Serialized fiction is a story told in parts and unveiled in installments over a period of time. Think of a television show where a new episode is released each week, just instead with a story and a new chapter published each week.  This concept has been around for nearly two centuries.  Charles Dickens kicked off this idea of a serialized novel with 19 installments of the Pickwick Papers in 1835, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beacher Stowe published in 40 installments in a newspaper in 1851.

Newspapers and consumer magazines like Harpers and The Atlantic Monthly were popular avenues for this type of fiction. Not so much anymore, but some literary magazines like Narrative, still accept serialized novels.

You can serialize a story on your blog or in your newsletter, but technology has brought new options. Platforms like Radish, Wattpad and the new Kindle Vella provide opportunities for writers to publish a completed novel in serialized form. Readers read the episodes on their computer or through an app. Some are free and with others, there is a fee.

Why serialize?

Serialized fiction provides a different avenue for you to publish your novel. You can build your audience, reach new audiences, revive your backlist, pre-release upcoming books, or test out new ideas. One thing to keep in mind is that if you publish your novel through one of these platforms, you can’t have it available as a complete book on an ebook or print platform like KDP. Should you choose to publish it in the future, you must remove it from the serialized site.

Writing successful serialized fiction requires you to break down your novel into “bite-sized” installments of around 1,000-2,000 words. Some platforms accept higher word counts, but remember, many readers are reading the story on a mobile device, so keeping to a lower word count makes more sense. Each episode needs to drive the story forward and end in a way that keeps the reader wanting more.

Where to publish?

There are a variety of places to publish serial fiction, but the top three are Radish, Wattpad and Kindle Vella.

Wattpad has been around the longest of the three and is big on reader involvement. Anyone can post their story, and readers have the opportunity to provide feedback. For the majority of the site writers don’t get paid, but there are some opportunities for payment through their contests and their new Paid Stories (which is currently invitation only). The majority of the site is available to readers for free.

In 2015 Radish came on the scene as another platform to offer serialized fiction. Radish authors must apply and have their stories accepted. If you receive the green light, you get 50 percent of the royalties, and you maintain rights to the work. Radish has a mix of free and paid content for readers.

Amazon’s Kindle Vella is the newest of the platforms which launched in 2021. For all stories on Kindle Vella, the first three episodes are free. Then readers purchase tokens to unlock more episodes. Authors receive 50 percent of what readers spend on tokens for each story. There is the potential for a bonus if you are one of the top authors for that month.

When Dickens paved the way for serialized fiction, he had no idea what the future of publishing would look like. There are so many publishing opportunities from traditional publishing to self-publishing and now with serialized fiction. Take the time to explore what is available to you and get your stories in front of readers in a whole different way, to readers who prefer to read in that whole different way.

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Kerrie Flanagan is an author, writing consultant, instructor with Stanford Continuing Studies, and freelance writer with 20+ years’ experience in the publishing industry. She’s the author of, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing and creator of the Magazine Writing Blueprint. In addition, she has published seventeen other books, including ten with a co-author under the pen names, C.G. Harris and CK Wiles.  Her work has appeared in publications including The Writer, Alaska Magazine, and six Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She was the founder of Northern Colorado Writers and led the group for ten years. https://www.kerrieflanagan.com.

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