Poll: Do you LOVE or HATE serialized ebooks?

[Worldwalker]

Hate. Hate. Hatehatehate.

I too grew up with the frustration of starting a good story in Analog and then waiting months to find out how it came out. You might call it "serial avoidance therapy."

Now I read fanfic, and I get frustrated as hell by people who start a roaring good story, lose interest (or write themselves into a corner), and vanish, leaving the story hanging.

So for me, serial = frustration, and I avoid them at all costs.

[sassanik]

I hate the wait for the next installment. I would rather just buy it when its done.


Amy

[plumboz]

Hi Mark,

I saw you were doing this on the Smashwords updates section. Interesting topic, especially since I have just begun offering my new novel The Baer Boys in serial form on its own blog page. I hadn't even considered there might be a place for it at Smashwords, but obviously you have a number of writers who want to do just that.

Whichever way you decide to go I wish you good fortune. Smashwords has been a good home so far for Boomerang.

Best,
Alan

[theducks]

I subscribed to Analog for over 40 years and would read the Serial as soon as it was delivered.
McCaffery
Herbert
Sawyer
Spider Robinson
(and many more)
were great in serial form.
I get Baen Webscriptions, but the format of the current portion errors out on my PEz (and fails to convert with Calibre, probably because Calibre thinks it is damaged, rather than crippled)

My take is serials are a good way for the author to get paid as they write, rather than wait until the whole is done.

The main thing, is COMMITMENT to finish the serial (or series. Dave Duncan's 3rd 'tense' book never came out in paper , finally available in e-form )

[Dellaster]

Further thoughts: The serialized works of Dumas, Dickens, et al, supported and were supported by the publications in which they were printed. They lent an extra reason to purchase a particular magazine or newspaper rather than a competitor, and (presumably) the newspapers and magazines were worth purchasing sans the serial. They were incentive, a bonus.

Standalone ebook portions of a novel are neither supported nor supporters of anything. There's no reason not to wait until after completion.

That doesn't mean there's no place nowadays for serialized novels. On an author's blog? Makes sense to build audience (and page hits) with the caveat that getting a book deal part way through and yanking it off the site will produce a nasty backlash.

How about if CNet ran serialized gadget-oriented SF novels in order to get people to go there instead of ZDNet? Or TechCrunch vs Engadget? Serialized novels may still have a place in our networked future. I just don't think it's in standalone ebook installments.

[DuskyRose]

Don't like them for various reasons, but that's assuming that story hasn't been completely written and edited, and it's just being published in small parts. Even then, I'm going to wait until it's all up before bothering with it.

I'm talking now about the stuff that's posted as it's written. My experience is mainly fanfic, but I've run across the same problem with serialized original work. So people may not consider this as applicable to original work, but here it is...

1) I don't know when or if they're ever going to get finished. I've started stuff that I loved where the author just walked away, because they lost interest or found something they wanted to work on more. Some writers don't get enough pats on the back as they go along, they lose incentive to keep going. So unless I know the author really well, I don't have much trust.

2) I'm not confident that the author can keep a coherent, consistent plotline without writing themselves into a hole and not being able to get out of it. I'd rather an author be able to go back and edit their work. Whether that be for anything from spelling errors, grammar, adjusting dialog, adjusting action scenes, or whatever it takes to make the story work the way the author wants it to. Once it's out, they're stuck with the published plot line and dialog, even if it's not working. I don't want to feel like I'm reading a rough draft.

3) I find that for me, time between one part of the story and another is like watering down my favorite soup. Time dilutes my memory of what was going on, who said what, and what I was feeling at the time. Not a fan of huge cliffhangers at all, but like exciting endings. There's a difference. Sometimes I really like a story aprt, but let some time pass and it's just not the same going back into the story unless I go back and re-read parts.

I'd rather just wait until the story is done, has got the author's final stamp of approval, and I can go at it in one sitting so I can enjoy it all at once. And I'm certainly not going to buy a story in parts if I realize that's what it is. It's either a complete story, beginning, middle and end, (even if a series) or I'm not interested.

Been there, got burned way too many times.

[nomesque]

I'm not a big fan of serialised work, either - DESPITE the fact that I usually serialise my work - to a point - on my fiction blog. DR's points above are ones I pretty much agree with. I've read a lot of serial fiction. My two favourites ground to a screaming halt last year So I've pretty much given up.

Here's the thing, though - I know there are a good number of people who DO like serialised fiction. The one thing Smashwords could offer that no other company seems to be offering (to writers outside the US!) is an opportunity for writers to offer serialised work and get paid for it as they go. If the writer doesn't want payment, there are multiple OTHER options out there, most of which include an RSS feed so that readers easily find out about new updates.

If Smashwords wanted to go this way, I'd suggest a separate classification for serial works, with separate listings and automatic non-inclusion in the premium catalog (although it might be interesting to put out a monthly 'ezine' including all the latest serial fic).

[Wayne Watson]

I had a few comments about putting out 'smaller' books in my Meddlers in Time series. A few keen readers didn't want to wait until I produced another 200k book ;-)

This is what I have done, but the second two are 'stand alone', while being part of the series and are 40 and 25 k in length.

I believe serials have their place but need to be in their own section and clearly identified as such, to avoid disappointed readers.

[Sweetpea]

My choice isn't there.

It depends on the serial. I don't like it if it's one story, where each chapter is published individually. But, if it's a collection of short stories, each with its own beginning, middle and end but all in the same universe or about the same persons, I do like it.

[Cinexploits]

You mentioned in your blog post re: Stephen King's THE PLANT as if this was something new. However, you should also recall that THE GREEN MILE was originally released in a serialized form in paperback. Seven short novellas each telling a different aspect to the story. It was later collected and sold as a single book.

In other words - the serial novel isn't new and can be successful if done well. (As with anything in life, eh?)

I also don't think serials are open-ended - at least not in terms of movie serials which is what many of my fellow posters here are referring. They generally ran between 12-15 chapters. When you discuss soap operas - you should probably refer to them more accurately as continuing dramas.

The benefit of a serial is that readers (if they are sufficiently intrigued) keep coming back for more story. Regular traffic is a boon to any web presence, and serialized content is the backbone of many a blog and web video. I see no legitimate reason to not apply that to ebooks.

[Cinexploits]

In addition your poll is skewed to create a 50/50 answer to the question when the middle ground probably more accurately portrays readers' tastes. How about a category that says:

"I might try a serial if I like the story concept or if it were from an author I really like." ?

[Gaelle Kermen]

Hi, Mark !
I think your actual way of work is right : "our current policy of complete, standalone works only?" I noticed this when I found you and agreed with that.
It's important to keep good quality in writing. By letting only beginning works be published, it could quickly become as "amateur" works but not real writer's works.
Many bloggers think it's easy to write about anything and just publish it as ebooks. But creating a whole work is not so simple. It's a real work, even if the result seems simple.
The way you edit ebooks is taking an important place in the history of books. So keep it in the right place.
Have a good day !

[neilmarr]

The serialisation of an unfinished manuscript is, basically, the serving up piecemeal of a WIP -- a rough first draft. And you know what Hemingway said of those: "The first draft of anything is shit."

I've seldom come across a complete manuscript, even by an experienced author, that wasn't in need of serious revision ... never mind one written in episodes by the seat of the pants.

Remember when we quote Dickens as a serial author we are not speaking of an 'ordinary' writer. The man was near genius. But even he worked to a strong outline and was always several episodes ahead of publication. And anyone who has seen his first drafts in his own hand will realise just how much strict self-editing was necessary, even by a such a grand master of the genre. Neil

[Logseman]

I personally don't like the idea of having to wait one week per chapter if in one year it's all out, for example. Particularly if I have to pay for getting frustrated :P But of course, I follow mainly manga scanlated series, series which last for years and which get uploaded when the little bastards of the fansub decide to take their job seriously (usually the editors and typesetters are at fault, we translators ALWAYS work properly and in time ).

[Carl246]

I have to say that this poll is completely biased, I mean the first two answers are a negative against serials and who's going to say that they only read serials, let alone prefer them.

I write short stories that sometimes follow on from one another, but because they are erotic stories they tend to stand up on their own (no pun intended) without having to wait to see what happens with the heroine/hero in the next installment. I see nothing wrong with serials, although I am starting to see people abusing the system by posting 820 word documents and trying to charge 0.99 cents for them.

I think we need to have guidelines that everyone should follow, as in maximum amount of words etc. As for people here saying that they'd never read a serial you are missing out on some very good stories.

Carl