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Neal Stephenson Launches Serialized Digi-Novel, 'The Mongoliad'

by Caleb Johnson on September 4, 2010 at 03:00 PM

concept art for 'the mongoliad' by aleksi briclotThe book business is changing, or better yet, it has changed. Kindles are outselling hardcover books for crying out loud! The next step, sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson hopes, could be using an online platform to sell digital books with material contributed by a team of writers and readers. According to Venture Beat, Stephenson launched the first installment of a serialized digital story called, 'The Mongoliad,' earlier this week through his new company PULP. Readers can purchase a subscription on the site, which costs $5.99 for six months or $9.99 for a year, and gain access to the serialized text, as well as background stories, illustrations, music, video and more. PULP's user-generated content and social-networking features includes glossaries compiled by fans, chat forums and activity badges. For now, this experience is only available on a computer, but iPhone, iPad and Android apps are in various stages of development and approval.

This publishing platform sort of reminds us of the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' series of books. That gimmick eventually died out, mainly because it was marketed to a niche readership. We hope PULP doesn't suffer the same fate and branches out to all kinds of readers, not just loyal sci-fi nerds.

Tags: apps, e-books, Neal Stephenson, NealStephenson, pulp, reading, scifi, the mongoliad, TheMongoliad, top, web

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