Hello to all: Here is a guest post from a former student and now a friend and writer, Marc Valle!

Hello, writers and readers,

So I’m getting ahead of myself by thinking about how to release this project. It’s still being written and developed, and I can see it changing before it’s finished. Still, because the story is episodic and originally conceived as an audio series, I’m starting to wonder what form it will eventually take and whether the way it reaches readers could shape the work itself.

I’m working on a zombie social satire currently titled Notes from the Undemic. In this alternate modern-day America, almost everything is similar to our own world…except the undead are not only socially accepted but also a sort of protected class that cannot legally be killed or even attacked in self-defense. Their treatment and social status are meant to reflect aspects of modern America. The story has elements of dystopianism, absurdity, and tragicomedy, and it’s narrated in a journal-like form by an ordinary working-class man named Val Marquez. In the series, he writes letters to his son that he intends to give him when his son becomes an adult.

At first, I imagined Notes from the Undemic as an episodic audio series. Lately, written publication has begun to seem more manageable. Also, the narrator’s diary format just feels like it should be read more than it should be heard.

But here’s the problem. Do I release it as a web serial on my publisher’s website or as a book? I have a good relationship with a publisher who is willing to do either. But both release formats have their advantages. With a web serial, I can stay in contact with regular readers, gradually build my audience, and foster discussion among readers. With a book, the work exists as a more permanent object, and readers can move through it at their own pace. With that said, I’m leaning towards a web serial, but I’m open to a book.

So my questions to you are:

● Which would you be more likely to read: a web serial released in installments or a completed book?

● How frequently would you want an episode released?

● Would shorter installments make you more likely to follow the series regularly?

Here is a short excerpt from the first episode of Notes from the Undemic:

“The thing is that I’ve seen her give them anything…nachos, boxes of pizza, leftovers from plastic containers. You’d think she’s feeding a dog. But I’ve seen it, and I see it today, right now as I type this on a park bench. She doesn’t throw it on the field either. She’s handing it to him. And it’s ground beef right out of the package, and this RT, I call him Chauncy, he’s just taking it from her hands and shoving it in his mouth like a gorilla. He’s standing there in his three-piece suit, likely a stage-4 RT. I can tell by the mostly white eyes and wrinkled, pale skin. This guy probably won’t make it through the winter.”

I’d be grateful to hear what you would realistically read. Any thoughts on the project or its possible form would be appreciated.

Thank you, Marc Alexander Valle

Marc writes fiction, essays, and other work at Mavthewriter, mavthewriter.com. He is currently working on Notes from the Undemic.