Delay between chapters

[Altissimus]

Hey,

Apologies if this has been asked before; I could not find an answer with a search.

I have a multi-chapter story that I want to submit. What is the best way of doing this to ensure the work gets noticed?

e.g. - publish all chapters at once; submit the next chapter after the previous is posted; submit the next chapter x days after the previous is submitted, etc.

Any advice please?

Thanks,

A

 

[Rob_Royale]

A new story stays on the "new" list for a week and gets maximum attention. So posting a chapter a week should keep you in the headlines.

 

[Euphony]

Some prefer the full story dump to convert/keep readers of the first chapter (almost always highest views by a fair amount) into follow up chapter readers. This also gets more initial clicks as they know there's "a proper end."

Others like leveraging their time on the New Stories list and release to meet that goal instead.

As an (individual) reader, I'm not starting anything by someone I don't already know unless I see multiple chapters (assuming completion)

Some will come in and tell you don't micromanage it and readers don't mean that much. It's a good mindset to work towards but I don't expect most to internalize that right out of the gate.

 

[EmilyMiller]

In my (admittedly slim - only 20 works published) experience, there is absolutely no formula for success (apart from never publishing a LW story that is).

The key determinant of success (assuming you don’t have 5k followers) is being towards the top of the new story list for your category. I have no idea how you do that.

Two of my recent stories were (to my mind at least) of comparable quality, length and subject matter. One was #2 on the new list when published and got a decent number of views (for me at least). The other wasn’t even on the first page and you needed to click “more” to find it. That has less than 1k views (my fewest by miles), though the people who actually read it, seem to like it.

It’s a lottery.

Em

 

[Euphony]

A new story stays on the "new" list for a week and gets maximum attention. So posting a chapter a week should keep you in the headlines.

I would very much be sure to authors note the entirety is done and releasing on a schedule.

Maybe I a dick of a reader but my time comes in chunks so I read in chunks and I want the option to read the whole story if time and interest allows.

A Chpt 1 sitting on the list however long is just a title tease and the reader still has to do some hoop jumping if they don't break up reading a story over weeks.

 

[SimonDoom]

The goal should be to maximize the visibility and exposure of your story while not keeping readers waiting too long.

First thing to do: check out the story hub for the category in which you intend to publish the chapters. How many stories get published every day? How quickly do stories tend to get pushed down the story list because of new stories? Incest has over 25 stories per day sometimes. Some categories have no more than one story per day.

I think a good general guideline is to submit the next chapter when the previous chapter is published, or no more than a few days after that. That means the next chapter probably will be published around 3-5 days after the previous one, which gives the previous chapter enough time to get plenty of attention by itself without keeping the reader waiting too long for the next one. The key is to get your series as much visibility as possible, as long as possible. If you feel very confident about your story working its way to toplists in the category, then you could wait a little long to prolong the period of time that the series chapters will be at the top of the toplists.

 

[SimonDoom]

I would very much be sure to authors note the entirety is done and releasing on a schedule.

Maybe I a dick of a reader but my time comes in chunks so I read in chunks and I want the option to read the whole story if time and interest allows.

A Chpt 1 sitting on the list however long is just a title tease and the reader still has to do some hoop jumping if they don't break up reading a story over weeks.

I'm not sure how big a deal this is for most readers, but one way of dealing with it is to post a quick author's note at the beginning of chapter 1 letting the reader know that the entire story is done and giving them an idea how long they'll have to wait between each chapter.

 

[Euphony]

In my (admittedly slim - only 20 works published) experience, there is absolutely no formula for success (apart from never publishing a LW story that is).

The key determinant of success (assuming you don’t have 5k followers) is being towards the top of the new story list for your category. I have no idea how you do that.

Two of my recent stories were (to my mind at least) of comparable quality, length and subject matter. One was #2 on the new list when published and got a decent number of views (for me at least). The other wasn’t even on the first page and you needed to click “more” to find it. That has less than 1k views (my fewest by miles), though the people who actually read it, seem to like it.

It’s a lottery.

Em

Quality can buy readership but readership does not denote quality.

Stories that absolutely CRUSH me ability wise often hover in the 4.5-4.6 range with no rhyme or reason.

Stuff written to formulaic category wants and usually compacted to a modest number of pages have better odds of rocketing to the top.

People vote with their fetishes and expectations.

If that's a goal you want to achieve, write to it. Personally, I'd lose my marbles writing for others than myself but my writing tends to the therapeutic and is for me so I get way more precious than the standard smut poster. (who can often do well)

 

[Euphony]

I'm not sure how big a deal this is for most readers, but one way of dealing with it is to post a quick author's note at the beginning of chapter 1 letting the reader know that the entire story is done and giving them an idea how long they'll have to wait between each chapter.

I've no idea either (why I mentioned it may be an individual thing) but double digit years and umpteen half finished GREAT stories have jaded me to the point I look for story completion.

(admittedly, I could learn much from half finished examples but there's an artform to consistency and finishing strong which I lose if I'm only eating a half-baked cake)

 

[EmilyMiller]

Personally, I'd lose my marbles writing for others than myself but my writing tends to the therapeutic and is for me so I get way more precious than the standard smut poster. (who can often do well)

I’m glad to hear someone else writes therapeutically. I write primarily because I like writing and it’s a way of organizing / dealing with things on my mind.

But, there had to be a but, I’m also vain and like people to like my stuff. It’s maybe a secondary consideration, but it’s there.

I want to have my cake and eat it. I want to write for me AND for everyone to love it. Shallow I realize .

Em

 

[Altissimus]

Personally, I'd lose my marbles writing for others than myself but my writing tends to the therapeutic and is for me so I get way more precious than the standard smut poster. (who can often do well)

QFT.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The goal should be to maximize the visibility and exposure of your story while not keeping readers waiting too long.

First thing to do: check out the story hub for the category in which you intend to publish the chapters. How many stories get published every day? How quickly do stories tend to get pushed down the story list because of new stories? Incest has over 25 stories per day sometimes. Some categories have no more than one story per day.

I think a good general guideline is to submit the next chapter when the previous chapter is published, or no more than a few days after that. That means the next chapter probably will be published around 3-5 days after the previous one, which gives the previous chapter enough time to get plenty of attention by itself without keeping the reader waiting too long for the next one. The key is to get your series as much visibility as possible, as long as possible. If you feel very confident about your story working its way to toplists in the category, then you could wait a little long to prolong the period of time that the series chapters will be at the top of the toplists.

What Simon wrote, adding just one more factor and that is chapter length. If your chapters are not bigger than one Literotica page (somewhere around 3.5k words), then you could maybe post them with only one day delay, as you also don't want your readers to lose the thread of your story. Smaller chapters don't usually linger for long in the minds of readers.

 

[Djmac1031]

My question is; if your story is "complete," why publish it in chapters? Just publish as one long story.

Many of my stories turned into chapters because early on in my writing I'd write a story, people liked it, asked for a sequel so I wrote one.

The first published stories were complete in the sense they stood alone, but left room for a sequel I wrote later.

How many chapters are we talking about? Three? Four? If so, you're probably better off just publishing it as one longer tale.

Just my thoughts.

 

[oggbashan]

I aheve the worst example: Christmas Fairy parts 1 to 3. I became stuck at the enb of chapter two and couldn't find an acceptable solution to my dilemma. It took me 13 years to fnish chaper three.

 

[EmilyMiller]

My question is; if your story is "complete," why publish it in chapters? Just publish as one long story.

Many of my stories turned into chapters because early on in my writing I'd write a story, people liked it, asked for a sequel so I wrote one.

The first published stories were complete in the sense they stood alone, but left room for a sequel I wrote later.

How many chapters are we talking about? Three? Four? If so, you're probably better off just publishing it as one longer tale.

Just my thoughts.

I kinda agree.

My single venture into chapters was a short short story about another Lit member. They asked me to write more, so I did. I’ve been trying to get better at short stories (< 3k words) and so view this work as a series of connected stories. Though they are entirely contiguous.

Em

 

[MrPixel]

If you upload all the chapters at once, Laurel will publish them sequentially, one each every day until she runs out of chapters. I do this, my logic being having the entire story in the barrel and ready to neatly publish as a series. If I have it mostly done and start to upload, Murphy says something will happen to one or more uncompleted chapters down the line and the chain will be broken. I have one big story 99% finished since last November and am struggling with timeline in one chapter, so it's going nowhere until it's truly done.

Certainly don't take that as gospel, however. My readership numbers are very low because I publish in a relative ghost town, Group Sex. While the publishing sequence will be the same for other categories (one day at a time), the effect on reader enthusiasm for subsequent installments hitting the "New" list is something I can't help you with.

I'm not sure how big a deal this is for most readers, but one way of dealing with it is to post a quick author's note at the beginning of chapter 1 letting the reader know that the entire story is done and giving them an idea how long they'll have to wait between each chapter.

I took Simon's advice on this on my last big upload. It's logical. No way to tell, though, if it made any difference in either direction.

 

[Euphony]

I’m glad to hear someone else writes therapeutically. I write primarily because I like writing and it’s a way of organizing / dealing with things on my mind.

But, there had to be a but, I’m also vain and like people to like my stuff. It’s maybe a secondary consideration, but it’s there.

I want to have my cake and eat it. I want to write for me AND for everyone to love it. Shallow I realize .

Em

There is nothing wrong with that. Zero.

I frame it in the same way I do mutual orgasms. Both can happen, they are lovely, special, and should be recognized as such as near to the moment as possible.

But there is a reality that structurally our bodies aren't naturally tuned in that direction.

Wants/catagory norms tend towards the usual and common which generally don't require much therapeutic rumination on by an author.

My adult.coloring book palate choices personalize the piece but it would struggle to complete with anyone using even the most modest tools in free form.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Hey,

Apologies if this has been asked before; I could not find an answer with a search.

I have a multi-chapter story that I want to submit. What is the best way of doing this to ensure the work gets noticed?

e.g. - publish all chapters at once; submit the next chapter after the previous is posted; submit the next chapter x days after the previous is submitted, etc.

Any advice please?

Thanks,

You mentioned that this is a multi-chapter story, which I believe is the key determining factor in how you submit it. A series can be drawn out for months or years because each installment is a stand-alone story tied to a core theme or concept. Chapter stories rely upon each of the parts to make the story whole. Readers expect more expedient satisfaction as the story moves along or they will give it up, or as some have stated, not even bother to start reading your story.

Due to my reader comments and feedback, I no longer break my stories up into separate chapters or parts when submitting. However, I have done so in the past. In all but one of these instances, I submitted every chapter on the same day, one after another. This resulted in them getting posted one each day for as long as it took for all chapters to get processed by the system. My readers have voiced this approach as their preference if the story is going to be broken up. There was one 20-chapter story where I let a few days pass between submissions, and easily the majority of reader comments spoke to them hating to have to wait for the next part. (Cliffhanger chapter endings will tease readers)

My experiences with chapter stories have all been with long stories in the Novels/Novellas category, so as others have mentioned, if your category is something else, you might need to adjust to meet the expectation of readers who favor the category you choose. Check out some other chapter stories in the specific category, make note of the date each chapter was posted, and read the comments of readers.

 

[EmilyMiller]

There is nothing wrong with that. Zero.

I frame it in the same way I do mutual orgasms. Both can happen, they are lovely, special, and should be recognized as such as near to the moment as possible.

But there is a reality that structurally our bodies aren't naturally tuned in that direction.

Wants/catagory norms tend towards the usual and common which generally don't require much therapeutic rumination on by an author.

My adult.coloring book palate choices personalize the piece but it would struggle to complete with anyone using even the most modest tools in free form.

I think you are right. Since removing the more outré elements from my first stories, I’ve not written with an audience in mind. But it’s gratifying if one nevertheless emerges .

Clearly I am the as yet undiscovered Steinbeck of Smut, but I’m happy only I know that at present.

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

Some people won't start reading stories that are longer than a certain number of pages. If the combined length of the story is no more than 10 or 15K, I would submit it as one. Otherwise, breaking it up could be beneficial, definitely for the scores of the later chapters.

It really is a roll of the dice either way.

Some readers like full stories and avoid "series" because they feel it's a commitment or they don't want to wait for the next chapter or, simply forget about it if there's any delay at all between them.

Others love series and follow them regularly.

Ask any author here to describe their view / like numbers on any given series and they will all describe the same drop off scenario; first chapter does great, each successive chapter sees a drop off of readership.

Even my shorter series have seen this happen. It can't be helped.

So my thoughts are: if the OP has a COMPLETE story, something with no plans for a sequel, he may as well just publish the whole thing.

Really it's going to be about what scares off a reader more: a twenty page self contained story, or a 20 chapter series.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Some people won't start reading stories that are longer than a certain number of pages. If the combined length of the story is no more than 10 or 15K, I would submit it as one. Otherwise, breaking it up could be beneficial, definitely for the scores of the later chapters.

I believe this is category specific. My long stories in Novels/Novellas are preferred by readers over the times when I broke the up.

 

[KeithD]

Hey,

Apologies if this has been asked before; I could not find an answer with a search.

I have a multi-chapter story that I want to submit. What is the best way of doing this to ensure the work gets noticed?

e.g. - publish all chapters at once; submit the next chapter after the previous is posted; submit the next chapter x days after the previous is submitted, etc.

Any advice please?

Thanks,

A

What works well for me is to have the complete work written before beginning posting and to submit the next chapter the day that the previous one has posted. This ensures that the work posts quickly but doesn't become jammed up by a previous chapter being rejected or not posting when I thought it would.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

What works well for me is to have the complete work written before beginning posting and to submit the next chapter the day that the previous one has posted. This ensures that the work posts quickly but doesn't become jammed up by a previous chapter being rejected or not posting when I thought it would.

I've heard about those jam ups happening, but I guess I've been lucky. I submitted all of my chapters one-after-another at the same time on several occasions and they got posted day-after-day until all were up.

It won't be an issue for me going forward because I've stopped breaking my stories up for submission.

 

[KeithD]

I've heard about those jam ups happening, but I guess I've been lucky. I submitted all of my chapters one-after-another at the same time on several occasions and they got posted day-after-day until all were up.

It's true that Laurel will do that for authors. I think she's got more than enough to do without keeping track of story postings like this, so I handle my own submissions in that regard myself.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I have a multi-chapter story that I want to submit. What is the best way of doing this to ensure the work gets noticed?

e.g. - publish all chapters at once; submit the next chapter after the previous is posted; submit the next chapter x days after the previous is submitted, etc.

Key question, which some have touched on: how long is your story, how long are your chapters, what category?

Your "out the gate" exposure depends on all of these factors; and keep in mind, after three months, none of it matters, because the whole thing will be published..

Also, you can let the site automation set it up as a Series, or you can do it manually.