commonly be said that self-publishing a book would guarantee it never found a traditional publisher. If that was ever true, it apparently is true no longer.

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So if I already finished my book and have a large stack of rejection emails, do you think publishing it in serial might be a good idea rather than jumping to a self-publishing service? Especially because I've only had a small number of beta readers.

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It's certainly not a bad idea! But it depends on your own goals.

I write in serial form because it helps me with the actual writing, and I enjoy the community interactions. What I should do, if I had a bit more time, is also release as ebooks/paperbacks. I've only done that with one of my stories so far, and really need to get around to doing more.

It's never easy to find readers, but having multiple options is what's so good now. If you published as a serial it in no way stops from from doing an ebook/paperback as well/later.

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That depends a little bit on what feedback, if any, you got besides the stock rejection. If the goal of serializing is to get reader buzz and attract a publisher, remember that some aren't going to be receptive to seeing the same MS again without major changes. And some publishers might have liked the book just fine but thought it wasn't a good fit for them.

If the goal is to use the serial process to get more feedback, it might be worth taking another editing pass or two yourself first. Sometimes, you may find things to change after not looking at the MS for a while. I understand that serial readers may expect to be looking at somewhat rough material, but take the best shot you can first. Fix what you can fix. That will make the feedback more useful.

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Stock rejection, every time. I'm not really sure what to make of them. Everyone (that I know personally) who's read part or all of my book said they liked it (and my boss keeps asking me when it'll be published), but only one person gave me actual feedback, and she doesn't even normally read the genre I wrote.

The goal for the serial process would be both the "garner attention" and the "get feedback," I suppose; I haven't managed to get a decent audience so far in basically anywhere I've tried (Twitch, YT, Substack) and it'd be nice to have more assurance that self-publishing would be worth my time and/or money, if I went that route. At the present moment I feel like self-publishing would get my hands on a print copy for a massive net negative in the funding department.

It's not like I haven't gone over the MS a second time (or third or fourth), but of course I'd need to do it again if I'm typing it again. (Substack formatting doesn't translate 1:1 with MS Word.)

Thanks for taking the time to read my comments and respond to them.

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Self-publishing can be done very cheaply - it doesn't have to cost you, other than the production cost of any books you order for yourself. Of course, it gets more expensive if you want to hire a designer or cover artist. But the core process has a very low starting cost.

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I was looking at:

- Editing (I trust I'm pretty decent but a second set of eyes never hurts.)

- Cover design (I can copy things. I'm no graphic artist.)

- Marketing/publicity, to attempt to offset the costs of the first two, and because I would like more than just personal friends to read it (Because I'm evidently not very good at that.)

- Publishing

I think the total cost is in the four digit magnitude.

I'm aware I could just take a free tool or two and just skip to publishing, but I do want to have a nice-looking and polished book rather than just one that exists. If I just jumped straight to publishing I fully expect sales figures in the single digits.

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Exacty!😖

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Thank you for this all my questioned answered. I opened my first Substack with a poem. Substack put it on a purple page and I loved that. I had just started submitting Flash to magazines and I was trying to figure out how the whole publishing industry works. I joined Medium and Substack and suddenly I was receiving emails from everyone it was completely overwhelming. I tried to read them all and I am a slow reader. I completely stopped writing. I found Substack confusing and I am still struggle to figure out how to get back to the way that first poem was published. Not computer savvy at all. The only way I could clear my head and reduce the amount of mail I received was to remove myself from Substack and then I blocked a few Substack writers I liked so that their names would remain on my list of people to get back to if or when I returned. How crazy is that but it was the only way I could. I may close this substack and start again. I can't quite get to where I wrote initially.

Thanks again.

Solvsten D'Alpoim

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My debut novel is traditionally published (which I kind of regret, maybe, well it's a long story), but I did retain rights to make my own audiobook, which I did. Now I'm planning to re-publish that on Substack as a podcast. I'm curious, how well do complete novels do in podcast form? (I would think not so well, but I figure, why not?) Oh, I should add it's literary fiction, a campus novel.

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I don't think I'm qualified to answer that one, having only dipped a toe into doing a podcast/audiobook of my serial. There definitely are podcasts of books, though, both old classics and new.

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Are you dure they do not overlap very much?

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Great stuff here, thanks! What frustrates me is the indifference publishers often show towards writers after work is submitted… is it all that difficult to pen a few words in reply, in addition to the canned comments, “thanks but it’s not what we are looking for.” I’d love anything, even, “hey, this piece is shit,” “your characters are one dimensional, your dialog is weak..” Something that shows someone actually read the whole piece and not just page one. Our time is valuable too… we are the content creators that want and need commentary. I say, get over yourselves and do some good for “your people” that are responsible for what you sell… just sayin’

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It's a tricky one, because at the same time they must be utterly deluged with new material and hopeful authors to get through.

It's why I like publishing online, where you absolutely can get direct and semi-real-time feedback.

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Thanks, Simon… I know, in the end, it’s up to us as writers to write compelling material. But doesn’t make sense to say something, anything, after making the effort to “read” a piece? I contend a MAJORITY of stories are scanned, brushed over, skimmed… call what you like. some work builds momentum, evolving into deliciousness… but never to be fully “eaten.” That’s what pisses me off!

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