A serial is a story that arrives a part at a time. You publish an
opening, then release more chapters as you write them. This article is
the author's side of it. For what your readers see and how they follow
along, read
Stories that arrive in parts.
Two ways to start a serial
When you publish. On step 1 (Details) of the publish wizard,
tick "Publish this as a serial". That is the usual route.
After you publish. Already live and wishing you had ticked the box?
Open /my-stories, find the story on the Published
tab and choose "Make it a serial". Nothing you have written is lost
or hidden by the switch.
Either way, everything you have already written goes live together
when you publish. Serialising does not pull existing chapters back —
it changes what happens to the chapters you add afterwards.
Adding the next part
Chapters you add after the story is live start out hidden. Readers
cannot see their titles and cannot read ahead.
- Open
/my-storiesand choose "Manage serial" on
the story. - Write the new chapter as you would any other.
- When it is ready, press "Release" — in German "Freigeben" —
on the story's write page.
Releasing is what puts a chapter in front of readers. Nothing else
does.
Releasing is a one-way door
Read this bit twice — there is no un-release. Once a part is out,
it is out. You can still edit its text afterwards, but you cannot take
the part back off the story page.
Pressing "Release" twice is harmless. The second press changes
nothing, so if you are unsure whether it registered, pressing again
does no damage.
Because releasing cannot be undone, a last read-through first is
usually worth the minute.
Ending the serial
When the story is finished, use "End the serial". It releases
everything you have written but not yet released, so no chapter is
left stranded in a drawer nobody can open.
If you have half-finished chapters you would rather not publish,
delete them before you end the serial.
The "Next installment expected by" date
You can name a day on which you expect the next part. It is purely
informational:
- Nothing is scheduled by it.
- Nothing publishes automatically when the day arrives.
- You can change it or clear it whenever you like.
It is a courtesy to your readers, not a commitment. Only pressing
"Release" publishes a part.
What readers see
- A serial badge on the story page.
- "N parts released" — never "N of M". How many chapters you have
written but not released stays private, so nobody can count what is
waiting. - The released parts, each with the day it appeared.
Before you edit a part you already released
Editing the text of an already-released chapter behaves quite
differently from adding a new one: it creates a new, unpublished
version of the story, and the serial controls disappear while you are
inside it. That surprises a lot of authors, so it has an article of
its own —
editing a serial.
Adding a new chapter does none of that. It is always safe.