by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
In my post
on Monday, I took a look at the phenomenon of binge-viewing or marathon consumption in entertainment. As I mentioned in the post, Netflix is
enjoying some success with its experiment with its original series, House of Cards, in which it released the
entire season of thirteen episodes on the same day for viewers to watch at
their own pace.
I think there are some real possibilities
and perhaps a glimpse at how reader consumption might operate in the
future. I’ve noticed that readers will
frequently email me or ask me via Facebook when my next traditionally-published
book will release (often asking me why I can’t write faster.) :) Production for traditionally-published books
takes a year. They don’t ask me that question for
my Myrtle Clover series, which is now self-published.
I think there are both pros and cons to rapid book release (and, also, studying data to help us plan books or series...I touched a bit on algorithms in my Monday post).
Pros:
I think there are both pros and cons to rapid book release (and, also, studying data to help us plan books or series...I touched a bit on algorithms in my Monday post).
Pros:
New life
to old series. Arrested
Development, which developed a cult following, was canceled by the
Fox network and picked up by Netflix. This delighted fans, who’d missed the
show. Netflix, again, is providing the
entire new season at once.
For us, this could mean that an old
series, rejected sequels, or our backlist could enjoy new life and attract new readers with its
instant, in-full, availability.
Naturally, we can also write new books in a discontinued series (even without
this rapid release method)…I’ve done that with my Myrtle Clover series which
Midnight Ink pulled the plug on in 2010.
It's not
as necessary to artificially insert cliffhangers: writers can integrate a more
natural storyline:
Jace Lacob in his article for The Daily Beast, “House of Cards—Should You Binge Watch Netflix’s
Political Drama?”:
“Not
reliant on cliffhangers at the end of each episode to compel the viewer to
return the following week, these episodes end when the internal logic of the
narrative dictates they do, rather than through traditional patterns of
serialized storytelling that hark back to Charles Dickens. Shocking moments are
scattered throughout individual episodes, rather than being reliant on a
build-up of tension in the final minutes.”
Or…alternatively, in publishing…we can stick in huge cliffhangers at the end of
our books without worry about reader irritation…because the next book is
already available for purchase. Common
knowledge has previously been that writers run the risk of upsetting readers by
putting cliffhangers at the ends of books, knowing that they’ll have to wait
upwards of a year for the next installment of a continuing-storyline series.
In some
ways, books are better-suited to marathon consumption than television
is…because of the manner in which books are shared with friends. In a Gwen
Ifill interview
for PBS Newshour, Ifill brings up the fact that television used to be more of a
shared/water cooler-type experience for viewers. She asks Brian Grazer, chairman of Imagine
Entertainment (which produces Arrested
Development): “When you're binge-watching, Brian, you don't have a
chance to say, did you see what happened last night? Is isn't that a risk for
the way we communicate as a people at the water cooler the next day?” His answer: “…I
think excitement, curiosity and the explosive nature of how conversations work
can still be applied, because you can say, I just saw five episodes of
Arrested Development. You might not be doing it
on the water cooler the next day. You're going to be doing it on all your
social media.”
Books, obviously, aren’t shared with our
friends the same way…not as frequently in real time (although, who knows—with
the advent of social media, we could host book clubs inside of digital books in ongoing open forums.) Yes, we do read books simultaneously with our
friends sometimes—book clubs and some Goodreads boards come to mind. But I think just as much
excitement/word-of-mouth could be built by telling a friend that you’ve just
finished an entire series in a marathon reading session.
Downsides:
There are some potential downsides to
both quick production/release and studying data to make creative decisions.
Jace Lacob outlined
in his article:
“By offering all 13 episodes at the same time,
Netflix risks undermining its own strategy. Few will acknowledge the time
necessary to launch the second season of House of Cards, or another go-around
of Arrested Development episodes, and
may instead express the same frustration that plagues weekly serialized dramas,
that plaintive cry of the unfulfilled when faced with the lack of instant
gratification: “Why do I have to wait so long?”
Although:
“… But one of Netflix’s greatest assets are its proprietary algorithms—which suggest, based on precise ratings and viewing
history, what else you might want to watch—and that may be just the thing to
tide over the hungry.”
Retailers like Amazon also offer the avid
reader similar alternatives to our books.
What if
your quickly-released series is a dud? Arrested
Development was a good bet for Netflix.
It was a show that became a cult hit, but it was canceled by a
network. Your formerly-successful
backlist might be considered a sure thing.
But what if the original Netflix series, House
of Cards, hadn’t been a hit?
Think of how much time and energy and money was invested in it. What if you write four or five books, release
them in rapid fire or even simultaneously, and the books don’t resonate with
readers? Do you tweak what you can (book
description, cover…even title and story) and see what happens? Do you move on? It’s a large investment of time. In
publishing your backlist, there’s less of a time investment to lose (although
you’ll still have the investment in covers, formatting, etc…the books had
previously been well-edited with many books that have been
traditionally-published.)
Quality
control. If you turn off readers
with one book, they’re unlikely to keep buying the next in the series. Quality control—attention to detail in
editing…but really in all aspects of the book from cover design to interior
formatting—is always important. But it’s even more so if you’re trying to lure
readers to read the other three or four books in your series.
Stress and
working with tough self-imposed deadlines. The need for real discipline. Deadlines are tough enough when we get them
from a publisher. We have to really have
some discipline and focus when we’re meeting our own deadlines and trying to
write a string of books…whether we’re releasing them in rapid succession or
not.
How
calculating and how completely bottom-line-focused can we be and retain a
creative edge (and enjoyment in our process and writing)? Writers, clearly, have got to think
like small business owners in the digital age.
But at what point are we sacrificing our own need for creative
originality if we're studying algorithms/data/sales, and writing/producing for
a demanding consumer market?
What are your thoughts on this
marathon-style consumption and what it might mean for books and other forms of
entertainment in the future? Do you see
it catching on in publishing (traditionally a very slow-paced industry?)
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