Niches, And How They Can Benefit Serial Writers
Tonight's call-to-arms is brought to you by the letter n - because you can't spell niche without n.
So anyone who follows my update list knows that tonight's been a pretty big night for me in web serial land. I had an interview posted, as well as discovering a new review on a blossoming website. Both of these places are relatively new (Wibbly Press has existed before, but not as a news source). Well, it occurred to me, since I got e-mails about both situations at a near-identical time, that they both have more in common than content about me and their love of web serials.
They both are newer takes on what has gone before. In Wibbly Press's case, they do articles and interviews (something that I used to turn to Novelr for) on top of their previous function of being a grouping of web serial writers. Web Fiction Guide has a place for site reviews and hopes to someday do articles and interviews (similar to Pages Unbound and EpiGuide). Now, Novelr and Pages Unbound aren't exactly dinosaurs, having only been created within the past two years (at best). So I was a bit puzzled at the sudden surge of near-identical sites that hope to do the same, only better.
Now, being a newer take on what has gone before isn't a bad thing. Oftentimes the old grows stale, and needs to be weeded out and replaced by the new. On top of that, the more websites that web serials have, the more notice we'll garner. We're a small genre, so anything that can blip onto people's radars is labeled as 'a good thing' in my book.
However, this led me to wondering about what the community needs, as opposed to what we're getting. Please note that I have nothing against the creators of the previous sites, and am glad that they're contributing to the community in the way that they feel is best. But I can't help but wonder what else we're looking for in these new sites, and not finding.
The answer came to me quickly as a genre-writer and a niche-whore. We need more genres inside of the format of 'web serial' - more specifically, we need more websites devoted to those sub-genres.
Now, I've been told before that 'web serial' is a small enough niche, and that no other specialization is needed. I respectfully disagree, for many reasons. Web serials cross all spectrums - gay, straight, male, female, two-spirit, fantasy, literary, steampunk, etc. And to be honest, some of those things I don't like, and some I love - and yet there aren't really many sites devoted to just the web serial genres that I love.
When thinking about the niche-inside-of-a-niche concept, I think about fandom. Fandom is a niche, I don't think anyone will disagree. However, inside of fandom, there are several 'sub-niches' that people gleefully adhere to - and which have become almost as popular as the general fandom itself. Fandom tends to follow a certain schematic:
Fandom In-General > Specific Fandom > Specific Character > Specific Pairing > Pairing Attributes > Squicks
People will then go out of their way to create groups that adhere to that, to hold festivals and garner attention for their aspect of the whole. And yet none of those niche people ever lose sight of the fact that they are, in fact, part of a whole. Their very existence helps the entire fandom be a stronger, more diverse place.
So it seems to me that similar groupings should exist in original fiction serials. This is a niche that should be filled - and while it's great to have lots of sites devoted to reviewing and doing articles about the same general expanse of serials, what I'd love to see are some sites devoted to the genres of web serials.
Perhaps something along these lines:
General Web Serial > Reviews > Fantasy/Genre
or
General Web Serial > Articles > Web Design Technology/Category
Where are the web sites devoted entirely to helping web writers understand the internet jargon that is so important to our medium? I can't be the only one who spends hours in the programming section of my local bookstore, staring at the same three books for hours and still not comprehending a darned thing. The website owner could do it advice column style, where people write in with a question and then the owner decides which one they'd prefer to answer.
What about some sites designed for simple reviews by a select group of people? Sometimes I am more likely to trust a small group of reviewers to be fair and unbiased than I am to trust the faceless masses that review at the 'everyone can comment' sites. As I'm sure many people I know would agree, reviewing is an art form, and as such it deserves its own connoisseurs.
And hey, where are the rants? Dear golly, I'd love to find some web serial ranting sites. Most people who are net-savvy and consider themselves to be fantasy readers have heard of Limyaael's rants - she simultaneously dissects things about the fantasy genre that she dislikes, and offers warnings and advice to her fellow authors. Where are the ranters of the web serial world? Come on, I know you guys are out there - I can't be the only one. ^^;;
I've seen some sites suggest a 'round robin' web serial - there could be an entire site devoted to that concept - or to the 'choose your own ending' style of writing. That has its own pluses and minuses, its own do's and do not's.
And there could be marathons and group writing activities for web serial writers! Sites could hold their own mini-marathons, where people post a new installment every morning and every night, until the end of the marathon. There could be web-wide challenge days, where all writers have to try to work 'x' prompt into their works - and then the site links to those participating (think of “Pirate Talk Day,” "Zombie Outbreak Day," or the recent “International Day of Femslash”). ((Livejournal is notorious for hosting posting groups devoted to this concept, even while web serials are slowly making the shift away from LJ and onto their own websites.))
We could have entire sites devoted to making directories for the niches of web serials - lists of possible betas/editors that could specialize in the web serial format (due to the strict deadlines of web serials, beta-ing for this medium has a unique set of problems), lists of graphic designers, lists of programmers, lists of those who are willing to idea-share, etc.
There are plenty of ways to make a contribution to the web serial world, without simply rehashing the same website concepts that have come before. Sure, it takes a bit of creativity, but you could end up being seen as more interesting and relevant than the people who did the 'general free-for-all' road. Because if there's one thing web serials and fandom have taught me, it's that people love their niches.
By splintering off and yet linking back to the whole, we can make our world of web serials a stronger, more welcoming place - diversity will not only be embraced, but thoroughly explored. And that's the sort of community I want to be known for being involved in.
So anyone who follows my update list knows that tonight's been a pretty big night for me in web serial land. I had an interview posted, as well as discovering a new review on a blossoming website. Both of these places are relatively new (Wibbly Press has existed before, but not as a news source). Well, it occurred to me, since I got e-mails about both situations at a near-identical time, that they both have more in common than content about me and their love of web serials.
They both are newer takes on what has gone before. In Wibbly Press's case, they do articles and interviews (something that I used to turn to Novelr for) on top of their previous function of being a grouping of web serial writers. Web Fiction Guide has a place for site reviews and hopes to someday do articles and interviews (similar to Pages Unbound and EpiGuide). Now, Novelr and Pages Unbound aren't exactly dinosaurs, having only been created within the past two years (at best). So I was a bit puzzled at the sudden surge of near-identical sites that hope to do the same, only better.
Now, being a newer take on what has gone before isn't a bad thing. Oftentimes the old grows stale, and needs to be weeded out and replaced by the new. On top of that, the more websites that web serials have, the more notice we'll garner. We're a small genre, so anything that can blip onto people's radars is labeled as 'a good thing' in my book.
However, this led me to wondering about what the community needs, as opposed to what we're getting. Please note that I have nothing against the creators of the previous sites, and am glad that they're contributing to the community in the way that they feel is best. But I can't help but wonder what else we're looking for in these new sites, and not finding.
The answer came to me quickly as a genre-writer and a niche-whore. We need more genres inside of the format of 'web serial' - more specifically, we need more websites devoted to those sub-genres.
Now, I've been told before that 'web serial' is a small enough niche, and that no other specialization is needed. I respectfully disagree, for many reasons. Web serials cross all spectrums - gay, straight, male, female, two-spirit, fantasy, literary, steampunk, etc. And to be honest, some of those things I don't like, and some I love - and yet there aren't really many sites devoted to just the web serial genres that I love.
When thinking about the niche-inside-of-a-niche concept, I think about fandom. Fandom is a niche, I don't think anyone will disagree. However, inside of fandom, there are several 'sub-niches' that people gleefully adhere to - and which have become almost as popular as the general fandom itself. Fandom tends to follow a certain schematic:
Fandom In-General > Specific Fandom > Specific Character > Specific Pairing > Pairing Attributes > Squicks
People will then go out of their way to create groups that adhere to that, to hold festivals and garner attention for their aspect of the whole. And yet none of those niche people ever lose sight of the fact that they are, in fact, part of a whole. Their very existence helps the entire fandom be a stronger, more diverse place.
So it seems to me that similar groupings should exist in original fiction serials. This is a niche that should be filled - and while it's great to have lots of sites devoted to reviewing and doing articles about the same general expanse of serials, what I'd love to see are some sites devoted to the genres of web serials.
Perhaps something along these lines:
General Web Serial > Reviews > Fantasy/Genre
or
General Web Serial > Articles > Web Design Technology/Category
Where are the web sites devoted entirely to helping web writers understand the internet jargon that is so important to our medium? I can't be the only one who spends hours in the programming section of my local bookstore, staring at the same three books for hours and still not comprehending a darned thing. The website owner could do it advice column style, where people write in with a question and then the owner decides which one they'd prefer to answer.
What about some sites designed for simple reviews by a select group of people? Sometimes I am more likely to trust a small group of reviewers to be fair and unbiased than I am to trust the faceless masses that review at the 'everyone can comment' sites. As I'm sure many people I know would agree, reviewing is an art form, and as such it deserves its own connoisseurs.
And hey, where are the rants? Dear golly, I'd love to find some web serial ranting sites. Most people who are net-savvy and consider themselves to be fantasy readers have heard of Limyaael's rants - she simultaneously dissects things about the fantasy genre that she dislikes, and offers warnings and advice to her fellow authors. Where are the ranters of the web serial world? Come on, I know you guys are out there - I can't be the only one. ^^;;
I've seen some sites suggest a 'round robin' web serial - there could be an entire site devoted to that concept - or to the 'choose your own ending' style of writing. That has its own pluses and minuses, its own do's and do not's.
And there could be marathons and group writing activities for web serial writers! Sites could hold their own mini-marathons, where people post a new installment every morning and every night, until the end of the marathon. There could be web-wide challenge days, where all writers have to try to work 'x' prompt into their works - and then the site links to those participating (think of “Pirate Talk Day,” "Zombie Outbreak Day," or the recent “International Day of Femslash”). ((Livejournal is notorious for hosting posting groups devoted to this concept, even while web serials are slowly making the shift away from LJ and onto their own websites.))
We could have entire sites devoted to making directories for the niches of web serials - lists of possible betas/editors that could specialize in the web serial format (due to the strict deadlines of web serials, beta-ing for this medium has a unique set of problems), lists of graphic designers, lists of programmers, lists of those who are willing to idea-share, etc.
There are plenty of ways to make a contribution to the web serial world, without simply rehashing the same website concepts that have come before. Sure, it takes a bit of creativity, but you could end up being seen as more interesting and relevant than the people who did the 'general free-for-all' road. Because if there's one thing web serials and fandom have taught me, it's that people love their niches.
By splintering off and yet linking back to the whole, we can make our world of web serials a stronger, more welcoming place - diversity will not only be embraced, but thoroughly explored. And that's the sort of community I want to be known for being involved in.