Why did you decide to publish your work as serial fiction on the web?
I was the one who pushed to publish SLB online. The more I read about the time and effort required to get literary agents' and publishers' attention, the less inclined I was to play the game. The fact that Vanessa and I had already written 140,000 words of the first draft helped, too. Most of the work has been editing, filling in gaps in the storyline, and lots and lots of promotion.
What are the benefits of publishing online? What are the drawbacks?
The number one benefit of publishing online is reader feedback. Interacting with the audience is fun. They tell you when you're doing something right, and when you're not being clear. Vanessa and I primarily communicate with readers through SLB site comments, Twitter, and the SLB forums. The number one benefit of publishing online is reader feedback. Interacting with the audience is fun. They tell you when you're doing something right, and when you're not being clear.
The flexibility of online publishing is another huge plus. If you find a typo, you click "edit," make the change, hit "publish," and you're done. You're free to change your posting schedule. Want to change the look of the site? Go for it. You can experiment with integrating reader suggestions, creating character Twitter accounts, and more. The only thing holding you back is your time, desire, and web skills.
The big drawback is having to do everything yourself. Unless you've got a substantial budget or an army of fans willing to work for free, the author is responsible for all of the stuff a print publisher usually handles: developmental editing, copyediting, cover art, marketing, advertising, data backups, etc. All of this take a lot of time. The effort is considerable, especially if you have a day job.
Do you monetize your work? Why or why not? If so, how?
Vanessa and I are working on monetizing SLB to cover costs. Our primary goal is to find our audience for future works. Any profit we make is gravy. :)
Revenue comes from three sources: donations through the SLB site, bids from Project Wonderful advertisers, and sales from the SLB Zazzle store. It's a grand, ongoing experiment which is alternately fun and frustrating. We're learning as we go.
What do you think web serials will look like in five years?
That's a tough question. I think there will be a lot more, much like the explosion of web comics. Serials will probably split into two categories: "professionals" and just-for-fun types. By "professionals" I mean those whose authors rely on serials as a significant portion of their income. It's easy to put a donation button on a website. Convincing readers to donate or buy merchandise takes a lot more creativity and effort.
It's hard to say where web serials, video webseries, and other online entertainment will be in five years. So much is in flux right now. Print publishers are struggling, eBook readers are trying to go mainstream, and piracy is rampant. It remains to be seen if consumers will find enough value in digital media to spend money on it. In general people value tangible goods. For some, if you can't hold it in your hands it's okay to grab a copy. I don't mean to stir up a digital rights management (DRM) debate. It's just that writing and publishing anything online takes time. Unless the writer is extremely frugal or independently wealthy, he or she will likely need revenue to justify the time and effort of publishing.
Your web serial is different from others in that it's a collaborative effort. I'm interested in how exactly you and Vanessa collaborate. How do you divvy up the workload?
We wrote the first draft of SLB via email a few years ago. It was a giant email volley with Vanessa writing primarily from Addison's point of view and me from Shane's. We shared the other characters as necessary. The whole thing was made up on the fly! Editing is crucial to keep the voice consistent and not give the readers whiplash from POV changes.
Although we're in editing and revision mode, we still rely heavily on email. I do the editing for the main SLB story posts. Vanessa's writing the bonus stories. We both fill in gaps in the storyline. Who writes the new bits depends on the POV for the new section and my and Vanessa's schedules. Typically we email each other drafts in the body of an email message. We plot and plan by email, IM, and sometimes Twitter direct messages. We've only spoken once by phone!
What tips would you share with others interested in publishing serialized fiction on the web?
First and foremost, be patient. Unless you can throw a lot of money at an advertising blitz, it'll take time for readers to find you. Make it easy for them. Think about who might like your story. Connect with them, be it on Twitter, forums for similar web serials, or other ways. To get started, check out successful web authors like MeiLin Miranda, MCM, and Alexandra Erin. Novelr and WebLit are warehouses of good ideas, too.
It's also important to plan your story ahead and have a posting buffer. By the latter I mean have two or three posts ready to go at any given time. Unfortunately, I don't always follow my own advice on this front, so the day before posting can be stressful. At least I usually have the first draft done, so it's only last-minute editing.
