The present invention comprises a method for distributing a serial work such as a novel, story, book, or other single-media or multi-media serial work over a communications network such as the internet in a manner that provides the entire work to users for free, while still providing an incentive for users to purchase the work. Instead of distributing a limited (e.g. abridged) free version and a more complete paid-for version as in the prior art, in the present invention, the content of the free and the paid-for versions are substantially the same. The thing that is different, however, is the time period over which the entire work is delivered. The present invention may be used with works that consist of serial data that can be divided into discrete portions. An example is a novel that is divided into chapters. In one embodiment of the invention, portions are provided for free to the users over a period of time. For example, a chapter of a novel may be provided every week for free, for example by being posted on an internet web site for downloading, by being sent to the user by e-mail, or by other appropriate methods. However, if the user wishes to obtain the work more quickly, the user can at any time pay to receive the entire work immediately. In one embodiment of the invention, the fee decreases with time, so that the fee to buy the entire work is dependent on the amount of the work not yet distributed for free.