Self-Publishing Model: Should You Publish Your Novel as a Serial?

Write a Book

These days, everyone in publishing, including writers, is looking for a new business model.

Writers have found one, of course. We self-publish on various digital platforms. However, there’s a problem with that: there’s a huge amount of competition, and writers despair that no one is reading their books.

If you read any of my blogs, like the Fab Freelance Writing Blog, for example, you know that my primary concern is that writers make money from their words. As more writers self-publish, that’s far from easy.

That’s why, when I coach writers, I have a single mantra — create and promote.

As I said in Make Money Writing â€“ Create and Promote:

Want to make money with your writing skills? You can when you learn to create and promote. Letâ€™s look at how it works in this article.

Making money writing involves two skills â€” creation and promotion. Both skills are equally important.

Create and promote

You can and should use “create and promote” in everything you write. Creation comes first, however, so don’t get so caught up in promotional activities like marketing your book on Twitter that you forget to keep promoting.

There’s a new way to create AND promote at the same time: publish your novels as serials. I’m charmed by serial publication solely because it does allow you to create and promote at the same time. :-)

Serial publication

There’s only one thing you want to know about serial publication — does it work?

Here’s one writer’s experience:

Launching in parts brought faster feedback. Reviews were appearing on Amazon after a couple of days as people got to the end of episode 1.

There was more buzz on Facebook and Twitter, with people getting excited about the next episode. I had a theoretical hope that it might built a great sense of community among core readers, like fans of the TV series Lost. As well as talking to each other, they talked to me.

Should you publish your next novel as a serial?

I wouldn’t suggest that you publish your first-ever novel as a serial, simply because you’re new at self-publishing. You’ve got enough to worry about, getting through the process of getting your first book online, and promoting it.

However, if you’ve already published a book or three, and want to build your readership, I think serial publication has a lot to offer.

I’ll definitely be trying it, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Turn Your Words Into Gold: Write and Sell An Ebook In Just Eight Hours

8hours

Here’s what I love about writing ebooks: you write them once, and they keep on selling forever.

I know several writers who’ve taken to the Kindle platform like the proverbial ducks to water. One writer friend turns out a new Kindle ebook every month, like clockwork. The last time we spoke, she had 11 ebooks selling — and her income is rising month by month.

Another writer friend mixes writing her own ebooks, with writing ebooks for others. Currently she’s been commissioned to write a biography, and a family history, for the same client. She’s finding it huge fun, and she’s making more money than she’s ever made.

The benefit of writing and selling ebooks is that once written, they can keep on selling forever. Would you trade eight hours for an income stream?

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Angela Booth is a top copywriter, multi-published author, and writing teacher. She offers many guides, courses and classes to help writers to enhance their skills on her Writing Genii website. She also provides inspiration and motivation for writers on her writing blogs. Angela has been writing successfully since the late 1970s, and was online in the 1980s, long before the birth of the Web. Her business books have been widely published.

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