Yes, folks, I'm doing it again, starting November 26th, 2008.

If you already know the drill and want to get right to reading the story, click here to get started by reading Chapter One.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, this is my third reader-supported serial -- see The Spriggan Mirror and The Vondish Ambassador for information about the first two.

Here's how it works:

• I post the first chapter of a new novel that I do not believe can find a major publisher. [more]
• Readers send me money to encourage me. [more]
• When a certain sum has been received -- in the present case, $250; I'd originally said $300 but have reduced it in light of economic conditions -- I post the next chapter, to a maximum of one new chapter a week. [more]
• Repeat as needed, until the entire first draft of the novel is posted. [more]
• When the novel is complete, I revise and expand it offline, hire a freelance editor to edit it for me, then get the finished novel into print somehow. [more]
• I send anyone who sent me $25 or more during the writing of the novel a copy of the book. [more]

(The "more" links lead to more detailed explanations of each step.)

Both previous serials were Ethshar novels; this one is not. It's science fiction. More specifically, it's a sequel to Nightside City, a science fiction detective story originally published by Del Rey Books in 1989. I'm doing it as a serial because no major publisher, including Del Rey, is going to want to publish a sequel to an only modestly-successful novel from almost twenty years ago.

I'm writing it in the first place because I liked Nightside City, I liked Carlisle Hsing, and I expect it to be fun to write -- not to mention that a good many readers have asked for such a sequel.

From here on, I'll set this up as a "Frequently-Asked Questions" format:

• 1. Why are you publishing novels this way?
• 2. How can we donate money?
• 3. Are chapters always posted weekly? Why weekly?
• 4. What do you mean by "first draft"?
• 5. What happens when the serial is complete?
• 6. If I donate money, what do I get for it?
• 7. Are you going to do more serials this way?
• 8. Can we read Realms of Light here for free, even if we don't donate?
• 9. If I haven't read Nightside City, will this one make any sense to me?
• 10. Who are you?
• 11. Who else is doing this sort of serial?

I've been a full-time professional writer for about thirty years now, and have had more than three dozen novels published by major companies like Del Rey, Tor, and Avon. I'm still writing for Tor. However, over the years I've accumulated a few projects I'd like to do that for one reason or another aren't viable for the major New York houses.

There are basically three categories of work that I'll consider for serialization, rather than shopping them around to every editor in New York:

• Continuations of any series that is seen as "failed." At present, that means the Ethshar series and nothing else. I took it with me when I left Del Rey Books in 1995, and Tor published a couple of volumes, but those didn't do anywhere near as well for Tor as my other fantasy, so they asked me to drop it. No other major publisher was going to pick up the series if Tor didn't want it, so I started serializing Ethshar stories on the web.

• Sequels to science fiction novels published under the name Lawrence Watt-Evans. Back in the 1980s I published pretty much everything under that name, but in the 1990s the market shifted, and I limited it to fantasy novels, short fiction, and non-fiction. Thereafter science fiction novels, or other genres, were only written under other pseudonyms. This means, though, that if I want to write sequels to any of those half-dozen SF novels from the 1980s, I can't sell them to major publishers without screwing up my marketing plans. Thus, serials. The affected novels are The Chromosomal Code (no sequel planned), Shining Steel (sequel possible), Denner's Wreck (prequel begun long ago and shelved), Nightside City (sequel to be serialized), and the two "War Surplus" novels (sequel was planned).

  Oh, and if I ever expand any short SF stories published under the Watt-Evans name to novel-length, they'd fall into this category, as well. At present the only one where that's a serious prospect is "The Ghost Taker."

• Stuff that simply isn't marketable through normal channels -- too short, too weird, too esoteric, too old-fashioned, whatever.

Any novel falling in one of those three categories can wind up as a reader-supported serial. Everything else I expect to go to a traditional publisher.

2. How Can We Donate Money?

I've only found two convenient and reliable methods to send me money; if anyone has more to suggest, I'm interested in hearing it.

First: You can send checks or money orders made out to:      Lawrence W. Evans      P.O. Box 14452      Silver Spring MD 20911		Second: You can use your credit card to send money to my Paypal business account by clicking the button below:
		If you have a PayPal account, you can save me the fees by using it (but not a credit card, despite what the form says!) to send money to this personal account instead of the business one:

3. Are Chapters Always Posted Weekly? Why Weekly?

Not necessarily. If readers haven't yet donated the minimum amount, I don't post until they do. On The Spriggan Mirror that never happened; on The Vondish Ambassador a couple of chapters needed an extra day or two.

The minmimum amount this time is $250 per chapter. I'd originally set it at $300, but given the miserable state of the economy I've reduced it. For The Vondish Ambassador it was $250 per chapter, but I find that science fiction is significantly harder and slower to write than Ethshar stories, so I'd initially raised it.

As for why it's weekly, that seems to work well. Faster than that and I can't keep up with the writing; slower than that and I'm afraid people (possibly including me) would lose interest.

If the money ever stops coming in, I stop writing. There is no guarantee I will finish this novel.

4. What Do You Mean By "First Draft"?

Writers work different ways, but the way I usually work is to write the story straight through, beginning to end, usually pretty quickly, then go back and fix any inconsistencies I find, fill in all the details I didn't think of the first time through, and generally clean up the prose. For a lot of writers the first draft is usually very wordy, with tangents and digressions and false starts, and needs to be cut down and tightened up; that very rarely happens with me. Instead I usually expand the story significantly in rewrite -- a 10% increase in word-count is common, 25% isn't unheard of.

What gets posted here on the web is first draft. It's what I write the first time through, uncorrected, and may contain a wide variety of errors and infelicities.

Fortunately for all of us, my first drafts are readable, if not as good as the finished product. I've put together a comparison sample to give you an idea of what to expect. Sometimes the difference is much larger, though, with entire scenes or chapters being added in later drafts.

If you only read the online version, you only get the first draft. If you want the finished version, you'll need to buy the book in one form or another.

5. What Happens When the Serial is Complete?

Once the last chapter of the first draft is posted, the online serial is done. It won't get updated. It may be removed, in whole or in part, depending on the preference of the eventual publisher. The final version will not be posted. There won't be any obvious activity for a long time.

However, offline I will be revising, rewriting, and expanding the story into its final form. This will take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months, depending on a variety of factors -- how rough the first draft was, how caught up in the work I get, how busy I am with other projects at the same time, etc.

When I'm satisfied with the final draft, I'll hire a freelance editor to go over it. In the past this has been Deborah Hogan, who edited several of the Ethshar novels when she was an associate editor at Del Rey but is now a freelancer. I'm not sure whether she'll be available or interested, since she had nothing to do with Nightside City and has other demands on her time, but if she's not I'll find someone else I trust. I know several freelance editors.

I will work with the editor exactly as I work with my editors at major publishers, and when we're done we'll have the final version ready to publish.

While the revising and editing is going on I will be settling terms with the publisher. In the case of Realms of Light, FoxAcre Press has already expressed interest and will presumably do a trade paperback edition. If for some reason that doesn't happen, I will check with other small presses. If for any reason I can't find one who will publish it under acceptable terms, I will self-publish it under the Misenchanted Press imprint.

One way or another, assuming the entire first draft does get written, the finished book should be published somewhere between six and eighteen months after the final chapter is posted.

With my first serial I also did an e-book edition for certain donors; that turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, so I didn't do it on The Vondish Ambassador and won't do it on Realms of Light. However, an e-book edition should eventually be available on Fictionwise.

You can follow along some of the major mileposts in the process by following my special blog, the Serial Box, where I'll post occasional announcements and progress reports.

6. If I Donate Money, What Do I Get For It?

You get my thanks, and on this serial, unlike previous ones, you get to see chapters as soon as they're written -- I e-mail them to donors, while other readers have to wait until they're paid for.

Beyond that, in theory, if you donated enough, you get a book. However, that's dependent on several factors.

First off, I have to actually finish the story. That will happen only if enough money comes in. I don't know how long it will be, so I can't say exactly how much money that needs to be, but if it runs, say, twenty-five chapters at $300 per chapter, then the novel will only be finished if I receive a total of $7,500 or more. Which may seem like a lot, but it's far less than Tor pays me for a novel, and less than the eventual total I took in on The Vondish Ambassador.

If the serial doesn't bring in enough money, I will not finish it, and donors will not receive a finished book. If that happens, then once I'm convinced the project is dead I will probably try to come up with something to send as an apology and consolation prize, but I am not making any commitment to do so. You may receive nothing beyond my thanks.

If the serial is completed, as I expect it will be, then anyone in the U.S. who donated a total of $25 or more will eventually receive a copy of the finished book. Anyone in Canada who donated $30 U.S. or more, and anyone overseas who donated $35 or more, will receive a copy -- I regret setting those amounts so high, but U.S. postal costs have shot up over the past few years.

Book recipients may get some additional bonus; on the two Ethshar serials they could, if they chose, receive a chapbook of a short Ethshar story. I'm not promising, though.

Anyone donating less than those amounts will not receive a book, but may receive some other consideration; on The Vondish Ambassador I had a couple of maps on a password-protected website that donors could see, and I'll try to think of something similar this time, too.

The $25 minimum need not be sent all at once; so long as the total from a single e-mail address adds up to that much, you're all set. If you use multiple e-mail addresses, or your shipping address is out of date, you'll need to let me know.

All donors will receive e-mail acknowledgment of their donations -- well, assuming I have a working e-mail address for them. They'll also receive e-mail notices each time a new chapter is posted, and e-mail of any major announcements, unless they opt out.

And that's all I'm promising.

7. Are You Going To Do More Serials This Way?

As long as they keep working, yes, but I don't know, at this point, when I'll start the next, or which story it will be. I expect to go back to Ethshar again, but nothing's definite.

8. Can We Read Realms of Light Here for Free, Even If We Don't Donate?

Yes -- at least for now; if the eventual publisher asks me to take it down, I will.

Remember, though, if the money stops coming in, I'll stop writing.

9. If I Haven't Read Nightside City, Will This One Make Any Sense to Me?

I hope so, as I do try to fill in the background, but I can't promise.

Nightside City is in print from FoxAcre Press, so if you do decide you need the background, it's available.

This novel may contain spoilers for Nightside City; whether that's a problem is up to you.

10. Who Are You?

I'm Lawrence Watt-Evans, author of some three dozen novels and hundreds of short stories, articles, etc.

In 2005 I had several readers saying they desperately wanted to see more of series that my publishers did not want to continue. I decided to see whether enough of them were willing to put their money where their mouths are to finance more of those stories.

To my surprise, there were enough. My fans came through, and I have now written two novels as online serials. Realms of Light, if it works, will be my third. These are financed entirely by reader contributions rather than an advance from a publisher. The finished novel will, I hope, be published in traditional form eventually, but its writing is only made financially possible by contributions from readers during its serialization.

11. Who Else is Doing This Sort of Serial?

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, to begin with. A few other people have attempted similar projects without completing them, for one reason or another, but Steve and Sharon have successfully used these serials to fill out their Liaden series. We're setting up a joint website that we hope will become a central clearinghouse for similar projects.

Diane Duane, Don Sakers, and Stephen King have started reader-funded serials in the past, but did not finish, for various reasons.

If you know of anyone else serializing stories on this model, I'd love to hear about it.

Other stuff:

If you'd like to link to this page, or any part of the story, feel free. I worked up a few little graphics for people to use, if they want.

This is first draft; I have no idea how much it may change before it's finished. The serial version is not the final text.

Please note that while I accurately call payments "donations," this is not a non-profit enterprise and they are not tax deductible.

If you have any suggestions, comments on page design or payment methods, or other things you think I should hear about, e-mail me.

I've tried to answer all your questions about my experiment, but if I've missed anything, e-mail me and ask, or check out the blog I've created for discussing this project.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

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