Anyone else having the same major aversion to serialized fiction as I am?
I get that this is not something new, and understand the history behind serial fiction. There was a time and a reason magazines and newspapers used to release fiction this way, and for the most part it was marketing for theor publication. However, I don't there is a place for it in modern book reading.
I'm reposting something I posted to a Writer's site, as it best explains my pov (thoughts?):
While I’m speaking specifically about this smaller weekly-ish serial, this argument could be made for trilogies and the like. I get it, you want readers to feel activity engaged and have a say in the forthcoming pieces, but just a couple thoughts to consider…
• With having so much lag time between the telling of the story, I do read other books (plural) in-between. Because my brain has effectively moved on, I find myself forgetting that I’m in the middle of another story. Once I do remember, and hopefully find the next installment published, it takes halfway through before I’ve completely remembered the characters (especially secondary ones) and the complete storyline leaving me with only the second half of an installment (or about 30 minutes of reading) to really enjoy it again…then it’s over with no resolution. Not very satisfying as a reader, and not sure how much longer I’ll want to keep up.
• You’re the storyteller, so you tell the story! As a reader, the point is to get lost in a book, right? The story shouldn’t change one way or another because of what a fan writes on a blog. The writer gets to decide where a story goes and uses their gift to take the reader there. Trust me, you do brilliantly enough on your own, just take us there.
And now, I shall step down from my soapbox… thanks for providing the platform & for all the great characters who’s stories we get to be a part of.
I get that this is not something new, and understand the history behind serial fiction. There was a time and a reason magazines and newspapers used to release fiction this way, and for the most part it was marketing for theor publication. However, I don't there is a place for it in modern book reading.
I'm reposting something I posted to a Writer's site, as it best explains my pov (thoughts?):
While I’m speaking specifically about this smaller weekly-ish serial, this argument could be made for trilogies and the like. I get it, you want readers to feel activity engaged and have a say in the forthcoming pieces, but just a couple thoughts to consider…
• With having so much lag time between the telling of the story, I do read other books (plural) in-between. Because my brain has effectively moved on, I find myself forgetting that I’m in the middle of another story. Once I do remember, and hopefully find the next installment published, it takes halfway through before I’ve completely remembered the characters (especially secondary ones) and the complete storyline leaving me with only the second half of an installment (or about 30 minutes of reading) to really enjoy it again…then it’s over with no resolution. Not very satisfying as a reader, and not sure how much longer I’ll want to keep up.
• You’re the storyteller, so you tell the story! As a reader, the point is to get lost in a book, right? The story shouldn’t change one way or another because of what a fan writes on a blog. The writer gets to decide where a story goes and uses their gift to take the reader there. Trust me, you do brilliantly enough on your own, just take us there.
And now, I shall step down from my soapbox… thanks for providing the platform & for all the great characters who’s stories we get to be a part of.