What is Serial Fiction?

When people hear the term their minds immediately go to a dark realm of serial killers hunting for their prey in the dark alleys of big cities unnoticed by the general mass of counterfeit faces...

Or at least that's what I thought of...

In actuality, the term is for a lost art of writing employed by some of the most famous classic novelists of the 20th century. Instead of writing a novel and getting it published, the authors would write chapters and submit them to a magazine willing to publish their works. Every month the magazine would feature a new chapter of the on-going narrative which would encourage people to buy the magazine and give the writer feedback and ideas of where their story was going.

The serial novel started in 1836 when a newspaper entrepreneur was trying to find a way to encourage his readers to buy a daily newspaper instead of a weekly one (why would anyone want news that often?). So, being the business man that he was, he decided to include bits and pieces of an original novel in his paper which meant you HAD to get a paper everyday or you would miss some of the story. And thus is the birth of the Serial Novel.

In this same year a relatively unknown talent named Charles Dickens used four "installments" to publish a novel called the Pickwick Papers chapter by chapter with accompanying engravings. Almost overnight Charles Dickens was a household name and sales of the magazine soared to 40,000.

Soon, everyone was doing it! The method of writing had proven so mutually beneficial that magazines and newspapers alike were scrambling in a mad dash of frenzied urgency to find budding talents willing to sell their work for a series installment.

The novel that was published in book form as it's public debut became almost extinct. Serialization allowed authors to build a fan base and test the commercial appeal of any work. Some of the most famous classics were Serialized Fiction: to name a few....

In fact, this method of publishing became so popular that there were at least two riots involving the serial publication of novels. In 1841, people anxious to read the fate of their beloved orphan Nell created by Dickens himself rioted in New York Harbor. IN 1842 Paris readers who couldn't afford the magazine rioted to read the end of a harsh cliffhanger from The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue.

Now, my question is WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

Novels now are wholly dependent upon their decorative packaged covers and unique typeface with overly simplified summaries that can't even be considered blurbs intended and aimed for a specific audience of people to catch a snippet of attention, for however brief a moment, destined to be forever lost on a shelf with thousands of other covers and blurbs designed to do the exact same thing! The only hope these books have is to get enough critics with positive reviews that entice readers to give a chance to impress.

Of course, the invention of the TV has also added to the steady decline of any printed medium around. Why bothering getting a paper when you can just watch the morning news?

Why bother reading a serial novel when a TV show comes out with a new episode (a way to enjoy an ongoing story without actually having to use your mind/eyes to read) each week?

However authors are starting to find their way around these obstacles by creating ongoing series of novels like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter which guaranteed readers 6 more books filled with nail bitting suspense and adventure. Others include the Twilight series, Game of Thrones, and The Hunger Games.

Thought the way novels are now published is entirely different than the method that dominated the 19th and 20th century, they continue to bring enjoyment whether it be between two covers or on the big screen.