Continue vs Separate

[Stimtheone]

To provide context, my current story that is in the long works, James's Descent, is a rewrite and I could consider that only up until chapter 8 it would be covering the events of the original. Chapter 1-8 focuses on James and his entry and such. Chapter 9 will have him still in focus, but right after that he will start to fade out. Every chapter after that focuses instead on the rise of the empire, switching between characters that have barely any relation other than being there at important points in the story of the empire. Yes, James will be there, but passively.

Now, the title of the post is on my great dilemma. There is one temptation to just.... keep going, going up through the several formative events of the empire with the epilogue showing them right before they feature in DE. The other temptation is to NOT do so and instead separate them into another "book". Possibly put everything beyond chapter 9 into a separate series. Maybe something called "Rise of the Star" or something. So far, I'm mostly leaning on the continue idea. What I think about it will be from that perspective of continue vs separate. (also beware some spoilers if you're reading it)

Pros:

Heavy investment into the continued events by those who have read the previous parts
I don't have to "introduce" everything again or pick up speed
No need to focus too hard on getting people invested in the empire as the first part is already the investment
Don't have to explain why something is how it is

Cons:
It could possibly lead to reader exhaustion from having like 16 chapters
The investment they had in the characters from "part one" might be spoiled as pretty much every person from that part will die of old age before chapter 9
Those sections might feel less impactful as there is less of a dramatic struggle and more of the slow expansion

But, feel free to weigh in. Ask, or just comment.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm struggling to understand what you're trying to write. But if I were you, I'd begin a separate story. For a start, any readers who are so invested as to keep reading after eight chapters will check out your new works regardless. Secondly, it gives you more freedom to break away from established, to try something new in terms of style or structure.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Continue vs Separate​

Just a suggestion. As it’s a rework. Pick ten people who commented on the original. Contact them and see what they think.

Em

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't have enough information to have an opinion. From whose POV will the story be told? How much does James fade in importance in the second half? Does another key character take his place?

I'd be inclined to continue not separate unless there's a good reason to do the latter.

 

[Stimtheone]

Just a suggestion. As it’s a rework. Pick ten people who commented on the original. Contact them and see what they think.

Em

The original was seen by just a couple of people and I have already sought out their opinion. They mostly think I should continue

I don't have enough information to have an opinion. From whose POV will the story be told? How much does James fade in importance in the second half? Does another key character take his place?

I'd be inclined to continue not separate unless there's a good reason to do the latter.

Okay, to provide context, halfway through chapter 9, James will essentially become a god. He will watch and influence things in more subtle ways. Ever so often he might show as a human avatar, but mostly he's just up there, watching, considering, occasionally commenting and passively directing. Up until the end of chapter 8 he is a living person and the story focuses on the titular descent.

And I dare say that everything from there will not focus on "characters" but rather on "entities". Empires, groups, ideas. The people manifesting will be there for brief moments in that key instance, but gone possibly by the next because the rest of the story covers roughly five thousand years of time. Though most of the "interesting" parts are in the last two thousand, with the most interesting towards the end. And yes, it does change the scope and feel of the story a tad.

 

[Jorunn]

This topic has come up in several places recently. Drawing on the depths of my considerable inexperience, I doubt I would click on a story with a Part 3 label. Likewise, if I am skimming stories to read, I might open a story, but if it comes up as 42K words, I would pop back out and maybe come back to it when I have more time. For me, the sweet spot would be to write shorter stories, making each once as 'complete' as possible, with a logical beginning and end. For the next story, don't give it a Part 2, but rather give it a similar name, and offer a short summary of what is happening, if it is needed. (It will a complete story as well but is set in your universe). Thus you have Rose's Anguish, The Rose Fulfilled, and The Rose Blooms, with a note at the end letting them know of the earlier stories, if they are interested. I would do this, rather than have The Red Rose Pt 1, The Red Rose Pt 2, and The Red Rose Pt 3.

 

[Stimtheone]

Well, after this feedback, I considered the best course to be Separate. The current series will end after chapter 9 with a chapter 10 epilogue because that's my style. After that, the new series will focus on the empire. I will give a STRONG notice that they should read that part as they will not get any reminder.

Not like it changes much right now as I am wrapping up chapter 7.