Thanks in large part to the internet, most amateur writers hoping to break into the publishing market aren’t limited to traditional, legacy publishing methods, but now have the option to self-publish – either through online carriers like Amazon – or serialise through web fiction. Plenty of other sites have gone into the traditional vs self-publishing debate, but I want to touch on web fiction in particular, and just why some new authors are turning to this new avenue of publication. First though, I’ll briefly go into the different publishing methods and what commitment new writers should expect when submitting their work online.
Self-Publishing
To briefly explain, self-publishing (or ‘indie publishing’) refers to content that has been published – out of pocket – by the original author, and perhaps to an online marketplace (like Amazon). The author is entirely responsible for the process: paying for editors, marketing and design, etc. This is a bit of a crude explanation, so here is an in-depth analysis on the pros, cons and process of self-publishing vs traditional publishing.
Traditional ‘Legacy’ Publishing
Legacy publishing refers to the traditional method of an author submitting their manuscript to a publishing house for consideration. If an author is picked up by the publishing house – a very big ‘if’ – the publisher then oversees the author’s work to completion, covering all costs and tasks related to the manuscript’s release at the price of a portion of the book’s sales.
Web Fiction – The Rising Star
Somewhat of a dark horse among the three, web fiction is a kind of ‘self-publishing’ wherein the author posts their original content to a web novel hosting site. Marketing, release schedule, cover design (or lack thereof) and creative control is left entirely to the author in this case, and most noticeably, there is little to no financial incentive for an author to host their work. Web fiction isn’t to be confused here with fanfiction (though the two are understandably similar), which refers to content based on a pre-existing intellectual property.
But what are the benefits of publishing your original work online through web serialisation? Indeed, why would any author choose to do such a thing without a guaranteed financial incentive? We should first compare the different publishing models to understand what makes them different before delving into what draws authors to web fiction.
Pros and Cons
My research suggests that there are, of course, both banes and boons to self-publishing, web fiction and legacy publishing that new authors should consider when putting their work out into the world. This will irrevocably depend on the author’s goals in terms of publishing online.
Self-publishing is by far the method with the best financial incentive. Studies suggest that self-publishers have a higher rate of return on their work, although this will ultimately depend on how much time and money they feed into their marketing strategy. The royalty-rate of return on self-published books sits at about “>35-70% of the sale price.
On the other hand, the royalty rate of traditionally-published authors can be as little as 25% or less. Publishing houses pay their authors an ‘advance’ lump sum for their manuscript, then won’t provide more money until the sales of the book breaks even with the cost of the advance. This is, of course, fine if the author has a well-established fanbase and is popular on the market, but for break-out authors this is a far-off dream. So, how can new authors build a fanbase to support their work?
What draws readers to web fiction? Web novels are a ‘reader focused’ business, catering largely to readers’ tastes. In that way web fiction is the most distilled form of genre fiction, down almost to a science in which special care is given to character development, dialogue and fast-paced action – a contrast to the literary fiction found in traditional publishing. In that same vein, many readers find web fiction to be more accessible – in other words, they find the text easier to read – than print books.
Why Do Authors Care About Web Fiction?
With these parameters, what draws an author to web serialisation? Perhaps most noticeably, there are fewer barriers for new authors to break into the publishing market. On the other hand, with a small niche audience, the standards of quality for the work varies, with many authors relying on reader-input for suggestions to improve.
Lower barriers into the market means there are greater opportunities for amateur content to be published on a wide scale. But authors also have greater creative control over their work without having to cater to financial backers or literary stereotypes to please the market, so it’s a precarious balance between quality and control.
Occasionally, very popular works might be picked up by studios and produced in different formats (such as The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, which has been turned into a mobile game, web comic and has had its rights sold to over fourteen countries across the world), so there is some potential for financial gain – although authors certainly shouldn’t put their work on a web novel hosting site with monetary gain in mind.
Note, though, that there are now some web novel host sites that pay their authors for their work, although care and research should be taken before handing over your materials to these sites – after all, if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
What Should You Do?
Certainly, as an inexperienced writer, I found myself drawn to web fiction as a way to build a following, quickly receive feedback, and put my writing out into the world for the simple joy of the craft without the financial and taxing commitment of legacy or self-publishing. In speaking with other published authors, some have said that web serialisation is likely to become the future of the writing industry – I tend to agree. Perhaps it makes sense to get a head-start in the market before the business model gains traction.
So, as a writer, what should you do? To summarise, I think your choice largely depends on what you want out of your work: if you want the money and are fine with the massive commitment, self-publish. If you just want to break into the publishing market and believe your work is at the standard set by the industry, legacy publishing might work for you. If you want to build a fanbase and get feedback on developing your craft without the stress of the publishing industry, why not give web fiction a try. Ultimately, the choice depends on your needs as a writer.
Feature image used with permission (Creative Commons). Peter H (Pixabay) <https://pixabay.com/photos/book-old-cover-literature-text-3510326/>
Raquelle Varadi 
