Tor Books announced it will serialize Cory Doctorow’s upcoming book, Makers, in 81 parts. That’s roughly six pages per installment. The idea’s good, the serialization length is wrong. While Tor cites Dickens, among others, whose works were often published as serialized stories in newspapers, it takes more than a few pages a day three days a week to keep a reader involved. 81 parts is too many, even when each installment comes with a one-panel illustration.
The discussion of the creative process by Tor’s Pablo Defendini is very interesting. I think he should leave others to answer the question: Is it “totally fucking awesome?” He says it is. We’ll see.