Behind the scenes sounds a little though for writers, no? I can't imagine anybody wants to watch me bang my head against my keyboard for an hour or so...
The "write it all first" point hit home. I just launched a found-document mystery serial on Substack called The Lighthouse Files, and the only reason I felt comfortable doing it is because the entire first season was written before I published episode one. Three seasons, 36 episodes, all mapped out. After reading what you found about consistency being the number one factor — serials that start strong then go silent — I knew I couldn't afford to be one of those. Your point about the Index page is something I'm going to revisit immediately. I have the episodes organized in a Section, but I haven't built a standalone Index with chapter synopses and tone-setting the way you describe. That flexibility to sell the serial to a newcomer who stumbles across it is something a Section alone can't do. The navigation piece is smart too — putting Previous Chapter and Index links at both the top and bottom of each episode. Small things that make the difference between someone reading one chapter and someone reading six. This whole post reads like a checklist I wish I'd had before launch. Thank you for doing the research.
This is terrific and generous info. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm just beginning to serialize a novel. The first half++ is written and the rest outlined, so I'm breaking your recommendation of writing it all first. But writing in public both terrifies and excites me! Currently, the overall series name is in the menu bar, but since the novel could be all the fiction I'll be able to post here in 2023-24, perhaps I should change it based on your advice.... hmmm. It's all a big experiment and so far, I'm having a blast. I'll adjust as needed along the way. I'm in the process of creating a new "directory" or guide, or index, or "start here" or whatever I end up calling it, but this is what I have right now: https://ginasquill.substack.com/p/dancing-at-the-orange-peel-directory
I'm tentatively planning on starting another superhero one after that but I might write it all out first beforehand, or at least outline it first. It is nice having that editing room. I will definitely look at sprucing up my overall superhero story index page; I've got a separate one for my current serial, but a whole section for all of them, and I need to add more information to that one for sure.
Amazing Erica. I was reading it, saying: Check; check; no, go back and fix that; check. Just great. A lot of simple things we forget to do, and some gentle reminders. And yes, consistency is the key. I guess you could say I've got two serials with THE SHIELD OF LOCKSELY and THE DAWN PATROL, but I don't look at them like that. Serials, sure, but Dawn Patrol's a novella I wrote some years ago, and it's all finished. I'm just cleaning up the language and the flow in places, and Locksley, well, that's not finished and I'm just writing that for the sheer enjoyment of seeing where it's going to take me.
Thank you for this advice. I am planning to start releasing some of my older, completed, long form work here, and this gives me a sense of how it can best be accomplished.
Thanks for this! I'm trying out a short (5-part) monthly serial starting next month in lead-up to my novel release. I'm also working on a full novel that I'm going to serialize starting in 2025. The benefits of Substack as sandbox is amazing. I appreciate your insights and things to think about.
I've started a serial on substack. Wrote it all first, because I guess that's the right way to do it.
Behind the scenes sounds a little though for writers, no? I can't imagine anybody wants to watch me bang my head against my keyboard for an hour or so...
I realize I am very late to this party, but perhaps you'd consider adding me to your list:
https://misslauriemacmacmac.substack.com/p/it-always-starts-with-something-mundane?r=30n9qd
The "write it all first" point hit home. I just launched a found-document mystery serial on Substack called The Lighthouse Files, and the only reason I felt comfortable doing it is because the entire first season was written before I published episode one. Three seasons, 36 episodes, all mapped out. After reading what you found about consistency being the number one factor — serials that start strong then go silent — I knew I couldn't afford to be one of those. Your point about the Index page is something I'm going to revisit immediately. I have the episodes organized in a Section, but I haven't built a standalone Index with chapter synopses and tone-setting the way you describe. That flexibility to sell the serial to a newcomer who stumbles across it is something a Section alone can't do. The navigation piece is smart too — putting Previous Chapter and Index links at both the top and bottom of each episode. Small things that make the difference between someone reading one chapter and someone reading six. This whole post reads like a checklist I wish I'd had before launch. Thank you for doing the research.
This is terrific and generous info. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm just beginning to serialize a novel. The first half++ is written and the rest outlined, so I'm breaking your recommendation of writing it all first. But writing in public both terrifies and excites me! Currently, the overall series name is in the menu bar, but since the novel could be all the fiction I'll be able to post here in 2023-24, perhaps I should change it based on your advice.... hmmm. It's all a big experiment and so far, I'm having a blast. I'll adjust as needed along the way. I'm in the process of creating a new "directory" or guide, or index, or "start here" or whatever I end up calling it, but this is what I have right now: https://ginasquill.substack.com/p/dancing-at-the-orange-peel-directory
I'm almost finished with one serial, which is about a superhero trying to rescue an alternate version of herself from hell and save reality. https://indianamichael.substack.com/p/gaseous-girl-and-the-winds-of-time-6f9
I'm tentatively planning on starting another superhero one after that but I might write it all out first beforehand, or at least outline it first. It is nice having that editing room. I will definitely look at sprucing up my overall superhero story index page; I've got a separate one for my current serial, but a whole section for all of them, and I need to add more information to that one for sure.
Amazing Erica. I was reading it, saying: Check; check; no, go back and fix that; check. Just great. A lot of simple things we forget to do, and some gentle reminders. And yes, consistency is the key. I guess you could say I've got two serials with THE SHIELD OF LOCKSELY and THE DAWN PATROL, but I don't look at them like that. Serials, sure, but Dawn Patrol's a novella I wrote some years ago, and it's all finished. I'm just cleaning up the language and the flow in places, and Locksley, well, that's not finished and I'm just writing that for the sheer enjoyment of seeing where it's going to take me.
Thank you for this advice. I am planning to start releasing some of my older, completed, long form work here, and this gives me a sense of how it can best be accomplished.
Thanks for this! I'm trying out a short (5-part) monthly serial starting next month in lead-up to my novel release. I'm also working on a full novel that I'm going to serialize starting in 2025. The benefits of Substack as sandbox is amazing. I appreciate your insights and things to think about.