How 1 Stephen King Book Was Left Unfinished By His Readers

Summary Stephen King's The Plant was a unique publishing experiment that didn't go as expected. (89)

The Plant's non-traditional distribution led to an incomplete novel, following King's conditions for its publication.

The fate of The Plant remains uncertainas King has moved on to other projects.

Stephen King is the mind behind many horror classics, but there’s one book that hasn’t been finished, and readers had some influence on that. Stephen King has rightfully earned the title of “Master of Horror” thanks to his many horror novels and short stories, through which generations of viewers have explored different worlds and fears. King has also created some of the most famous villains and monsters in the genre, such as Misery’s Annie Wilkes, It’s title creature and its Pennywise shape, and Randall Flagg, and there’s always a lot of anticipation around his projects.

Since the publication of Carrie in 1974 (King’s first published novel though not the first one he wrote), King has written over 60 novels and around 200 short stories, though many haven’t seen the light of day for many reasons. However, there’s one novel that is a special case among King’s works, as it was published and can still be accessed, but it had a very peculiar development and distribution – but what stands out about this particular novel is that it’s not complete, and King’s fans had some influence on this disappointing outcome.

Related 1 Of Stephen King's Darkest Novels Was Supposed To Be A Comedy Stephen King is known for his horror novels and short stories, but one of his darkest novels was originally intended to be a comedy.

Stephen King’s The Plant Was A Publishing Experiment (That Left It Incomplete)

The Plant Started As An Interesting Experiment

The Plant had a non-traditional distribution as King decided to release it directly on his website, unencrypted, and in installments.

In 2000, Stephen King started working on The Plant (also known as The Plant: Zenith Rising), an epistolary horror novel. The Plant took readers to Zenith House, Publishers as the company struggles with low sales. One day, the editors are approached by Carlos Detweiller, who has a book he wants them to publish: True Tales of Demon Infestations. However, the team at Zenith House rejects Detweiller’s book, who later sends them an ivy plant as a “gift”. Zenith House suddenly experiences a turnaround of fates, but all that success doesn’t come for free.

The Plant had a non-traditional distribution as King decided to release it directly on his website, unencrypted, and in installments. King chose a “pay what you want” method for The Plant but suggested readers pay $1 per installment, but he had one condition: he would continue publishing The Plant through this method if 75% of readers paid. On his official website, Stephen King explained he started The Plant in the early 1980s but didn’t continue as other projects got in the way, so the story was unfinished and couldn’t guarantee an ending.

King also added that he reserved the right to cease publication of The Plant if “a lot of people steal the story”, but he was optimistic that that wouldn’t be the case as $1 per installment was a fair deal. The first installment of The Plant went above the minimum 75%, but it fell to 70% after the second installment. The Plant got its groove back with the third installment, but downloads and payments kept decreasing as the publication of the novel continued (via The Register). Ultimately, King suspended the publication of The Plant after six installments.

King said The Plant was on hiatus and that he had other commitments to fulfill.

Although King was clear about the conditions for the publication of The Plant, his publishing experiment didn’t go as he hoped, and The Plant was left unfinished. While the circumstances fit King’s conditions, he said The Plant was on hiatus and that he had other commitments to fulfill. The sixth installment of The Plant was published in December 2000, and all installments can still be downloaded for free on King’s website.

How Riding The Bullet Led Stephen King To Experiment With The Plant

Stephen King’s Riding The Bullet Earned A Place In History

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Riding The Bullet was released online, becoming the world’s first mass-market e-book.

King’s publishing experiment with The Plant was a direct result of the novella Riding The Bullet. Published in 2000, Riding The Bullet follows Alan Parker, a college student who, on his way to visit his mother at a hospital, is picked up by a car driven by a dead man whose gravestone Alan had just seen at a cemetery, and who makes him choose who will go on the death ride with him: Alan or his mother. Riding The Bullet was released online, becoming the world’s first mass-market e-book.

Riding The Bullet was available for download at $2.50, but faced technical difficulties while downloading (as the encryption crashed many computers) and hackers cracked the encryption. Still, Riding The Bullet’s distribution can be considered a success and King was intrigued by it, mostly by the questions that were raised about ownership and online distribution, leading him to experiment with The Plant.

Will Stephen King’s The Plant Ever Be Finished?

The Plant Can Still Be Downloaded

Despite saying in 2001 that The Plant was on hiatus, a lot of time has passed without news or updates on it and its future.

As mentioned above, King started writing The Plant in the early 1980s and published limited editions of the first three volumes. King gave these to his friends and relatives as Christmas cards but didn’t continue writing them as other projects emerged and he focused on them. Despite saying in 2001 that The Plant was on hiatus, a lot of time has passed without news or updates on it and its future, and instead, King has moved on to bigger projects. For now, it seems unlikely that Stephen King will ever finish The Plant and publish it in its entirety, but the six finished installments can still be downloaded.

Sources: Stephen King, The Register.