In yesterday's post, I wrote about how important it is for would-be online novelists to carefully consider what multimedia elements they want to include in their multimedia novels.
Today, I want to focus on a different kind of product--something that, while sometimes referred to as a multimedia novel, is not.
The heart of the issue is this: A novel is designed to be READ. When authors go beyond providing supplemental information in their multimedia elements and instead provide essential parts of the story so those multimedia elements must be accessed in order for users to get the whole story, that product is no longer a multimedia novel. It's a hybrid. In that realm, the text is not king and the creators must be as much producers/directors as writers.
I see a lot of value in providing stories of this type and I think there's a growing audience for it, but would-be content providers must remember always that such products, while having a value and audience all their own, will never meet the needs of users who want to experience a story through READING.
Instead, such hybrid products--somewhere between a novel and a podcast/video offering--will appeal to those who want to simultaneously and/or intermittently read, hear and watch a story unfold. It's a completely different user experience and not one that all would-be visitors will want.
It's important for content providers to keep in mind that even some potential customers who might appreciate the read-listen-watch experience as an ideal will not do so in the current world, where bandwidth restrictions remain an issue for a wide segment of web users.
In making the decision about whether to create a read-listen-watch product, do so knowing that (1) not all potential customers for your story will want it in that format; and (2) not all potential customers who would like it in that format will be fortunate enough to have the bandwidth to be able to access it that way.
The best way to meet the needs of the widest potential customer base, would-be readers as well as the reader/listener/watcher market, is to offer the story as both a multimedia novel (a textual story enhanced by supplemental multimedia elements) and a hybrid (a story that REQUIRES listening and/or watching in addition to reading).
I think it'd be great to be able to offer my visitors both. I'm not there yet. I'm still in the multimedia novelist realm, offering text with supplemental images, video and audio. Sure, I could throw something up on the web as a hybrid, but I don't want to right now. Like most other writers, I lack the resources to do it well. It's a personal choice for me. I'd rather not do it at all than waste the time and energy to do it badly.
Still, I can't help but appreciate the efforts of those who are out there pushing the boundaries, putting their stories and reputations on the line to try to find out what works and what doesn't, when it comes to the production of text-audio-video hybrids.
If you'd like to check out one content creator's vision of what a hybrid product might look like, visit Unnatural States. Nicola Furlong, its creator, calls it a Quillr (tm), and she's up-front in pointing out that bringing the story before the public took the efforts of quite a few people.
Feedback on Unnatural States and the Quillr concept has varied. Some love it. Some hate it.
Some who hate it express appreciation for the concept but point out issues related to this particular story and/or the execution in this particular product. It's clear from the comments of others, though, that they hate the concept. I expect most of them always will. For them, it's a poor substitute for reading.
As I see it, there's room for this new type of delivery method, the hybrid, which some users will love and others will never want.
I hope to see growth in the offerings of both multimedia novels and hybrids.
I can't see the hybrid significantly diminishing the market share for multimedia novels because, for the reasons outlined above, it's a whole different thing. In fact, experiencing a story in one format might even make the user want to experience it in another, in the same way that people want to see movie versions of novels they've loved in print and want to read in print the novels that inspired movies they've loved. Multimedia novels and the hybrids are simply additional ways for people who love stories to experience them. Date of availability and personal preference in terms of delivery method may drive the user when he or she makes the choice to first engage with a story but, if the story's good enough, it may well be worth experiencing the novel/multimedia novel, the hybrid and the movie.
As these new storytelling vehicles evolve, it's important for readers as well as content providers to refine their expectations. It's not just that a read-listen-watch experience isn't your mother's kind of novel. The real point is, it's not a novel at all. Still, if it's just what you're looking for, it can be a pretty cool experience.
-Originally posted on October 9, 2009, at rascaleriter.com.
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