: Re: Why are 'Episodic' books so uncommon The vast majority of fictional books are one continuous story, which are closer in style to what films are in a visual medium. I was thinking about why

@Courtney562

Vote Up Vote Down

What you're describing is a "serial". These used to be common, both in film (short films before the feature in a cinema, back when a nickel would get you a whole afternoon of entertainment), and in paper publishing (magazines and even newspapers would run serial stories). They migrated to radio, and then television, and are (IMO) the real source of our modern 30 or 60 minute programming format.

They fell out of favor in written material when the tastes of the public changed and they became less lucrative for publishers. Magazine publishers found readers were often more satisfied with a short story or novella that was complete in a single issue, or with serialization of a complete novel that would finish in four or five issues, but then stand as a complete, coherent work. Series of stories persisted, but they were generally structured as stand-alone stories that shared a background, setting, and characters.

Bottom line is that episodic stories didn't vanish -- they migrated into media that are better suited for frequent installments (weekly programs), where advertising revenue would pay the bills. Magazines, where they had started, found they could better pay the bills by publishing material people would pay to read -- which usually meant not having to worry about missing an installment.

(0)

Login to post a comment!