Poll Re: Serials

15 Comments

1. Kristen
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 12:33:33

   I wouldn’t read something regardless of price unless the subject/genre interested me. And then, it would really have to be good.

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2. Kalen Hughes
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 12:43:17

   I’m with Kristen, if an author I know and love came out with a serial, I’d be all over it.

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3. Sarah Frantz
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 13:04:39

   If I were heavily emotionally invested in it. I read a lot of Torquere’s “Turn of the Screw” serials, but after they’re done and published as full books. I kinda like the episodic nature, the natural rise and fall of the narrative that is the result of them being constructed as serials. I read Matthew Haldeman-Time’s In This Land that he publishes once a week, that is potentially never-ending. But that’s because I adore his writing, and I bought into it from the start. It’s now $4.99/month, for 4-5 Friday dumps of about 9K words. Totally totally worth it.

   But I don’t go hunting them down. I don’t like delayed gratification very much. I want my HEA right away–I’m the person who reads the last page before the first–so serials don’t work wonders for me.

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4. Mireya
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 13:24:02

   Serials as in ‘cliffhanger’ endings? Hate them, avoid them like the plague. If it’s a sub plot kind of thing (like Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn) or J.R. Ward’s multi-subplot books I am fine with them, but the main storyline does have to have an ending of sorts. I am very careful when I start reading a series for that reason.

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5. Rebecca
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 13:53:59

   I like the thought of serials.

   But, as with other posters, my reading one and choosing to stay with it depends solely on the topic, the author, the voice, etc…really, the same things that govern my book choices.

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6. Janine
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 15:32:53

   Having to wait for the next chapter would be frustrating for me, so I wait until the serial is over, and then read it in its entirety.

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7. Kay Sisk
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 17:01:07

   I’d read a serial only if I trusted the author. And $6 would be the most I’d pay.

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8. Ann
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 18:17:57

   I’d love to try a serial…but I’d want it to be a ‘pay as you go’ thing and not a pay $6 now and wait for each installment. Then I can bail if it didn’t show promise.

   Price would also be dependent on length. If it ends up being book length, I’ll pay book price. If longer, I’ll pay more, and likewise the other way.

   Some of the best classics were written as a serial, so I sure can’t turn my nose up at it! (And I think I’d even get a kick out of a good natured scholcky take with someone in the bottom of a well or tied to the train tracks at the end of each installment.)

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9. Monique
   Sep 17, 2008 @ 19:55:33

   I’m always leary of serials since I love to read all at once. I also would only read them for 2 reasons: I really like the author (Gennita Low, my current fav, has one on her blog http://rooferauthor.blogspot.com/) or I am trying an author (Lilith Saintcrow I’m trying out on her site http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/selene/).

   Right now, I can’t wait until the next chapter comes out for both. Both of these are free and they are a great way to try a new author you have not tried before. They’re both up to chapter 13ish and I highly recommend both.

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10. cecilia
    Sep 17, 2008 @ 22:01:38

    I’d rather wait till the whole serial was out – I heard about Ember when it was all done, and I remember thinking that I would never have been able to read a snippet and then wait for the next snippet. And that was free. To pay for that suffering? I don’t think so.

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11. MoJo
    Sep 17, 2008 @ 22:08:16

    I have the attention span of a gnat. I can’t remember what the next letter in the alphabet is, much less what happened in last week’s episode.

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12. RfP
    Sep 17, 2008 @ 22:17:20

    I enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s free monthly shorts. In fact, I enjoyed Bitten more after the novellas filled in some of the missing backstory.

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13. vanessa jaye
    Sep 18, 2008 @ 09:29:19

    I really loved(!) Betty Sharpe’s serialized EMBER, and checked in every week for the next instalment. And I would have paid for the complete book, but doubt I would have paid for the weekly instalments. It would have been an either or situation–if I’m going to pay I want the complete story up front, or else forget about it.

    As for printed series of inter-connecting books, I’ve never stuck it out with a series. I jump in at book 3, read books 4 and 1, buy book 7 and throw it in the tbr pile, then drift away. Or I read the first 3 books then jump ship. No rhyme or reason for it (although in some cases I might not care for the direction the series is taking, or certain re-occurring characters or authorly quirks that might have begun to irk). I think I have some internalize programming that says 3 or 4 is enough. Always seem to lose interest after that, if I even get that far.

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14. Kaetrin
    Sep 18, 2008 @ 17:48:11

    Um, okay, at the risk of appearing REALLY stupid – what’s a serial?

    *shrugs, scuffs foot and looks generally embarrassed*…..

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15. DS
    Sep 18, 2008 @ 18:07:53

    Serials are longer works that are published a few pages or chapters at a time.

    I wouldn’t pay to read one. I don’t read free ones. I want it all at once.

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