What do you think of episodics?

[Ti-Ron]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I read far too fast to be interested in partial novels, published at various time intervals.

Wait until the whole story line is completed and buy the whole bundle!

[jwgibster]

I'm looking to borrow some Ted Dekker books from another Kindle reader. I have the entire Eyes Wide Open series and am willing to lend them digitally. Let me know if you're interested.

[jhempel24]

I believe Eyes wide Shut is the only lendable Dekker since its self published.

[xendula]

Like others here, I read too fast and don't have any patience to wait. I TRY not to read novels if they are the first and only installment in a series, and much prefer waiting until a few books have been published in the series and read them one after the other.
This type of publishing is not for me, though I hope it will succeed.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I read far too fast to be interested in partial novels, published at various time intervals.

Uhm... Same here. Not only no interest, but I actually avoid them.

I got burned long ago in fanfic, where about 30% of the WIP (Work in Progress) I was carefully reading and saving was never finished. After several years wait on some, I just chucked anything that was WIP and stick with only completed stories.

Talking with the authors, they basically lost interest in story lines where they didn't get enough response. (And each author was different in how much 'response' was enough.) So they just walk away because there' no real incentive to write it anymore. Or they saw something shinier and went back to that other thing they were wanting to write about.

(And a very few had review demands that were never met. "I need 50 positive reviews on this chapter or I won't write any more!" Gotta love blackmail.)

And another problem I had with WIP's was when an author wrote themselves into a hole and couldn't get out, so the story was going a direction they either didn't want or were not interested in. (Another reason I don't like cliff-hangers at the end of books. Too many didn't actually get resolved.)

So I come with a lot of baggage when it comes to serial work. Don't trust the price (it'll add up!), don't trust the author to finish the work, don't like any real amount of time diluting my interest in an on-going story, and want the author to have it all written to their satisfaction before they post. (In other words, a finished product before posting. And if you're have that, why a series to begin with?)

Just not my thing. And, in fact, I'm pretty grateful for reviewers who point out that stories have cliff-hangers or are otherwise not complete. I've got one I want start, but don't dare, since the Cliffhanger warning came after I bought the book. I'll probably never read it now.

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

Uhm... Same here. Not only no interest, but I actually avoid them.

I got burned long ago in fanfic, where about 30% of the WIP (Work in Progress) I was carefully reading and saving was never finished. After several years wait on some, I just chucked anything that was WIP and stick with only completed stories.

Well that really doesn't count, it's fanfic.

The Scalzi one I'm interested in now has a 13 episodic series that seems cool and they are all stand alone, but interconnected.

[basschick]

it's not for me. i prefer to read an entire novel, finished trilogy or completed series when possible.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Well that really doesn't count, it's fanfic.

I was listing the reasons why episodic stories/novels have no interest to me. A bit of history, if you will.

But thinking about it, why wouldn't fanfic count?

Outside of fanfic, is there any real guarantees with any serialized fiction?

Especially any I pay for. Do I get my money back if for any reason the author loses interest, or will my money just be considered as complete payment for each episode?

Who would guarantee, and how, that what happens in fanfic won't happen in other fiction?

Was Steven King's "The Plant" ever finished? Last I heard, it wasn't.

Originally Posted by jhempel24

The Scalzi one I'm interested in now has a 13 episodic series that seems cool and they are all stand alone, but interconnected.

If they're all stand alone, isn't that a series? I'm all for complete stories, with a beginning, middle and end, while supporting a larger story arc through several books. I love a good series.

But when it comes to incomplete snippets, chapters, or chunks that can't stand alone, for all the reasons stated about fanfic, no.

[jhempel24]

Ive never heard of the plant. lol. But the episodics Im reading are already done, they are on a scheduled release.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Ive never heard of the plant. lol.

I just looked it up in Wiki. I remember when it came out, and since I'm not a King fan just followed it pretty loosely at the time. I even had a bet with my Dear Hubby that King wouldn't finish it. (I never did collect on that.... Hm...)

What is below is basically from Wiki.

Basically, a story he wrote a few part of and sent to friends, then decided to publish it on-line as a book publishing experiment, with the request that people donate a dollar a section. He threatened to quit writing it if the paying percentage dropped below 75% of the download number.

Eventually he raised the price to $2, (promising more pages per ep. though, and a cap on the total cost) and the paying percentage dropped down well below that. All download numbers fell. So he quit writing it.

Last episode was 12 years ago. He later admitted he'd made half a million on it, but apparently that wasn't enough to entice him to finish it anyway. I don't really remember any good reviews at the time, so maybe it was best left undone.

Originally Posted by jhempel24

But the episodics Im reading are already done, they are on a scheduled release.

We differ in that, also, then.

I usually save up a much as possible before I read, so wouldn't want to jump in until I knew it was all posted and I had all the parts.

I feel that time is like pouring cold water into a nice bowl of soup. Doesn't add anything to my experience, and tends to ruin something that was a great product, when already finished. I'm just not wired to enjoy it.

[drofgnal]

Not a fan. I liked the old man's war series, but I'll wait for the latest serial releases to be finished and released as a novel.