#serialized writing

You can start off as an anthology series and transition into a serialized story, and vice versa: you can start of as a serialized story and transition into an anthology series.

You *cannot* write both at the exact same time.

You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

You *cannot* constantly egg your readers on by promising the next entry will finally move a serialized plot line along in a meaningful way, only to come out with another unconnected anthology entry that has no meaningful through-line from the previous entries except a few surface-level mentions of past events.

If you are writing an *anthology* series following one character, each entry has to actually stand on its own, and be a viable entry point for new readers, establishing the character, stakes, and a plot which is fully self-contained to that book, and doesn't require knowledge of previous books to become invested. Each book needs to be a fully complete story with a meaningful beginning, middle, and conclusion that is fully standalone.

If you are writing a *serialized* series following one character, each entry in the series has to actually follow in the footsteps of what came before, be an integral puzzle piece in a larger series plot that developed that plot and the characters over an arc, and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing series plot.

You cannot write a book that promises repeatedly to be serialized fiction, and then publish books that are completely disconnected from each other aside from a few mentions of things happening off screen and extremely random obscure references to previous characters and events that are from 6 books ago and were part of a one-off plot that has had no relevance to anything that came after it, but now readers are suddenly expected to know *exactly* who is being referenced almost a decade later, as though the characters named weren't generic two-bit cardboard cutouts.

You can write a series that starts of as an anthology, and becomes serialized, and you can write a series that starts off serialized and becomes an anthology, but you cannot do both at the same time, without completely ruining the work.

Fans of serialized stories, who are sold the books on the explicit promise that the story is serialized, will be frustrated with the poor, scattered pacing and lack of character and plot development, and give up when the latest promised plot advancement fails to deliver.

Fans of anthology stories, who are told that the story can be read starting at any entry, will be left confused with the constant references to past events without any clarity as to what is being referenced, random characters being mentioned who have not been introduced in the story, and left frustrated when the book's whole plot is very shallow and surface level, with no depth to it to draw them in properly or to even get attached or know the perspective character.

You *have* to commit your writing of a series to an anthology *or* a serialized story: if you try to do both at the same time, you are going to end up with a poorly paced mess that satisfies absolutely no one, and you will lose both sides of your readership by trying to appeal to both.

The Reboot Project has a new name: The Long Defeat!