The Grasshopper #38: Should You Publish Your Fiction As A Serial?
I’m very mixed about this
But I’m very mixed about self-publishing in general. Several years ago when I finished my first novel The Rememberers, I was naturally excited, but not ready to attack the traditional fiction publishing world. It’s important to note that publishing fiction is an entirely different process than non-fiction. I knew the non-fiction side of things but fiction was a whole new ballgame.
However, there were some new options available for doing your own publishing including the ubiquitous Amazon and a site started as a fan fiction site called Wattpad. I laboriously worked my way through formatting the book for Amazon, a process that is now much easier.
But back then you used an arcane series of apps to try and get everything laid out like a real book with a cover, ISBN code, front and back matter, pagination, etc. I am not a graphic designer and couldn’t afford one so I figured it out and published, mainly so friends could access it.
Of course nothing happened and I eventually took it down having decided it might actually be publishable via the traditional publisher route and I might get paid something. And there were some indications that self-publishing a title might hurt its prospects for a publishing deal. That was that for Amazon.
A quick note: there is a great software app called Vellum that now does all this for you and does a better job than most designers are capable of (book design is a specialized subset of graphic design). It does all of it, including cover design, and setting the book up for printing, various ebooks, etc. It costs around $250 and is worth every penny. (No affiliate link here). Interestingly, Vellum was developed by the founders of Pixar.
But I did not have that back then.
Which brings us to Wattpad, a platform for publishing fiction serially. It has grown since back then but at the time it was focused on younger readers and fan fiction genre writers in sci-fi, fantasy, etc. Since my story had fantasy elements, I decided to publish chapter by chapter.
I got some reads but basically forgot about it. It was off my radar.
Then I forgot about it and moved on. Fast forward to the future (now), and we have things like Medium and Substack. And I see writers using these media to publish short stories or serializations of novels.
And frankly, most of what I have seen stinks. I have a few theories about this. First, writing fiction is hard and demanding. The publishing process from agent to editor and around again and again serves as a refining process, a brutal one that is needed if your writing is going to be saleable.
Most writers, especially beginners, have no such filter so they go where none is needed, platforms like those mentioned above. And a lot of lazy, sucky, unedited stuff gets thrown out there, only to disappear into the sea of mediocrity.
In case you didn't notice, I am being intentionally brutal here. As a reader I am insulted by the assumption that because something appears online a writer has done their work, when they obviously have not.
I am relieved that my favorite fiction writers do not publish this way. I think it is because they appreciate how difficult it is to get things right, and there is no second chance. I pulled my book off of Amazon because I wanted to get it right.
Honestly, do this if you want, but know you may get lumped in with some bad amateur writing and that is the kiss of death.
The exception: fan fiction
This will be short because I don’t know much about the world of fan fiction, amateur writing that uses worlds and characters created by published writers. I did get a brief tutorial from my nephew who reads this stuff.
I like the idea of this for fans because it gives them a chance to contribute to a world they love. But there are probably some copyright issues. The writing appears on sites dedicated to the imaginary world, the fan clubs of the web.
Occasionally fan fiction may attract the attention of publishers and I suspect that you get into weird legal territory when there is the potential to make money leveraging other people’s work.
I really don’t know much about this but if you do, comments are open!
Copy editors and structural editors
Editing, especially in fiction, is the difference between good writing and great writing. There are two kinds of editors. One, copy editors, go through the text with a fine tooth comb fixing typos, sentence structure, etc. to create what is known as tight copy. This should be the final editing stage after the final draft is approved.
As the writer, you need to carefully read this copy to ensure that their changes don’t break the flow or voice of the story. It is not their job to make structural changes to the story or characters. That is the job of the story editor.
It should be noted that accepted grammatical standards do not always apply to fiction. If the writing is going after a certain voice or style, breaking rules may be an important part of getting that right. Don’t be a victim of the grammar police.
A story editor early on might be your agent who suggests changes to make the manuscript more saleable. Pacing, plot, character development- anything that tightens up your writing and makes it a better read. The story editor may also be the acquisitions editor at a publishing house who makes the decision to acquire your book and then works with you on it to polish the final product.
This is an important person in your future as a fiction writer, particularly. You want to be able to collaborate on your future work and have a champion inside the publisher. If you are unwilling to take editorial feedback, consider finding a new profession. You may not be as good as you think you are.
Fiction is subjective so editing it is subjective, a back and forth process. I have been through it with nonfiction and it has always improved my work. I have not had the experience yet in my fiction, but I look forward to it.
These two types of editing are why just publishing your stuff yourself may be destined to fail, so think twice about putting something out there that is not ready for prime time.
A word about writing advice sites
I’m getting a lot of suggestions for writing advice sites here on Substack. After all, I write one, which you are reading. But I got one today, a brand new newsletter with one entry and it was lame retread advice. But when I looked at the author profile, I did not see any kind of portfolio that indicated expertise.
I also did not see any personal stories based on experience, or even a unique voice. If you have those things I am far more likely to read your stuff and recommend it. When I see this bland generic advice, I vow to be even more eccentric in my advice and my war stories.
Your copy should be entertaining and add real value. When I find that, you get a reader.
First Wednesday newsletter of the new year, and I think it’s done early. Love that but it’s going to need a few more editorial passes before I call it done.
I’m really looking forward to seeing where my work goes in this new year. Changes ahead! M
1329 words (a long one!)
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