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> Authors have taken to breaking out a book's chapters and releasing them individually [1] to capitalize on this model. This is exactly how many classic novels
by 6502nerdface 11y ago
> Authors have taken to breaking out a book's chapters and releasing them individually [1] to capitalize on this model.
This is exactly how many classic novels and other long works of literature were originally published in the Victorian and Edwardian periods [1]. For genres like SF and Fantasy, this remained a common model well into the twentieth century. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a modern return to serialization of longer works; it's actually kind of neat -- greater optionality for the reader.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_%28literature%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_%28literature%29
- bduerst 11y agoYep, and there is nothing wrong with serialization today. If you're interested, I would even recommend reading the Worm web serial. The point I was making was that the ebook marketplace on Amazon is getting worse because they are incentivizing serialization without updating their search or recommendation engine to account for it.
- teacup50 11y agoScience Fiction came into its own once we moved past serialization; there's simply more value in a complete, cohesive, edited book. Serialization was simple an industry constraint, not an actual desirable state of being.
- JupiterMoon 11y agoAnd serialization lead to many 'classic' 19th century novels being the dreary slow repetitive reads that they are. When an author releases a whole book they can read the whole thing back to themselves first and streamline it so that it flows as a whole. It's like the difference between a TV soap and films.