Holly Garcia
Do you feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing an entire novel cover to cover without feedback? Maybe you’re a new author who hasn’t found their audience yet. Or perhaps you’re an established author who is looking to try out a new genre, but you aren’t sure how your current audience will react to this dramatic change. Have no fear. In this article, I’d like to talk to you about three different platforms to try your hand at in the form of serialized fiction.
What is Serialized Fiction?
Serialized fiction refers to shorter pieces of fiction released in a separate, chronological order. What this ends up looking like online is a work of fiction being released chapter by chapter.
The ways you can do this are endless. You could post it on your own blog or include it in an email newsletter. But, if you’re looking to build an audience or looking to expand your audience into a different genre, using one of the many platforms specifically built to host this type of writing might be your best option.
A quick Google search will list several different platforms to publish your serialized fiction. This article will cover three specific platforms, Wattpad, Raddish, and Kindle Vella, in more detail.
Wattpad was launched in November of 2006 by Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen out of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Their audience is estimated to be between 70-90 million readers, and they have a little something for everyone. From poetry and fanfiction to historical fiction and werewolves (yes, they have an entire category dedicated to werewolves), no matter what you enjoy reading or writing, Wattpad has content to consume.
When it comes to writing on Wattpad, there are mixed reviews. For example, if you’re Anna Todd, author of the popular book-turned-movie YA series, After, you’d have a pretty glowing review. Todd first published her book on Wattpad, which became a best-selling series and ultimately ended up on Netflix. Before her success, Todd had never written or published professionally, and while this might sound like a dream come true, keep in mind that Todd’s experience is the exception, not the rule.
In my personal experience publishing on Wattpad, I’ve not had much success. My work is a piece of fan fiction (something I’ve never considered doing seriously). It’s something I do for fun or to spark my creativity. While fan fiction is widely popular on Wattpad (fun fact, that’s what After started as), the style of my writing is not.
Radish Fiction was launched in November of 2015 by Seung Yoon Lee. They are estimated to have +500 million reads and +2,000 published authors.
The main difference between Wattpad and Radish is the guidelines and quality of the content that is published. They have in-house writers; other writers must be reviewed by their in-house team and accepted before they can publish.
The storytelling style on Radish is more consistently paced than Wattpad, as staff plays a more significant role in the content, compared to Wattpad, which is largely community-based. Aside from being a staff writer, two other ways your work could end up on Radish are by being submitted to the platform, where their editors will decide if it is an appropriate fit, or if one of their editors reaches out to you and acquires your story.
I do not have personal experience with Radish, but from what I’ve researched, writers do get paid. When readers want to unlock additional chapters of the book they’re on, they can buy tokens to unlock additional chapters. These purchases are what generate royalty payments for the writers.
The newest option for serialized fiction is brought to you by Amazon. The same platform you’re able to self-publish full-length books, you’re now able to publish serialized fiction. Although it’s currently only available to US based writers.
You can start publishing on Vella right now, but the readers will not get access until around mid to late July of 2021. According to Amazon’s website, they recommend releasing several chapters at the beginning of launching your story, so readers can get a feel for your story and get invested. After all, like Radish, authors will be paid 50% royalties on the tokens readers purchase to unlock other chapters of your story.
Even though Vella hasn’t had success yet, Kindle has a large audience, increasing your chances of finding readers for your work. I’ve already worked within Kindle’s self-publishing option (Kindle Direct Publishing) and have enjoyed the experience. I’ve also begun to upload a few chapters of a short murder mystery I’m working on to see how it performs.
Final Word
There is an infinite amount of places to self-publish your serialized fiction on the internet. When considering if a platform specialized in this style of fiction is right for you, answer the following questions for yourself.
- Are you looking for a platform with content and style guidelines? If so, Radish is a good fit for you. While both Wattpad and Vella also have writer guidelines, they are not as strictly enforced as Radish as they are community-based platforms.
- Are you looking for a platform with a large audience and lots of community engagement? If so, Wattpad is a good fit for you. Wattpad is a platform known for its diverse and passionate community. I mean, they did push a debut author to stardom in only a few years (Please remember, this is the exception, not the rule).
- Are you looking for a platform where you’re able to earn money from your stories? Technically, this is possible on any of these platforms. With that being said, not all of the opportunities are created equally. Since I haven’t personally earned anything on any of these platforms, I won’t recommend one over the other. But, I will urge you to visit each of the websites and do some reading and exploring on them before you make your decision.
Whether you are a new or seasoned author, writing serialized fiction is another way you can build or increase your audience. Have you ever tried any of these platforms? Or perhaps, another one not discussed today? If so, I’d love to hear more about your experience. Happy writing!
Bio: Holly Garcia is the author of an upcoming self-published poetry collection, All The Ways I Loved You, and is working through her debut historical fiction novel. When she isn’t working on these projects, she writes non-fiction essays and is a freelance resume writer. Keep in touch at garcia.hc0502@gmail.com
