Self-publishing is hardly new anymore, and it's essentially a business model anyway rather than a whole new format. But some innovations to the actual story-telling model are definitely popping up... I thought we could use a thread to share and discuss these formats, and especially to share any experiences anyone has had with writing in these styles. For example: I've recently been playing with the Hooked format (https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/17/hooked/) - it's basically telling stories through the format of text messages, although they've expanded the concept to allow phone calls and in-person dialogue as well. Minimal narrative is allowed, so the stories come out kind of like screenplays, but readers are fed the lines one at a time, with a tap needed to get each new line. I'm not sure it's going to be a good mix for me--I love writing dialogue, but I also love having the time to slowly build interest and tension, and with this kind of presentation, I think there's a definite need to really grab reader attention early and never let it go. It's interesting, but it might be better for some who's a natural short story writer? Another option I was reading about this morning is Tapas. (https://janefriedman.com/tapas-author-qa/). It's more traditional in the narrative structuring, and it sounds like some authors are posting "regular" novels here, but the site is designed to allow serialization--kind of the same as Hooked, but with much more space before someone is required to "tap" or indicate that they want to keep reading. There also seems to be more author/reader interaction, although I think that's more a promo opportunity rather than a feature of the format. It kind of reminds me of the way a lot of fanfic is published, but monetized. Interesting... Anyone else reading about or experimenting with new formats? What else is out there?
Interesting, I think the forerunner to Slade House by David Mitchell came in abridged form. He pulsed it out in a series of tweets over the course of a week. This was back when they had the 140 character limit if I recall. Different enough to pique a lot of interest. I don't know if it was its success that had him expand it to a novel, or it was a marketing tool with it being already written. Also, I've spotted you can serialise on the site called Drablr, 100 words exactly per post (tight rule). It's a box you check just before doing so. The hooked thing—a good exercise for a writer for sure. First thought, from reader's perspective, is that I couldn't get into it, but you know, if it's the right subject matter for me and the author has the knack (to hook) then I'm open minded to giving it a whirl. I did see once, something the other way round. A way of reading stories; it was called 'Spritz', a game changer they said in helping one digest stories at a rapid rate. I had a crack at that and felt dizzy! Friedman link's not working presently @BayView
Hmmm - looks like her whole site is down... so I assume the link is right, but I can't double-check b/c the site is down!
Hooked kind of reminds me of the role-playing fanfic I used to see on tumblr back in my fandom days, though that was usually two people RP-ing as opposed to one person writing both sides of the conversation. I never got into it because a) I don't like collaborating with others on creative projects and b) a lot of the RPs got quite sexually explicit, and the only person I do sexy talk with is my husband thankyouverymuch. Tapas is very intriguing to me, since by first book started out as a serialization on LiveJournal. I don't think I'd ever post a WIP again for a multitude of reasons, but putting a finished book up chapter by chapter or a short story could be fun if I couldn't find a home for it any place else. If I ever finish my Zombie Cupcake story (which I was writing for a very specific anthology that I blew the deadline on) , I just might post it there.
I've never used Hooked, but I've been on Tap, which is basically exactly the same but made by Wattpad. While most people write standalone stuff on there, I have seen authors use it to add just a little bit extra to their existing stories. They might have a romance over on Wattpad, for instance, and then they create a Tap story that's a funny little text conversation between the two protagonists. It won't be key to the story - it's just there as something extra for readers to enjoy for five minutes if they want to. I think, when used like that, it's a lovely idea.
