What if we release books episodically? | Elle Griffin | TEDxSaltLakeCity

The future of publishing may just be found in a model that’s centuries old, and author Elle Griffin shares her enthusiasm for and insights about this new take on an old way to tell stories. Drawing from her own experiences, she asserts that this method improves on the current publishing system in the U.S., benefitting authors by allowing them to see more commercial success, and benefitting readers by allowing them to follow and interact with their favorite storytellers.
Elle Griffin is the author of The Elysian (www.elysian.pr..., a newsletter thinking through a better future and a utopian novel bringing it to life. Her newsletter has been featured by the BBC, Business Insider, Fast Company, Publisher’s Weekly, and Morning Brew; and in 2022, she was awarded one of 10 places in Substack’s coveted fellowship program. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@Furyhound]

This is literally what web novels use

[@elysianpress]

Exactly!

[@Kaisingsens]

as a manga fan I'm genuinely surprised that this is presented as new idea

[@elysianpress]

It's definitely not new, just becoming more mainstream!

[@hannahtgp9421]

lol same

[@stephanwilson2148]

She stated in her speech it is NOT a new idea. It goes back as far as the 18th century.

[@skymakai]

What if? Just about every book series I read is this way. 😂

[@elysianpress]

@@skymakai What platform do you use to read?

[@ladyelainefairchilde4632]

She’s in a good mood 😁

[@elysianpress]

Kind of my MO 🤓

[@budabead]

Of course she is... she's literally pithing a sale!

[@whodatcatt]

@@mr.mrs.d.7015funny but not necessary

[@RavenNiffler]

I literally had this thought the other day! A much more accessible format for indie publishers too.

[@LifeWithScott]

Elle is my fav girl ever! She makes SLC a magical place and her writing takes me out of the world

[@elysianpress]

Ha! You're awesome. I guess I'm finally a KZbinr like you 😆

[@ArkaneWulf]

I’d rather buy a book than subscribe to one. Waiting for it to be complete is much more preferable to waiting weeks or months for chapters. Ten to thirty bucks for a complete book is more digestible than three times that price for the same thing.

[@elysianpress]

You'll always still be able to read the complete book when it's done. Serializing it first better for the writer, and more fun for that author's biggest fans who don't want to wait years until their next book!

[@ArkaneWulf]

@@elysianpress I like the enthusiasm and want to create a more involved experience for the most avid fans, but it really comes off as a way to secure recurring income via subscriptions. It also feels like a crowdsourced novel if you’re taking input from fans while writing the book. I want the book the author wants to write the way they want to. Fan service often kills experiences for me.

[@elysianpress]

@@ArkaneWulf You can definitely organize it however you'd like! My first book was fully written by the time I published it, so there were very few changes made to it while I was publishing!

[@loraweems8712]

Shawn Inmon posts the chapters of his books daily ( sometimes more often!) for his patreon subscribers. We are able to interact with him...see his thought processes... Once the book is complete, proofed, and edited, he then sends his patrons a link for a book. He publishes independently on Kindle, also he publishes his books on Audible, and in print. Most of the early SF authors also initially published via serials...as did Aldus Huxley, Mark Twain, and many others (in other words, it was not only 19th century European authors).

[@katesansom3841]

I agree! But then I also think about how big a fan I am of Cassandra Clare books, and how thick each new one is. I’d “subscribe” to her books if they were in that format. But I still love buying each beautiful new book.

[@Romcanbreton]

It exciting for generations to come.

[@The_Dudester]

That's what I love about the first twenty Clive Cussler books and the first five Tom Clancy books, the book starts where the last one ended.

[@elysianpress]

I love when that happens!

[@erdling3132]

Yes awesome!!! Even more subscriptions and unnecessary waiting that’s exactly what we needed!!! Brilliant idea

[@elysianpress]

You can still buy the book at the end and read the whole thing in one go. Just like you can still binge a show when it's done. Publishing it this way at first just makes it a much better deal for the writer (and much more fun for readers who want to get it first!) And anyway, getting a new chapter every week is much faster than waiting several years for the next book in a series!

[@LifeLinePoint-tr1uw]

Very good

[@lkentgen]

Wonderful!

[@MdRain-hj7gy]

So beautiful 😮😊❤

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

1k views! Gratulation

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

Umm btw i dont see why this Chanel got over 1 million subs When this youtuber only get around 1k views

[@katesansom3841]

You mean the popular TedX channel? Not sure what you’re talking about.

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

AlREADY ALMOST 1k views but i Kinda enjoy this

[@C4ManMike]

Been thinking this for awhile

[@sarsel23]

Wow 😮He sounds more like A motivator than a doctor.

[@muhammedhashim718]

She’s just trying to divert us from youtube Plss dont go guys😂

[@Heothbremel]

Has anyone mentioned AO3?

[@elysianpress]

AO3 is awesome!!!!! Definitely the top for fanfic!

[@sherececocco]

Stop it. I just took a break and was pondering, one brain and many minds inside myself and sipping coffee and then this 🙃 Interesting 😁

[@thevermilionsiren]

That's insane, I just had a dream I did this and had no idea it was already a thing

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

Here we go 1k views

[@katarzynapol4486]

It Happened in Poland in 1920 when the book's every new chapter appeared in week magazine

[@elysianpress]

Yes! Exactly!

[@bigdiscenergy]

Not a new idea, actually a very OLD idea that we've left behind. ...which the presenter finally eludes to after initially selling it as a new idea. This inspired Stephen King to release The Green Mile the way he did. I was a teenager and he released these every 2 weeks. I had a job working in a produce aisle in a grocery store but i ponied up my money every 2 weeks because I was HOOKED on that amazing story. He noted the inspiration from literature he bought as a kid. What I did learn from this is that the Count of Monte Cristo was released the same way. Neat!

[@elysianpress]

Definitely not sold as a new idea. It's a very very old one!!!!! I love that Stephen King experimented with the format back then, and that more authors are doing the same today!

[@bigdiscenergy]

@@elysianpress yep, very cool. Congrats on your success and finding a proper financial advantage in a difficult industry.

[@elysianpress]

@@bigdiscenergy It's all an experiment. Thank you!

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

WHAT LOOK AT VIEWS

[@CleverHybrids]

Would this work for nonfiction too?🤔

[@elysianpress]

Yes! Most of my work is nonfiction!

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

I don’t think it’s fun to read books like this comment if you agree

[@ampomahkelvin9224]

Ì agree Why would have to wait for a week to read a chapter 😅😂😂

[@hannahtgp9421]

Manga still go strong

[@hannesRSA]

Never got into reading or shown books which are worthwhile. It's slow. You need an easy and peaceful life to read I think. Also you have to be blind to better entertainment forms - video, gaming, VR.

[@InspirioInsights]

1st comment ever

[@Feralzen]

😂

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

How to gain 200 views in 5 min

[@sherececocco]

History does not repeat itself

[@Lolcoca]

Nope ! Only if you created all those things in your mind !

[@deeprecce9852]

Personally i hate that i hv to wait for the next episode or chapter, whether its a book or a video, but i am probably the minority if the subscription based industry is ostensibly doing well..

[@erdling3132]

Literally no one likes the idea of subscribing to everything you interact with in your daily life

[@elysianpress]

You can still buy the book at the end and read the whole thing in one go. Just like you can still binge a show when it's done. Publishing it this way at first just makes it a much better deal for the writer (and much more fun for readers who want to get it first!)

[@deeprecce9852]

@@elysianpress Thus books is still my preferred choice, old school 😂, but your talk was very compelling and your presentation style captivating, good job!

[@elysianpress]

@@deeprecce9852 I totally feel you there. I'm a binger through and through 🤓 But maybe I'd be interested if some of my favorite authors were willing to give me a sneak peek..... And thank you!

[@learnenglish5684]

I'm Indian and I'm proud to be Indian.🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@multicrafter639]

Not pushing a site but isn't that the idea around Kindle Vella?

[@elysianpress]

Yes! Kindle Vella came out to compete with Wattpad, the company I mention in this talk.

[@tm13tube]

How will payment work?

[@elysianpress]

I publish my work on Substack where my readers can become paid subscribers or premium subscribers depending on what level of participation they want to have!

[@crapstermcduck6593]

Lol. If you buy a book you can read a chapter whenever you want. "the future of books"

[@elysianpress]

Yes but if you try to share that chapter with someone else they would have to buy the book too. Online work is much more sharable!

[@RobespierreThePoof]

The serial novel never went away. I know several series which my elderly mother is very committed to. Why is this being presented as if it were a novel idea?

[@elysianpress]

Definitely not a new idea. But definitely not a mainstream way of reading fiction either (at least in the U.S.!) It’s still limited to niche platforms (but growing! Thanks to apps like Wattpad, Inkitt etc)

[@Nathaniel2Leinahtan1]

In the example she gave, assuming the book is released in 12 installments, the whole book come out to $120. That may not be the real price, but in the end this is just a scheme to charge people more for books. I'm sure some people are willing to pay that premium, but it still sounds kinda grotesque.

[@elysianpress]

It’s not a scheme to charge people more for books, it’s a way for authors to earn more money for their work. Fans could still buy the book for $10 when it’s complete, but super fans could follow along as early supporters!

[@budabead]

Nope! This idea is based on the vegetables that are living with their heads in their social media and disney + subscriptions. Books are books and online shorts (manga style like many others pointed out) are that. Simle as!

[@garyraab9132]

just 🤔! if more human primates had the ability to ponder the real world?

[@YouChwb]

Wont be long before AI will be writing books, thus doing away with authors which will make the price of books much more cheaper. Yayy!

[@spinningadam]

isn't this what Harry Potter was?

[@elysianpress]

No, it was a series. But JK Rowling did serialize the ickabod, a children’s book, during the pandemic!

[@battlerabbittoysandgaming]

Bruh books isn’t really fun to read like this comment if you agree

[@PapaDragonTV]

Disagree.

[@Kelvryn]

err no thx? I'd rather read a complete book.

[@elysianpress]

You can still read the complete book once it’s done! Just like you do now. The same goes for television shows: they are paced when they come out, but you can binge them when they are done!

[@katarzynapol4486]

Disaster and awful idea

[@sherececocco]

If you want people to give you their attention you need to be more interesting to them than what has their attention. Step one in animal training 😂 We need connection.

[@Lolcoca]

Or maybe your mind just twist you and you create all of those things in your mind 😂🤣😂🤣 Maybe the person just live her or his own life but doesn’t need any attention of anyone !

[@uaps28]

TED crapola. What a waste of time these talks are now.

[@Wolnego]

Wyłapać wszystkich terrorystów, którzy znęcają się broniami psychotronicznymi w Polsce. I tyle w temacie.

[@RavenNiffler]

I literally had this thought the other day! A much more accessible format for indie publishers too.

[@katesansom3841]

A problem I see in the world though, is that Barnes & noble will publish anything, even if it’s not actually well written. We need a way to make writing good books more competitive. I should be able to go to a new bookstore and pick out something I KNOW has been read, edited, etc with high standards. Instead I get recommended “My heart is a chainsaw” and it’s terribly written (by objective standards).

[@elysianpress]

Totally agree! The problem is that publishing houses aren’t necessarily the best gatekeepers there. Even among traditionally published books there are still many horrible books we have to weed through to find the ones we like! That’s why it would be so much easier if we could just follow the authors we like directly and also get their recommendations of what they are reading.

[@唐桦]

nice

[@zeusreactor7734]

Isnt this what comics do? Series and Episodes

[@elysianpress]

Yes! Exactly!

[@KenOtwell]

Huh? Lots of these books/authors already out there. This isn't new at all.