Let's talk about writing serial fiction.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

KITH will (eventually) be on my Substack: michelleschusterman.substack.com But I'm looking into Ream! Have you guys used it? Do you recommend multiple platforms?

[@afjkernow1808]

I’ve just set up on Reams. I will be interested to compare the user experience with Inkspired. I’ve used Inkspired for about a year and I enjoy it a great deal. There is a large international community on there. It’s a great place to practice and learn how to write serialised stories. They have regular free challenges and a beta reading program.

[@AuthorDLWhite]

I think Ream is neat but not for me. I worry a lot about having content in too many places. Blogging would be a heckin easier with substack, but I have blog functionality on the website I pay for so splitting my content to another place doesn't make sense to me.

[@AuthorDLWhite]

also cover is the first thing I make. It gives me motivation.

[@afjkernow1808]

@@AuthorDLWhiteThat’s a very good point. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin. I can’t afford to have my own website. So at present free platforms are really helpful to develop my skills and experiment with my writing. For me at present, I’m just growing my brand so I’m trying Reams to see how it works. All the best with your writing journey.

[@Avionne_Parris]

Loved the Canva cover mockup, Michelle! Definitely Salem's Lot 90s vibes :) Perspective photos are ominous in and of itself but the fact that the house looks like it's being swallowed by the dust and glimmering light behind it is so foreboding. And alludes to the small town being consumed by its own secrets. So happy you got more paid subscribers on Substack. I know Sarra Cannon is on Ream but I'm not familiar with how it works. For now I would stick to just Substack. From one fellow 90s kid to another, I can't wait for this book! It was a great time to be a kid: The jargon, the fashion, the nostalgia - And now that 90s is historical, we'll weep together :)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks so much, Avi! I had a lot of fun making it. And I cannot WAIT to revel in all that 90s nostalgia!! The jargon, oh man...gag me with a spoon :)

[@winkletter]

Ream's podcast Storytellers Rule the World has a lot of great advice on serialized fiction. I bet Ream's CEO Michael Evans would be happy to chat. He comes across as very dedicated and friendly.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

They have a podcast?!?! THANK YOU! I'll definitely check that out!

[@reginaduke7451]

"90s is historical fiction now, and it gives me a lot of feelings"...LOL Oh yes. I want to play in the 1960s (I was in high school then, so the memories are burned into my brain)...but I know what you mean about the feels. Nice cover!!! It works!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks Regina!! And yup, it's so weird to think about our teen years as "historical"...sigh

[@marleymarss]

That's a badass book cover. No joke. I'm intrigue, I'm wondering what's going to happen, very good color contrasts, feels like I want to touch the actual book, no distractions, and it's simple but yet effective. I love it. Would be a cool poster on a wall as well. Granted, it's your cover and there will be bounds for changes. And yes, the 90s vibe. Awesome. 90s can be seen as historical fiction now? Oh dear lord......I'm feeling it a bit. lol. But it's pretty cool that you're wanting to go this serial fiction route. Which is actually the direction I'm going now for my serial fiction as well.

[@emmaociewrites7365]

OMG, I LOVE the cover Michelle! And I dig the idea of it feeling like it’s actually “of the 90s.” That totally makes sense and is super creative, IMO. I was born in the 90s, so I’m not technically nostalgic for that era - but it had such a vibe and I’m excited to see people start tapping into that!

[@TheDarqProject]

I love the way the webby stuff under the ground looks like a sinister grin, on your cover! And I think 90's nostalgia is huge right now. I'm interested!

[@ElleryArden]

I love the vintage cover!

[@abbywhite2935]

Great and it is definitely giving 90s horror vibes! My only note is that the house/background be closer and fill the space a little more to see a little more detail. Other than that really love the cover and vibe!! Really hope to read this someday!!!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank you so much, Abby!!!

[@AuthorJCCarpenter]

Michelle I loved the cover you came up with! It definitely gives me old school Stephen King vibes for sure. Also, I've been wanting to read this story of yours ever since I first heard you talk about it! Very excited about you sharing this story with us! Great video as always! Take care

[@cassie_hart]

Excited for you to venture into this! I love the cover, it's so 'of the time' that the book is set in. We're about the same age, so I totally feel you on the everything horror front. those old school books.

[@PianoVideoLessons]

Love your cover design! ❤ 😊 Looking forward to hearing about your journey with writing serialized fiction!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank you so much!!

[@byronlopezellington8839]

I honestly LOVE that cover.

[@ramonarobot]

Cool cover 👀👀👀 definitely gives the old skool pulp covers vibes. A suggestion would be to have the kid walking away from the house toward us (the reader)?

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks Ramona!! That's a GOOD suggestion, and if I can find a kid walking toward the camera on Canva, I might make that change...

[@alwaysapirateroninace443]

So excited about this!😊

[@manestreambeauty]

I like the cover. I appreciate tools like Canva because it is simple and intuitive enough for beginners to use without learned design skills. Michelle, you have a clear idea of what you want and the cover seems to be close to what you envision. How close would you say your are at this stage?

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank you! Great question. I really need to come up with a schedule, but generally, I think I'll be able to start writing over the summer and publishing in the fall.

[@afjkernow1808]

I published my first serialised short story on my blog in 8 episodes. It’s an interesting way to publish a story. Charles Dickens used to publish weekly in magazines.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

That's very cool!!

[@afjkernow1808]

I did it as an experiment. You’re absolutely right about having the material ready to release to whatever timescale you wish. Thanks for putting me onto Reams. I look forward to seeing what it’s like. I’ve been using the Inkspired platform for just over a year. It’s a multilingual, international platform. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed posting stories in there. It’s a great place to experiment. They have writing challenges and a beta reader programme.

[@kevinonpaper]

yay! I know i was down on serial, but i want it to work. And I'm big on self-publishing. Let's go!

[@SDHegyes]

Love the cover idea you're going with! I think it's perfect for what you were imagining. I grew up in the 90s (I'm still a young pup and forever will be!) and that's spot on for all the covers I remembered seeing back then, and it definitely would have made me pick it up. I can't wait to see this journey as you take it. I don't have experience with subscription services, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I don't think it would be terrible (as long as there's no exclusivity issues) to have it on both platforms. Some people like Substack, but won't do Ream and vice versa. I think you'd catch a whole plethora of readers at both locations. There might be one or two overlapping individuals, but doubtful with the way you mentioned you'd set it up.

[@esthermarieandujar]

You nailed the look of the cover!!! As for your questions about releasing your serialized fiction in multiple places; it comes down to do you have the time and the bandwidth to post it in multiple places? I release my paranormal romance on Ko-Fi, Patreon, and Vella. And because members get episodes ahead of time plus additional things that are not in Vella is easy for me to post cause it’s not done on the same dates. It also doesn’t hurt to give readers options on where to read. At this moment I’m also researching Ream so I don’t know how much effort it’ll take for you to get an audience there or if it’ll help widen your readership. Good luck with whichever path you decide to go to and Im glad this is bringing joy to your writing!!

[@nicolemarcinawrites]

I actually love the cover. You got it down to every single detail ^^ if you have a strong audience, I think posting it in one platform is okay. It's also a benefit for you if you don't want to get confused with many platforms ^^

[@AprilSnellings]

I LOVE that cover!

[@singingsanja167]

OMG, I love this so much!!! 🤩 In 1996, I was 19 and finishing school, and I was also deep in my King/Koontz era! 😆The titles are different over here in Germany, but I know the books and even recognized some of the covers, and OMG, the vibes!!! Your cover hits the nail perfectly for me, and I definitely want to read this book. Whenever you're ready. Can you tell I am getting very excited?! 😅

[@authorbrittanyrosebutler]

I've been a subscriber for a while, but this is my first time commenting. I absolutely LOVE the cover. I think it evokes those 90s vibes 100%! I'm actually hoping to launch my first serial on Ream in July, and I'm with you: I want to have a good chunk of chapters ready to go before I hit that publish button. Best of luck!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Brittany! Thank you so much for commenting! :) I'm so happy you like the cover. Also - HEY, how cool that you're launching a Ream serial! It really does look like a cool platform. Keep me posted!

[@PaulRWorthington]

I think your cover looks great! I had a lot of fun making my own covers. I know just enough graphics and design to be dangerous. (When my first 5 books are all out I might invest in a redesign for a soft re-launch. )

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks so much, Paul!! And that re-launch plan sounds really smart!

[@billyalarie929]

That cover is BOMB

[@maddieray5406]

Everything I know about serialized fiction says you have to market it, just like if you released a self-pubbed book. There is money there, yes, as people want quick reads, but you were not wanting to start a business, right? What's the difference between books and/or SF? Both require a very similar skill set and I would think releasing whole books would be less work, plus you already have readers and established history. With Ream, you're gonna have to start over looking for readers. As for covers etc, you can hire it out very easily.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Great question! And this is an interesting perspective on it I hadn't considered. I suppose a big part of it is because I've already built a following on Substack, which is where the serial will go. (Ream isn't in my plan yet, just considering it for later.) I did say I didn't want to start a business, but I suppose I should've said I didn't want to start ANOTHER business - because my KZbin and Substack are all part of my business as a ghostwriter, editor, book coach, etc. So it feels more like a branch-off of that, rather than self-publishing a novel (which would include printed copies) whereas all my novels have been traditionally published.

[@maddieray5406]

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Ah, I misunderstood your not wanting to start a business thing. I still think that doing the whole novel would be easier, but that's just me. The industry has changed. Even if I went trad, I wouldn't make much, but the ceiling for self pub can be much higher. Then again, I see your point with MG being hard to market outside of book fairs, but its still possible. I know a children's picture book author making BANK by marketing to parents and grandparents on Facebook. I'm the exact reverse of you...prime focus is releasing selfpubbed novels and I'm considering the SF option as well, but only to connect with readers and point out to them the full novels.

[@JoeyPaulOnline]

Love that cover, and can't give you any advice on either, never done serialised fiction but I hope it goes well for you!

[@katendress6142]

Ooh, that cover is a VIBE. 10/10, no notes.

[@pietruszkapietruszkowa9713]

I'M SO SO SO EXCITED! :) It's such a cool idea to share your process here :) And we can even help you, like we did 2 years ago! :) (btw, I wasn't aware it's been 2 years, my jaw dropped a little!) And I just wanted to say, that 1) I really appreciate your comments section, I had no idea that Ream existed! So exchanging ideas and online places and helping eachother is awesome! 2) I hope you'll have so much fun with KITH :) Fingers crossed! :)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Two! Years! Isn't that nuts? Thank you so much!! I'm really excited about making this more of an interactive thing. :)

[@singingsanja167]

Yeah, this comment section is a rare gem!👍👌💓

[@kenward1310]

I think you sell your cover design skills short. Your 'Kith' mockup looks great.

[@SRKanai1]

Hello all. I have a question. I have a manuscript that I'm roughly halfway done with and I had a thought for the story in which the main character actually turns out to be the villain. The thing is, that wasn't my original plan and though it would be a very surprising twist, I just feel sick to my stomach when I think about it. As if I'm somehow betraying my character and or the story as a whole . A lot of people like the idea but I just don't know that I want to employ that particular twist. How do I know if this is something that I should do (and tell myself to stop being mellow-dramatic) or something that I should trust my gut on and say no to. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

[@authorj.l.slipak9526]

Hey Michelle, how are you doing. Sorry to hear about the middle-grade issue. It's been tough with that genre.

[@minipets2215]

ma'am please make a video on- how to change the pov from one to another when I wanna switch and add new story of the running protagonist from the first pov. for example- I am writing a couple story but the story belong to the boy pov and they spent the time together and after the half of the story I wanna switch to girl pov with revealing her secrets with the day spend with him. how I can write that. And is it ok, If I am adding new pov after half of the story? please reply.

[@alwaysapirateroninace443]

For horror 90s feels, definitely check out Animorphs.

[@LindsayPuckett]

what are the things scholastic said they are looking for right now? ** peeky eyes** ALSO I LOVE THE MOCK COVER.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank you!! And basically...a book about a specific animal but done differently than the (many) books about said animal they currently have. (rofl)

[@davidwilliford3079]

Where’d you go?

[@kentjensen4504]

Why are you wasting our time with spoken diary entries about cute news from your agent or editor?