Thank you for putting this together! This is really helpful and timely for me as I’ve been considering serializing my narrative nonfiction book on Substack which I also hope to publish in 2025 (whether traditional publishing or self-publishing I do not know yet). I would love to find more authors on here who are serializing their books and have written about their experiences doing so. If any one out there has done this, would you mind sharing a link. Thanks! Cheers!
I set about self-publishing my memoir first. It’s doing OK commercially and early reviews are almost embarrassingly positive.
Substack was only a route to connecting with potential readers, and I only considered serialising after reading one of your earlier posts.
I’m going to offer weekly chapters (51) for paid subscription comprising both written and audio formats. I’ve only got 15 chapters left to record.
If a trad agent or publisher likes what they see and hear, I realise they are unlikely to want the whole thing as it’s already out there. They may however want more, and different.
I’m deep into writing two novels based on heroes with hidden disabilities, one is a thriller and the other a family saga. I’m likely to follow the 10% serialisation rule you suggest.
In all this, I feel the golden rule is to be emotionally engaged in the journey, but not emotionally attached to a specific outcome.
Thanks for these great insights, Sarah! I'd be interested to know if anyone has any similar thoughts relating to collections of poetry. I publish poetry and essays on Medium and Substack, but dream of writing a second book, and wonder if I should be keeping the best poems for that. Difficult to know in a rapidly changing publishing landscape.
Interesting findings, though it's also a reminder of how much control the Power 5 tries to exert, often with minimal return (if the numbers about average book sales are right). Friendly reminder that the path for many (most?) memoirists will be through the smaller presses, which don't require representation and might have more flexible rules.
It does seem to be a double bind: publishers increasingly expect evidence of a pre-existing platform, and an author expands their reach on a platform like this by...sharing their work. So a little rebellion against those mandates is justified. There also is a strange paradox in that the bigger an author's reach the more the math for self-publishing makes sense.
I would love to join your training, but already have scheduled a couple of Fridays in January that are crucial for me...hopefully next time. I AM one of the lost ones!
Hi Sarah, I’d love to hear more about how you recorded your book as audio episodes and distributed it via Spotify. Two of my traditionally published books didn’t come with audio books in the contract but I’d love to do what you did.
Thank you for this article. It is extremely helpful. And I have a question--like fiction, if you serialize a memoir, doesn't the same obstacle happen--people who miss a week or two will miss the thread in the story?
Thank you for putting this together! This is really helpful and timely for me as I’ve been considering serializing my narrative nonfiction book on Substack which I also hope to publish in 2025 (whether traditional publishing or self-publishing I do not know yet). I would love to find more authors on here who are serializing their books and have written about their experiences doing so. If any one out there has done this, would you mind sharing a link. Thanks! Cheers!
Awesome
Yikes! Writing’s an uphill battle. I’m just a lone writer hoping that someone will like me. Thank you for your insights! -B
Insightful and very accessible as usual.
I set about self-publishing my memoir first. It’s doing OK commercially and early reviews are almost embarrassingly positive.
Substack was only a route to connecting with potential readers, and I only considered serialising after reading one of your earlier posts.
I’m going to offer weekly chapters (51) for paid subscription comprising both written and audio formats. I’ve only got 15 chapters left to record.
If a trad agent or publisher likes what they see and hear, I realise they are unlikely to want the whole thing as it’s already out there. They may however want more, and different.
I’m deep into writing two novels based on heroes with hidden disabilities, one is a thriller and the other a family saga. I’m likely to follow the 10% serialisation rule you suggest.
In all this, I feel the golden rule is to be emotionally engaged in the journey, but not emotionally attached to a specific outcome.
I second the angel of the year award.
I’m still here just having a hard time being as engaged as I would like to!
🌹
Thanks for these great insights, Sarah! I'd be interested to know if anyone has any similar thoughts relating to collections of poetry. I publish poetry and essays on Medium and Substack, but dream of writing a second book, and wonder if I should be keeping the best poems for that. Difficult to know in a rapidly changing publishing landscape.
This is so interesting Sarah, as I’m in the midst of (hopefully) the final edit of my memoir about being a Business Analyst.
Thanks for sharing the concept of using Substack to “test drive” the voice I use in it!
Interesting findings, though it's also a reminder of how much control the Power 5 tries to exert, often with minimal return (if the numbers about average book sales are right). Friendly reminder that the path for many (most?) memoirists will be through the smaller presses, which don't require representation and might have more flexible rules.
It does seem to be a double bind: publishers increasingly expect evidence of a pre-existing platform, and an author expands their reach on a platform like this by...sharing their work. So a little rebellion against those mandates is justified. There also is a strange paradox in that the bigger an author's reach the more the math for self-publishing makes sense.
I would love to join your training, but already have scheduled a couple of Fridays in January that are crucial for me...hopefully next time. I AM one of the lost ones!
This is insightful and helpful!
As always, very helpful. Thank you Sarah!
Hi Sarah, I’d love to hear more about how you recorded your book as audio episodes and distributed it via Spotify. Two of my traditionally published books didn’t come with audio books in the contract but I’d love to do what you did.
Very helpful for authors to read these tips.
Thank you for these valuable insights!
Thank you for this article. It is extremely helpful. And I have a question--like fiction, if you serialize a memoir, doesn't the same obstacle happen--people who miss a week or two will miss the thread in the story?
Thank you this is incredibly helpful! I appreciate you sharing all of this.