Again with the Big Question

How to Serialize (Part #2)

One Question spawned a deluge of good answers! I’m honored by everyone who read and commented on my first post about How to Serialize, which was a personal question I wanted answered to get some solid feedback about serializing a fiction story on Substack. Thanks to the support of the Substack Fiction Community — your support — I’ve received fantastic feedback!

My goal was to take the lessons I’d learned and compare them to other writers’ serializing experiences to find some overlap or commonality. I have a screenwriting background and believe that every medium has inherent rules that aid the writer in reaching their audience. I thank everyone who took the time — you’re my hero — to ponder this with me, and I’d like to share my takeaways from posing the Big Question.

First, an overwhelming message came through the comments to my first post. It was solid advice that every writer should hear — “You do you!” Most of the comments pointed out that Substack is diverse and what we create can and should be just as diverse. Basically, there is no wrong way to do Substack. There is YOUR WAY. And the Fiction Community supports us all in choosing our way to Substack.

I’m all for that, and I certainly wasn’t looking for rules every fiction writer should follow. However, I am looking for guidelines that I can follow. It’s a fine point, but there is a difference, and my guidelines don’t have to be everyone’s guidelines. From what I can tell about other Substack writing/releasing habits, most fiction writers follow their own writing guidelines, but maybe theirs are more fluid. They’ve set everything in motion, and they proceed without overthinking it. Am I overthinking it? Maybe.

Second, visiting this question has revealed something that I did not want to accept. Indirectly, it proved a point that I’ve been avoiding: Non-fiction writing is to Fiction writing as Advertisements are to Television.

To state it more clearly, Fiction Substacks need a non-fiction element to find readers. (A nod to

Thaddeus Thomas

, who made this point soon after I joined Substack. Back then, I was too new to embrace it.)

Feel free to debate me on this, but consider my facts. And, by the way, I totally agree that:

• Fiction Substacks will grow with or without a non-fiction element.

I’m saying that Fiction Substacks will grow faster with a non-fiction element. If slow, steady progress works for you, I support that plan. It’s a good one.

But fiction writing should be seen by a vast audience, and that’s my angle on this.

I’m going to share a case in point since one comment informed me that

Simon K Jones

has been serializing a story for three years on Substack. Three years! Of course, I know who Simon K. Jones is and have benefited from his posts on how to Substack, and I’m a fan. (Hi, Simon! Thanks for hearting my first post. I noticed!) It’s very clear that Simon writes fiction because he has excellent advice on how to write fiction on Substack. However, it struck me that I never see his fiction posts on my feed. I only see the non-fiction posts and videos. I did not know he had a long-running fiction serial. Duh? Then I hopped over to Simon’s Substack website and saw his fiction, Tales from the Triverse. Of course, I’ve seen that but didn’t connect the dots. I’m sure I’m in the minority. My point: all the non-fiction he creates drives readers to his fiction. It’s a great model.

My experience shows that non-fiction works as a teaser to get you to check out the author, thus finding everything they write. In the Simon K. Jones example, it’s the fantasy Tales from the Triverse. Please check it out! (BTW, Tales from the Triverse is just a tab on Simon’s Substack website about writing serialized fiction. It’s not a separate Substack. Just saying… and I bet Simon has a video about all of this. I must delve deeper.)

Now, don’t worry, I hear you yelling at me. “I’m a fiction writer, Ann. I don’t want to teach people how to write! I just want to write my stuff!” I do understand. That cry has been my cry. I did not come to Substack to teach. I’m happy other writers juggle both and reap the benefits — Simon K. Jones has created posts & videos that make starting a Substack easy. He’s a God-send! And the videos are excellent! I’d happily send writers to him and go on about my own business, which is why I cringed a bit when my How to Serialize post revealed the thing I did not want it to reveal… that non-fiction is the advertising of Substack. In fact, every time I hear about a fiction writer’s success, I check their Substack. They usually have a non-fiction element. There is no denying that non-fiction posts surface faster on Substack than fiction posts. (And it’s not just Substack.)

For me, continuing to ignore this fact makes no sense. How to use it, however, creates a bigger question to ponder.

My takeaway is that non-fiction is a broad topic. It doesn’t have to be about teaching writing. For instance, Jaime Buckley’s Life of Fiction does a Monday Morning Coffee Chat. It’s a great way to start the week and share all that’s good about Jaime. It makes you want to check out his writing and religiously share your Monday morning coffee with him. Even a post like this is another example of sharing the journey, something any of us could do.

I am challenging myself to find that non-fiction angle that broadens my fiction to a larger audience. Yet, in a way, that’s natural to me. The last thing I want to do is create a chore. It needs to complement my fiction and add an element of personal fun. And thus, thanks to all your feedback, a new adventure begins: embracing non-fiction to grow my fiction audience. Care to join me?

One point that’s totally on me… my whole writing career, until now, I’ve only written for a limited audience. Only a few people were the target of my work — either literary agents, Hollywood managers or movie producers. You might call them gatekeepers, but they are necessary allies to getting a book deal or a movie made. Of course, now I’ve cut out the middle man or woman, and have taken total control. Thing is… I have to ask myself why I’m still writing for a small audience? Happily, I might add, because I love the readers that have found my fiction. If it wouldn’t come across as stalking, I’d go to their homes and shake their hands and let them know how much they mean to me. (Don’t worry, I won’t do that. Boundaries and all, but the sentiment is real.) My point is that I could go to their homes, because my readership is small enough. It’s small, because I’m letting readers find me, instead of the other way around. But why? Why shouldn’t I swing for the fence? My potential audience has changed, and it’s long past time for my inner critic to step outta the way and let me go big. If I fail, so be it, but I’ll never succeed if I don’t try.

As always, your thoughts on all of the above are welcome! None of this is happening in a vacuum, and as I continue to test Substack, I will probably pivot into the right — or write — direction for me, as I hope we all do. I’m reminded of the expression that all roads lead to Rome. In this instance, the roads are all the different ways to Substack, and Rome is a loyal audience. Onward!