No, not the breakfast cereal that is crunchy and yummy. I have spent the last couple of years learning about serials in the book industry. A serial references serial fiction, which is where you have a story that is released in smaller parts. This occurs over some time until you complete the serial. These can be done in different ways, but I have explored two ways.
Option 1: Chapters
- publish one chapter at a time, usually 1-2 chapters a week
- Can publish at your own pace
- each chapter is an episode and must end with a hook or cliffhanger
- allows readers to get a “taste” of a story without committing to a larger novel
Option 2: Novellas
- bite-sized with more detail than individual chapters
- can rapid-release novellas to keep the momentum flowing for a longer time
- each novella would be an episode
- each one ends with some sort of hook or cliffhanger
- can see the character arcs more easily with more pieces given at once
Curious to learn more about serial fiction? Check out serial fiction platforms to write your own or even to learn more about them.
- Wattpad -> A serial fiction platform
- Radish-> A serial fiction platform
- Ream -> You can post your serials here, but they also have tons of resources about serial fiction and subscriptions.
- And there are even more!
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