By Emilia Rose and Michael Evans October 1, 2022
You’re cuddled up with your significant other on the couch, your head on their shoulder and your hand in the large popcorn bowl in your lap. On the TV screen, your favorite character has an unthinkable decision to make: survive the attack of his enemy or ride into battle with the rest of his comrades to buy the townspeople some time to escape.
All season has built up to this moment. He has fought countless monsters and lost hundreds of friends to the enemy. He is moments away from achieving his childhood dream of uncovering the truth behind who the enemies really are and how they’ve become so powerful. Since he was a child, all his bullies said that he would never be able to uncover the truth, that it was hopeless, that he should give up.
But he is mere moments–Moments!–away from unlocking everything he’s worked so hard for.
And honestly, he can’t make the decision to live and achieve his dreams or to ride into battle to a certain death to protect the townspeople. But he must and he is a man of honor, he is a warrior who would do anything for his people.
So he climbs onto his horse, lifts his sword, and rides toward death.
An enormous enemy hurls a boulder at him and his horse.
Then the screen goes black and the credits roll.
At this point in my house, I’m leaping up from the couch and pleading with the credit screen to give me more. I cannot wait another week for the next episode. I want it now. Now! I would pay to get the next segment sooner than one week, especially if it’s my favorite show.
And if the story was executed flawlessly, I’d bet you would feel the same.
Serial fiction is a lot like watching a TV show that releases one episode per week. And cliffhangers are the exact reason why authors who write in a serial format do extremely well with subscriptions.
When an author creates tension throughout the chapter, building up and up and up to the climax, and then right before the author reaches the climax, they end the chapter… the author leaves the readers needing to know what happens next.
Another popular reason that serial fiction does amazing with subscriptions is that it builds community. Readers aren’t binge reading it in one sitting. They are willingly coming back week after week after week to read the next installment of your book. This shared ritual fosters connection among your readers. It’s like showing up to a club meeting together, except that club meeting is about your thrilling stories!
In some cases (and on some serial fiction sites), a reader can actively comment on a chapter of a story. They can give feedback to the author before the author writes the next chapter, so he or she can pivot or expand upon something if they need to. This makes the process of creation collaborative. Readers feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, creating a shared purpose and belonging.
But there’s something else happening when your readers consume your stories at a regular, interspersed cadence instead of all at once: they remember more of your stories. For the science geeks here, this study has interesting (but not conclusive) evidence that points to episodic television viewing being better for retention of content than binge watching.
The world of television also has another important teaching for us. With the stock of Netflix crashing in 2022, subscriber growth is not the metric that Hollywood is using to judge the success of its programming. It’s now shifting to Average Revenue Per User. Why is this important for authors? We are seeing a shift away from a media ecosystem with endless content for as cheap as possible.
Hence paying $10 a month for access to one author you love. Rather than $10 a month for a million books you don’t care about.
And the best way to regularly provide content to your readers without feeding into the endless binging cycle that has caused companies like Netflix to hit turbulent times, is to drip-feed them your stories. AKA serial fiction.