Submitting in chapters VS All at once

[purpleswordpanties]

Hello,

I have a complete story of about 21k words. I split it into 6 chapters, but I'm a bit at a loss as to whether I should put it all in one submission, or split the submissions by chapter. I've read some articles that say one submission is preferable because "my readers will be thankful".

On the other hand, if I make just one submission, it is more likely to be lost in the deluge of new stories, only to be seen once and never again. Submitting each chapter one by one will at least allow the story to be advertised 5 more times. If a reader sees "Chapter 3", if they were even remotely interested by what they see, they might seek out Chapter 1 as well.

I know what you're all going to say. "Post it all at once, because you can." But I don't see why I should when the most successful multi-chapter stories get so many viewers because they are more likely to be noticed when a "new chapter" gets posted.

Thoughts?

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's the never ending debate.

Firstly, 21k words will be six Lit pages, which is not a long story by any Lit measure. Six chapters though, is one Lit page per chapter, which is way too short. You need to give readers time to get off, if that's what they're after. One page chapters are not recommended, unless your audience is sixteen year old boys who will get off on anything.

Every time this comes up there's a rough consensus that the optimum Lit chapter length is about 3 Lit pages, or about 10k words. But all you will do with two such chapters is annoy people, I reckon - I think for this length you'll get a better response from a single submission.

 

[purpleswordpanties]

Well, that answers it. Kind of disappointed, but in hindsight, 3000 words just barely qualifies for a chapter in any novel, doesn't it?

I really wanted to split things up because scene-wise, it's quite dense. But so be it.

Thanks for the answer, electricblue.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

Well, that answers it. Kind of disappointed, but in hindsight, 3000 words just barely qualifies for a chapter in any novel, doesn't it?

I really wanted to split things up because scene-wise, it's quite dense. But so be it.

Thanks for the answer, electricblue.

You can always do internal chapter divisions though. Submit as one story but insert headings like "Chapter 2: Electric Boogaloo" or whatever. Chapter titles are optional though, up to preference. But that way it's still split up internally, which I've seen plenty of times in stories on here so no one would think twice if they saw it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

You can always do internal chapter divisions though. Submit as one story but insert headings like "Chapter 2: Electric Boogaloo" or whatever. Chapter titles are optional though, up to preference. But that way it's still split up internally, which I've seen plenty of times in stories on here so no one would think twice if they saw it.

Agree this. The key, I think, is to make each "read" worth reading. If it's over too soon... that satisfies no-one, really. It is erotica, after all, not flash fiction .

 

[LupusDei]

Well, that answers it. Kind of disappointed, but in hindsight, 3000 words just barely qualifies for a chapter in any novel, doesn't it?

I really wanted to split things up because scene-wise, it's quite dense. But so be it.

Thanks for the answer, electricblue.

If it's intended to break, maybe, just maybe, it could be 3 parts, 2 chapters each, submitted back-to-back so Laurel posts them each day? (Optimal frequency might be category dependent.) That would give ~7k chunks, little short of two pages, if there's something good in each, it may fly.

Three chapters is, imho, acceptable miniseries, and may give you more numbers to obsess about, like view attrition rates per chapter and random fluctuations in ratings per chapter; with the last naturally higher rated than first just because social dynamics, but it still feels good I suppose.

There's some anecdotal evidence and conjecture that readers who won't touch anything split into chapters do exist, but then, the field is large enough to assume there's dwarves and a dragon or two reading too. And of course penguins, but that may be a proprietary joke, I don't know.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's true that by publishing a story in multiple separately published chapters you will get some additional advertising for the story, and the publication of each chapter will stimulate some new readers to go back to chapter 1 and start your story. But there are two significant countervailing considerations:

1. More people will read the story to begin with if it's published as "Erotic Story" than as "Erotic Story Ch. 01." People are more apt to read what they perceive to be a complete story than they are to start a chaptered story. So if you publish as a chaptered story your base will be lower, and you'll have to hope that the extra advertising will raise the readership above the higher base level you would have achieved by publishing it as "Erotic Story" to begin with.

2. Your story score probably will be lower. This analysis has been done before, notably by 8Letters about a year ago, and it's very clear that story scores increase notably as a story goes from 1 to 6 pages. Your story, if published as a standalone, will be around 6 pages, which is ideal. The score matters if you want more readers, because more people will be attracted to a story with a higher score.

 

[Hypoxia]

This question pops up every week or two and the answers remain the same.

• Any contest submission MUST be a single story. I edited a contest-winner of ~70k words / 20 LIT pages with 10 internal chapters.
• One-page submissions (stories or chapters) usually don't score well, nor do chapters spread across categories.
• Various readers will or won't read long or short pieces. No, you can't please everybody.
• A tale may work well as a 3-or-4-chapter arc with a definite THE END. But your fan base may demand endless continuations. Stop if you dare.

No rules here; no formulae; but a chapter should usually be a distinct unit. Does your chapter say what you want?

 

[MetaBob]

Converting chapters to a single, self-contained story.

Is this done? I have three short novels published here, 40-50K words each, but broken up into 9-13 chapters. This makes it seem like I have a lot here when I really don't, even though a fourth novel of 50-60K words that'll probably end up at 15-16 chapters is nearing completion and a piece that'll probably end up being shorter currently has 3 chapters posted.

Is converting the chaptered story into a single, self-contained piece something anyone else has requested? Maybe also consolidating views and votes? It might make managing the works simpler for both the author and the site, once the initial conversion is done.

 

[KeithD]

It's the same work for the site editor all over again. I don't fuss with what is already written and posted. I move on to the next.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Is converting the chaptered story into a single, self-contained piece something anyone else has requested? Maybe also consolidating views and votes? It might make managing the works simpler for both the author and the site, once the initial conversion is done.

Anecdotally, it occasionally happens, where an author takes the original chapters down and consolidates into a single piece. All the original scores, votes and comments are lost, though, because the consolidated story is a new one, and the old version is removed. The site won't consolidate anything, to my knowledge. There's no facility for it.

I can't see the point, myself. It's far better to put the energy into a new story rather than futz with an old one - the words of the old one aren't going to magically improve just because the pagination changes.

 

[Handley_Page]

Hello,

I have a complete story of about 21k words. I split it into 6 chapters, but I'm a bit at a loss as to whether I should put it all in one submission, or split the submissions by chapter. I've read some articles that say one submission is preferable because "my readers will be thankful".

Thoughts?

With about 3700 words per Lit page, you story might best be regarded as one single piece.
Good Luck

 

[Kojak01]

Well, that answers it. Kind of disappointed, but in hindsight, 3000 words just barely qualifies for a chapter in any novel, doesn't it?

I really wanted to split things up because scene-wise, it's quite dense. But so be it.

Thanks for the answer, electricblue.

If you think it adds something to the story then go ahead and publish in chapters. It's your choice.

I did that once and had eight rather short chapters (1-2 pages) and got some rather rough feedback for it. "I can barely get into the story when the chapter is over", "Publish it all, ffs" and those are the polite ones...

But I thought of it like episodes in a TV-series and therefore I kept publishing short chapters. They are among my lowest rated works.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If you think it adds something to the story then go ahead and publish in chapters. It's your choice.

I did that once and had eight rather short chapters (1-2 pages) and got some rather rough feedback for it. "I can barely get into the story when the chapter is over", "Publish it all, ffs" and those are the polite ones...

But I thought of it like episodes in a TV-series and therefore I kept publishing short chapters. They are among my lowest rated works.

I ran a little experiment on the back of the 750 Word Anthology. I published another five chapters, the last two doubling the previous chapter's word count. The results speak for themselves:

A Girl on the Bus Pt. 06. (4200 words)
In Delilah's room.
03/08/2020
HOT. 8.1k. 4.79 / 96

A Girl on the Bus Pt. 05. (1900 words)
Flash Fiction - in Delilah's House.
02/28/2020
3.6k. 4.39 / 96

A Girl on the Bus Pt. 04. (1000 words)
Flash Fiction - I'm not going home by myself.
02/27/2020
4.2k. 4.43 / 97

A Girl on the Bus Pt. 03. (830 words)
Flash fiction - the coming of the storm.
02/25/2020
4k. 4.03 / 94

A Girl on the Bus Pt. 02. (1100 words)
Flash fiction - urban encounters.
02/17/2020
6.6k. 4.15 / 138

A Girl on the Bus. (750 words)
A brief encounter (750 Word story contest)
02/13/2020
9.9k. 4.25 / 200

What's intriguing is the doubling of Views on the last part (the only one to get a Red H). I figure folk read it twice. This demonstrably shows the value of a Red H to fuel a story. Uncanny too: the vote count on the last four parts is almost identical. I wonder if it was the same readers voting.

 

[gordo12]

And here we are responding to an old post again.

Response deleted

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Hello,

I have a complete story of about 21k words. I split it into 6 chapters, but I'm a bit at a loss as to whether I should put it all in one submission, or split the submissions by chapter. I've read some articles that say one submission is preferable because "my readers will be thankful".

On the other hand, if I make just one submission, it is more likely to be lost in the deluge of new stories, only to be seen once and never again. Submitting each chapter one by one will at least allow the story to be advertised 5 more times. If a reader sees "Chapter 3", if they were even remotely interested by what they see, they might seek out Chapter 1 as well.

I know what you're all going to say. "Post it all at once, because you can." But I don't see why I should when the most successful multi-chapter stories get so many viewers because they are more likely to be noticed when a "new chapter" gets posted.

Thoughts?

If you've already decided what you want to do, then why not just do that?
There really is no definitive answer to this question.
Though, speaking only for myself, I get annoyed at chapters that are a page and a half long. So, if it was my story, I'd post it in 3 parts, not 6.

 

[Handley_Page]

If you've already decided what you want to do, then why not just do that?
There really is no definitive answer to this question.
Though, speaking only for myself, I get annoyed at chapters that are a page and a half long. So, if it was my story, I'd post it in 3 parts, not 6.

Two parts might read better

 

[sbrooks103]

You can always do internal chapter divisions though. Submit as one story but insert headings like "Chapter 2: Electric Boogaloo" or whatever. Chapter titles are optional though, up to preference. But that way it's still split up internally, which I've seen plenty of times in stories on here so no one would think twice if they saw it.

With internal chapters, of whatever length, it makes a convenient break point if the reader chooses to do so, while allowing the reader to continue on without having to go back to your library to select the next chapter.

 

[SimonDoom]

I marvel at these zombie threads that keep going and going, resurrected after months of obsolescence, and where the OP has long since stopped participating, and probably is no longer listening.

I think the answer is pretty clear on this one. An author can do whatever an author likes, and that's fine. That includes publishing lots of really short chapters to a story separately. But if an author cares about maximizing reader response and getting a good rating, then the answer obviously is to publish this as a single story. That data on this site backs up that conclusion overwhelmingly.

 

[MetaBob]

I marvel at these zombie threads that keep going and going, resurrected after months of obsolescence, and where the OP has long since stopped participating, and probably is no longer listening.
...
But if an author cares about maximizing reader response and getting a good rating, then the answer obviously is to publish this as a single story.

Or not. I prefer to not start a new thread when one already exists. I don't give a crap about ratings. Do you? It seems like you, suggesting that this is all about "maximizing reader response and getting a good rating," do care. My interest is more about managing a whole bunch (~50) of different and previously published things down to a much more manageable (~5) set of things. Both for me and the site administrators. That was explicit. I asked a simple question. I hoped for clarity, as opposed to whatever your response was intended to be.

 

[KeithD]

I suggest thinking ahead on what you're going to do with your one shot at presenting the story, sticking to that one shot with that work and not messing around with it (which uses extra site effort, pushes the first-time new submissions of other authors back, and will erase whatever stats were gathered on the first go), and going on to writing the next. The shelf life of an entry here is a lot better than in bookstores, but reading usually slacks off a lot after it goes off the hub list. Your readers aren't going to thank you if they start reading into something they remember having read before. Just don't keep messing with your already-posted work. Take your best shot the first time.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My interest is more about managing a whole bunch (~50) of different and previously published things down to a much more manageable (~5) set of things. Both for me and the site administrators. That was explicit. I asked a simple question. I hoped for clarity, as opposed to whatever your response was intended to be.

You can do it, but the legwork is all yours to do. The site will delete all of the old stories/chapters at your request, and you can then submit new versions, consolidating all chapters into single files. All meta-data associated with the original chapters will disappear, and you'll get a bunch of readers saying, "Wait, I've already read this, what's going on?"

The stories are published, so at this point the site's work is done, there's nothing more for the site to "manage." You'll give Laurel more work to do if you submit edits.

Why bother with all that? Why wouldn't you just write new content, lessons learned, in long stories, if you reckon that's best for you?

Or do what I do, and do both. You do get quite different reader reactions, which might be useful in figuring out what works best for your content. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses, and you can tailor your content to suit. There's certainly no "best" approach; and whatever you do, some folk will like it, others won't.

 

[SimonDoom]

Or not. I prefer to not start a new thread when one already exists. I don't give a crap about ratings. Do you? It seems like you, suggesting that this is all about "maximizing reader response and getting a good rating," do care. My interest is more about managing a whole bunch (~50) of different and previously published things down to a much more manageable (~5) set of things. Both for me and the site administrators. That was explicit. I asked a simple question. I hoped for clarity, as opposed to whatever your response was intended to be.

My remark isn't addressed to what I want, it's addressed to what the OP asked about. The OP obviously wanted to know whether publishing in chapters or as a single story would affect reader response. It's a perfectly reasonable query, and it's one that authors make on this forum all the time. I think the answer to that query, based on the data provided by this site -- if one cares to pay attention to it -- is pretty obvious.

My response wasn't addressed to your question, and it wasn't meant as a rebuke to you for resurrecting the thread. Your question is, I think, a fair one, because people often start threads and then disappear after having prompted an extensive conversation, and it's worth inquiring whether they're still paying attention to the conversation they started. I do think, however, that it's interesting, and maybe a little amusing, to what degree threads take on a life of their own and end up having nothing to do with satisfying the original poster's curiosity, whatever it is.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I do think, however, that it's interesting, and maybe a little amusing, to what degree threads take on a life of their own and end up having nothing to do with satisfying the original poster's curiosity, whatever it is.

But that's how these forums work, isn't it? Wandering down random paths, not knowing what will turn up next? That's the best bit, for me. This notion that you're only "allowed" to have one thread, one topic and you must stay on topic - where's the fun in that?

 

[SimonDoom]

But that's how these forums work, isn't it? Wandering down random paths, not knowing what will turn up next? That's the best bit, for me. This notion that you're only "allowed" to have one thread, one topic and you must stay on topic - where's the fun in that?

I agree with you completely. I think my post didn't make my position clear.

I'm all for taking a very liberal position toward threads -- let them go where they may. I think MetaBob took my post as being disapproving of his bringing back this thread, and that wasn't what I meant at all.

A really common phenomenon on this forum is that someone will start a thread, which provokes an extensive and lively conversation, some of it responsive to and helpful to the starter of the thread, and some of it not, and then the OP disappears, leaving a responder to the thread to wonder whether the OP ever benefitted from the thread he/she started, or whether the OP ever even cared.

In the OP's case, OP published a story six days after starting this thread, which is about the same length as the story described in the thread, so I assume that's the story the OP was discussing. But it would be nice to know, given the discussion, how things went. That story published six days after the post has a 4.74 score, so it obviously was well received by readers.