What's it like sharing a story a chapter a week as you write it?
Some more thoughts on the experience
Chapters of “The bomb in the shed…” CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3 - CHAPTER 4 - CHAPTER 5 - CHAPTER 6 - CHAPTER 7 - CHAPTER 8
Hi Everyone
“What's it like sharing a story a chapter a week as you write it?”
I’ve been asked this question a few times and I’ve touched on it in last weeks post when I talked about deadlines, thinking in chapters and it being a source of energy. But I thought I would dig a bit deeper into how crafting the story feels different when releasing a novel a chapter a week.
Hands up, this is just my second novel. And I’ve only published 8 chapters so far. So I can’t claim to be drawing on a lot of experience, but hopefully sharing my experience of it so far will be interesting and useful.
One admission before I kick off though, I’m not writing the whole chapter the week I release it. I’m normally a few chapters ahead of what’s been published, with the future chapters in different stages of edits.
So, here are some thoughts…
I jumped in without thinking.
This is what I often do in life. Have an idea, get excited, jump in and see what happens. Sometimes that’s been good for me, sometimes not so much.
Releasing a novel a chapter a week was one of those ‘jump straight in’ moments. I thought it sounded like a great way of writing; more fun, interesting and involving. So I just went ahead and did it. No planning, no weighing up the pros and cons.
Typical me.
As it turns out, there are advantages and disadvantages of this approach, but on the whole I think it’s working out ok.
It narrows your audience.
People buy books, ebooks and audio books for a reason.
Everyone has their preference for how they like to read fiction. For some it has to be a physical book in their hands and they don’t like reading on digital devices. Others like reading ebooks or listening to audio books.
And people have their reading habits, which often involve binging big chunks of a novel in one go. Some people can read a whole novel in a day.
Which means a chapter released a week by email isn’t going to suit a lot of people, which is a shame, but that’s life. I’ll fully publish these novels eventually, so they will be available in every format at some point.
But on the bright side some people have talked about really enjoying this old Dickensian serialisation format. Building it into their weekly routine, having something bite size to read on a train. A story unfolding slowly can build anticipation too.
So yes serialisation is not for everyone, and it narrows you audience. But it also draws in people who might not otherwise be reading as much fiction. Which is nice.
Writing for readers
I guess anyone writing a novel should be writing it with readers in mind.
Yes you have a story you want to tell and it’s a very personal process putting yourself out there on the page. I think you write for yourself first and foremost and for me that hasn’t changed. But ultimately you want people to read what you write and you want them to enjoy it and that sticks with you too.
I think publishing a chapter a week really focusses your attention on the reader more as you write. You’re writing is going out on Friday, and people are going to read it soon, not months or years down the line. Your audience feels more present and there with you.
I think that’s a good thing, but you also have to make sure it doesn’t divert you from telling the story you want to tell.
More editing
I find I’m spending more time editing as I write.
With my first novel I would write chapter, do some edits, get feedback then do more edits. Then move on to the next chapter. So yes editing was always a big part of the process. But I would leave that chapter a bit rough as I went on to the next, knowing I would go back to it when re-editing the whole book after the first draft was done.
When releasing a chapter a week there is definitely more editing. You’re getting ready to be published that week so you go over the chapter and again and again. Because you want to get it right.
This is probably a good thing, after all writing is editing.
But it changes the dynamic of the writing process, makes it higher pressured and more intensive as you need to get further in the editing process while keeping going at pace to hit weekly deadlines
It’s certainly not for the feint hearted.
Knowing where you’re headed with the story
There’s no magic answer to how you create a story.
Some authors have a clear idea of the structure of a story right from the start. They can’t write without knowing where it will end. Others see writing as a journey of discovery with the story taking form as they write it. I tend to be more of the latter.
However you do it, you normally have the power to go back and re-edit old chapters as your understanding of the full story evolves. Need to change past events, introduce a new character or switch locations for it all to make sense? Easy, its all part of the story edit.
But if you’re releasing a chapter a week as you write it you’ve given up that power. The past is done and set in stone.
When I wrote my first novel I was a long way though before I worked out where it was headed and how it would conclude, and had to go back and edit old chapters quite heavily once I got there. This time I’ve had to do things differently. I’ve formed a strong ideas of where the story is headed much earlier on.
Honestly I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing about serialising the novel. I’ve been forced to make choices that I would probably have put off if I was writing this the traditional way.
I am happy with where I’ve ended up though, so maybe it’s a good thing.
That’s it for now. Chapter 9 is out on Friday.
Jonathan
Congratulations on doing it, and doing it more, and still more. I can imagine it must be quite exhausting at times. It's great to read this account of your experience as you go along...