Splitting long stories into chapters

[HushHushCrush]

There's a story I'm working on that's just under 15,000 words. I wonder if it'd be smart to submit in multiple chapters, rather than as one long story. Any thoughts pro or con? Do you think readers here generally prefer stories in smaller episodic pieces, or do writers just prefer to write them that way?

 

[Carnevil9]

I usually break stories up into chapters of two or three Lit-pages each. I do that because I generally won't bother to read a story that is more than three pages long. Maybe I should give other readers credit for having a longer attention span than I do?

On the other hand, very few new readers are going to read a "Chapter 2" if they didn't read (and enjoy) Chapter 1, so you will see readership plummeting significantly with each subsequent chapter.

 

[sr71plt]

It's a can't-please-them-all situation. I'll rarely look at anything going beyond three Lit. pages (11,500 words), but there are also story commenters who can't grasp that everything isn't in that installment even if it's clearly marked as a chapter.

 

[lovecraft68]

If its under 15k its 4 lit pages and that isn't too long. My average is around 5-6 lit pages and I have plenty of readers.

But pilot has a point. No matter what you do someone will have an issue. There are people who won't read anything over or under x pages based on nothing but their own tastes.

 

[cvillerook]

About chapterss....

or stories in a series. If I have a story that I thought was a one shot done story and now I wish to add to it (make it a series). Is there a way to move it into the series genre title?

New guy can use any help I can get.

 

[sr71plt]

or stories in a series. If I have a story that I thought was a one shot done story and now I wish to add to it (make it a series). Is there a way to move it into the series genre title?

New guy can use any help I can get.

Presumably you can just give the add-on the same title with "Ch. 02" behind it, and it will set itself up on your page.

 

[Hypoxia]

If it's a self-contained long story, not a write-as-you-go chapter sequence, then post it as a single story. A recent Hallowe'en contest winner was 19 LIT pages long, ~66k words. Submitted as 10-chapter serial in EH, it would have been seen by few. Submitted as a solid chunk for the contest, it won.

A contest submission may be your best avenue for grabbing eyeballs with a long story. Entries seem to get more reads than non-entries. Fold that into your strategy.

 

[rjordan]

or stories in a series. If I have a story that I thought was a one shot done story and now I wish to add to it (make it a series). Is there a way to move it into the series genre title?

New guy can use any help I can get.

I think it's automatic. I did exactly what you want to do, but in the Notes section of the submission form for Chapter 2, I explained that Chapter 1 was a story I had posted 5 years before. The first story doesn't show as Chapter 1, but it is listed as a series with Chapter 2.

Views for Chapter 2 are MUCH lower than for the first chapter. It was necessary that readers go back and read Chapter 1 for context, but a lot of people (including me) won't usually do that. I put a note to that effect at the beginning of Chapter 2.

If you can make Chapter 2 a continuation of the story, but self standing, you will probably be better off. I tried to do that, but the reason for the second chapter was caused by complex events in the first one.

rj

 

[HushHushCrush]

A contest submission may be your best avenue for grabbing eyeballs with a long story. Entries seem to get more reads than non-entries. Fold that into your strategy.

That's an interesting thought.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'll post it as a standalone story. Personally, I do read multi-page stories, but I almost never click on a 'ch 2' title.

 

[NaokoSmith]

One further thought - views are lower for following chapters of a story, but votes are usually higher since those who stick around have got your measure and are reading on because they already like your work.


You can post in Novels and Novellas - but views there are really low.

You can also post as a series of chapters in any of the other categories. There is a recognised formula for doing this, Laurel will call your separate entries Ch. 01, Ch. 02 etc. You can incorporate this in your title for her.

If it's a novella and you split it up, it becomes The Title of my Novella Pt. 01 of 04, etc.

Let Laurel know in the Notes section what you are doing if you split it up into parts.

Good luck! and make sure you come back and post in here with a link to your story so we know where to go and find it. (You too cvillerook.)

 

[HushHushCrush]

One further thought - views are lower for following chapters of a story, but votes are usually higher since those who stick around have got your measure and are reading on because they already like your work.

That's a great point. I had wondered why the top-rated lists were so heavy with chapters.

I think the story could be a fit for the Valentine's day contest, so I'll try that. Right now I'm getting feedback from a couple of beta readers, but I think it's coming together. I'll be sure to link to it here when it's up!

 

[GoldenMaia]

I was writing shorter stories and then just flipped two big birds and put bigger stuff up and it's done much better. (I also suck at keeping posting to stories that get a 4.0 or less--I don't need that abuse)

I literally had comments back to back 'too long' vs 'not long enough' ... *shrugs helplessly*

I notice my votes are better on complete works but that's not always the case for everyone. I hear people with huge fan bases who do small chapters. Maybe it's the writing style? Or category? Or they post more frequently?

My bigger stories are 10+ lit pages (35k+ words) and mostly I get 'more' rather than 'less'.

I say go big or stay home.

 

[sr71plt]

If it's a self-contained long story, not a write-as-you-go chapter sequence, then post it as a single story. A recent Hallowe'en contest winner was 19 LIT pages long, ~66k words. Submitted as 10-chapter serial in EH, it would have been seen by few. Submitted as a solid chunk for the contest, it won.

A contest submission may be your best avenue for grabbing eyeballs with a long story. Entries seem to get more reads than non-entries. Fold that into your strategy.

But wasn't it submitted in one chunk because it had to be to qualify for the contest?

 

[lovecraft68]

But wasn't it submitted in one chunk because it had to be to qualify for the contest?

Yes, I know which story he means and I believe he was the editor, hence the mention-although at least not by name.

I'm not sure I buy few would have seen it in chapter form. Granted a contest entry will get more views, but there's no way to ever know for sure.

 

[Handley_Page]

There's a story I'm working on that's just under 15,000 words. I wonder if it'd be smart to submit in multiple chapters, rather than as one long story. Any thoughts pro or con? Do you think readers here generally prefer stories in smaller episodic pieces, or do writers just prefer to write them that way?

That runs to an ideal story length (for a given type of story).
Reckon on 3200 words to a Lit page, and I reckon 4 pages is a nice length, giving time for the plot to develop and a bit of decent erotica.

Good Luck

 

[GoldenCojones]

There's a story I'm working on that's just under 15,000 words. I wonder if it'd be smart to submit in multiple chapters, rather than as one long story. Any thoughts pro or con? Do you think readers here generally prefer stories in smaller episodic pieces, or do writers just prefer to write them that way?

Just to be the devil's advocate, I personally dislike and won't read chapter stories. I'm an old fart and I want the story to be told all at once. The funny thing is, I almost let people talk me into posting a very long chapter story. Fortunately I went back and read it and "Nah, that sucks anyway."

I believe that a LOT of people like chapter stories, so don't base your decision on my opinion. My real advice is to listen to your heart. Is it a chapter story or just a little longer short story. 15,000 words is not that long and would be fine posted either way.

 

[Hypoxia]

But wasn't it submitted in one chunk because it had to be to qualify for the contest?

That's because I advised Roz to submit for the contest when I was editing her chapters. I convinced her that such would offer greatest exposure for her fine novella. Turned out good, eh?

 

[ishtat]

I have read a writer called Contrasting who started out a series with 3 and 4 chapters but then increased regularly up to 12, 15 and once or twice even more. The reads dropped off predictably but he held a surprising amount of readers. He writes a fair bit in a popular category - incest, which may have influence. His episodes are frequently three months + apart and every time some people - the same people, complain about the length, but they keep coming back.

His writing has a fair number of technical errors and is not too well edited - but readers keep returning. He's a good story teller who does what he pleases, and gets away with it. Perhaps the exception that proves the rule, but perhaps a little more discipline would reap him an even bigger readership.

But it's also encouraging that a few, perhaps a very few writers can break or bend all the rules and still pull in readers.

 

[sr71plt]

That's because I advised Roz to submit for the contest when I was editing her chapters. I convinced her that such would offer greatest exposure for her fine novella. Turned out good, eh?

There wasn't a choice if it was going into the contest. Isn't that the point? All stories going into the contests that normally would be chaptered have to be run in one take now. I've entered stories I normally would put into chapters myself (and will do so for the coming Valentine's Day contest).

 

[SecondCircle]

There wasn't a choice if it was going into the contest. Isn't that the point? All stories going into the contests that normally would be chaptered have to be run in one take now. I've entered stories I normally would put into chapters myself (and will do so for the coming Valentine's Day contest).

He's saying that's what happened. It wasn't intended as an entry, but he suggested to enter it. At which point it was entered as a whole.

 

[NotWise]

He's a good story teller who does what he pleases, and gets away with it. Perhaps the exception that proves the rule, but perhaps a little more discipline would reap him an even bigger readership.

Being able to tell a story well is probably the fundamental skill that authors need. Education leads us to concentrate on grammar and spelling and structure and so on. If a story is told well then maybe some of that is less important.

Then, how do you become a good story teller?

 

[sr71plt]

Then, how do you become a good story teller?

I think it's an innate talent, honed by having broad and deep experiences and being a good story listener.

 

[NaokoSmith]

I think the story could be a fit for the Valentine's day contest, so I'll try that. Right now I'm getting feedback from a couple of beta readers, but I think it's coming together. I'll be sure to link to it here when it's up!

Just to re-affirm the point made by sr71plt - if this is to go into the competition, it must be a stand-alone story. You can't put a chapter of a story into the competition. (Although you can write a stand-alone story then write some later installments for it if it proves popular )

I literally had comments back to back 'too long' vs 'not long enough' ... *shrugs helplessly*

Strokes for folks, huh

I have had people say chapters for one of my series were too short, and on reflection I might have been better putting it all into one big story.

There are some very popular writers on here who write many pages of story. Maybe that's a way too of signalling to readers that you've got something more meaningful - not just a stroke story, so the strokers stay away - and don't vote it down.

The big NoNo is to start posting, then disappear after Chapter 3 and never come back and finish the story. Readers get very sad if you do that. I have a series I started writing and posting, but I ended up having to take long breaks between posting chapters. I really lost readership on that one, and have vowed not to go back to it until I can finish it all and promise people that all the chapters will be posted. I have a novel I posted, which was all written before I put it up. I was able to say this to readers at the start. It only has a few views and votes, as it's a long novel, however the readers have richly rewarded me with loyalty, votes and feedback for making sure I repaid their spending time reading the story by posting all the chapters.

 

[Hypoxia]

Just to re-affirm the point made by sr71plt - if this is to go into the competition, it must be a stand-alone story. You can't put a chapter of a story into the competition. (Although you can write a stand-alone story then write some later installments for it if it proves popular )

I have done and will continue to do exactly that. Nice teaser, eh?

The big NoNo is to start posting, then disappear after Chapter 3 and never come back and finish the story. Readers get very sad if you do that.

Unless it's designed as a chaptered novella I try to write standalone episodes. I feel some slight Author's Guilt at leaving starts unfinished. I really *must* complete my Black & White series, both of them, although they were intended as one-offs.

 

[NaokoSmith]

I have done and will continue to do exactly that. Nice teaser, eh?

Sssh, don't tell Laurel