Agreed on sharing process - I've done that with most of my books. Not only does it attract a particular type of reader (the sort of committed reader who would watch all the DVD extras if it were a movie), I find it's also useful as a kind of mental debriefing. Sometimes analysing what I've just written helps me come up with ideas for future stuff.
Awesome advice, Simon! You hit on all the major ones I think about as well. My word count is usually in that 1200-1500 range, sometimes a little shorter, other times a little longer.
The first one, A Day of Faces, was the most pantsy. I only really knew what was happening a half dozen chapters ahead. About a third of the way into it I did some additional work to figure out where it was going, but it was still pretty loose along the way. Thematically, I think the story suffered a bit (one day I'll go back and tighten it all up).
The Mechanical Crown was very different because I'd written a (VERY BAD) first draft a decade+ earlier, that never saw the light of day. So I'd worked out a lot of the kinks already. The version I wrote on Wattpad was a100% rewrite and reworking. I redesigned characters, merged some characters, expanded the plot and deepened the themes of the story. It was more planned out, but still in a sort of fuzzy way. For each plot arc I knew where I was headed, but not so much how to get there. I had key plot beats worked out, but the in-between was up for grabs. It was a really enjoyable balance. I found I got more and more detailed in my planning as I neared the conclusion, though, as it was the only way to ensure that all the plot threads dovetailed properly.
No Adults Allowed, my shortest book, was heavily outlined. It was designed to be really tight and efficient, as I'd just come off doing the 3 year+ Mechanical Crown. I even gave the chapters reverse numbering, so that it was counting down to Zero, with Zero being the end of the book. That meant I couldn't deviate or add/remove chapters. Which was a bit of a mad experiment to do with a live serial, but there you go. :D This one is available on Amazon in an edited and improved form if you're curious: https://mybook.to/noadultsallowed
And now we have Tales from the Triverse, which is a different thing again. It's much more of an anthology of connected stories, rather than a single narrative. I have a folder of 'episode ideas' which I pull from, but it doesn't matter too much what order they play out. On top of that there's a longer-running overarching plot, which I can seed in whenever I want. I have some stuff planned out, but it's quite loose - I know the general destination, but the route it up for grabs still. The different here is that I did very extensive world building ahead of time, as that was the only way to make the detective investigations 'fair' to the reader - I didn't want to be making up the world building on the fly, even if the plot was still evolving.
Interesting point about AI-generated images. I played around with it for a while but I agree, it looks either very bland or generic, and I never really got what I was aiming for. I put up one image that turned out half-decent in my recent post, but it's only for conceptualization purposes and not used anywhere. Re: word count. Scenes in my upcoming short story (6k words) can be anything between 500 and 1200k words. Maybe release it in full instead of scene by scene (7 in total).
I enjoyed using MidJourney last year, and it was interesting for conceptualising. In terms of using the images for actual illustration of my writing, though...that became less and less appealing over time. The more I see of AI art, the more generic it all seems. I didn't feel it was reflecting my tastes and personality. I'm sure this will change and improve over time, and hopefully they'll find a way to operate more ethically as well, but for now I've put a pin in it.
I think a fully standalone short story would probably work better release in one go, agreed - unless it's encroaching on novella, in which case it could be happily split up. Depends on the story as well, though - some will benefit (or at least not be harmed) by splitting over several posts, while others will only work properly when read in one sitting. That one is definitely a rule to be broken, but the 1,200 word mark is a useful benchmark, I find.
Stumbling upon your post was so fortuitous! I've just decided this week to write my first book by serializing it on substack. I write what I like to call "farm-smut"─stories of sex and love on the farm, homestead, or off-grid location in Maine. As a writer of erotic romance, it's pretty scary to publish that kind of work and I'd thought to offer it exclusively to my paid subscribers, but reading through the comments I see you advise against it. Do you think in my case it might work? Or should I just be brave and publish it free for everyone?
It's a tricky one: one the one hand, I can see how keeping it to paid subscribers helps to keep sensitive content slightly behind closed doors. The people who choose to pay and read it are going to be interested in the stories and OK with the subject matter, and you'll avoid any drive-by moralists causing a fuss.
On the other hand, if you're just starting out and/or your name isn't Margaret Atwood or George Saunders, it poses a real conundrum. If your work is all paywalled but you don't yet have a strong readership, how is anyone ever going to know if they'd enjoy your work?
I'd suggest perhaps a bit of a mix. Maybe keep the less explicit (but still sexy) stuff free to read, so people can sample your work and hopefully get hooked, but put the most erotic stuff behind the paywall.
To be honest, given that smut makes the internet go round you might find this is a really compelling combo. Anyone enjoying the writing will be REALLY tempted to get behind that paywall for the 'good stuff'.
I don't write erotic fiction so haven't road-tested that theory, but I reckon writers of erotic romance are probably in an immediately better position for part-paywalling stories.
Thank you very much! I really appreciate the feedback and will make use of your insight. Been perusing your articles this morning fmi. Appreciate the thoughtful resources you've amassed. Best to you, my friend!
Hi Simon, I am a newbie in terms of wanting to start using Substack and just watched your first video about what actually is it. I am a writer of Scifi, fantasy and other things including a lot of flash fiction. I like your idea of how you released a chapter at a time on here. I was doing that with some Facebook friends with a novel I am about 14 000 words into. I would love to know more about this and if you eventually published it from this. I have one self-published book that hasn't done well. Amazon rips writers off in my experience and I can't find a way to contact them to complain. I have contributed to a few self help books but also have a few books on the go and a poetry book that is pretty much ready, 200 poems that I'd like to be published by an actual publishing house. Any tips would be much appreciated. Thankyou :-)
I can’t believe I somehow missed this post of yours. I cannot break myself of the chapter number habit, because otherwise I, lose track of what to post next (having written it all in advance) but I do restart with each book - and if there is a season 2 of my monthly serial, I might restart numbers there as well as they’re supposed to be standalone. (Except I have a possible slow burn romance going because I cannot help myself.) Hmm, maybe I should experiment there with no page numbers ….
#7 - I'm going to be writing short and steamy romance, 8 chapters per book (w/ an Epilogue and sometimes with a Prologue). If the stories are that short, would you still suggest not including chapter numbers in the post headers?
#8 - I like the idea of using sections, as I have book series ideas and plan to write several books for each one. But what does that look like when you post? Can you do an instructional walk-through or a video tutorial or something?
In #9, you provided an example of what your recaps look like. I went to check it out (thanks for that, btw) and noticed that you have an Author Notes section at the bottom. Should we have them at the end of each chapter? If so, what typically goes in this section?
7 - if you're keeping them nice and contained, then the chapter numbers could be a virtue rather than a problem. In fact, you could even show the total as well. So the first chapter would be 1/7, then 2/7 etc. That way people know exactly what they're getting into, how long is left (crucially, not long!), and can see at a glance when the story is finished.
8 - good idea for a video. I'll see if I can put something together.
9 - author notes are not needed. That's just me loving behind-the-scenes insights, and enjoying writing about process. Entirely optional! :) Though in the newsletter game, where you're closer to your readers than you might be with, say, a print book, it's a nice way to show them behind the curtain.
Thanks for this, Simon! BTS is a perk for my paid subscribers, but there will be real-life location elements in my stories. So, maybe an Author Notes section would be good for pointing that out.
I'm trying to figure out how you actually created your index in Substack - it's fantastic by the way. But I can't figure it out and I can't seem to find any guidance for doing it online or in their not so helpful chatbot
The way I did it, it’s simply an old newsletter that I go back to and edit to keep updated. I then pinned it to the home page, so that it was always easily visible to readers. Other than that, there’s nothing inherently fancy about it!
I started posting Fiction online in 2015, too. And I’ve just started publishing again at the end of last year, after a five year break - so this is right up my street. I’ll definitely be checking it out… 😎
I’m still figuring out how to not overcommit 🤣
Also I would add: share the process not just the finished chapters.
And also: Follow other writers you like and get into their works too. The community aspect is essential online!
You do seem like a busy person, Elle. :P
Agreed on sharing process - I've done that with most of my books. Not only does it attract a particular type of reader (the sort of committed reader who would watch all the DVD extras if it were a movie), I find it's also useful as a kind of mental debriefing. Sometimes analysing what I've just written helps me come up with ideas for future stuff.
Awesome advice, Simon! You hit on all the major ones I think about as well. My word count is usually in that 1200-1500 range, sometimes a little shorter, other times a little longer.
So impressive that you’ve done three serial novels! Bravo!
I find if you keep doing a chapter every week, sooner-or-later you have a novel, almost by accident. ;)
That’s right! Do you outline them first or pants?
It's varied depending on the project.
The first one, A Day of Faces, was the most pantsy. I only really knew what was happening a half dozen chapters ahead. About a third of the way into it I did some additional work to figure out where it was going, but it was still pretty loose along the way. Thematically, I think the story suffered a bit (one day I'll go back and tighten it all up).
The Mechanical Crown was very different because I'd written a (VERY BAD) first draft a decade+ earlier, that never saw the light of day. So I'd worked out a lot of the kinks already. The version I wrote on Wattpad was a100% rewrite and reworking. I redesigned characters, merged some characters, expanded the plot and deepened the themes of the story. It was more planned out, but still in a sort of fuzzy way. For each plot arc I knew where I was headed, but not so much how to get there. I had key plot beats worked out, but the in-between was up for grabs. It was a really enjoyable balance. I found I got more and more detailed in my planning as I neared the conclusion, though, as it was the only way to ensure that all the plot threads dovetailed properly.
No Adults Allowed, my shortest book, was heavily outlined. It was designed to be really tight and efficient, as I'd just come off doing the 3 year+ Mechanical Crown. I even gave the chapters reverse numbering, so that it was counting down to Zero, with Zero being the end of the book. That meant I couldn't deviate or add/remove chapters. Which was a bit of a mad experiment to do with a live serial, but there you go. :D This one is available on Amazon in an edited and improved form if you're curious: https://mybook.to/noadultsallowed
And now we have Tales from the Triverse, which is a different thing again. It's much more of an anthology of connected stories, rather than a single narrative. I have a folder of 'episode ideas' which I pull from, but it doesn't matter too much what order they play out. On top of that there's a longer-running overarching plot, which I can seed in whenever I want. I have some stuff planned out, but it's quite loose - I know the general destination, but the route it up for grabs still. The different here is that I did very extensive world building ahead of time, as that was the only way to make the detective investigations 'fair' to the reader - I didn't want to be making up the world building on the fly, even if the plot was still evolving.
Sorry, that was a very long answer. :D
I second this question
:D See above. 👆
Interesting point about AI-generated images. I played around with it for a while but I agree, it looks either very bland or generic, and I never really got what I was aiming for. I put up one image that turned out half-decent in my recent post, but it's only for conceptualization purposes and not used anywhere. Re: word count. Scenes in my upcoming short story (6k words) can be anything between 500 and 1200k words. Maybe release it in full instead of scene by scene (7 in total).
I enjoyed using MidJourney last year, and it was interesting for conceptualising. In terms of using the images for actual illustration of my writing, though...that became less and less appealing over time. The more I see of AI art, the more generic it all seems. I didn't feel it was reflecting my tastes and personality. I'm sure this will change and improve over time, and hopefully they'll find a way to operate more ethically as well, but for now I've put a pin in it.
I think a fully standalone short story would probably work better release in one go, agreed - unless it's encroaching on novella, in which case it could be happily split up. Depends on the story as well, though - some will benefit (or at least not be harmed) by splitting over several posts, while others will only work properly when read in one sitting. That one is definitely a rule to be broken, but the 1,200 word mark is a useful benchmark, I find.
Stumbling upon your post was so fortuitous! I've just decided this week to write my first book by serializing it on substack. I write what I like to call "farm-smut"─stories of sex and love on the farm, homestead, or off-grid location in Maine. As a writer of erotic romance, it's pretty scary to publish that kind of work and I'd thought to offer it exclusively to my paid subscribers, but reading through the comments I see you advise against it. Do you think in my case it might work? Or should I just be brave and publish it free for everyone?
Farm smut! Amazing. Love it.
It's a tricky one: one the one hand, I can see how keeping it to paid subscribers helps to keep sensitive content slightly behind closed doors. The people who choose to pay and read it are going to be interested in the stories and OK with the subject matter, and you'll avoid any drive-by moralists causing a fuss.
On the other hand, if you're just starting out and/or your name isn't Margaret Atwood or George Saunders, it poses a real conundrum. If your work is all paywalled but you don't yet have a strong readership, how is anyone ever going to know if they'd enjoy your work?
I'd suggest perhaps a bit of a mix. Maybe keep the less explicit (but still sexy) stuff free to read, so people can sample your work and hopefully get hooked, but put the most erotic stuff behind the paywall.
To be honest, given that smut makes the internet go round you might find this is a really compelling combo. Anyone enjoying the writing will be REALLY tempted to get behind that paywall for the 'good stuff'.
I don't write erotic fiction so haven't road-tested that theory, but I reckon writers of erotic romance are probably in an immediately better position for part-paywalling stories.
Thank you very much! I really appreciate the feedback and will make use of your insight. Been perusing your articles this morning fmi. Appreciate the thoughtful resources you've amassed. Best to you, my friend!
Thanks for this -- just starting to plan a serial, this is very helpful all the best to you!
Hope it goes well! Do shout if you have any questions.
Thank you for these notes. I just started my first novel - a Romance Novel called COMPANION PIECE. https://substack.com/home/post/p-153664110
This is very helpful. Thank you.
Hi Simon, I am a newbie in terms of wanting to start using Substack and just watched your first video about what actually is it. I am a writer of Scifi, fantasy and other things including a lot of flash fiction. I like your idea of how you released a chapter at a time on here. I was doing that with some Facebook friends with a novel I am about 14 000 words into. I would love to know more about this and if you eventually published it from this. I have one self-published book that hasn't done well. Amazon rips writers off in my experience and I can't find a way to contact them to complain. I have contributed to a few self help books but also have a few books on the go and a poetry book that is pretty much ready, 200 poems that I'd like to be published by an actual publishing house. Any tips would be much appreciated. Thankyou :-)
I’ve put a lot of core tips on serialising in my guide here: https://open.substack.com/pub/simonkjones/p/how-to-write-serialised-fiction?r=3rwg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I’ve done three serial projects (plus my current fourth one), but have only turned one of them into a book. I certainly should do it with all of them, I just haven’t found the time. That was a fun process, though, which I talk about here: https://open.substack.com/pub/simonkjones/p/transforming-a-serial-story-into?r=3rwg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I can’t believe I somehow missed this post of yours. I cannot break myself of the chapter number habit, because otherwise I, lose track of what to post next (having written it all in advance) but I do restart with each book - and if there is a season 2 of my monthly serial, I might restart numbers there as well as they’re supposed to be standalone. (Except I have a possible slow burn romance going because I cannot help myself.) Hmm, maybe I should experiment there with no page numbers ….
This post is so helpful! I have questions though:
#7 - I'm going to be writing short and steamy romance, 8 chapters per book (w/ an Epilogue and sometimes with a Prologue). If the stories are that short, would you still suggest not including chapter numbers in the post headers?
#8 - I like the idea of using sections, as I have book series ideas and plan to write several books for each one. But what does that look like when you post? Can you do an instructional walk-through or a video tutorial or something?
In #9, you provided an example of what your recaps look like. I went to check it out (thanks for that, btw) and noticed that you have an Author Notes section at the bottom. Should we have them at the end of each chapter? If so, what typically goes in this section?
Hi Evolet! Good questions.
7 - if you're keeping them nice and contained, then the chapter numbers could be a virtue rather than a problem. In fact, you could even show the total as well. So the first chapter would be 1/7, then 2/7 etc. That way people know exactly what they're getting into, how long is left (crucially, not long!), and can see at a glance when the story is finished.
8 - good idea for a video. I'll see if I can put something together.
9 - author notes are not needed. That's just me loving behind-the-scenes insights, and enjoying writing about process. Entirely optional! :) Though in the newsletter game, where you're closer to your readers than you might be with, say, a print book, it's a nice way to show them behind the curtain.
Thanks for this, Simon! BTS is a perk for my paid subscribers, but there will be real-life location elements in my stories. So, maybe an Author Notes section would be good for pointing that out.
I'm trying to figure out how you actually created your index in Substack - it's fantastic by the way. But I can't figure it out and I can't seem to find any guidance for doing it online or in their not so helpful chatbot
Hi Connie! I've written some more on the topic since this quickstart, as it happens! Check this out, it might be helpful: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/how-to-help-new-readers-get-on-board?utm_source=publication-search
Hope that helps!
It further convinces me of the need to do it but I'm still not sure of the technical aspects of actually creating an index.
The way I did it, it’s simply an old newsletter that I go back to and edit to keep updated. I then pinned it to the home page, so that it was always easily visible to readers. Other than that, there’s nothing inherently fancy about it!
Okay, I've got something going. Not sure if it's the best approach but I think it's working :)
I'm about to start sharing my novel on Substack. Thanks for the great into and tips!
Happy to help!
Hello! I'm new here on Substack. This one of the platforms I use to publish my works. Thank you for this tips!
I'm a fiction writer, finally starting on Substack. It's a bit different than Medium.
Thank you for this helpful guide 💖
Happy to help!
I started posting Fiction online in 2015, too. And I’ve just started publishing again at the end of last year, after a five year break - so this is right up my street. I’ll definitely be checking it out… 😎