Digital self-publishing means authors have more flexibility in their publishing — especially when choosing a format for their story. What is it like to write a serialized book? YA author Sarra Cannon has branched out recently with a new adult paranormal serial, Sacrifice Me, and just launched its fourth episode this week. She shares here what she loves about serializing her stories:
I think I’ve found a new addiction! Working on my most recent project—a New Adult Paranormal Romance serial—has been one of the most enjoyable writing experiences of my career. I absolutely love writing in this format.
There’s something about writing in smaller segments that encourages a tighter plot and more exciting action. Everything feels like it’s moving at a much faster pace, which is both challenging and fun. Readers who are familiar with my work know I’m a huge fan of cliffhangers and unexpected twists in fiction, and this format lends itself really well to a lot of exciting twists. What I find different about the pacing is that instead of a lot of longer stretches of action and down-times with a few major twists sprinkled in, serials don’t have time for long stretches of anything. The story can’t lag for very long or you’ll lose the reader to a boring episode. Instead, every episode ends with a huge twist and the next picks up right where that left off, resolving the conflict for a brief moment and then building back up to another major twist. It’s like riding a roller coaster with non-stop ups and downs and very few slow parts.
Before I started publishing this serial, I talked to several friends who had found success with the format. I used what they said to formulate my own publishing plan. I released the first two episodes on the same day with episode one as a free download. Subsequent episodes come out every two weeks, with a total of six episodes in this first season. When the entire season is finished, I’ll bundle all six episodes together into one download. For me, this strategy has been a success right from the start. Having that first episode free and a second one available to purchase on the same day encouraged a lot of fans to try something new.
As for my writing schedule, I had all six episodes drafted before I published the first one. That way, I knew for sure I could keep up with the strict two-week release schedule. I would highly recommend having several episodes completed before publishing. It puts you ahead of schedule and gives you a little breathing room if life gets in the way. Once you set a schedule out for your fans, I think it’s very important to stick to it, so being late with an episode would probably hamper growth and would almost definitely disappoint your fans.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the release of episode 3, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of fans rushing to buy it the first day. The day episode 3 released, I also saw a huge uptick in sales of the first two episodes as well, so there seems to be a good benefit to fast releases in the same series. I’m looking forward to episode 4’s release on Monday, June 9th, to see if the growth continues with each release.
Fan response has been amazing so far. I think a lot of my fans were new to the idea of serials, so I made sure to explain my plan and the release schedule right from the start. I’ve had a few comments on my blog and on Facebook from fans who don’t like having to wait for each episode and say they would have preferred to purchase the entire story all at once. However, an overwhelming number of my fans are in love with the format and the fast-pacing of this story. Many of them have messaged me to tell me they like Sacrifice Me better than my original Peachville High Demons series. I attribute that partly to the excitement that builds through fast-paced story-telling and frequent twists and turns in the storyline.
I am already planning a second season of Sacrifice Me. I think I’ll make a few changes, like possibly trying weekly releases and ten episodes instead of only six. Other things I plan to keep the same, such as offering the first episode for free right at release and keeping each episode around 16,000 words. Overall, I’ve been extremely happy with my experience writing a serial. It’s a fun format and allows fans to get their hands on new content every week or two.
