Your guide to serial writing/publishing has been very helpful to me. I'm an older writer who has been writing reviews and humor pieces for a long time, usually at a length of 12-1500 words. I'd accepted that that was my length, and that I wouldn't be writing longer fiction because it just wasn't my way. But using your serial approach, I'm just finishing my second historical novella (of a projected three interrelated ones) - the first with 13 parts and the second with 20 - each part in the range of 1500 words. So now I have two thirds of what will be, when novella three is finished, a novel-length work of fiction! Never thought it could happen for me.
And, though I have a vague idea of plot trajectory at the beginning, I haven't tacked each part down until I've sat down and written it. Which has been SUCH FUN. Your suggestions helped me become comfortable with that. I've surprised myself time after time with where individual parts have gone, and how my beginning idea of plot has changed as I've gone along. I look forward to sitting down every morning and finding out where things will be going just that day, and not worrying that I have to get to a predetermined point way out there somewhere, by way of a predetermined set of steps. I so often surprise myself with where things go. How exciting that is. (Of course, this doesn't mean that what I write is "good" in a cosmic sense, but I'm old enough now that I don't care so very much about that.)
And since I have half a dozen regular readers on Substack (maybe more, but that many who regularly comment - the Randy Readers, so named by one of them, appropriate considering some of the themes I've developed in the pieces), I'm having the time of my writing life - here at what is getting close to the end. Thanks for all you help with that.
My Vella strategy is to write a few chapters so that I have several weeks lead time. For me, Vella is a first-draft strategy. It motivates me to get through a work which might otherwise stall out--which is why I've made this a year to finish drafting some partially-completed projects, clear things out for bigger projects to come.
Plus, I've learned a little bit about pacing scenes and how it differs from serial format to straightforward novel format. Some works are clearly more Vella-type projects--my recently completed BECOMING SOLO novella fit nicely into the Vella format, with short episodes that aren't part of a larger chapter. But the current Vella upload, A DIFFERENT LIFE--LINDA'S STORY, is more a book, though it's likely to be just a short novel at best.
Having the serial option is mentally freeing, however. The A DIFFERENT LIFE project allows me to play around with an alternative world to my main Martiniere Legacy series. I'm able to write interconnected stories.
As far as the organization of working on two or more projects at once, it has really helped for me to set things up in Scrivener. I draft in Word, then move the completed chapter over to Scrivener. There, I set up any necessary divisions into Vella episodes. Scrivener also contains my working notes on that particular story. It really helps with compartmentalizing and organization, and makes it easier to switch back and forth. It's taken me a while to figure this out, however.
Huh. Maybe I should write a blog post about serial strategies.
Sounds like you've got a lot of insight to share, so go for it. :)
I always start projects with several chapter written ahead of time, and that buffer almost always seems to vanish alarmingly quickly due to various life complications.
Interesting what you say about pacing. I've experimented with different structures in each of my books, and it's always fascinating to see how they settle into the serial format. No Adults Allowed I conceived of as being a specific number of chapters/weeks long and committed to that by numbering them in reverse sequential order, so it worked as a countdown. That then meant there was no wriggle room in adding/removing chapters, so it was a fun extra challenge.
My current one, on the other hand, is set up as a sort of police procedural, which is far more episodic. The pace is also slower, which I wasn't quite expecting.
Mr. Jones: Your guide to writing serialized fiction is helpful and informative. Thank you for writing it and making it available pro bono publico. I was privileged to teach creative writing for several years and have read a number of books on how to write creative fiction, but I've never read (or even seen) a guide on this very specific subject. Further, your advice is practical, clear and well-organized. Coincidentally, it's applicable to my current creative project. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing these article links Simon. I've wondered about serialising but had so many questions about it. Looking forward to checking out more of your articles.
I did start writing a serial fiction. It's a novel I started years ago. After learning about serials, I felt it could help me to move along to write in serial form. I'd written lots of bits & pieces, never quite getting it together. I Realized I needed to feel more confident about serial structure & found this page. Thank you, it's helped.
I was struggling with writing my novel on the crusades but I'm going to go with serializing on substack. It'll be my draft and readers can comment for feedback, to which I can take to eventually creating a physical copy that's polished.
I've just begun serializing a fantasy novella, "The Jester," on my Substack. I am hoping it will spark some interest and provide me a good creative outlet. I've been a writer all my life, but this is a new venture for me. Here's to taking chances!
Thanks for the resource. I'm a little more than a month into building my own newsletter and figuring out how to build out my world in between my "tentpole" novels. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Thanks for this. I've been writing professionally for oodles of years (under another name.) I've started this serialised fiction - Anthony Eastwood's Diaries - because a friend has a Substack and I really admire her approach. sharonk.substack.com
Thank you for the opportunity to share my upcoming novel. I'm serializing my novel, HOW TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY on my substack: https://pastoracate.substack.com/
This is a Christian speculative drama; How To Love Your Enemy centers on the lives of six people whose lives are inextricably linked through trauma, betrayal, shared faith, and intervention. HTLYE explores spiritual gifts and dreams as they apply to an otherwise mundane life.
Currently six chapters are available to paid subscribers, but anyone can give it a test run with a free seven-day trial subscription.
I just posted my first chapter on Substack a couple of days ago. It's humorous fantasy, heavily inspired by Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I've written a couple of novels that I'm currently querying, and hope to upload a chapter each month for this serial.
Read through the whole guide, I liked it and how it pushed back against a lot of common writing advice. I have a serial project of my own with Battles Beneath the Stars. Since it's currently in the equivalent of a gap between seasons I was paying close attention to the bits about outlining and finding your way as you go, helped me feel like I can probably start the next part of the story sooner rather than later.
Thanks, William. It's not for everyone, but if you're comfortable with things not always being 100% perfect I find it to be a very productive way of going about things.
Your guide to serial writing/publishing has been very helpful to me. I'm an older writer who has been writing reviews and humor pieces for a long time, usually at a length of 12-1500 words. I'd accepted that that was my length, and that I wouldn't be writing longer fiction because it just wasn't my way. But using your serial approach, I'm just finishing my second historical novella (of a projected three interrelated ones) - the first with 13 parts and the second with 20 - each part in the range of 1500 words. So now I have two thirds of what will be, when novella three is finished, a novel-length work of fiction! Never thought it could happen for me.
And, though I have a vague idea of plot trajectory at the beginning, I haven't tacked each part down until I've sat down and written it. Which has been SUCH FUN. Your suggestions helped me become comfortable with that. I've surprised myself time after time with where individual parts have gone, and how my beginning idea of plot has changed as I've gone along. I look forward to sitting down every morning and finding out where things will be going just that day, and not worrying that I have to get to a predetermined point way out there somewhere, by way of a predetermined set of steps. I so often surprise myself with where things go. How exciting that is. (Of course, this doesn't mean that what I write is "good" in a cosmic sense, but I'm old enough now that I don't care so very much about that.)
And since I have half a dozen regular readers on Substack (maybe more, but that many who regularly comment - the Randy Readers, so named by one of them, appropriate considering some of the themes I've developed in the pieces), I'm having the time of my writing life - here at what is getting close to the end. Thanks for all you help with that.
I'm working on a serial version of my novel, REPAIRING THE LEGACY. At the same time, I also have a serial running on Kindle Vella.
Is the Vella serial something you're writing as you go, or is it a novel you've already completed?
Working on two at the same time can be quite a lot of administrative work, I've found. How's it working out for you?
My Vella strategy is to write a few chapters so that I have several weeks lead time. For me, Vella is a first-draft strategy. It motivates me to get through a work which might otherwise stall out--which is why I've made this a year to finish drafting some partially-completed projects, clear things out for bigger projects to come.
Plus, I've learned a little bit about pacing scenes and how it differs from serial format to straightforward novel format. Some works are clearly more Vella-type projects--my recently completed BECOMING SOLO novella fit nicely into the Vella format, with short episodes that aren't part of a larger chapter. But the current Vella upload, A DIFFERENT LIFE--LINDA'S STORY, is more a book, though it's likely to be just a short novel at best.
Having the serial option is mentally freeing, however. The A DIFFERENT LIFE project allows me to play around with an alternative world to my main Martiniere Legacy series. I'm able to write interconnected stories.
As far as the organization of working on two or more projects at once, it has really helped for me to set things up in Scrivener. I draft in Word, then move the completed chapter over to Scrivener. There, I set up any necessary divisions into Vella episodes. Scrivener also contains my working notes on that particular story. It really helps with compartmentalizing and organization, and makes it easier to switch back and forth. It's taken me a while to figure this out, however.
Huh. Maybe I should write a blog post about serial strategies.
Sounds like you've got a lot of insight to share, so go for it. :)
I always start projects with several chapter written ahead of time, and that buffer almost always seems to vanish alarmingly quickly due to various life complications.
Interesting what you say about pacing. I've experimented with different structures in each of my books, and it's always fascinating to see how they settle into the serial format. No Adults Allowed I conceived of as being a specific number of chapters/weeks long and committed to that by numbering them in reverse sequential order, so it worked as a countdown. That then meant there was no wriggle room in adding/removing chapters, so it was a fun extra challenge.
My current one, on the other hand, is set up as a sort of police procedural, which is far more episodic. The pace is also slower, which I wasn't quite expecting.
Thanks! I think I will.
It’s incredibly generous to share your hard-won knowledge, thank you! I will enjoy digging into this. 😄
Mr. Jones: Your guide to writing serialized fiction is helpful and informative. Thank you for writing it and making it available pro bono publico. I was privileged to teach creative writing for several years and have read a number of books on how to write creative fiction, but I've never read (or even seen) a guide on this very specific subject. Further, your advice is practical, clear and well-organized. Coincidentally, it's applicable to my current creative project. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Alan. Really appreciate that, and glad to help.
This awesome. Thank you
Absolutely loved this guide, Simon!
Each of the 22 chapters is packed with advice and inspiration. Thanks for sharing such a thorough and motivating guide!
Glad it was helpful! It’s probably due an update….
I'm not one to say, but I can tell you that it’s been a long, yet amazing and inspiring read, Simon!
Thanks for sharing these article links Simon. I've wondered about serialising but had so many questions about it. Looking forward to checking out more of your articles.
Do shout if you have any questions not answered by the guide!
Will do, thank you!
I did start writing a serial fiction. It's a novel I started years ago. After learning about serials, I felt it could help me to move along to write in serial form. I'd written lots of bits & pieces, never quite getting it together. I Realized I needed to feel more confident about serial structure & found this page. Thank you, it's helped.
I was struggling with writing my novel on the crusades but I'm going to go with serializing on substack. It'll be my draft and readers can comment for feedback, to which I can take to eventually creating a physical copy that's polished.
Sounds like an excellent plan!
I've just begun serializing a fantasy novella, "The Jester," on my Substack. I am hoping it will spark some interest and provide me a good creative outlet. I've been a writer all my life, but this is a new venture for me. Here's to taking chances!
Excellent! Hope it goes well. It can be an exercise in patience, but stick with it. The writing community here is very rewarding.
Thank you! I hope it will allow my writing to take a leap or two forward.
Thanks for the resource. I'm a little more than a month into building my own newsletter and figuring out how to build out my world in between my "tentpole" novels. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Glad to help! Do shout if you have questions.
Thanks for this. I've been writing professionally for oodles of years (under another name.) I've started this serialised fiction - Anthony Eastwood's Diaries - because a friend has a Substack and I really admire her approach. sharonk.substack.com
Good morning from sunny Idaho!
Thank you for the opportunity to share my upcoming novel. I'm serializing my novel, HOW TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY on my substack: https://pastoracate.substack.com/
This is a Christian speculative drama; How To Love Your Enemy centers on the lives of six people whose lives are inextricably linked through trauma, betrayal, shared faith, and intervention. HTLYE explores spiritual gifts and dreams as they apply to an otherwise mundane life.
Currently six chapters are available to paid subscribers, but anyone can give it a test run with a free seven-day trial subscription.
I invite you to read How To Love Your Enemy here: https://pastoracate.substack.com/p/how-to-love-your-enemy-chapter-one
Cate Covert
I just posted my first chapter on Substack a couple of days ago. It's humorous fantasy, heavily inspired by Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I've written a couple of novels that I'm currently querying, and hope to upload a chapter each month for this serial.
https://farhadshawkat.substack.com/p/misfit-saga-chapter-1
Excellent! Hope it goes well. The world needs more Discworld-inspired stories.
This is great! Looking forward to working through these chapters. Thank you for sharing your process
Read through the whole guide, I liked it and how it pushed back against a lot of common writing advice. I have a serial project of my own with Battles Beneath the Stars. Since it's currently in the equivalent of a gap between seasons I was paying close attention to the bits about outlining and finding your way as you go, helped me feel like I can probably start the next part of the story sooner rather than later.
Thanks, William. It's not for everyone, but if you're comfortable with things not always being 100% perfect I find it to be a very productive way of going about things.