Chapter Release Pacing

[MelissaBaby]

No, I don't think so.

Agreed.

The story needs what the story needs. I never expected to do a 36 chapter series, but here I am. Some plot developments need more time than expected. Some minor characters will grow and lead you down an unexpected path. Of course, you have to be able to discipline yourself, but you need to recognize what matters and what doesn't Too little story is not better than too much.

 

[SimonDoom]

That brings up the question of whether there is an ideal length for a series in general.

No, definitely not.

This Site has some very, very long series that have been very popular. Many erotica readers seem to like repetition -- once they're hooked on the characters they want to see them have sexual adventures over and over again.

I'm not that sort of reader. I find that many series, for my taste, go on too long, well past the point that the eroticism of the characters' adventures has lost its zing. The authors lose their focus. I think a series is better when it has an overall narrative arc and wraps up at the right time. Then the author should move on and start an entirely new story rather than keep finding ways of maintaining the existing one on life support.

But, make no mistake, there are tons of Literotica readers who totally disagree with my tastes.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

The last two serials I released I uploaded all parts at the same time. I put a note in the note to field asking each chapter to be released 3-4 days apart. My views and comments on all my stories skyrocketed.

I do agree that you should have the whole thing finished prior to uploading. There are too many chapter stories on here that are good but unfinished. It sucks when you start to read a serial that is incomplete.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

No, definitely not.

This Site has some very, very long series that have been very popular. Many erotica readers seem to like repetition -- once they're hooked on the characters they want to see them have sexual adventures over and over again.

I'm not that sort of reader. I find that many series, for my taste, go on too long, well past the point that the eroticism of the characters' adventures has lost its zing. The authors lose their focus. I think a series is better when it has an overall narrative arc and wraps up at the right time. Then the author should move on and start an entirely new story rather than keep finding ways of maintaining the existing one on life support.

But, make no mistake, there are tons of Literotica readers who totally disagree with my tastes.

I was reading a story on bgclive that was okay, but started to drone on and on, introduced characters. It got to a point where I forgot who was who, related to who, blasé blah... I stopped reading it.

As far as the OPs question; I tell myself to write the whole thing, then post, but what happens is I write a few chapters, then post one, and try to stay four to six chapters ahead. I'll get there one day... Unless it's really short, six chapters or less, I post as I finish them. But with my personal life it's about finding time to write more so than posting. It's real fun with this Charlie Brown fanfict I'm writing that has it's own version for here and the other two fan fict sites. At least it's almost done, though I haven't touched it in two months. Plus... if the story is good, some readers will venture to chapter one, to read jt from the beginning, after running across whatever chapter they saw.

 

[HeyYoureThatGuy]

Okay. Again, thank you all for your input.

So I've gotten the roughest of rough drafts written for an 11 chapter story. Given that spacing them out helps keep you on the front page, increasing views/vote/whatevs, how do readers respond to a multi-part story that changes category?

This starts solidly Exhibitionist & Voyeur, but later chapters wouldn't fit there if they were stand-alone stories. It breaks down like this in the current draft.

1: E&V
2: E&V
3: E&V
4: E&V
5: First Time
6: E&V
7: Erotic Coupling
8: Erotic Coupling
9: Group Sex
10: E&V
11: E&V (maybe Group Sex)

So is it recommended to keep the entire story posted in one category to post the chapters in the category that fits them best individually?

 

[KeithD]

how do readers respond to a multi-part story that changes category?

There are probably well over a hundred thousand readers here, not one universal--or 350 common interest readers. So this is a spinning wheels question, asked from the wrong end. Do as you like; you'll have readers. Maybe you'll have more or fewer readers if you do something else, but the reader set changes every day, every hour. there is no relevant answer to "what do the readers want?" question here.

 

[SimonDoom]

So is it recommended to keep the entire story posted in one category to post the chapters in the category that fits them best individually?

The answer to this question depends on two things:

1. What do you want?

2. What are the facts concerning you stories?

As far as number 1, there's no right answer. You can want whatever you want; that's the great thing about publishing to Literotica. If it serves your artistic purposes to have a multi-chapter series that spans multiple categories and you want the published category to track the chapter content, then there's nothing wrong with that. There will be readers who appreciate that, too.

At the same time, it's likely you will lose readers if your multi-chapter series takes them through multiple categories, some of which some of your readers will not appreciate. You'll have a high attrition rate, probably.

I personally think it's better to try to publish all chapters in a single category, so you hold on to your readers AND so your story maintains an overall erotic focus. But the concept of "erotic focus" is a particular concern of mine and not necessarily something that other authors or readers value. You may not value that at all, and if you don't you're not wrong. But, so you know, I think there are many other readers who think like me.

If it were me, I'd probably try to find a way to make sure every chapter had some kind of exhibitionist/voyeur angle, even if it doesn't dominate the chapter, and I'd publish every single chapter in E/V. But that's just me. E/V is a very inclusive, permissive category, with open-minded readers. It's not persnickety like some.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If it were me, I'd probably try to find a way to make sure every chapter had some kind of exhibitionist/voyeur angle, even if it doesn't dominate the chapter, and I'd publish every single chapter in E/V. But that's just me. E/V is a very inclusive, permissive category, with open-minded readers. It's not persnickety like some.

Agree this. By the time you're five chapters into a story in a single category, you've got your readers on the hook, they're invested until the end. Don't loose them.

If you jump categories as you propose, you'll lose a fair few readers because they won't necessarily see the next chapter because it's elsewhere, and the readers in the new category will see a new entry with a high chapter number and many won't even click in.

With multi-chapter stories there is always high drop-off in the first three chapters, with steady state observable at chapter four. They're the readers who are interested - don't loose them with a random category change.

 

[KeithD]

Depends primarily on the length of the jump, I think. If you start with three chapters posted to BDSM, chapter four is Nonerotic, and chapter five is put in GM, any readers continuing to follow along aren't actually reading, I don't think.

 

[sbrooks103]

I understand this is another question that doesn't have one definitive answer, but I was wondering how authors on here have handled when they release chapters in a multi-part story.

Do you do it as soon as you finish them? Do you try to space it out? Throw darts at a wall calendar?

I'm working on a longer story that breaks out into chapters. I've got a rough outline from beginning to end, and I'm just wondering how it's played out for other people.

Please don't post "as you finish them!" What happens if you don't finish the next chapter(s) any time soon?

Few things are as annoying as starting a story, getting to the end of the latest chapter, whether that's chapter 1 or chapter "X," then waiting forever for the next chapter.

 

[sbrooks103]

Okay. Again, thank you all for your input.

So I've gotten the roughest of rough drafts written for an 11 chapter story. Given that spacing them out helps keep you on the front page, increasing views/vote/whatevs, how do readers respond to a multi-part story that changes category?

This starts solidly Exhibitionist & Voyeur, but later chapters wouldn't fit there if they were stand-alone stories. It breaks down like this in the current draft.

1: E&V
2: E&V
3: E&V
4: E&V
5: First Time
6: E&V
7: Erotic Coupling
8: Erotic Coupling
9: Group Sex
10: E&V
11: E&V (maybe Group Sex)

So is it recommended to keep the entire story posted in one category to post the chapters in the category that fits them best individually?

I say, pick the category that best fits the overall story (another reason to complete the story before posting!) then using tags for each chapter. Using your example, let's say that I like EC stories, and I see your Ch 7 pop up in New. I check your library, and see five E&V chapters that I'm going to have to read plus the First Time), in order to read Ch 7. Most likely I'll skip over your story.