Differences Between Traditional And Serial Novels

I self-published novels for 7 years before taking a break, and then coming here to serialize one of my stories (still working on a novel for traditional publishing). I don’t think either is better, necessarily, and I enjoy the mindset of both, but I have noticed I approach them a little differently.

I haven’t been working on the serialized story for that long (though it is a rewrite of a “conventional” novel), but one thing I noticed is that writing in this format makes me a little more aware of what is happening in the story at any given time. Because the “chapter” (often a piece of a longer chapter) is so short, you really do have to make sure you lead in with a paragraph that puts the reader back into what happened at the end of the last chapter. Then, you have to get the action (or dialogue, or whatever the pain point of this section is) going quick before you wrap up with a cliffhanger that makes people want to come back.

Comparing it to a TV series is good, because it’s a lot like writing one. It’s “long-form writing”, rather than a chunk of a story that might fit into a larger narrative (such as in a novel). This definitely does allow you to add more than you would in a novel that has to be contained to 50 or 70 or 90K from the get-go, and your story will be longer in the end (whether that means, from a print perspective, that you break it up into smaller novels, or sell it as a single book, is up to you). I personally think the longer story leads to a bit more character development (or, it can), and more exploration of the world. I also like that it’s a bit more relaxed, in a way, because you can write as much as you want on a certain scene/topic/character, so long as you’re keeping it interesting.

As far as cons...well. The major con I’ve noticed is that it’s a bit more difficult to tell where the story will end/how long it will be, though, as it’s a first draft, this isn’t surprising. (On that note, you cut out the possibility for an improved second+ draft, because readers have already read the story, though you can do some edits in the “final version”.) There will, more than likely, be plenty of inconsistencies over time, because you develop ideas as you go (which means more editing in the long run, when/if you go to publish it otherwise, or put it in print form). The biggest con, though, is: OVERWRITING. When you’re working with a limit of 70k or so, you can’t overwrite. You have to cut everything that is extraneous out. But if you’re working with a virtually endless open field, you can easily overwrite, and it drags the story down.

Being conscious of genre tropes and reader expectations is good (though I always caution that you should write for yourself first). That will help you steer the story. Writing an outline of your basic ideas is good. But also, being flexible is good. Learning how to back yourself out of a corner is a skill you need when writing, but especially when serializing, and I think it’s a good place to learn it.

My advice? Have a buffer (of course). Write out an outline, even if it’s basic. Edit before you post chapters, to help with consistency (here’s where the buffer comes in, too). Pick a page/word count you’d like to stay around for each chapter. And figure out where you want your story to end. I’d also recommend reading a bunch of light novels, pretty much all of which started as serials online, to get used to the format and get an idea of how others write. You can also check out serialized stories from other writers (they’re popular in many places outside the US). Also, a lot of older fiction was serialized in magazines, so reading classics like Dickens and Sherlock Holmes will give you another perspective, too.

Really, it’s all writing at the end of the day. The mindset is a bit different, but you still want to tell a good story. And I think both methods can inform and strengthen the other. I’d say my “conventional” story has strengthened thanks to my work on the serial, and vice versa.

Happy writing to you!

I've been writing long form stories for a while, and I think it's just for me, I have to agree with FoxUnderFire for this one, I only really gotten better once I had a buffer since there is literally no end, and for me, it's better to just have a bit of time so you can actually plot and outline better and actually think of ideas that you can pursue. And to prevent overwriting or dragging it out too much.

I also set myself like a volume limit, which is like putting a stop, so that I don't spend too much time overwriting so that I can take a break every now and then, and ensure that the story is still going somewhere whether than being filled for the sake of being filled. Something like a season just so that I can put a hard limit and find less of a reason to just go off the rails.

I've learned a lot of about outlining and planning through writing my main serial novel, and I do recaps every now and then, or try to reintroduce concepts in their mind if I need to.

I do agree that it's rather apt, that it's like between a TV series and movie. One you rarely get too much since they only have 90 mins while for TV series, it can really extend into something longer. And for TV they have seasons, so I decided to adopt that to help to mitigate the problems a little. It has helped a lot, in terms of planning.

But I admit that I've been a long form writer since my first work, it's just kind of how I roll better as I've learned. Personally, I found that the writing advice for novels and novelists still work pretty well, but I just needed to adapt them for myself specifically.

One of the biggest perks that I realised is that I have simply allowed my journey to extend a lot more to cover more arcs, more stuff and also to go through the phases more slowly and also to not feel the need to tie everything up neatly, I can resolve them better forward, and the pitfall is how to keep it relevant to the characters and how to know when you need to move on. I guess, I just allowed things to become more complicated, mostly through my own personal ideas.

But I've definitely dropped storylines before or shifted the focus, although it was me really finding the identity of my story and just wanting to focus on what I did best.

I've been thinking a lot of about this over the last few months. Movie vs TV show is a fair comparision.

I think if you are planning to write online fiction, you have to have a solid idea of where you want your story to go. I don't mean in terms of plot since writing styles difference. For example, if you are writing a romance and you envision your protagonists having a HEA, a "book" is probably your best option.

In terms of serialized fiction, I think @FoxUnderFire brought up a good point with short-form or long-form writing. Series like LOTR and the Wheel of Time series work for serialization (TV adaptations) because they are essentially one giant story. My own series is a short form serial. I formatted it like American TV, so there are a lot of different adventures under the same series.

No matter what type of webfiction you decide to write, I thinkn it's super important to only keep the "important stuff" in your work. I definitely have pet peeves about what's included in a story. But it definitely slows down a scene and decreases the "tension" of the moment, if you stop to describe the architecture or describe people's outfits.

Because my biggest piece is Wuxia inspired I think of it like the 60 episode Chinese dramas where there is the main theme with lots of side quests.

I am planning for the long term. My series is episodic in nature so serializing was a great fit. I can have all the time I need to give my characters the development they deserve.

I agree that it wouldn't work out so well, not impossible, just harder. In my opinion, I think its the shorter stories, writers need to have a clear idea of what they expect for their series. I stumbled onto a couple of fantasy series where the initial idea was stretched and twisted so much by the end of the series, you had no idea what you just read. *One series stretched for 13 books, same premise, new couple.

@cherrystark Agreed. As long as the story can span even a few shorter books, I think it’s worth serializing. But you have to know when the story is over, and act accordingly. That’s one reason why I get frustrated with certain markets, because they stretch a story into too many books, or they give it a series when it doesn’t need one. If people like the story, they’ll read it, and you can always move onto something else. But I feel that dragging it on is just unfair to the story and to the readers.

That being said, even if you plan a longer series, sometimes things just don’t work out that way in the writing. If you’re serializing, it’s not like you can write multiple drafts before you publish it in order to figure the story out (unless you finish the story before you post it). So I’m willing to give the writer a little leeway. But I do think you should be able to tell if it can span into a longer story once you start it.

Totally agree.

I feel that alot of online writers feel like they have to write a long series to be a "valid" writer. I can't count the number of series I've stumbled onto where they stretched their books to include a "war" story arc and include arcs giving romance arcs to side characters, when if they ended the story with the original idea - the story would have been 10x more satisifying.

I feel this. I've struggled to finish stories in my serial just because things didnt work according to plan.

I think that is true. There’s also this misconception that readers expect a long story versus a short one, which isn’t necessarily true. I personally like both series and standalone novels. Too, sometimes they have a great idea for the second book, but can’t really carry it forward from there and (in traditional publishing, anyway), they’re already contracted for so many books. But I think most writers try to create a good finale, even if they get a little lost. Doing your best is all you can do.

@HGohwell I haven’t read Haikyuu (not a big sports manga person, though I love manga), but kudos to the writer for doing something different (though it sounds like the Olympics may have played a role). I think it’s important to take risks, even if tropes have their place.

This where I like the traditional model a bit better (a bit). I’m working on a novel I’m going to be shopping to an agent as well as my serial, and they’re two different beasts when it comes to planning and execution. I love the serial, but part of me fears I may become frustrated because I (essentially) can’t write a second or third (etc.) draft to change/make things better. I have to keep going with what has been posted, and that may mean not fully developing some ideas. But at the same time, it means I’ll really have to stretch my creative muscles to get myself out of any binds. Not that I don’t have that with (draft 14) of the novel I’m working on for the agent, but it’s different. This story has had a lot of time to change and mature, and my serial doesn’t have that luxury. I don’t think either is necessarily better or worse, just different. Maybe different stories require different approaches.

Same here. I'm a big fan of telling the story the way it's meant to be told no matter the format. (If that makes sense) Sometimes the world (readers) need to know a side character's story because their story effects other characters. Other times, they don't. Let me be happy with my HEA.

I love the freedom my serial has given me as a writer. I still have to review my work to avoid holes like giving a character the wrong middle name, or something like that. I still struggle mentally with the idea that I'm not writing a book. Two of my characters are married and have had a child together. In a book, readers would normally view the story chronologically where as in my series, it's revealed in a flash back that I'm not planning on appearing until several stories in the future.

The struggle now is more with burnout. I am revamping the series from what was originally on Tapas to further character development. It's a fun challenge, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

I’m sure they definitely had plans, but stories are organic and kind of have a life of their own, so I’m also sure the story knew what it wanted to do by the end, too.

Ah, I see. I haven’t tried Vella (and I’m a little hesitant to, after working with KDP for years), but that makes sense. I’m sure readers will enjoy it, and if you think it’s an improvement, it’s worth doing just for yourself. Are you working on anything else? Maybe try cutting back on another project, or setting a goal of how much to edit/repost/add to the old project per week, so it’s not such a load?

I’m assuming that it’s exclusive for Vella, too. I used the link on your profile here, but it says, “nothing found”.

Yeah, part of the Vella TOS is that it can't be available for free anywhere else online.

If you do ever get the itch to go to Kindle Vella, I would use a series that is completed. Boss babes aside, it works pretty much like any other platform. The people least "freaked" out by how Vella works are the people used to writing online.

With your suggestion, I am trying to slow down and cutting back alot. I was carrying a lot of pressure to constantly to post updates, so I think I rushed. I have enough of a cache that I can give myself time to do my best work.