Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the woods...

...do not let it grieve you. No one leaves for good. You are not alone. No one is alone.

Well, here we are: the first season of Indexing is over and done, and the book has been closed on Henrietta Marchen and her friends, at least for a time. I can't tell you yet whether there will be a second season: that decision is in the hands of greater minds than mine. I can tell you that the best way to help that second season happen is to either buy the now-complete Kindle serial (available internationally), or to pick up the print book when it comes out in December (I know that I'm looking forward to having a copy on my shelf, where I can brag about it).

A lot of people have asked me about my experience with 47North and the Amazon Kindle Serials Program, and why I chose to do it. Now that the season has ended, I thought this would be a good time to talk about those questions.

First, and easiest, is "why did you do it?" I mean, in some ways, doing a Kindle Serial goes against a lot of what I've said about the digital divide, and my unending desire to have print editions available for everything, always. I never want anyone to be left in the position of "cannot possibly get a book." At the same time, the print edition was always a part of the plan, built into my contract; it was just going to come after the ebook editions. While that certainly isn't ideal, it was about the only way something like this could happen, since a week-by-week physical serial would have been way too cost-prohibitive for any book publisher to commit to. As for why I went with the Kindle program, well...they asked me. They also offered to pay me. I am very, very fond of getting paid, as it allows me to feed my cats and keep my lights on and all those other silly things. So when someone contacts my agent and says "we want to pay you to do something cool," my attention is assured.

But the main reason I agreed was because I hadn't done anything like this before. I was a universe author for The Edge of Propinquity in 2010 (when the original Rose Marshall stories were written), but that was very different than having a tight "once every two weeks" schedule, and this was a much bigger challenge. I like challenges. I like finding out whether I can meet them. In this case, I definitely did.

In terms of "what was good about this project," well, there was a lot. I got to write a serial novel in a setting I never thought I would get to expand upon (the ATI Management Bureau began in a short story I wrote years ago); I got to see a lot of people try my work because of the low price point and the easy entry point; I got to have fun with fairy tales. Fun with fairy tales is a huge draw for me.

In terms of "what was bad," there were a few things. The nature of the project meant that I didn't have time to write all twelve segments before things started going live, and that meant that if I wanted to change something after the fact, I really couldn't. I don't think any major contradictions or errors got past us and into the published chapters, but it made the whole experience a little more nerve-wracking than it otherwise might have been. The short, fixed schedule also meant that if there were any unexpected delays on either my part or the publisher's part, I could wind up with a much shorter turn-around period for copy edits and changes. Also not so easy on my nerves, given how tightly I tend to schedule myself. And of course, there was the fact that the Kindle Serial program is currently US-only, and my audience is international, which I know was frustrating for a lot of people. (Now that the serial part is over, the finished ebook is available wherever there is Amazon.)

On the whole, this was an overwhelmingly positive experience, and I would be open to doing a second season if the stars were right (and the holes in my schedule lined up, since again, I am very tightly booked). To any authors considering the program, I can definitely recommend it, as long as you work well under pressure and don't mind sometimes needing to turn things around with little to no notice. I hope to see you all again at the next once upon a time.

Now rest, my dear, and be at ease; there’s a fire in the hearth and a wind in the eaves, and the night is so dark, and the dark is so deep, and it’s time that all good little stars go to sleep.
Tags: contemplation, fairy tale remix, indexing
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Deleted comment

Kindle Serials are generally every two weeks, which was about the pace that I could handle, yeah. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

jenfullmoon

3 years ago

I loved and hated it simultaneously. I would strongly encourage you to do it again. A lot. I came in after the first few chapters, but the highlight of my kindle was the Email notification telling me to "GO READ NOW!" At the chapter before the last I told people not very convincingly that they should just wait 'cause OMG cliffhanger. I do not feel your quality of story or writing suffered and it was exciting. It could also be like writing a novel, it gets easier the more you do it. Do more please?
Whether I do it again is really going to be determined by a) money, and b) time. The more of a) there is, the more likely I am to find the b).

doryllis

3 years ago

The serial format seems to work well with your writing style - I'm thinking of how you published "Velveteen vs." and the Sparrow Hill Road stories.

Personally I'm a fan of short stories; I feel that many mediocre or bad novels would make excellent short stories, series, or novellas, but they get slaughtered by being drawn out.

That said, your comments about the digital divide are certainly important. The bar for entry into the information age is rather higher than it ought to be.
This was my first serial; the others have been linked short stories. It's actually an important distinction, as it means that unless you were looking at a "part one/part two" situation, cliffhangers really weren't an option for Rose or Vel.

hasufin

3 years ago

I was wondering whether you wrote it all ahead of time or as it went along. That two-week turnaround had to be tricky! And you pulled it off beautifully.

I'm glad it was a good experience for you! I know I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I would totally read more stories set in this world (if the stars align, of course)!
Here's hoping.
Thank you again for putting Indexing out into the world! It really melds together a lot of the themes/stylistic elements of your other works within an awesome cliffhanger-format.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Had been going to wait for the print edition. But, well, it's finished, inexepensive, and going to be my reward later today, after I do a hard thing. Thanks for writing something else that sounds right up my alley.
Aw, yay.

arcaneblades

3 years ago

I'm delighted Indexing is now available internationally -- I've been really looking forward to getting to read it!
I am, too!

cheshire_bitten

3 years ago

Seanan:

I loved this. I have not read the final chapter yet (can't wait!!) but I really loved the serial format, even though I always wanted more, more, more!

What a lovely way to get doses of one of my favorite authors in between her muchly-anticipated full book releases! I would heartily applaud a second season, or another serial!
Thank you so much.
It is indeed available on amazon.co.uk now, and also now on my kindle. :)

Thank you!

I enjoyed Scalzi's Human Division as a serial and I would've liked to buy this the same way. If only companies could behave like international organisations occasionally. :(
Sadly, the Amazon Kindle Serial program as a whole is not operating internationally (yet). I'm not quite sure why. Here's hoping that changes.
I was very sad that Indexing was not available in my country as it was happening, but I am so pleased to hear that the ebook is out straight away!
Me too, on both counts.
I really liked the format. There is always a little bit of a letdown when you spend two days powering through a book in every spare moment you have only to have it end and know that there won't be another book for a year or more. There was something exciting knowing the story would be continued in a couple weeks, like a comic book. I really enjoyed it. Thank You for experimenting with us.
Exactly! It was the same sort of excitement I've loved since I was a kid, spending all my money on comics because you -had- to know what happened in the next issue and it would be out soon.

seanan_mcguire

3 years ago


Now bought :)
Hooray!
In terms of any time-pressure-induced errors of continuity that may have slipped in, are you intending to go back before the print book comes out and fix/smooth over those, or will the print book be exactly an in-one-dose version of the drawn out course of, uh, treatment?
(I think the metaphor may have gotten away from me a little, there...)

seanan_mcguire

3 years ago

I stopped reading them as they came along because I always wanted to keep reading and it irked me I couldn't. I'll finish it next week on a trip. Maybe they will have a format that you can pay extra to get sections released early. Or is that too evil?
That'd only work if the story was pre-written.

seanan_mcguire

3 years ago

missingvolume

3 years ago

thistle333

3 years ago

Thank you for the info that it's now available internationally. I've bought it and very much look forward to reading this weekend.
Yay!
Yay, international availability! (I was carefully not asking when the stories would be available overseas, because I got the impression everyone was driving you to drink over that and similar questions.)
I cannot stress how much I appreciate that. I try really hard to be upbeat and friendly and remember that it's your first time asking X, but the 300th time I get asked something I've already answered in public, or that I don't know, the more stressed and snappy I become.
===I will (whatever-nd) the comment that the serial mode does suit your style well, and I think it actually accentuates the chapters and the overall story very well. I know I am one if those folks that jump around in books (I will actually read later in, then jump around and see how the threads interact.). The serial style does not allow for that, but seems to oddly satisfy my liking of jumping about to explore the story...not sure why as of yet. But there it is..(chuckles)
Yay!
I really enjoyed reading Indexing in the serial format, while my wife wanted to wait until it was all done. If you do get the chance to do it again, I will happily preorder with bells on.
Awesome. :)

Deleted comment

I am really, really glad to hear that.
"available internationally"

Two little words, so much happiness! I went straight to amazon, clicked "Buy now", and then came back to read the rest of your entry. Priorities!
I do not have a Kindle, so the online availability through Amazon was a cool feature for me, as well as the low price point. I generally prefer print editions, but missed that bit of info, so I thought the ebook was going to be my only chance. I probably would have waited if I had known, as I find the cliffhangers frustrating (and sometimes anxiety-inducing if the characters I like are left in danger). But I also read a lot of WIP fanfiction, so I'm kind of used to it, and at least the updating is regular. The constant jumping back and forth between stories/characters/POV was sometimes disorienting, but I think will be less so on a second reading when I know who the characters are.

I do love the story/world - besides being a huge fan of fairy tale adaptations in general, I really like the direction of this one: that fairy tales are REAL, DANGEROUS, and happening now/continuously. I've seen a lot of treatments that include the first two points, in an 'every legend is based on truth' way or 'the original stories were way darker', but the concept of this being an ongoing threat to everyone around them that nobody knows about except the Bureau was mind-blowing. I would LOVE to see more from this universe, because I want to see where the characters go from here with what they know now, and the development of the ending hints of metastory.
Awesome. :)
I liked the book. I liked the cliffhangers. I liked the episodic style.
As a long-time fanfic reader, I guess I'm used to reading serials and fond of the format. Waiting for Indexing wasn't that different from waiting for the next chapter of Cat Tales to go live, except with Indexing I knew the specific date it was coming out, and well, I like you a lot more than Chris Dee ^_^ Indexing was a helluva ride. Going to reread it all, start to finish, on the flight this weekend. Thank you for doing this!
You're so welcome.
Love love loved the story and characters and universe. Would be delighted to see more of it if you get $$$ and time!
pick up the print book when it comes out in December
Amazon claims it comes out January 21, but I've pre-ordered it, so it will come to me when it comes to me! I want to re-read it as a whole; it's hard for me to evaluate having read it over five months.

I really enjoyed it, though, and I hope for more!
It was January, which means eligible for the 2015 Hugo Awards!
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