Serials Writing Resources
Throughout my book Become an Unstoppable Storyteller: How to Craft Compelling Serials, I included links to resources for readers to explore. I reproduce it here for those who bought the print version and may not have access to “live” links, or for anyone who wants to bookmark it, whether they have read my book or not! Enjoy!
THE SPREADSHEET
My free-to-copy spreadsheet on using serial beats!
Serialization/Subscription Platforms
Please note that platforms come and go at an alarming rate; this list is probably already out of date as I write this! If you come across a platform not listed here, that does not indicate anything good or bad about it, just that I did not know about it. Please email me with updates.
Books / Guides
- Plan, Write, And Publish Serial Fiction In Four Weeks by Angela Booth
- Creator Economy for Authors by Michael Evans
- An Author’s Guide to Serial Fiction Websites by Michael Evans
- Subscriptions for Authors: the Starter Guide by Michael Evans
- Save the Cat!® Writes for TV: The Last Book on Creating Binge-Worthy Content You’ll Ever Need by Jamie Nash (not specifically about serials but helpful for serial writers, obvs!)
- Amazon Kindle Vella Author Guide: How to and tips for use by Moe Nichol
- How to Write Light Novels and Webnovels: Your Key to Writing Addictive Stories That Get Reads, Reviews and Sales by R.A. Paterson
- Serial Fiction for Authors by Emilia Rose (free download)
Articles
- The Popcorn Principles: A Novelist’s Guide to Learning from the Movies by John Gaspard
- Writing Serialized Fiction series by Simon K. Jones
- How to Write a Series by Sara Rosett
- How to Structure a 1 Hour Drama by Joel Silberman (his original essay from 2013 is impossible to find, this is a reprint used in a university class, I suggest downloading it)
- Running Your Story Like the Business It Is post on RoyalRoad from 2019 is still considered a classic of serialization advice.
Miscellaneous
- Subscriptons for Storytellers Facebook Group
- Subscriptions for Authors Facebook Group (Note: Run by and aligned with Ream)
- Serial Fiction for Authors Facebook Group (Note: Run by and aligned with Ream)
- SFA Podcast interview w/ KimBoo York (August, 2023)
- SFA pop-up webinar on serial beats (April, 2023)
Serialized Stories
There are a LOT of serialized stories out in the world these days on many different platforms. These are just a few I mention in the book:
- Worm by John C. McCrae (Wildbow), approx. 1.5 million words.
- The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba, 11 million words (yes, really) and ongoing.
- Worth the Candle by Alexander Wales, 1.7 million words.
- Mother of Learning by Domagoi Kumaic (nobody103), 800k words (the top-rated story on RoyalRoad, years running.)
- Reborn as a Demonic Tree by Xkarnation is a newer serial but already tremendously popular. The first two arcs have been removed from the platform to publish on Amazont, but the author updates five times a week.
Writing Apps
Various apps helpful for writers! I recommend Scrivener to everyone, but it suffers from a steep learning curve, so YMMV on whether it is worth your time and energy. There are far more apps out there than listed here, but these are the ones I have direct experience with and/or have been recommended by authors I know and respect. (No, I did not “forget” MS Word or OpenOffice or Pages; I do not recommend any of them as full-featured apps for serious writers. If you love them, that’s fine, no offense meant! But I don’t recommend them.)
Other Links from the Text
[TBA]
