Kelsey: Hi Brooke! We’re delighted to have you join us and talk about Dorchester’s exciting new contest. Can you share with us the number of writers you have registered for the contest currently and also the total number you hope will participate?

Brooke: Thank you.  I am delighted to be here as well.

There are over 70 entries to date.  We expect that this number will grow considerably in the coming months as more and more people learn about the contest and polish their stories for entry.    

One interesting characteristic of this contest-as opposed to traditional writing contests-is that its success is not simply based on the number of entries Dorchester receives.  Its success is also determined by the number of followers each story has.  It’s a different contest model with entries being read and voted on by the public long before the publisher has reviewed them.  The sales potential for the winning novel-due to prepublication grass roots support and viral marketing-is significantly larger than it would be otherwise. 

Kelsey: Does this contest replace the “Title” contest Dorchester has sponsored for the past few years?

Brooke: America’s Best Celler is not a “replacement” for American Title, but we decided to explore alternate markets in 2009 with the hope of tapping into a different universe of writers and readers.  We’re thrilled with our relationship with Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine and will continue to develop new marketing campaigns and promotions with them. 

Kelsey: Could you explain the difference between a traditional novel and a “serialized” novel?

Brooke: I am so glad that you asked this question as many people probably don’t realize that many of the most beloved and renowned works of classic literature were, at one time, serial novels. 

When one reads a book today, most likely it was packaged by a publisher in its entirety, from beginning to end, and bound between a front and back cover.  A publisher designs various marketing strategies to promote consumer awareness of both the book and the author, including book reviews, print ads, book signings and selling serial rights.  For anyone unfamiliar with this term, serial rights (in today’s vernacular) are print excerpts of a book prior to publication.   

The serial novel, which traces its roots to Victorian era novelists Charles Dickens, George Elliott and William Makepeace Thackeray, was written and published in installments in popular magazines of the day.  The individual serials were ultimately collected and published as one epic story.  Serials were, for all intents and purposes, the equivalent of today’s television sitcom or soap opera.  Readers became emotionally invested in the stories and the characters, returning week after week to find out what happened next.  A few examples of serials that eventually became classic literature include Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield. 

Kelsey: What prompted Dorchester to team up with Textnovel on this contest?

Brooke: The fundamentals of the publishing industry are continually evolving.  While the traditional model is still healthy, we must continue to grow in order to compete with the emerging media.  A new generation of writers and readers-raised during the internet/cell phone/iPod era-has come of age.  As a direct result of the technologies they were exposed to at very young ages, they accumulate and assimilate information differently than those, like me, born in the early 1970s and before.  It is essential that we-as an industry-adapt to meet their needs rather than dictate to them how stories should be disseminated and shared.  Publishers are being challenged, in a positive way, to creatively explore ways to satisfy the needs of both their core audience as well as the “text generation.” 

Textnovel is using today’s most ubiquitous social networking tools to engage this audience and instill a passion for reading.  The model, as previously acknowledged in my response to your first question, provides unique marketing opportunities that benefit both publishers and authors.  In my opinion, Textnovel is a perfect example of how publishers can marry emerging technologies with traditional storytelling.  People always have and always will love great storytelling.  It’s simply the media that changes.

Kelsey: The rules state each “chapter” should be approximately 500 words. With 20 chapters, that’s approximately 6000 words. Should we assume these should be the first 6000 words of the manuscript?

Brooke: That is correct.  The first 20 chapters/6000 words should be the beginning of the manuscript.   

We felt that a guideline of 20 chapters/6000 words would allow readers ample opportunity to determine their favorite serial(s).  Please note that the 500 words per installment suggestion is also a guideline, not a requirement. 

Entrants should use their best judgment to determine the exact number of words for their story, but we encourage participants to come as close to our estimates as possible to ensure that their stories receive the kind of evaluation they deserve.       

Kelsey: Do you have any suggestions on how to make the most of the 500 words?

Brooke: I spoke to Leah Hultenschmidt, an editor who will be involved in selection of the winning entry, and she said “Pacing will be key.  Entrants want to give readers something that will keep them riveted and end at place that leaves them wanting more.  Maybe it will be a little more than 500 words, maybe a little less.  The readers need to be hooked into the story in an easily digestible chunk-something they could read on their Blackberry while waiting in line at the grocery store.”  

Kelsey: Would you suggest that writers have the entire manuscript completed before they begin submitting chapters?

Brooke: A complete manuscript is not required at this stage.  That said, I strongly encourage entrants to consider where their story is headed because of the due dates.  The ten final entrants will have to submit their full-length manuscript (50,000-75,000 words) to Dorchester by December 31, 2009.  That’s less than six months away….  

Kelsey: When chapters are published, who receives them? And are the chapters accessible only via cell phone? How does one register to receive the serialized chapters?

Brooke:  Anyone who has “subscribed” to a story receives an email or text with a link to the new chapter. They can read each installment/serial either on their cell phone or online.

To subscribe, one has to first join/become a member of Textnovel and then simply click on the phone icon next to the story name for any stories s/he wants to read.

Kelsey: Are there any risks inherent in writers sending out their work this way?

Brooke: No, not at all.  In Textnovel’s FAQs, there is a section specifically devoted to copyright issues:

In the U.S., under the 1976 Copyright Act, a copyright is automatically created when the work is created. A work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or recorded for the first time (e.g., the instant you lift pen from paper or your word processing software saves to disk). That may be the date you publish it on textnovel, if that is the date you create the story. However, publication is no longer the key to obtaining federal copyright. When a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date. This means that if you create your story over time and add chapters as you go, each chapter may have a different copyright date. That doesn’t really matter though; however you do it, you still own the copyright. Keep in mind, however, there may be some benefits to copyright registration. Visit the copyright section of www.uspto.gov for more info.

Kelsey: Does Dorchester currently publish any serialized novels? If so, how do consumers purchase them?

Brooke: This is our second experiment with serial novels.  

In 1999, Dorchester sponsored an e-serial titled Naomi by New York Times bestseller Douglas Clegg.  We disseminated it free via email over the course of a two month period.  In total, there were fourteen installments, and we eventually published the serial in mass market in 2000. 

Kelsey: We know serialized novels have become popular in countries like Japan. What’s the prevailing thought about how they will fare in the United States?

Brooke: The popularity of serial novels in Japan has been astonishing…. While we recognize that Japanese society is considered to be more technologically advanced than most, the actual U.S. population is estimated to be 58% larger than Japan’s.  That, coupled with the increasing popularity of e-books (which can now be read on iPhones, BlackBerries and other PDAs) makes us incredibly optimistic about this form of storytelling.

Please join me again on Wednesday when my friend, Evan, visits RU to discuss a gay man’s perspective on women, sex and straight relationships.