Cell Phone Novels: Part Deux

Status
Not open for further replies.

Michiru

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
244
Reaction score
31
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hello! A little under a year ago I posted about cell phone novels breaking into the American market from Japan: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148824&highlight=cell+phone+novels

Earlier this year, someone else posted on it, too: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171266&highlight=cell+phone+novels

Go ahead and check those threads out for more information, but basically, a cell phone novel is a novel written on a cell phone. At the time I wrote the first post, America had just discovered the cell-phone novel (originating in Japan, where the books were often publishes with loads of internet slang and emoticons) and trying to find ways to take advantage of the new storytelling form.

Aaand...it seems we have some success stories. 1) On textnovel.com, the highest-read books have tens of thousands of views. 2) The cell phone novel "13 to Life" by Shannon Delany is up on Amazon with positive reviews and an impressive ranking for a first novel that doesn't even go on sale until tomorrow, June 22nd. 3) A novel called Kontax, released in South Africa, was read by almost 70,000 people in two months, two thirds of them adults. 4) "The Warded Man", a British cell phone novel, is being made into a movie.

Tiny steps, but at the very least this seems to be a niche area of publishing. I think it's wonderful; technology moves on, but reading won't be a forgotten pastime, even if the format changes a little.

Most of the sources of the above come from the textnovel.com site; visit there to read about "Warded Man" and "Kontax" and their hits. The info about Delany's book is here: http://www.articlezap.com/article/9...iting_Cell_Phone_Novels_Arrive_in_America.htm

In this post, I first asked what everyone thinks, but let me rephrase: Where does everyone think this can go? With it catching on and showing such significant growth, what do you think the future holds? If you're not interested in these novels, that's cool; we all like to read different things, are entertained in different ways. But with electronics in general and cell phones in particular, more and more a part of everything, including publishing, do you think this will keep growing, stay viable for future readers raised on screens and monitors? How could cell phone novels be shaped and used to their fullest potential?
 
Last edited:

Paul

Banned
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
4,502
Reaction score
482
Location
Close to mother Sea
Well my epublisher offers just that - a download to your mobile. Twill revolutionise the world - maybe. ;)
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

aka Sadistic Mistress Mi-chan
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
2,195
Reaction score
271
Location
At the computer
Well my epublisher offers just that - a download to your mobile. Twill revolutionise the world - maybe. ;)

A cell phone novel is different; the novel is actually 'typed' up on the cellphone, and sent to a website that hosts it. As such, the novels are typically in progress and chapters are very short. I don't know if it'll ever become a new storytelling form, to be honest. It's very difficult to edit and profreed on a cellphone, they're essentially first drafts when they go live. Like with self-publishing, you'll find some gems and publishers will pick up those gems. But there'll likely be a lot to wade through in order to find them. Japan is a VERY different culture than us, and things that work over there won't necessarily work here.
 

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
38,197
Reaction score
4,544
Location
The End of the World
Having a novel with short, succinct chapters being sent to your cell phone sounds cool.

But why does it really matter how the author types it?
 

Smish

Reads more than she writes.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
8,636
Reaction score
3,087
Location
in the Bouncy Castle
I just don't get why anyone would want to type a novel on their cell phone. It pains me to even send long texts.

I must be getting old.
 

aadams73

A Work in Progress
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
9,901
Reaction score
6,428
Location
Oregon
I'm all for people reading any which way is easiest/best for them. But just being in this thread really hurts my eyes.

And I wish those damn kids would get off my lawn.
 

Michiru

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
244
Reaction score
31
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
I think, a year later, I'm still not interested.

No, but obviously loads of people are, which is what makes this all so exciting. I mean, 30,000 views on textnovel, a high rating on Amazon, a movie deal--those are all significant, way above what most traditional (and, of course, other cell phone novels) get.

And yet this isn't Japan, and the future of these novels is undetermined in English. As far as I can tell, a lot of these novels aren't written in cell phone jargon, a departure from what they were in Japan. So, since they've obviously caught on in a niche sense, where will they go from here?

Will they become mainstream, because, as an earlier poster said, new readers will like to have short installments sent to their phones? Will regular novels be broken down into this easier to swallow format? Will story styles move with them, or will they become a blip on the radar and disappear?

At this point we have no idea, yet it's proof that loads of people are still interested in reading, even if it's not always in the way we who grew up on ol' fashioned books are accustomed to. It's a brave new world, with new possibilities, and I'm curious to see where all this goes.
 

Miss Plum

Sockpuppet
Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,570
Reaction score
187
a lot of these novels aren't written in cell phone jargon, a departure from what they were in Japan.
In that case, they sound like anything I could download to or read on my cell phone, including plain old text files from Project Gutenberg. I don't see what's so new and exciting and fresh.
 

Paul

Banned
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
4,502
Reaction score
482
Location
Close to mother Sea
In that case, they sound like anything I could download to or read on my cell phone, including plain old text files from Project Gutenberg. I don't see what's so new and exciting and fresh.

Yeah, but sexier.

Ok,ok gutenberg project is also sexy - if you're old / 100 years out of date.

:)

Kiddin honest, love the whole access to the classics thing.
 

Libbie

Worst song played on ugliest guitar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
5,309
Reaction score
1,094
Location
umber and black Humberland
sounds like a gimmick to me. One I find rather stupid, I must admit.

Words are words. Why should I give a crap how they were written? I only really care whether they're interesting.
 

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
7,485
Reaction score
897
Location
Belfast
I think, a year later, I'm still not interested.


me neither.

It sounds very faddy, and it doesn't appeal to me personally, but it could be interesting to teens and people who are up in their tech.

I wouldn't have the thumbs to write one like that though.
 

ChaosTitan

Around
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
15,463
Reaction score
2,886
Location
The not-so-distant future
Website
kellymeding.com
Aaand...it seems we have some success stories. 1) On textnovel.com, the highest-read books have tens of thousands of views. 2) The cell phone novel "13 to Life" by Shannon Delany is up on Amazon with positive reviews and an impressive ranking for a first novel that doesn't even go on sale until tomorrow, June 22nd. 3) A novel called Kontax, released in South Africa, was read by almost 70,000 people in two months, two thirds of them adults. 4) "The Warded Man", a British cell phone novel, is being made into a movie.

Are you talking about THE WARDED MAN by Peter V. Brett? If so, can you link me to something that says he wrote this book on his cell phone?

As for 13 TO LIFE, I've heard of it and read some good reviews. No one has ever mentioned it being "a cell phone novel." And I doubt it was picked up by a major house for the novelty of being written on a cell phone. It was picked up because the author wrote a darned good story, and that's what's important. A good story that appeals to a large audience, and publishers don't care if you wrote it on your cell phone, an electric typewriter, or slate tablets.

As for the number of views on these stories, how often are they updated? Every couple dozen words? Some of those stories have 200k+ word counts. Every time the author updates, every time the same fans read the update, that equals a page view. The number of unique readers is what's important.

I'm not saying that there aren't any quality stories being written on that site. I have no idea. But this text novel thing isn't going to revolutionize the industry.
 

Miss Plum

Sockpuppet
Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,570
Reaction score
187
Yeah, but sexier.

Ok,ok gutenberg project is also sexy - if you're old / 100 years out of date.

:)

Kiddin honest, love the whole access to the classics thing.
Naaah, you don't have to be kiddin'. In fact my point is, it could be indistinguishable from Project Gutenberg! What's this novelty I'm supposed to be excited about?
 

Anaquana

needed a good laugh today
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
823
Reaction score
102
Location
Western MA
Website
anaquana.wordpress.com
ChaosTitan, I remember Shannon mentioning it being a cell phone novel on Twitter at some point a few months back.

I have to agree with the rest of you who are underwhelmed by this concept. I don't own a cell phone, but if I did, I certainly wouldn't want to try reading a book on it!
 

Michiru

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
244
Reaction score
31
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Are you talking about THE WARDED MAN by Peter V. Brett? If so, can you link me to something that says he wrote this book on his cell phone?

http://www.switched.com/2009/04/23/man-writes-400-page-novel-on-cell-phone/

As for "13 to Life", I posted the link to an article about that one above.

I agree that it wasn't picked up for the novelty of being written on a cell phone; that's just why it's being reported on. As was pointed out above by another poster, in the end, a good story is a good story. My point is, this could be a new way of writing/reading good stories. And with so much of the world plugged in, the way we write and read will be different.

Charles Dickens, for example, used to write a lot of his work in installments in magazines, as did many writers of his time. When those magazines were no longer popular, the way people read books changed; and the way people wrote changed, because it was no longer important to have exciting moments in each installment. When computers came along, it changed the way writers wrote because everything became more convenient, stories and editing were moved different ways. You mentioned writing on stone tablets, ChaosTitan, but of course it would matter if someone changed the format of their writing. Editing and changing the story on a stone tablet would be, ha ha, difficult, which is why we don't use them.

Now, with the new cell phone technology, you pointed out that each time the novels are updated, that equals new page views. You're right, and to stay popular, the writer had to make each installment exciting enough to keep the readers reading, something most writers since Dickens's magazines went out of style haven't thought about. That will change how books are written.

Also, the way they're written might mean dialogue changes (you know, cell phone jargon; that's popular in Japan, though over here, I'm not sure), and they can be written much more conveniently; "The Warded Man" was written on the way to the author's work. Reading on cell phones might mean a big change for the printed page and kindles.

However, what will absolutely stay the same, is that people are enjoying reading. On textnovel you can find a great article about using the new cell phone novels to teach literacy. The way of doing things might change. I don't know if it will "revolutionize the industry"; we can't know that now, though the possibility of what could be is really interesting to me, and why I'm posting here. But it's proof that people will keep reading, even if the way and style changes. It means we WON'T lose our jobs to movies and TV. I think it's all rather hopeful; as some people here have pointed out that they don't care how something is written as long as it's interesting, it seems other readers don't either; or those who do, and like the new style, will come along for the newness and learn to love reading in the meantime. With all the articles about struggling books posted here, this is a breath of fresh air for me.

I totally expected plenty of people to be uninterested--after all, it IS a different form of writing, and love for the form we know now is strong, otherwise we wouldn't be here. But I'm surprised by the amount of negativity coming out. Some of the posts here seem designed to go out of their way to deny any legitimacy of the new style at all, and deny it's even happening, without a word about the good stuff that's come from it.

Oh well, I've put the info out there. And I really am interested in discussion about possibilities in the future, so if this interests anyone, by all means PM me.
 

BenPanced

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
17,865
Reaction score
4,640
Location
dunking doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts
A cell phone novel is different; the novel is actually 'typed' up on the cellphone, and sent to a website that hosts it. As such, the novels are typically in progress and chapters are very short. I don't know if it'll ever become a new storytelling form, to be honest. It's very difficult to edit and profreed on a cellphone, they're essentially first drafts when they go live. Like with self-publishing, you'll find some gems and publishers will pick up those gems. But there'll likely be a lot to wade through in order to find them. Japan is a VERY different culture than us, and things that work over there won't necessarily work here.
This [sup]10[/sup].

Not to mention the fact that "cell phone novels" are very much like self-pubbed novels in if people don't know they even exist, they aren't going to read them. You can post them online but I'm never going to see them because I don't go looking for them.
I totally expected plenty of people to be uninterested--after all, it IS a different form of writing, and love for the form we know now is strong, otherwise we wouldn't be here. But I'm surprised by the amount of negativity coming out. Some of the posts here seem designed to go out of their way to deny any legitimacy of the new style at all, and deny it's even happening, without a word about the good stuff that's come from it.
You might see negativity, but I see realism: people aren't going to go for a "cell phone novel" for physical reasons. I refuse to read a novel on my cell phone because of my eyesight, as others have mentioned. Just because the technology's out there doesn't mean it's going to be universally embraced.
 

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
38,197
Reaction score
4,544
Location
The End of the World
Charles Dickens, for example, used to write a lot of his work in installments in magazines, as did many writers of his time. When those magazines were no longer popular, the way people read books changed; and the way people wrote changed, because it was no longer important to have exciting moments in each installment. When computers came along, it changed the way writers wrote because everything became more convenient, stories and editing were moved different ways. You mentioned writing on stone tablets, ChaosTitan, but of course it would matter if someone changed the format of their writing. Editing and changing the story on a stone tablet would be, ha ha, difficult, which is why we don't use them.

Bolding mine.

I've read stuff on my iPod Touch, and I see the appeal of reading short, exciting chapters in installments and the like.

But actually writing it on a cell phone isn't all that convenient for many writers, so I don't see why it matters a bit how it was written.
 

ChaosTitan

Around
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
15,463
Reaction score
2,886
Location
The not-so-distant future
Website
kellymeding.com
http://www.switched.com/2009/04/23/man-writes-400-page-novel-on-cell-phone/

As for "13 to Life", I posted the link to an article about that one above.

Thank you for the link. I did read the information on 13 TO LIFE, but since THE WARDED MAN is is no way associated with the textnovel.com website, I was curious as to your source. :)

"The Warded Man" was written on the way to the author's work. Reading on cell phones might mean a big change for the printed page and kindles.

I still don't see any proof to this argument that cell phones will change how books are read or written. I truly don't. Brett didn't intentionally set out to write his book on his cell phone. It just happened that way, and it was a convenient method for him. He probably could have just as easily written on the train with a notebook and pen.

And while digital publishing is gaining a lot of mainstream traction, it isn't going to overtake print publishing any time soon. So the idea of cell phones suddenly being competition for Kindle/Nook seems a little presumptuous. I'd go cross-eyed if I tried reading a whole book on my Blackberry.

However, what will absolutely stay the same, is that people are enjoying reading.

I have no problem with people enjoying reading. The more people who love reading, the better.

My fear, however, is text-speak. This is not proper grammar, and I fear that people who write in text-speak and *shudder* enjoy reading text-speak will begin to think text-speak is okay. And it's not. It's lazy. And it's lazy, because it's was originally a shorter way to say things via text message, before phones became easier to use and had full keyboards. And it's okay for that use.

Occasionally new, young writers join the boards here, and they post in text-speak. There are always polite comments made on how text is cool for texting, but when you're on a board of writers, for writers, it comes across poorly.

On textnovel you can find a great article about using the new cell phone novels to teach literacy.

That site is somewhat difficult to navigate, so I'll take your word for it. As long as they aren't using the text-speak novels for it, I'm all for literacy.

I totally expected plenty of people to be uninterested--after all, it IS a different form of writing, and love for the form we know now is strong, otherwise we wouldn't be here. But I'm surprised by the amount of negativity coming out. Some of the posts here seem designed to go out of their way to deny any legitimacy of the new style at all, and deny it's even happening, without a word about the good stuff that's come from it.

Where you see negativity, I see people asking questions and raising legitimate concerns. I admit that the technology exists to write a novel on a cell phone, but I just don't see a large number of professionals embracing this as an alternative to their computer. Heck, there are still people who prefer to write first drafts with pen and paper.

I mentioned my concern above: text-speak. And it's a big issue to address when it comes to the effects of modern technology.
 

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
7,485
Reaction score
897
Location
Belfast
it's even the thought of writing a novel on a cell phone. i mean seriously, why would you bother. between predict a mistake and 145 character limits, it's just more hassle than it's worth to be honest.

I predict a mild interest, a newsround special on someone who has published a book that way, it'll be that nothern chick announcing 'and we talk to a young author who secured a publishing deal on a novel that was all written on his mobile phone' in that sexy voice of hers.

And about three weeks later no one will care, because written on a mobile or not, it doesn't affect me as a reader. i'll not be seeking them out.

and i sure as hell won't be writing one.

i'm too old for this sh*t
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

aka Sadistic Mistress Mi-chan
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
2,195
Reaction score
271
Location
At the computer
Exactly. Out of the MANY cellphone novels, how many were picked up by commercial publishers? I reckon the odds are the same as with self-publishing. Like others said, there's nothing exciting or unique or new wave of writing here. Really it's just free self-publishing. If that's what someone wants to do I say go for it, but be realistic. Your odds of seeing commercial success via that route is currently very low.
 

spamwarrior

rewriting.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
7,491
Reaction score
924
Location
Bloomington, Indiana
Website
acurrentundersea.wordpress.com
Considering how small cell phones generally are... I think this is a no-go for me. I would not like to read a cell phone novel on my phone. I definitely don't think I'd write one, considering how hard it is to type on my phone.

Why squint to read a tiny screen when I can have a book in my hands? Why type a novel up on my phone when I have a laptop?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.