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A New, App-Based Format For Novels (theguardian.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the books-for-the-attention-deficit-generation dept.

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."

8 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. New? Hardly. by nospam007 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "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.

  2. And how much per installment? by Mahldcat · · Score: 2

    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......

    1. Re:And how much per installment? by Tim+the+Gecko · · Score: 2

      Funnily enough, if you inflation adjust the 1890s cost of the Strand Magazine with Sherlock Holmes installments then you get about $4. (sixpence = 1/40 * GBP)

  3. Sounds nice by 110010001000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    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!

  4. Awful format by BenJeremy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Awful format by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 2

      I agree its an awful idea, but what really concerns me is that it probably doesn't have to be that successful for every fecker to give it a go and then every book will come wrapped in its own app.

      Apart from the multimedia crap (and obviously the money/power play involved) there's really no reason for it to come in its own app. I mean is there any technical reason you can't release a chapter at a time on Kindle/Kobo/Nook/whatever?

    2. Re:Awful format by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      It's easier for an app to violate your privacy for extra profit.

      The idea is to turn shit into gold by adding some cheap multimedia crap, stealing your personal data and trying to go viral like some kind of STD.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. Re:.... but on a computer by hawguy · · Score: 2

    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.