Current works in progress
Last night I spent some time talking to folks about books. I have several half finished stories that need to get wrapped up and I wanted to plan how I published them to get max eyes on words.
Most people I know don't sit and read books. They listen to the audiobook and buy a physical copy to have as a token of endorsement of the work. You put it on your bookshelf and buy the t-shirt and kickstarter board game for it, you're a fan. It's a great way to get paid.
Another chunk of people I know absolutely do sit and read books. They might be digital on their phone or kindle but they manually read it. They also buy the merch and special kickstarter editions and go to the book signings and all that. They are also fans. But physical media has razor thin margins. (Unless it's out of print and rare. Ask how I know.)
Both of these options require me to 100% ship a final product first. I can always pay to get an audiobook made or whatever afterwards. Marketing comes afterwards anyway. But there is a secret third option.
The dead option. The option that died with weekly magazines. The serialized route.
But, you say, I can just publish each chapter weekly on my blog or Substack or something. That's how a handful of other writers got their work mass published, when their stuff got popular on a blog or fan-fiction outlet. Letting folks read the work as it comes out then publishing a final copy etc is a valid option. Look at every single webcomic ever. Historically a chunk of popular literature was originally published in weekly/monthly magazines. But people paid to read those magazines.
I've complained about this before. I will complain about it again. We lost something when physical magazines died. Replaced with websites, readers can check daily, share articles, comment in real time, it's overall a better experience. But that's typically for non fiction, news, reviews, etc.
Two of my books in progress could easily be serialized due to their structure. The other two would have their pacing crushed by having to leave mini cliffhangers at the end of chapters nor could they handle filler - monster of the week - chapters. Those two would be done the normal way. Finalize and release. But I need readers first, and the best way to get readers is to make the work as accessible as possible: free to read.
I also run the risk of alienating the group of people out there who refuse to start a book or series until it's complete. I understand. Ya'll will just have to wait, lol.
None of my books are all that profound. I don't have an MFA, I didn't study under anyone, and my syntax is abysmal. These books won't be winning any awards. In the end they are purely for entertainment purposes only. Just little stories to be told.
So what are they and where am I at with them?
The most recent and furthest complete is what I've been calling "The Isekai" story. A woman gets trapped in an Action/Adventure RPG and must complete the main questline to escape.
The second is the "Hacker Thriller" story. This one is what you would consider Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fan fiction but the cyber security and hacking is realistic and there is absolutely no Blomkvist character whatsoever. Includes Windows Phones.
The third most complete is "Cat Girls Can't Wear Headphones." Which has a great title and terrible structure. The last quarter needs work. It's literally about a typical anime cat girl who just wants to wear headphones but can't because her ears are on the top of her head not the sides like normal humans.
And finally the fourth little story is a crime novel about a waitress who gets a job at a shady restaurant. What appears to be a front for a mob operation turns out to be something way crazier.
I just don't know if I want to release the Isekai online chapter by chapter each week to gain readership or just wrap it all up and try to market it afterwards. My real issue I think here is that I'm trying to combine the folks who prefer stories be done in podcast form with the folks who would rather read the story. Podcast mode lends itself to serialization because commutes are about an hour or so which is when most people listen to stuff. That or at their computer in little 1-2 hour blocks of time to focus. Could I do a tandem release this way? Just write out the "episode", record it, then publish both online via a blog post with a link to the audio?
What do yall think?