Upload frequency of a series?

[FreyaGersemi]

I just had my first story published on Literotica. Yay! It's the first of a series and I have a question (or two). I have a bunch of chapters already written and ready to go. I try to build characters and situations while still having the chapters work as stand-alone stories and, of course, be hot!

How often should I upload chapters? Part of me wants to upload with some sort of staggered frequency to help build an audience and not oversaturate, while another part of me wants to just dump them all on here to satiate anyone that wants to read more RIGHT NOW! Each chapter runs around 3.5K words (some in the upper twos, some in the fours...). Someone stated that the "sweet spot" seems to be 5-7K words. Should I combine chapters? Should I upload a couple at a time? I don't know and seeking the advice of more seasoned Literotica authors.

The writer in me wants to keep the chapters as separate stories (the chapters go back and forth between characters and between days/events), but the "marketer" in me wants to try to shoot for the perceived sweet spot. And going back to double the length of a chapter just to fill space is something that no one wants me to do!! Each chapter has a story arc that, I think, works as is.

Thank you so much!!!!

 

[StillStunned]

I'll pre-empt this discussion with a summary of the replies:

No-one knows, and everyone will have a different suggestion. About two pages in, the thread will become derailed.

Sorry.

 

[GlennJenko]

Your chapters should be as long or as short as they need to be. As long as they have a a "problem", a set up and a climax (no pun intended) then it doesn't really matter how long they are. As for "sweet spots", it really depends on the individual reader. To some, 7k words is more than enough, while to others 7k is barely a setup.

And as for time between posting chapters, I'm unsure. It's something I'm struggling with too at the moment. I think I've heard people say less than a month between chapters is generally advised, though don't quote me on that.

 

[bumpercars]

I would give it several days at least, if only to prevent Chapter 3 from going up before Chapter 2. Other than that, I think it's a matter of your taste. Don't worry too much about trying to be the platonic ideal of a smut writer - just publish as you write and let readers get to know you.

 

[Stimtheone]

Honestly, there's no right answer. Don't concern yourself with some structured uploads, you're not a franchise that has to put something out every month. Do the work, and when it's done, you put it out. Can either be one day apart or months apart.

 

[KeithD]

I submit the next chapter on the day that the previous chapter posts. That assures there won't be a problem if the previous chapter doesn't post for some reason and assures the reader you are moving quickly to a completion.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'll preface this with by saying that I write mostly longer novels with very little erotic content, so my readership is likely significantly different than that of many authors here where their preferences are concerned. I cater to what my readers have stated that they prefer, so take my advice for what its worth...

I no longer break my stories up into separate posts unless they are stand-alone parts of a related series. This is different from chapters of a story, which I used to post individually. but ceased doing at the request of my readers.

These multi-part submissions have all been converted to single posts here, but when I was posting them, I would submit them all at the same time, one after another, and let them roll out day after day until the entire story was published here.

Now, did this help or hinder the focus on the story in the long run? Maybe, but the positive reader feedback stating their appreciation for not having to wait for the next chapter or part tells me that it didn't hurt and the ratings reflect that, I think.

Looking at the long term, a year (or less) from now, it won't matter. Your entire story will have been published and the time that originally existed between submissions will be moot.

 

[MrPixel]

These multi-part submissions have all been converted to single posts here, but when I was posting them, I would submit them all at the same time, one after another, and let them roll out day after day until the entire story was published here.

Now, did this help or hinder the focus on the story in the long run? Maybe, but the positive reader feedback stating their appreciation for not having to wait for the next chapter or part tells me that it didn't hurt and the ratings reflect that, I think.

Same here with one multi-part series that is still ongoing. However, it’s been months since the last installment, and nobody has mentioned anything about the gap. There is one chapter that needs heavy editing or even a re-write, so I’d better get on the stick.

The other series I have going, the chapters have been spaced out a bit. Sort of “as it was done” at the start, but I’m trying for a one-a-week upload with the last three, one new this past week and then two that are ready to go. The concept there is to have something on the “new” list for a while. I consciously wrote these to be tolerable as standalone stories, versus the bigger series mentioned above that more or less needs to read like a book.

 

[RejectReality]

Most anything that doesn't at least barely cross over into a second Lit page tends to perform poorly, and commenters say they feel cheated by such bite-sized releases.

There's nothing stopping you from using in-document chapter headings and titling such as My Title Ch. 01-02 if that satisfies your desire to maintain the integrity of your original chapters while putting a little more meat on each release.

The best retention I've ever had is twice weekly releases where I stated in an author's note with the first chapter that the story was complete, and I would do my best to release chapters twice weekly. That will be my strategy when the one I'm running past my editor now finally goes gold.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Same here with one multi-part series that is still ongoing. However, it’s been months since the last installment, and nobody has mentioned anything about the gap. There is one chapter that needs heavy editing or even a re-write, so I’d better get on the stick.

I believe most will agree that readers are much more tolerant of longer gaps with episodes of a series than they are with chapters of an ongoing stand-alone story. When there is a defined beginning, middle, and end, storytelling is typically successful.

I currently have two series stories that may or may not ever see another installment, and a few readers have expressed their interest in seeing these series continue. However, that feedback doesn't compare to the comments readers left when they were required to wait even a day for the next chapter of a story to post.

It all boils down to, "How satisfied and fulfilled did the story (or part) leave them?"

 

[MrPixel]

Most anything that doesn't at least barely cross over into a second Lit page tends to perform poorly,

As proven repeatedly by the 750-word event. It seems that most LitE readers want full meals and not hors d’oeuvers.

 

[Voboy]

As proven repeatedly by the 750-word event. It seems that most LitE readers want full meals and not hors d’oeuvers.

This.

When I wrote my series, each chapter was around 15k-25k long, and each one was pretty much its own self-contained story in addition to being part of the broader arc. That's critical to my own enjoyment of series, too; by all means continue things from one chapter to the next, but chopping them into smaller pieces without a good reason is HIGHLY annoying to me as a reader. Stop each chapter at a natural stopping point, not for the sake of a prescribed length.

Seriously, my tendency is ALWAYS to treat each submission as a separate tale, even if it's part of a longer work.

As for a "sweet spot," you'll get just as many respondents telling you 5-7k is optimal as you will folks who'd go longer. I don't think it matters as much as a lot of us think it does. A well-written story will find a good audience, regardless.

I'll also observe that when I was doing my series, it was common to get about 2k views for each new chapter whilst I was writing (at unpredictable intervals). Since I've declared it "finished," however, the views on each chapter have skyrocketed.

 

[RejectReality]

I doubt even the tiniest fraction of people who ask questions of this nature are talking about this type of work, but..

A series of connected, complete stories isn't even remotely the same animal as individual chapters of a story. Virtually none of the norms for chaptered stories apply to this type of work. Titling them as if they were chaptered works is in fact a negative now that we have the ability to group stories without utilizing the title as a mechanism. The number of people who will open anything with Ch./Pt. tagged on it drops rapidly in most categories.

The best strategy now for connected, complete stories now is individual titling. It allows for more creativity and a closer connection to the content than lumping them all together under a single title, while avoiding the aversion a large segment of the readership has for chaptered work. If you do have an overarching title that you're tickled by, it can be utilized as the series title without losing the benefits of individual titling.

The later "chapters" may have higher scores if you lump them together under a single title, but ultimately, they would get read more with individual titling.

That being said, disguising a chaptered work with individual titles is not going to work out well. Readers tend to vote and comment harshly when fooled into starting an actual chaptered story because of a title that indicates it's a standalone story.

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I doubt even the tiniest fraction of people who ask questions of this nature are talking about this type of work, but..

A series of connected, complete stories isn't even remotely the same animal as individual chapters of a story. Virtually none of the norms for chaptered stories apply to this type of work. Titling them as if they were chaptered works is in fact a negative now that we have the ability to group stories without utilizing the title as a mechanism. The number of people who will open anything with Ch./Pt. tagged on it drops rapidly in most categories.

The best strategy now for connected, complete stories now is individual titling. It allows for more creativity and a closer connection to the content than lumping them all together under a single title, while avoiding the aversion a large segment of the readership has for chaptered work. If you do have an overarching title that you're tickled by, it can be utilized as the series title without losing the benefits of individual titling.

The later "chapters" may have higher scores if you lump them together under a single title, but ultimately, they would get read more with individual titling.

That being said, disguising a chaptered work with individual titles is not going to work out well. Readers tend to vote and comment harshly when fooled into starting an actual chaptered story because of a title that indicates it's a standalone story.

Interesting. So, what if the stories that I've written do have some connections to earlier stories? They are stand-alone, but do connect. One "chapter/part" sometimes leads directly to the next, but that next involves a different scenario or even different characters. Can I still organize them in order (for those that may care) without having "chapter" or "part" in the title? What would be the best way to title them? Maybe just a "series" title and then the individual stories (with no chapter/part designation) arranged in the order that I want them in?

And thank you for taking the time to help a newbie!!

 

[RejectReality]

https://literotica.com/my/#/series/stories

That's the series function. It can be used to group normal chapter stories like so:

https://www.literotica.com/series/se/12152

It can also be used to connect standalone stories that have a timeline.

https://www.literotica.com/series/se/469735934

I don't have an example on here, but you could also mix them together.

Series: My Series.

My Title A
My Title B Ch. 01
My Title B Ch. 02
My Title B Ch. 03
My Title C
My Title D
My Title E Ch. 01 so on and so forth.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I submit the next chapter on the day that the previous chapter posts. That assures there won't be a problem if the previous chapter doesn't post for some reason and assures the reader you are moving quickly to a completion.

I agree.. Readers forget what they read before if you wait too long between chapters. It might appear you are getting more views on those earlier chapters, but sometimes it is readers catching up. In my longer multichapter stories the chapters are also much longer than what you described. I just looked at three random chapters of my "Gotta Pay the Piper" story. 8k 12k and 17k respectively. The first chapter in that story was 15k. It took that much to tell the story adequately. I think that story is like 27 chapters posted right now.

Now these chapters are not stand alone stories. It is a series. I numbered each chapter. Adding extra words to the title like Cynthia's Story-reunion ch1 will appear far down the line in your story list from "Cynthia's story-her trial Ch2. That may not make much of a difference now but later it makes it difficult for readers to follow. The chapter numbering helps a bit though.

If you have the stories ready to go, I would post them as close together as practical. You will see on your author after you it has been accepted, the date, usually gives you a day warning it will post the next. Like KeithD said you don't want them posted out of sequence. One might get kicked back because of something you said.

 

[Voboy]

Interesting. So, what if the stories that I've written do have some connections to earlier stories? They are stand-alone, but do connect. One "chapter/part" sometimes leads directly to the next, but that next involves a different scenario or even different characters. Can I still organize them in order (for those that may care) without having "chapter" or "part" in the title? What would be the best way to title them? Maybe just a "series" title and then the individual stories (with no chapter/part designation) arranged in the order that I want them in?

And thank you for taking the time to help a newbie!!

ALL of my stories are interconnected, in many cases only vaguely.

I maintain a cross-referenced doc that keeps all the relationships and chronologies straight, mostly for my own reference, and I wish I could post it on my sig page or something. Instead, I offer to email it out to any reader who asks. I get about one request per month.

Early on, it was all relatively easy. Now, I've got dozens of stories and the document runs to almost three pages.

 

[Gamblnluck]

My Title A
My Title B Ch. 01
My Title B Ch. 02
My Title B Ch. 03
My Title C
My Title D
My Title E Ch. 01 so on and so forth.

That works fine if your story list is short. The longer the list the more chance for confusion. If you are not careful you will have later stories between them. If they are indeed a series where the setting is established in prior chapters, it could be confusing for later readers to follow. My advice is to use the same title and then the number.

 

[Gamblnluck]

maintain a cross-referenced doc that keeps all the relationships and chronologies straight, mostly for my own reference, and I wish I could post it on my sig page or something. Instead, I offer to email it out to any reader who asks. I get about one request per month.

Early on, it was all relatively easy. Now, I've got dozens of stories and the document runs to almost three pages.

I've seen authors put in a cast of characters and try that sequencing thing at the beginning of a story. I don't even bother to refer to it.
I know a vague sort of interconnection can work. The stories reference characters introduced in prior. The Jack Reacher stories are one such. But each story is intended as a single book.
I have a judicial slave universe, each of the three series interconnected with a few characters but all in the same world. They are standalone series but the you could not read stories in the series out of sequence and understand the plot.
It is hard enough to follow your own plot lines when they go long. Don't expect a reader to do it.

 

[RejectReality]

That works fine if your story list is short. The longer the list the more chance for confusion. If you are not careful you will have later stories between them. If they are indeed a series where the setting is established in prior chapters, it could be confusing for later readers to follow. My advice is to use the same title and then the number.

You can manage the series and place stories as necessary. If you write a story that falls earlier in the timeline, you can place it there. If, for example, I wrote a story My Title F which falls in the timeline between A and B, it's easily placed there within the series.

My Title A
My Title F
My Title B Ch. 01

Once I've filled the glaring hole in the middle of my stories as Darkniciad between the 'present' era and the 'history' stories, I'll most likely group all of them together in this way. Assuming I live that long. The two stories that fill that gap are huge and my writing pace in recent years is glacial.

 

[Gamblnluck]

ou can manage the series and place stories as necessary. If you write a story that falls earlier in the timeline, you can place it there. If, for example, I wrote a story My Title F which falls in the timeline between A and B, it's easily placed there within the series.

I saw that one one of the previous author's page. I'm going to have to figure out how to do that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Interesting. So, what if the stories that I've written do have some connections to earlier stories? They are stand-alone, but do connect. One "chapter/part" sometimes leads directly to the next, but that next involves a different scenario or even different characters. Can I still organize them in order (for those that may care) without having "chapter" or "part" in the title? What would be the best way to title them? Maybe just a "series" title and then the individual stories (with no chapter/part designation) arranged in the order that I want them in?

And thank you for taking the time to help a newbie!!

I absolutely agree with @RejectReality - use the Series function and use it well. I'm starting to use it more, so my story list makes more sense.

Also, think long term. Chapter length and release interval are relevant only in the first month, when the story rolls out the gate. Once the whole story is out there, the release strategy is irrelevant. You'll still get readers coming through your story file in three month's time, three years, ten years time. You want the chaptering to work as a navigation thing as well as a literary construction thing.

As an example, I've got a 104k novel with 12 chapters, which got released every 24 hours (chapter length approx. 8k - 10k words). That strategy kept something on the category front page for two months (a slow moving category), and after three months, the last chapter had been read a thousand times, which was all I expected. Five years later, that last chapter has been read 3000 times, which means more people have read it long after release, than during release.

 

[yukonnights]

I've done a good number of Series format stories. Every story has been written to completion, proof-read and then submitted to Lit on the same day. Those in charge automatically dole them out over several days which keeps them on the 'New Story' list. Unless that has changed, that's the way I'll continue ~ if I continue posting stories ... which is edging closer to unlikely.

 

[samhasstories]

I would be tempted to wait until the initial rush of views/ratings peters out on one chapter before posting the next. Just to let it run its course on its own and then maybe renew interest with a new entry.

But then, I've gone several years between chapters, so maybe I'm not one to give advice here.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I would be tempted to wait until the initial rush of views/ratings peters out on one chapter before posting the next. Just to let it run its course on its own and then maybe renew interest with a new entry.

But then, I've gone several years between chapters, so maybe I'm not one to give advice here.

I've had readers PM me about finishing. One asked "when I was going to get off my ass and continue my Gotta Pay the Piper' series. Then he softened his statement and said he'd just finished reading the whole series (and it is LONG) for the second time and is 'jonesing' for more.
By this point, I'm going to go back and re-read the last several chapters to get myself into the mindset. My notes on where I wanted to go are not quite enough.