Quote:
Originally Posted by ardeegee
He asked people if they would be willing to buy books chopped into short serials. The people responding are overwhelmingly saying "no." That is
1.) not "denying your right" to anything-- we are not obligated to buy something we don't want so that you can have it
and
2.) the very heart of the "corporate spirit"-- a business determines what it's customers want, and if it finds that most customers don't want it (i.e. they won't make money off it) they won't offer it. A business is a business, not a charity.
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But the point is, as per Mark Coker's original comments -- he has been considering a BAN on serialized fiction on Smashwords. I'm deeply concerned that a mere 88 votes are going to give him the wrong impression of where the market truly lies.
Not only that, many authors are doing well for themselves selling and distributing serialized and short fiction:
* Mike Stackpole's short story Apps on the ITunes store
* Scott Sigler's podcast serializations that built tremendous attention for his novels, so much so that he got a book contract and became a best-selling author on the strength of his podcasts and promotion of said serialized work
* Phil Foglio Girl Genius comic, which is originally published as strips on his website and then sold in collected editions.
Here are three success stories that prove my point without bothering to do any research.
I am making a spirited argument, perhaps a wee bit dramatic but not actually factually incorrect, that has so far withstood the few counterarguments against it.
No one is arguing that you MUST buy serialized fiction. I would never advocate an obligation on the part of others to buy what they don't want.
I am arguing against such works being prohibited by Smashwords, which is what Mark has said is on the table at this point, or the tyranny of the majority (or vocal minority) drowning out what may turn out to be a sizeable market.
Indeed, I very much doubt serialized fiction would turn out to be "charity" publishing...quite the opposite, in the long term.
I am merely arguing that I believe it is very much against Smashwords' long-term interests to prohibit such works, which have proven to be exceptionally popular as evidenced by the literary history of, well, ALL OF HISTORY.
NY Times Best-selling Author Mike Stackpole has on various episodes of his Dragon Page Cover to Cover podcast argued that he believes we may see a new golden age of serialized and short-term fiction because the nature of reading on a screen, often done while commuting or "in between" other activities, very much lends itself to that form.
If there's someone who is right far more often than he is wrong when it comes to the publishing business, it is Stackpole.
You know, in the long run, if Smashwords does ban these works, it is not such a big deal. Someone else will come along and do it right and profit. It's the American way.
I just hate to see Smashwords make a decision that has very negative repercussions when, to me at least, a less drastic and much more satisfactory solution exists: categorize by word count.
I was very much looking at putting my catalogue on Smashwords and it includes some serialized fiction. I'd hate to have to walk away from a company that has otherwise very much impressed me with its approach.