A Written Web Series
My good friend Michael Bekemeyer is full of great ideas. He’s one of those guys that will take off like a rocket when he gets the break he deserves in this industry. We were tweeting (my Internet was back up) and he told me about something new he was working on. If you know me then you know when I hear a great idea, I:
- Think about how I can apply the idea’s process to me
- Think about how to publicize and monetize it.
I particularly like good ideas that allow me to reach back into the work I’ve previously done, rewrite and reboot it and possibly start something new and different. The thing that appeals to me now is using the web as a viable alternative for TV, ie. a web series. However, in looking at lulu.com it occurred to me that the web can also be used as a different platform for self-publishing too.
To wit: in the time it takes to write, cast, shoot, edit, score and upload an HD webisode certainly someone can write 10-15 pages of an ongoing short story, right? Double-spaced, it shouldn’t take the average reader longer than five minutes to read (which is the equivalent of a single webisode).
In a sense a web based short story is web series in the same way a web based movie is a web series. It’s ongoing. It’s short. It captivates the reader/watcher for five minutes.
If you’re a writer you need to write all the time, and what better way to hone your skill than writing an ongoing story that readers will come back to for the next entry. A web page with unobtrusive donation links allows those who appreciate your work to pay you, advertising could help pay the bills; and when the story is complete make the hardcover book available for a nominal fee.
