Large stories, better to release them in parts or as a whole?

[NickAxel]

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

 

[Bamagan]

It's largely a wash, unless you have a specific agenda or plan.
More chapters means more visibility on the new story list, which can help new readers find you. Engagement can be lower, since some people are reluctant to read things in installments which might never be completed (as far as they know). Certain voters may also be reluctant to rate partial works (perhaps they have to make sure it ends satisfactorily, from their perspective).
A single publication can be easier to miss, but many authors here report it leads to better engagement, i.e., there are fewer comments asking when the next part comes out, or encouraging the author to write the next part. Truly long works may cause people to back out, if they're looking for a quick read, but at about 25k words that may not be a big issue for you.
In a month or a year's time, it basically won't matter, since it'll be found through tags or suggestions. Don't stress over it.

 

[Trionyx]

Whatever you do, make sure you have completed the entire story before releasing any chapters. Too many times a chapter is released, then another and eventually the author quits in mid story. Very, very frustrating for the reader.

 

[RejectReality]

Whatever you do, make sure you have completed the entire story before releasing any chapters. Too many times a chapter is released, then another and eventually the author quits in mid story. Very, very frustrating for the reader.

And make a point of saying it's complete and how many chapters there are in an author's note at the beginning of chapter 1. Likewise, say how often you're going to try to release them ( I recommend twice a week, BTW ) assuming the Lit queue isn't being a butthead and throwing things off for you.

Like has already been said, it's a matter of whether you're aiming more for new readers. Chapters is the better solution for that. Otherwise, a long story gets about the same engagement and the same sort of scoring regardless of the presentation. Those who are willing to read long stories will. Any bias toward long single-shots is because they KNOW it's finished when you present it all at once. Let them know that from the get-go on a chapter story, and it should be even steven.

You might get a little more in the read department from chapters from the simple fact that people wait until they finish something to vote. Those votes can matter in the early life of the story. If people put it down to finish tomorrow, it may already be off the Hub list the next day, and the votes coming in then won't raise the profile of the story as much as they would on day-1.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Whatever you do, make sure you have completed the entire story before releasing any chapters. Too many times a chapter is released, then another and eventually the author quits in mid story. Very, very frustrating for the reader.

Absolutely this. I hate it as a reader and sadly, am guilty as a writer.

I hope to finish my offending story one day, but probably won’t do any more series work.

 

[PennameWombat]

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

I have plenty of single stories in the 20,000 to 40,000 range and longer, up to around 70,000 words for a couple.

My key factor is whether or not the story has beats that allow me to break each one up so that it 'works' as separate stories in serial instalments. Each needs a beginning, middle, and end, with a larger theme carrying across the instalments. The longer ones I have don't fit that, they're single stories,

I also have stories that take place in one of a few different common universes. Certain ones focus on different characters, but any of the in-universe characters might appear.

The trade-off is that different categories have different tolerances for long stories. They seem to do well in SF&F and Novels & Novellas. NonHuman and Erotic Horror seem tolerant as well.

With chapters, you'll usually see a drop off in readers for each subsequent chapter, but scores usually go up as only the 'fans' keep reading. That's why the category Top Lists have so many "Endless Chapters Story, ch. 34" type listings (a point often complained about in this forum.)

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I will echo the advice to not post any parts of a story until it is complete. Not only is it the most respectful to the readers, it also allows you to maintain control until the end. An idea that come to you in later chapters would benefit the story but including it would require changes to already published chapters - very frustrating.

I will share my own experience with you...

There are four of my stories on Literotica that I originally submitted as chapters, or parts containing multiple chapters. The individual chapters all did fine, achieving a red H and attracting readers. The overwhelming feedback from readers, however, was that they would have preferred it if I had submitted a single, longer story rather than the pieces. I eventually asked Laurel to replace the parts of each story with the single longer file, which she agreed to do. The average score for each story has increased by at least 0.01 and there has been zero negative feedback about them being too long.

Whether you submit in pieces or as a whole, in a few months things will stabilize. Your story will be off the new story list and readers will stumble across your tale as it sits among the thousands of others here. Good luck.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

That's not a super long story by Lit standards, and would run fine as a stand-alone. If it was chaptered, then around 10k words seems to be a sweet spot, so you wouldn't have many chapters.

Keep in mind, in six months time when the whole story has been published, the release strategy is irrelevant, because the whole thing has been published. Think long term, not just the first week or two.

 

[iwatchus]

I generally think of 40K or so as the tipping point for breaking it up. And I tend a little longer per chunk than was suggested above. More like 15K. YMMV.

That said, the story has something to say about this. I did release one shorter story (about 15K total) in four pieces because that felt right for it. Each short piece was a distinct entity. And Time worked weirdly in the story and breaking them like that seemed to emphasize it.

I released those one a day. And I cheated, and hadn't written them all before I started releasing. But that was a productive period; writing and editing a 4K story in a day was about right.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Speaking only for myself.
I no longer read chaptered stories.
I've been burned to many times by unfinished series...
The moment I see Chapter. I back out.

25,000 is not long. Some of myu stand alone stories extend past 80,000 words.

Cagivagurl

 

[AwkwardMD]

There is no correct answer to this question. There are only preferences.

 

[CalBishForNow]

Big range of preferences here.

Personally I rarely read anything here longer than 15,000 words and have never published anything that long. (Although I've got one story in process that could get past that by the time it's done, and some more ideas.) Maybe I've got a short attention span, but then again I write and read some long-form things that aren't erotica, and the Web browser format here isn't great for leaving a story and coming back. So I probably just wouldn't give a 25K word story a chance if it was published all at once, but I have no problem with episodes or chapters of a multi-part story.

It would be better for sustained engagement of a multi-part story to publish the chapters in quick succession. I haven't done so because that requires waiting to publish any of them until after writing all of them, and I don't have the patience for that. I'm doing this mostly just for fun and that kind of planning would make it a little less fun. But if that wouldn't be a problem for you, go for it.

It also varies how well chapters/parts function as standalone stories. Some are a lot better than others. If I had a story that had no point on its own, just introduced characters or a premise, then it would be a lot more important to have a follow-up ready to go soon after.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Speaking only for myself.
I no longer read chaptered stories.
I've been burned to many times by unfinished series...
The moment I see Chapter. I back out.

25,000 is not long. Some of myu stand alone stories extend past 80,000 words.

Cagivagurl

I don't categorically reject chapter stories, as long as it is very clear that they are complete. The series manager is a useful tool that too many authors ignore for this purpose.

I think the average for my stories here is around 75K words, and I have one over 31 Lit pages. I also have no qualms about reading a longer story. I simply pin the tab that has the story on it and go back to it as time permits.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Why yes, yes it is. And it's entirely your choice.

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

 

[THBGato]

I have plenty of single stories in the 20,000 to 40,000 range and longer, up to around 70,000 words for a couple.

My key factor is whether or not the story has beats that allow me to break each one up so that it 'works' as separate stories in serial instalments. Each needs a beginning, middle, and end, with a larger theme carrying across the instalments. The longer ones I have don't fit that, they're single stories,

This. I've got an 81,000 word story as one submission, but a 27,000 word story as three parts because each demanded a different momentum.

Do what is right for the story.

 

[Bloomer73]

I've published long stories as chapters, though I don't publish my first chapter until I've finished writing my last.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

25k words is a novella. I do what's mostly convenient for me and what seems reasonable. That's too long for a single submission, to me.

 

[Baztrachian]

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

Large stories get higher ratings when released as a whole.

 

[NickAxel]

Well, I must say there are a wide range of opinions here, and what options are available to me. I too am reluctant to release anything until I’ve finished the whole thing. For instance, I discovered a huge plot hole, that had I already submitted it, would cause an issue. With the advice given, than I shall release it as a whole, instead of in parts.

Now for a new question, for those of you with thirty-five thousand or more words, why have you not published on Kindle? Seems like you should be getting paid if you’re that good.

asking for a ‘friend’

 

[PennameWombat]

Now for a new question, for those of you with thirty-five thousand or more words, why have you not published on Kindle? Seems like you should be getting paid if you’re that good.

asking for a ‘friend’

I'm confused. Why does writing 35,000+ words equal good?

In addition, the "getting paid." And "should be." Of the thousands of books published via KDP (so, on Kindle) every day (I see numbers ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 per day), you realize that getting paid anything more than chump change, if even that, is low. Very low.

But. Sourcing covers. More demanding formatting. Editing and proofreading. All of these to professional quality. And that doesn't even cover hitting genres, tropes, etc., depending on your target market. And... the biggie. Promotions. Advertising. Erotica also has some additional challenges, in terms of where it falls on the spectrum, limits on advertising and promotion on key platforms, and the like.

You don't just publish and watch your bank account grow. Usually, your bank account shrinks, and stays there.

But there's also the grind aspect. Here, and I'm only speaking for myself, I write and publish when I feel like it, with stories that range across various categories, subjects, plots, etc. While there is no guarantee in any return on self-publishing, it seems that building your back catalogue is quite important, as is building your 'brands' (i.e., hewing to a genre, style, etc., or maybe a couple). Which means, publish often. Focus. Hit that grind. Maybe some of the folks here who do that work will respond, but the cost/benefit ratio for me is mostly not there.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm confused. Why does writing 35,000+ words equal good?

In addition, the "getting paid." And "should be." Of the thousands of books published via KDP (so, on Kindle) every day (I see numbers ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 per day), you realize that getting paid anything more than chump change, if even that, is low. Very low.

But. Sourcing covers. More demanding formatting. Editing and proofreading. All of these to professional quality. And that doesn't even cover hitting genres, tropes, etc., depending on your target market. And... the biggie. Promotions. Advertising. Erotica also has some additional challenges, in terms of where it falls on the spectrum, limits on advertising and promotion on key platforms, and the like.

You don't just publish and watch your bank account grow. Usually, your bank account shrinks, and stays there.

But there's also the grind aspect. Here, and I'm only speaking for myself, I write and publish when I feel like it, with stories that range across various categories, subjects, plots, etc. While there is no guarantee in any return on self-publishing, it seems that building your back catalogue is quite important, as is building your 'brands' (i.e., hewing to a genre, style, etc., or maybe a couple). Which means, publish often. Focus. Hit that grind. Maybe some of the folks here who do that work will respond, but the cost/benefit ratio for me is mostly not there.

Now for a new question, for those of you with thirty-five thousand or more words, why have you not published on Kindle? Seems like you should be getting paid if you’re that good.

I generate between $150 and $250 per month on Amazon, even with stories available on Lit for free. My stories are exposed to a much larger audience.

It takes some effort, sure, and erotic-based content alone is a challenge. E-book and paperback options are available, and I was fortunate to be invited as a beta tester for their virtual voice project which allowed me to convert any of my stories into audiobooks that are now available on Amazon and Audible.com.

I create all my own covers, frequently using relatives and friends as models. The description, keywords, and categories selected also play a major role in attracting readers. Amazon ad campaigns can help if set up properly. There are a lot of helpful sites that can guide a writer on how to publish successfully on Amazon, so I wouldn't discard the option out of hand.

 

[sirhugs]

Whatever you do, make sure you have completed the entire story before releasing any chapters. Too many times a chapter is released, then another and eventually the author quits in mid story. Very, very frustrating for the reader.

that's a problem, since if I like my characters they take in a life of their own and demand more chapters even after I think they ae complete.

 

[iwatchus]

that's a problem, since if I like my characters they take in a life of their own and demand more chapters even after I think they ae complete.

I compromised with myself. I forced myself to "end" my original series, bringing its 21 stories to a natural closing point, with enough resolution to feel done (I think).

That said, I did that with the full intent of sporadically writing new stories with those characters. I have two stories firmly planted in the universe, with one (Mistress Natasha) being the next story in the series that is already "complete". I have another half dozen planned. But I don't think anyone who read the original series feels cheated at it being called complete.

I have two more stories that borrowed one or more characters.

 

[MillieDynamite]

There are a few things everybody has in common, opinions are one of those, but they have a wide variety of them as well....

Well, I must say there are a wide range of opinions here, and what options are available to me. I too am reluctant to release anything until I’ve finished the whole thing. For instance, I discovered a huge plot hole, that had I already submitted it, would cause an issue. With the advice given, than I shall release it as a whole, instead of in parts.

Now for a new question, for those of you with thirty-five thousand or more words, why have you not published on Kindle? Seems like you should be getting paid if you’re that good.

asking for a ‘friend’

 

[redgarters]

So my next story appears to be approaching twenty five thousand words, is it better to release it in parts, or as a whole?

I think you should do what works for the momentum of the story and the category you're posting in.
Most of my stories are lesbian slow burn romances and I feel those work better as one story (even the 52k words one) because I think it leads to more immersion in the feelings and events the story is exploring. But then again, some of the best stories in that category are chaptered, and that hasn't bothered me as a reader or been any hindrance to their popularity.