HERE IS A NEW INDIE MARKETING QUESTION:
I’m pondering whether the reason many people don’t try a trilogy is because it isn’t finished.
I’m exploring a concept that would provide the reader with story protection, and get the writer a safe space to write and some moral support.
Suppose you:
- were considering reading something long, like Game of Thrones
- liked the first book in the story trilogy (or at least the beginning in the Look Inside! feature on Amazon)
- were worried the author might check out before finishing, leaving you forever curious about how the story ends – and whether it makes sense
- knew there is a planned end, and you think you will probably be happy with it (the prologue gives hints)
- knew the author is slow, but patient and dedicated, and will finish if is it at al physically possible to her
- knew the author was extremely good at following a plan/outline/rough draft – so the story itself is finished, but the execution (the actual words) hasn’t happened yet
- wanted to read it now
- were willing to take a chance on an ebook version that could be regularly updated as the final draft slowly dribbles out, one scene/chapter at a time
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, had the rough draft included in your current ebook so if the author doesn’t make it, you still know how the story ENDS.
Then, would you buy it now, to get what is already there, and wait for the notification that the next update was available and download the whole again from Amazon?
In other words, buy unpolished work full price so as to get the polished pieces (plus the end) faster than waiting for the whole?
Just curious.
It would be very different from a subscription service, or a planned serial, because you would HAVE the end.
You’d have to decide if you WANTED to read that extremely rough version of the end, or just have it in case the author couldn’t finish it. You should choose NOT to read it; the rest of the story in rough format would be your insurance.
The intent of this post is to start a discussion about whether such a model would work to finish the planned Pride’s Children trilogy in a total of around a half-million words.
I haven’t seen it before, but this is indie, folks, and we can do anything we want.
Amazon already allows writers to update their manuscripts.