Radish Publications, scheduled for closure in December 2025.
Radish Fiction, a popular platform for serialized fiction, has announced that it will be shutting down its operations by the end of December 2025. The decision comes amidst a rapidly evolving digital publishing landscape and intense competition in the serialized fiction market.
Launched in 2015, Radish Fiction quickly gained a following with its digital-first romance genres and other popular serialized storytelling formats. The platform's business model, which relied on coin-based purchases and subscriptions, was widely adopted by authors and readers alike.
However, the serialized fiction market has become increasingly competitive, with platforms like Wattpad—a major player known for its vast community and wide content variety—dominating much of the space. Wattpad's scale, broader user base, and integration with larger publishing and entertainment industries likely imposed significant competitive pressure on Radish Fiction.
Competition with Wattpad and other reading platforms contributed to Radish's challenges in sustaining growth and revenue. Concurrently, companies like NetGalley are expanding their consumer-facing offerings related to early access e-books and digital marketing tools for publishers, indicating the market's evolving nature and possibly crowding out platforms like Radish.
Radish's goal was to compete against Wattpad in the serialized fiction space, but the challenges proved too great. The company was later sold to Kakao Entertainment for $440 million, which was part of Kakao's expansion into digital content platforms. Tapas, another webcomic platform, was also part of the acquisition.
As Radish winds down its operations, authors are completing works and transitioning away from the platform, seeking alternative platforms for their serialized content. The shutdown will have a significant impact on the writing community.
Despite the challenges, Radish had some success in its short lifespan. In a few years, the platform had 700 authors, some of whom generated over $10,000 per month. All public-facing stories or chapters on Radish can be viewed and purchased until the service ends.
It's important to note that Michael Kozlowski, who writes about audiobooks, e-books, and e-readers, is not affiliated with Radish Fiction. His work does not provide statistics about Wattpad's user base, creators, or titles, nor does it discuss the challenges faced by Radish, Amazon Kindle Vella, and other companies in competing against Wattpad.
In conclusion, Radish Fiction's shutdown by December 2025 reflects a strategic decision likely driven by competition, changing market dynamics, and difficulties maintaining its coin/subscription business model. The rise of dominant competitors such as Wattpad, which has greater scale and integration, underscores the challenges faced by traditional serialized fiction platforms in adapting to new reader and industry expectations.
- As authors search for alternative platforms to share their serialized content, they might find interest in technology like e-readers, smartphones, and various gadgets, as these devices provide convenient access to digital content.
- Meanwhile, the serialized fiction market continues to evolve rapidly, with players like NetGalley expanding their offerings to include early access e-books and digital marketing tools for publishers, potentially further challenging platforms such as Radish Fiction.
