are meant to be read in 1,000 to 2,000-word (in China) or 70-word (in Japan) chapters via text message on mobile phones and are downloaded in short installments. This trend began as far back as 2003, when author Yoshi thumbed out the first novel, Deep Love. It has become so popular that Japanese websites have sprung up to help manage the flood of new authors and recent novels have even migrated from instant messages to traditional mass market paperback format.Although cell phone novels have not yet acheived the enormous popularity in the United States, the increase in gas prices may spike a rise in readership. How are the two connected, you might ask. Much of the readership in Japan is linked to the use of public transportation and from passengers taking advantage time that they have while in route or waiting for their connections. Currently less than 5% of Americans use public transportation, but ridership has risen dramatically in the past year with increase in gas prices.
Paul Levinson, professor at Fordam University, "I think (cellphone novels) will be 100 percent
enormously popular here in the United States," he says. "The ideas that novels have to come in books, and that people have to read a large amount at once, is an old-fashioned concept." Digital Directions, Katie Ash, A Novel IdeaIf you're interested in reading some cell phone novels check out TextNovel. You can set your preferences to receive updates on your mobile, email or to read the novel directly from their website.
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