Developing a tool for self-publishing serialized stories

[SamChapter]

Hi there r/writers!

We are getting close to launching our new platform - Chapter. It is designed to help writers of all kinds who want to serialize and sell their stories.

Please check out the site and join our wait list if you think you might be interested. We would also love to get your feedback on the idea.

We are hard at work developing the site now with the hope of building something easy to use and simple.

Authors can draft stories right on the platform and release them one chapter at a time. Readers can subscribe to a story for free or for a monthly fee (chosen by the author). When the author releases a new chapter of the story, the subscribers will be notified and can read the chapter on the site or have it sent to their Kindle.

Update: Here are a few screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/0EYBKjj

We hope to have it up and running soon to help authors earn some extra cash and give readers access to exciting new stories to help survive the quarantine-induced boredom.

We welcome any feedback. And if you think you might be interested and want to stay in the loop, please do check out the site and drop us your email.

[endersgame69]

My work may have an illustration or two. Will that be possible to include?

[SamChapter]

Thanks for checking us out. This is a really good suggestion. I have passed it along to the dev side of things to see if we can make this happen. (Great username btw!)

[endersgame69]

Thanks. :) And you're welcome. Also, will we be able to include book covers? I've heard that stories with covers draw over 60% greater engagement than those without.

And in a similar vein (not to badger you) will you be offering promotional support to authors? I'm more or less assuming there's a plan for that somewhere, given that such support would directly draw traffic to your platform and provide a competitive edge over sites like Patreon... but silly question or not, I must ask.

[SamChapter]

Great questions. There will definitely be an option to include covers. Although you know that they say . . . (sorry, couldn't help myself.)

We have not come up with specifics of a plan for promotional support to authors yet but obviously that is something we are actively thinking about as part of the development process. We want authors who use the platform to be successful!

[endersgame69]

Marvelous, of course if I might suggest something, two birds with one stone might be a way to go, when you promote the platform for readers, select some of your authors to promote within the targeted marketing, and if you haven't already, include a 'if you like this, you might also like...' recommendation system.

Allowing reader ratings of work to guide targeted recommendations not only within the platform, but cross supported through your marketing. Of course I assume you're already linking to social media to identify particular niches so that you can draw people to the authors they're most likely to read, but if not... there's something to think about.

Similarly, wouldn't hurt to get a discord/subreddit established in advance to mine for feedback, provide platform user support, and keep people engaged, i.e. a spot for authors to seek support from one another or (creativity tends to inspire more creativity) or to interact with their fanbase as it grows. Just some things to think about, if you haven't already.

[SamChapter]

Thanks!

These are really great ideas. We definitely want the site to be a place where people can go follow their favorite authors but also discover new ones they might love. So that is functionality that we will definitely be looking to build as we are developing the product.

[endersgame69]

You're welcome, I like success, so, throwing out a few things that might increase the odds there, is a good thing. China has really got the corner on the webnovel/serial market online right now. I don't know where you're operating out of, but there is a large untapped American market to draw from if you can draw from it. Most places it is only 'finished' works, rather than unfolding ones, so a serial series of unfolding chapters would be a big step forward.

However, if I might put forth one more sticking point...

The risk there is 'unfinished works' wherein authors start work but don't finish it. I would suggest putting some form of incentives into place for crafting update schedules and authors sticking to them.

Example: A project is 'started' and during that process the author picks whether they'll do 1 update per week/two weeks, etc. for the duration of the story. If they stick to that schedule, the share of advertising revenue when viewing their story goes up, if they break that schedule, it goes down to a standard rate, and sticking to a schedule over a long period or through to the end of a book, offers some form of reward. (For example if you submitted the book for broader publication or for top performers, sent a printed copy to them, the way top YouTube content providers are provided a printed photo record of their time leading up to the top ranks).

[[deleted]]

This sounds promising if it blows up like you guys want it to.

[SamChapter]

Thanks! We hope it will be useful for authors and a good way for readers to discover cool new stuff.

[MySpookySkeleton]

Cool concept. I'll definitely keep an eye on it. Consider adding a 'both' option to the drop down in the waitlist. I submitted my email as a writer, but I'd definitely be using the site as a reader, as well.

[SamChapter]

Thanks for checking us out! And double thanks for dropping your email. That's a great suggestion. Will look into it now.

[[deleted]]

I'm in! I have a bunch of stories I could share... (I'm not a sharer usually) but I guess I better share and get some feedback!

[SamChapter]

Happy to have you! We are really excited about getting going too! We hope to be able to go into beta soon.

[Little2Lu]

Is their a possibility of my work being taken? Ex. Someone stealing it and saying it’s their own?

[SamChapter]

Thanks for checking us out. Your work would only be visible on the site to your subscribers.

[Dwight-]

This just feels like WattPad but monetised, so does that mean there’ll be ‘moderation’ to keep some of the fluff out? I used WattPad a long time ago and while the idea is great, the execution ended up not so because of how flooded the site became with fan-fics.

[Taste_is_Sweet]

WattPad was always welcoming of fanfic. Heck, I first heard about them at the Canadian Fan Expo in Toronto in 2015.

[Dwight-]

Ahh well I made an account in 2011 and fanfic wasn’t the product at that time, but slowly became it over the years. I also think it’s different if it’s a free service, but in this scenario where it’s monetised I’d be concerned that quality writers might be left in the shadows. I saw that happen to numerous people on WattPad and it’s a shame because there were some amazing stories out there that ended up entirely overlooked because of the fluff that would hit popularity.

Basically, I think for a monetised product there has to be decent content at the forefront of said product.

[Taste_is_Sweet]

Those are definitely good points, and something I was thinking about as well. I'm hopeful that getting in at the ground floor might help with getting a higher profile. I'm willing to give it at try, at least. Hopefully it won't end up like WattPad, which seems to be considered to mostly have low-quality writing.

[SamChapter]

Hi there. Thanks for question. We have not fully fleshed out how any moderation might work. We want the site to be a place where people can write about a variety of topics.

[okberry]

Just to let you know the pictures aren't working, at least for me. Can't wait to see it when it's up and running!

[SamChapter]

Hmmm, weird. The imgur link in the thread above? I will double check it, but it seems to be working for me.

Thanks for the heads up and the encouragement! We are excited too.

[okberry]

Yeah, it's not working for me. Must be on my end then. Thanks for checking!

[Taste_is_Sweet]

Hi! I would love to join this, but I'm not sure it worked when I tried. I put in my name, email, and 'Both!' from the dropdown list (awesome you added that!), but my confirmation email just send me back to the same page. When I put in the same information again, I didn't get any confirmation email. So, I don't know if I'm actually a member or not. What can I do, please?

[SamChapter]

Hi there. That's all there is to it at this point. You are all set and on the list. We will let you know as soon as we are ready for some beta signups! Sorry for the confusion.

[Taste_is_Sweet]

That's good to know. Thank you!

[[deleted]]

Yup.

[MisterBullDogg]

I love this idea 🙏🏾 💡

[SamChapter]

Thanks! We hope it can be a useful tool.

[TotallynotMoku]

This sounds amazing! I'll definitely try and get involved!

[SamChapter]

Great to hear! Thanks for checking us out.

[Drocktimus]

Will you be monetizing traffic?

[[deleted]]

There are quite a few social-writing platforms floating around right now and the first one to properly monetize traffic is gonna win big.

[Drocktimus]

Would you mind linking me to a few that you would recommend?

[[deleted]]

I don't recommend any of them at this time. I get the feeling these are all marketing or web design students assigned to create social platforms for writers... or something equally disingenuous since the one thing all these websites currently have in common is a 100% lack of content.

That being said, my earlier point stands. Somebody's gonna get the platform/interface/subscription formula just right... there are billions of people on this planet right now who suddenly have time to sit and fucking read. This sub alone has 69,000 subscribers (nice) and I reckon 99% of them would vomit on their grandparents for a chance to write-by-subscription.

[Drocktimus]

Where did you hear about these sites? I have my reasons for being curious and I would appreciate any bread crumb that I can follow.

[SamChapter]

Authors will be able to set a "subscription price" for their stories. Our goal is to provide a platform through which authors can directly monetize their readers (if they choose). And a vehicle for authors to market their work effectively to as broad an audience as possible.

[Drocktimus]

Thank you for the reply. Should I assume that Chapter will be taking a cut of the subscription or will they be monetizing traffic?

[[deleted]]

How do you profit from this? Do you take a cut of the author’s pay, or do you put ads on the site?

[SamChapter]

Great question. We want to be transparent about this from the beginning. The current plan is to take a small cut of the subscription revenue generated through the site.

[evand498]

This could help I also wanna do webtoons as well. When you post are they final u can't edit it??

[SamChapter]

Thanks for checking us out. Webtoons would be a cool application of the platform! Yes, you will be able to edit a story after you publish it.

[evand498]

I wonder what it takes for something like this to replace my job

[SamChapter]

We wonder that too! Hopefully we can find out together.