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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43479
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I am about 3/4 finished with the first "volume" of a novel I desire to serialize. Not for the money really, though I won't lie that it'd be nice, but more for the fact I can get my name out there. Now, I already know how to go about Print-On-Demand, e-Books, publishing in magazines, and online-distribution to various sites like Wattpad. This is more for the sake of having the route of "Traditional Publishing" available to both myself and others without the need of such other methods, especially since I didn't see a question asking for this, only for poems which would not help me.

I'd like to know how I could get a fantasy novel serial published traditionally, if at all, without relying on publishing it chapter-by-chapter in a magazine. **_Is it possible and how/through whom?_**

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> From here on out, the rest of the question is non-mandatory. It's more to address my specific circumstance, but the best answer NEEDS to answer the preceding question no matter what.

Extra Credit: **_Would it be possible for MY specific story to be able to and how/through whom?_** (This is not necessary for a best answer, but would give bonus points to answers that meet the main question's criteria.)

My story has some key marketability issues for the west that I already understand and acknowledge, but I think can be worked as features for the right publisher:

1. The genre is niche. It's an "in another world" series that I am writing. For those familiar with Japanese, the genre is called "Isekai".
2. I am writing it like a Light Novel. This means each volume is about a novella-to-novel in length, would be interrupted by scene-appropriate illustrations periodically, and would be generally designed to be easy-to-read.
3. One of the two main characters is Japanese and is told halfway from his perspective. Otherwise, western-style names (but not necessarily real names) populate the majority of characters. Meaning: the idea of having to read "hard-to-read foreign names" too often would be subsided.
4. My story deals with controversial topics including slavery, the sex-trade, cults (in the Jonestown, not D&D, sense), racism and bigotry, fighting and violence, and so forth. While I would never go _graphic_, I still touch deeply enough on the topics in order to leave a strong-enough imprint on my readers to express a given message. For those who are too young to understand the subtext, they'd see the battered and bruised female slaves as victims of violence, whereas a person who is older (or at least more knowledgeable about the evils in the world) would be able to understand what _kind_ of violence. Basically, _A Song of Ice and Fire_, but less explicit in this sense. (The story is NOT dark fantasy. It just had some dark fantasy tones to it.)
5. It would most likely appeal largely to anime fans due to the other variables, regardless of the art-style employed for the illustrations.

That said, is there a publisher in the West that I can publish this through? I did consider re-writing it in Japanese, which would certainly be possible, but it would not be favorable. While I could get it published in Japan (even despite the "isekai-ban" now employed by many Japanese publishers), I'd rather not do so someplace where the genre is a dime a dozen.

Original score: 8