The first chat fiction platform, Hooked, was created by Prerna Gupta and Parag Chordia, who were writing a novel and decided to do A/B testing to gauge reader preferences.
They found that most of their target audience of teenagers failed to finish 1,000-word excerpts of best-selling young-adult novels, but read through stories of the same length written as text message conversations.
[2] Competing apps began launching the same year, including Yarn, which also has a focus on interactive fiction, and Tap, developed by the online publishing platform Wattpad.
The format limits possible storytelling options, and presents a challenge to authors in conveying narrative only through dialogue.
Revenue is usually based on a freemium model, with basic access being free while subscribing offers removal of limits and other benefits.