We're Moving (And Getting Better)

Serial Journeys is getting an upgrade

I’m currently at Author Nation in Las Vegas, and just like the last time I came, I’ve been reassessing how I’m doing things. I’m pretty pleased with how the content creator side of the house is going. Fictional Influence, my YouTube, and my soon-to-launch author marketing community… all good.

How I run the author side of my platform… not so good.

If we’re being honest, Serial Journeys was always a terrible name. If you didn’t already follow me on Substack, would you even have clicked on it?

It never communicated what this publication is really about. It could’ve been anyone’s travel blog.

With that in mind, 2 things are going to happen:

1. Serial Journeys is becoming Black Market Fiction, and

2. We’re moving to Ghost, a new platform.

I know change can be annoying, so let me assuage your concerns: you don’t need to do anything. Your subscription continues exactly as is—same price, same access, same weekly episodes delivered to your inbox (once I start my next serial). If you’re a paid subscriber, your access stays the same and you will be asked if you want to renew when the time comes.

So why the change?

In addition to the change of name, Substack doesn’t do what I need it to. The limitations on the web page are a big problem. There’s no way to turn off that welcome page where you’re prompted to enter your email. And there’s only a few layouts I can choose from.

For instance, here’s how one of the chapters for The Twitter Crush appears on my current site:

And here’s what it looks like on my custom Ghost theme:

Black Market Fiction will be the destination for readers who find me after buying The Twitter Crush when it launches in January, so I need it to be awesome.

It will also be the destination for story lovers who want a quality and bespoke reading experience.

Ghost allows me to offer multiple tiers, including a premium tier that will include a quarterly print magazine.

YES. You can have a print magazine (think Esquire, Evie, or even old-school Playboy… sans nudity) and collect the compendium of stories you recieve on Black Market Fiction.

Even if you stick to digital, the reading experience is cleaner, faster, and without Substack’s branding everywhere.

The migration is complete. Everything’s already set up on your end. I’m working on the launch of The Twitter CrushT, so I don’t anticipate any new posts this year. But come New Year… it’s go time. And I think you’ll like what I have for you.

That’s it. Welcome to Black Market Fiction. Same stories, better home.

—Kristin