Better to release multiple chapters at once or individually?

[SuperWriter]

For example, releasing "My Sexy Teacher Ch. 1 & 2" at once, or releasing the lone, first chapter and then the second one in a few days or the following week.

What method do you guys think will have more success? Or maybe the pro and cons to each.

 

[SimonDoom]

For example, releasing "My Sexy Teacher Ch. 1 & 2" at once, or releasing the lone, first chapter and then the second one in a few days or the following week.

What method do you guys think will have more success? Or maybe the pro and cons to each.

This question gets asked a lot, so if you do a search of old threads you'll find lots of different answers.

Some initial questions: how many words is the total story? A "Literotica" page has about 3750 words. I would guess the most popular story length is 2 to 5 pages. But longer stories, even some of 20 pages or more, can be very popular as well.

If it's only two chapters, unless they're really long, I'd recommend submitting it as one story, especially if it's done.

There is a significant drop off in story views after the first story, especially if (a) you wait too long to publish the second one (not a problem if the whole thing is done), or (b) the first chapter didn't deliver what the readers want. For instance, if in this story the sex "payoff" isn't until the last chapter, I'd definitely recommend submitting it as one story. Frustrated readers may otherwise give up after the first chapter.

 

[Requiax]

If you upload them all at once I believe Laurel staggers their going live by a few days evenly. So if you want them done like that you can upload them all together and relax.

If you want control of your publishing schedule you would be better posting them separately (say, a new chapter every Tuesday - as it takes roughly 2-3 days to approve a story that means your readers will see a new chapter every Thursday or Friday).

As for which is better, well I think the main thing readers appreciate is getting a new instalment at a regular pace and not having to wait more than they’d like, so as long as you can manage that, you’re golden.

 

[Requiax]

Oh and yes, if you have a chapter where not much happens, better to group it together with a few others to ensure each upload has what SimonDoom called the “payoff”.

For example my novel Best Friends is an exhibitionist adventure so I tried to make sure each “episode” had some exhibitionism in. That meant grouping two, three or sometimes more chapters together in one episode.

I think this is appreciated by readers - in fact the highest rated episode was the one composed of the most chapters.

 

[Oblimo]

In my personal opinion, you should only release chapters individually if you are purposefully writing an honest-to-gosh serial, where the chapters are intentionally crafted to be episodic. Otherwise, only post a story when it is done. Bringing a story to conclusion is apparently freakin’ hard, as evidenced by the many incomplete stories on Lit and floating around the Internet.

If you can’t finish a story, you aren’t a writer yet.

(This is pure personal taste, I should say. I’ve become greatly turned off by American comic book franchises and television. Stories need to end, and end well, or the story is a failure.)

 

[SimonDoom]

In my personal opinion, you should only release chapters individually if you are purposefully writing an honest-to-gosh serial, where the chapters are intentionally crafted to be episodic. Otherwise, only post a story when it is done. Bringing a story to conclusion is apparently freakin’ hard, as evidenced by the many incomplete stories on Lit and floating around the Internet.

If you can’t finish a story, you aren’t a writer yet.

(This is pure personal taste, I should say. I’ve become greatly turned off by American comic book franchises and television. Stories need to end, and end well, or the story is a failure.)

I sort of agree, but I wouldn't go this far.

As far as I'm concerned, no author "should" have to do anything. Do what you want to do. You shouldn't feel shame because you've started a chapter by chapter serial and you're not sure you've got an ending for it.

There are a number of examples of incomplete stories on Literotica that I've enjoyed quite a lot. Eventually, they ran out of steam, and the authors didn't finish them. But I'm glad the authors wrote what they did. My reading experience would be poorer if they'd said "I'm not going to publish anything unless I can publish everything."

There are two good reasons to publish in chapters, in my opinion: One, you want to start publishing and you're not done with the story. Two, your story, as Oblimo says, has an episodic quality, so each separate chapter delivers what readers will be looking for. In the latter case, it doesn't necessarily matter whether the series ever has an ending. Write as many chapters as satisfy your story-writing needs and don't worry about the rest.

 

[Oblimo]

You’re right, SimonDoom, “should” sounds imperious. That’s why I wanted to stress that it was my personal taste, not some Rule or Proper Writing or such nonsense. In other words, it’s a “should” as in it’s something for which I strive.

Come to think of it, a stroke story doesn’t really need to end, does,it? It just needs to climax (once or multi ). Although, personally, it’s the context of a sexual encounter, the story leading up to it, that makes a sex scene truly hot.

 

[Kantarii]

Once the chapter leaves the headlines, it gets buried with all the other stories. Technically, when you post more than one chapter at a time, you are forcing the previous chapter you posted closer to leaving the headlines. No big deal, right? The other day, there was a backlog of stories that got released, clearing many stories from the headlines. Not a big deal, right? Reread the first sentence I wrote. Once it leaves the headlines, it’s gone. Few people search for older stories once they leave the headlines. That’s my take on the matter.
Kant

 

[ElectricBlue]

My thoughts are, if you have a long multi-part story, more than a dozen chapters, say, and each chapter is released maybe once a week (or as soon as the last chapter goes up), then it could, collectively, be on the first page for a couple of months. Depending on category, that's going to get some attention. Especially if the early chapters do well and get a bit of a burn going.

In theory...

 

[Oblimo]

All of us take omnibus

Hm. I’ve seen a handful of Lit authors who have released “omnibus editions” (often with a little extra in them), compiling stories they had previously published via individual chapters.

Maybe that’s a way to game the only-read-if-it’s-on-the-New-list issue. What do you think? Is that a legit strategy or dirty pool?

BTW: My stuff on here is almost a decade old, but it still gets read. I bet that’s true of a lot of stuff with good audience targeting.

 

[ElectricBlue]

BTW: My stuff on here is almost a decade old, but it still gets read. I bet that’s true of a lot of stuff with good audience targeting.

I've not got a decade up, but I'm curious about that too. I get the occasional comment against an old story which comes out of the blue, and wonder how the reader found it. And my last up, which went off its category first page a month or two ago, still gets maybe twenty views a day.

Back traffic increases, obviously, after any new story goes up - that's always noticeable (even though I don't keep detailed records).

I'd love to know how much back traffic is bots and crawlers, given there's a steady rate of increased views across my whole story file. The scores move around a little, too, so there must be humans involved.

 

[Oblimo]

I get the occasional comment against an old story which comes out of the blue, and wonder how the reader found it.

I personally make heavy use of the tag search function when, er, conducting research (sorting by # of favorites most often). I’m particularly interested in stories that get over a hundred favorites. Also, I chase down stories that other authors favorite.

I think the attribute that drives clicks the most is the short description. That can make or break a story.

 

[MelissaBaby]

For example, releasing "My Sexy Teacher Ch. 1 & 2" at once, or releasing the lone, first chapter and then the second one in a few days or the following week.

What method do you guys think will have more success? Or maybe the pro and cons to each.

It depends on what you consider success. I have completed one series and am in the midst of another, all chapters posted as I finished them.

I don't have a high readership, but I have a steady, loyal following that reads what I write and apparently enjoys it, as evidenced by the high ratings they give me.

I consider that success.

 

[SuperWriter]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!