On March 15, Candlemark & Gleam is proud to be releasing our first web serial, Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle. It’s an amazingly hilarious YA fantasy set in a New England boarding school, and we’re sure you’re going to love it.

But while the story is fantastic, the format has raised some questions. A number of folks are wondering just what we’re up to with this “web serial” thing, and how it’s going to work. Can they still get the book all in one piece? How are they going to read it? What the heck is going on, anyway?

Here’s some answers for you, in a handy Q&A format.

Q: What’s this web serial thing all about, really?
A: It’s about reintroducing an old idea in publishing. Back in the 1800s, authors regularly wrote for serialization – Charles Dickens was an especially prolific serial author, publishing many of his work in installments in the magazines of the period. Of course, this left us with little problems like the whole “unfinished” thing with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but that’s neither here nor there.

Candlemark & Gleam likes to take ideas from publishing’s grand past, and try to update them for modern technology and modern audiences. One way we’re doing this is by reintroducing the serial story idea. The web makes it very easy to serialize fiction – so that’s what we’re trying out here.

Q: How does the serial work? How do I get my story?
A: Each chapter of the serial will be released as a standalone. The first two chapters will be free for all comers to read; if you like what you see, you can either purchase each chapter a la carte, or you can sign up for a subscription.

Q: What’s the advantage to a subscription?
A: You’ll get the book cheaper than buying it chapter-by-chapter, and you will get a pretty, compiled eBook when the serial run finishes.

Q: How do I read the serial?
A: You buy a chapter and then get access to a page that has the current week’s chapter on it; with a subscription, you’ll get access to a special page that has all the chapters released so far.

Q: What if I sign up to the serial late?
A: If you buy a subscription, you’ll have access to all the chapters that have already been released, up to the point you signed up.

Q: How often does the serial update?
A: One chapter will be released every week, on Tuesdays.

Q: Why are there different subscription levels?
A: We wanted to give you plenty of options! You can choose to buy Hickey of the Beast by the chapter, or you can subscribe to the serial. If you subscribe, you can choose between a number of options – a bare-bones subscription that just gives you the serial, plus a finished eBook; a deluxe package that gives you the serial and eBook, plus an exclusive short story by the author; and other packages that bundle the serial, the eBook, and stories and exclusive goodies relating to Hickey of the Beast. The more you choose to pay, the cooler the stuff you get.

Q: What if I just want to read the book, all finished?
A: You’ll have to wait for the serial run to finish. Hickey of the Beast will be released as a completed eBook when the serial finishes – but it’ll be more expensive to wait for the completed book than to follow along with the fun through a serial subscription, so be forewarned!

Q: How can I get my own Hickey of the Beast?
A: We really don’t recommend it. Supernatural hickeys are a bear to cover up. But if you really want a satanic hickey of your very own, we can work something out…

Any more questions?