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Why Writing Network Startups Are Banking On Serialized Storytelling

This article is more than 6 years old.

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The publishing industry might not be as buzzy as film or TV, but it still attracts its share of startups: Startup database Angel List currently holds 2,261 companies under the "publishing" rubric, at an average valuation of $3.7 million.

Granted, many of these are news curators or offer website templates, but of the fiction-centric startups, the success stories are built on a strongly engaged base of users. How do these writing networks chase engagement? They master the art of page-turning addiction.

Serialized storytelling isn't new. Serialized folklore and literature includes Homer, Dickens, and 1,001 Arabian Nights. The concept adapts to new formats: Pulp fiction has profited from their heroes' endless exploits since the dime store novel, and the 1920s-era Stratemeyer Syndicate further improved on the model with ghostwritten series like Nancy Drew, the Bobsey Twins and the Hardy Boys. These books promoted previous stories at the front of the book and often ended with previews teasing the title of the next installment — and the syndicate even instructed writers to end chapters and even pages mid-scene. The result was a literal $0.50 page-turner.

Now, the tried-and-true Hardy Boys model is being left behind by publishers today, but the concept of serialization appeals as strongly as ever over the internet. The reason publishing startups and the storytelling social networks they're building are so reliant on serialization is right there in the word "social network." These startups are powered by a sense of community.

"Reading a book used to be a solitary experience, but we see that people are looking for those social elements," says Sabine van der Plas, co-founder and marketing manager at the Netherlands-based Sweek, a mobile writing platform. She cites as an example the communities of bookbloggers and booktubers — I'd add Book Twitter as well — who share not just book reviews but "also other personal experiences and pictures about reading."

"Technology allows us to not only communicate directly with other readers, but also with the author," she says of the publishing industry's modern edge over the typical print series. "When — as a reader — you can comment on an author's work and read it as soon as it's published, you feel a more intimate connection with the writers and his works. Especially if the writer uses the readers' feedback, they become truly part of the story."

Each time someone uploads a new chapter on Sweek, all that story's followers get a notification. Sabine explains that they always advise authors to publish their story chapter by chapter, to keep engagement with the readers the highest. It seems to be working: Since launching in June 2016, Sweek has gained a presence in 75 countries and has picked up enough steam that it is now adding an impressive 2,000 new registered users a day.

"Whenever you start viewing your TV series each week or each day, you build a habit and for some people even an addiction," Sabine adds. "If we change the fictional written word from 'book' format to serialized mobile format, readers will develop the same habits. We're looking into 'scenario writing teams' who can write a continuous story that will be updated frequently with cliffhangers at the end of each chapter."

Other writing networks agree that forming habits is the way to go.

"Readers and writers love serial storytelling on Wattpad," says Ashleigh Gardner, Head of Partnerships at Wattpad Studios. She's highlighting why serialization is such a key to success: Because the users enjoy it just as much as the networks themselves. "It allows readers and writers to share in the creative process; readers are able to see their favorite stories take shape in real time, while writers can see reader reactions and receive feedback with each new story part.

A sense of community is powered by the engagement each new chapter draws, Ashleigh states: "Studies have shown that up to 81% of Americans say they'd like to write a book one day. But many people find writing a whole book isolating, and the journey from idea to finished product can seem insurmountable. On Wattpad, you don't need the whole book. You only need your first chapter, which you can share with people and start to build an audience."

While the publishing industry often uses the term "serialized fiction," or "serials," to refer to shorter form fiction rather than a series of novel-length books, I'm using it in the most literal sense: Any unit of fiction that doesn't stand alone. The fact that a series sells better than standalone titles is intuitive: More books in a series mean more potential points of entry for a new reader, and the longer the series, the more unit sales that one reader will be committing to. One counterintuitive fact? A series with longer books sells better than one with shorter installments.

"Our data shows that longer books sell better than shorter books," says Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords. "Ebook buyers love longer books. I think when authors try to cut a single full-length novel into a bunch of short serialized episodes, they can actually undercut their book's full potential. It creates unnecessary friction to force the reader to download, pay and process multiple ebooks."

The takeaway for indie authors is to write the best book you can. Of course, if it just so happens to turn into a series, your writing network startup will love you.