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A New, App-Based Format For Novels (theguardian.com)
HughPickens.com writes:
The Guardian reports that Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, plans to release his new novel, a historical drama set in London during the 1840s, in installments via an app. It's a tradition that dates back to Charles Dickens, but utilizes modern technology. Each of Belgravia's 11 chapters will be delivered on a weekly basis, and will come with multimedia extras including music, character portraits, family trees and an audio book version. "To marry the traditions of the Victorian novel to modern technology, allowing the reader, or listener, an involvement with the characters and the background of the story and the world in which it takes place, that would not have been possible until now, and yet to preserve within that the strongest traditions of storytelling, seems to me a marvelous goal and a real adventure," says Fellowes.
Publisher Jamie Raab says the format appealed to her precisely because of Fellowes's television background and his ability to keep audiences engaged in a story over months and even years. "I've always been intrigued by the idea of publishing a novel in short episodic bites. He gets how to keep the story paced so that you're caught up in the current episode, then you're left with a cliffhanger."
Publisher Jamie Raab says the format appealed to her precisely because of Fellowes's television background and his ability to keep audiences engaged in a story over months and even years. "I've always been intrigued by the idea of publishing a novel in short episodic bites. He gets how to keep the story paced so that you're caught up in the current episode, then you're left with a cliffhanger."
"A New, App-Based Format For Novels "
We call it a normal money making scheme app with in-app purchases to lure the morons to spend their hard earned cash.
What do you want to bet this is going to be $4-$5 per installment.......and is there a sunset date. Also.....I'm sure there are provisions that prevent you from sharing out to others of course......
Releasing novels via apps is very traditional, dates back to Charles Dickens time. Charles only supported Windows Mobile and Blackberry's. This new app will be more modern. Really exciting stuff!
[nt]
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Forgetting the stupid costs and such, the idea of waiting to read the next part of a book is incredibly bad.
I typically read a book in a few days; then I read another. I don't interleave books, so I'd be dependent on the 13 week release schedule to complete this book to get another one to read.
Multimedia doesn't excite me at all, either. That's not why I read books.
From pot boiler historical soap operas.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
http://publishingperspectives.com/2010/11/neal-stephensons-mongoliad-revolutionizing-storytelling/#.Vow06PHer0k
Stephen King's The Green Mile was originally published in six installments you could buy in grocery stores.
He gets how to keep the story paced so that you're caught up in the current episode, then you're left with a cliffhanger.
Julian Fellows has successfully re-invented the "chapter."
That's chappter.
It is a decent idea, but the OP makes it seem like a new idea. As a boy most of my SciFi reading was done in installments. What did I care? I didn't pay for the subscription. Astounding Magazine published Asimov's Foundation in monthly installments. It was old marketing then, I'm sure. Applying the technological App to the name doesn't change what it is. You're subscribing to a book series. Wait'll it's done and you can buy the book with decent edits.
At first I thought that perhaps the publisher thinks they'll beat the pirates by locking it into an app. That will survive at least a day of pirate efforts. Every installment will be available in torrent the day after release. So no, that's not it. They're doing it for novelty. No pun intended but I'll take it.
Though there's that, too.
But if the publishers (and established authors) can convince their market that this is the New Bestest Thing Evar, then all novels have to be published this way or they're too "crude and amateurish." And that means that the self-publishing authors, who have zero barrier to entry in to the market, can no longer afford to self publish, because who can afford all the multi-media crap that adds nothing to the value of the novel?
This isn't a new idea. Publishers have been desperately trying to find a way to keep people from eliminating the middle man since Kindle made it big. Multi-media crap is the most obvious way, since it's too much work for one person to do alone, and too expensive for the self publisher to buy done. Unfortunately, for publishers, it adss nothing to the novel reader, and this scheme/scam will fail just like the multi-media schemes/scams before it.
People who want multi-media will buy DVDs of movies, not web pages that pretend to be novels.
It's a pity that publishers aren't willing to try the one value added service that will actually appeal to readers: actual, you know, editing and shit, like they used to do, so that their product doesn't suck donkey balls.
The app, if you haven't seen it, is an interactive "book" that covers the basics of the video system for the Atari 2600. It uses a mix of prose and a basic simulator to introduce and demonstrate different techniques:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap...
Sure, programming the 2600 is a world removed from Victorian England, but interactive content done right can be very engaging, as David's app demonstrates.
I'm sure there are countless other examples of interactive content people have developed for mobile devices, and those might be the reason we don't see more of them...
-Chris
I see they haven't been to Baen's Bar or Library site - the snippets posted 2-3 times a week for upcoming books (which basically ends up being the first third of the book) and the Free Library (consolidates the snippets to an easier to read format - look - there's a "buy here" button). If they shoot for a patent, there's plenty of prior art.
Not really. In the 90s it would have just been done with html and hence readable on any old computer with a browser. This is a more 80s approach where it's all locked in a program... sorry, app... stuck on whatever subset of platforms they choose to support.
and will come with multimedia extras including music, character portraits, family trees and an audio book version
Can't you just make a fucking book? I want this extra shit like I want shards of glass hammered in to the head of my dick.
Actually, modern app appers only read unencumbered e-books on their favorite e-book reading app, not luddite DRM crapbooks on a crappy DRM (cr)app.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
stop trying to turn safe, inert data into unsafe executable code.
it's bad enough that large portions of the web have transformed into executable spyware and crapware with excessive use of mandatory but unneccesary javascript (js for what should be A HREF links FFS!) - ebooks don't need to go the same route.
there's no need for anti-features like this...it serves only the company pushing it, and actively harms the customer.