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[Publisher] JukePop Serials

Sonneillon

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A friend recommended Jukepop Serials to me as a possibility for some of my pieces. I searched through the site and I noticed a few of you use Jukepop, and I was wondering if you had any advice re: their terms and conditions, how they handle their authors, what kind of readership numbers are availiable, and just in general what your experience has been submitting works to them. Feel free to answer here or drop a message in my box. Thanks!

-Sonne
 

Weebil

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I submitted a short story I had entered into NYC midnight. I needed a reason to keep developing, despite a grim subject matter. I don't exactly understand the payment system, but I did get a deposit for $24 after a few months (the only one I've seen, but hey!)
The quality varies, they have an area for 'aspiring' writers (no pay) and other members can vote them into author status, which I like. I find some of the work rather uninspired, but I am almost always in agreement with the top 30 picks. It does lean toward zombie/vampire/dystopian, which fits my current work (True North, F.Y.I.) keeping your serial regularly updated (don't blow your wad upfront) seems key for attention, past quality writing, that is. A bunch of active writers can knock you off the front page in 12 hours, and aside from building a fan base, being on the front page seems the best way to gain attention. Oh, and a nice cover. I'm a sucker for a professional looking cover.
 

espresso5

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I was in their initial cohort, and received a hundred bucks, which they paid with no problems.
They work on a voting system, where each chapter can receive one vote from each reader, so the more chapters you submit, and the more readers you get, the more votes you can accumulate. The votes are cumulative, so the stories running the longest with the most chapters have an advantage. The top 30 each month receive a payment, and since the votes are cumulative, once you break into the top 30, you can generally stay, since being in the top 30 will bring you more readers and more votes, etc. etc. The top story every six months gets $500 (I think). They've also started a donation system where you can put a donation button on your story.
Pros: -motivation to continue to write a story
-the staff seems professional
-potential for payment and exposure
Cons: -you only get paid if you're in the top thirty or solicit donations
-you have to edit your own work, and if you miss something you can't go back and change it
-they haven't announced (that I'm aware of) how they are going to sustain the business in terms of revenue (will they charge a subscription fee, do ads, etc.)
It's been a generally fun experience, but I haven't made it into the top thirty. I publish one chapter a month, so I'll probably give it another six months and then discontinue if I haven't made it by then.
 

Sonneillon

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Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, y'all, I appreciate your perspective. If anyone else wants to chime in, I'm still eager to listen; haven't made a decision yet.
 

Brandon M Johnson

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I'm thinking about submitting here. The whole thing is a little confusing, but it looks they have a pretty large customer base. (They have over 12,000 likes on Facebook.) I'll have to see if I have any stories that would work as a serial.
 

Brandon M Johnson

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Update: My serial, Chameleon, was accepted after 23 days. I'll keep you posted.
 

Weebil

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I thought I'd update my experience, as I've removed my work from the site. It was a valuable experience, but I feel like my work is better viewed in a different context.
 
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espresso5

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JP is changing their reward structure to offer "credits" rather than money. Presumably the credits will be for their upcoming publishing services. My general impression is that they're shifting (or have shifted) from a plan to make money from readers to one that makes money from authors through publishing services.
http://blog.jukepopserials.com/2015/01/26/changes-to-jp-30-rewards/
I've been reticent about continuing my serial on JP for the last year or so (I haven't updated in a few months), but wanted to see if they could turn it around. Now I don't see much upside. I'm probably going to pull my serial.
 

CaoPaux

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Updating URL: http://www.jukepop.com/

1 Click Publishing still "coming this summer".

  • $50 to publish your story to 100+ ebook retailers
  • $40/y or $3.99/m service fee to keep you updated
  • We collect a 15% royalty (sharing is caring)
 

R.Barrows

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I guess I looked at JP as more of a reader feedback mechanism for drafting than as a place to really publish. I've never received any form of payment from JP, and I've had a novel up there for about a year. It's a draft of a story I'm still editing for self publication, and what's up on JP has changed quite a bit from what's on there now. Still, I did get a considerable number of 'votes' and it was encouraging to get some reader feedback. I've been on the Editor's Pick list for a long time. The story is Ocean in the Sea if anyone is interested in reading it. I've tried submitting to agents but the continued rejection wore me out and I moved on to another WIP. Probably self-publish the edited version of 'Ocean' on Amazon sometime this year.

Anyway, JukePop has been a pretty good place to showcase things and I generally send my friend to it if they want to read my drafts. I have a partially completed sequel to Ocean up there too (Rook). And then there's an epic fantasy (Beginning in Paradox) and an SF comedy (Laser Thumb). The cover art is mine. Unfortunately it's all the wrong size for Amazon. Bleh. Rookie mistakes.

Oh, and I should say that one thing that's pretty cool about JukePop is their analytics. They allow you to view information about the people who have read your story and provide a curve to show you when readership drops off and picks up. It's helpful to see which chapters slowed people down, how long chapters took to read, the gender and age percentages of your readers, that sort of thing. Gives you some insight into your readership. It's been helpful in spotting elements to remove or edit.
 
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