How much is too much?

[Mobilier]

Recently, I got an idea in my head and began writing it. What I thought was only going to be a quick 2 page story, turned into something much more and seemed to take on a life of it's own. Currently, I'm on page 7 but when I finish my story, I expect it to be somewhere closer to 12/13 pages long (Yes, I'm going by literotica story page lengths). I have read a lot of stories on here and the longer ones are always my favorite (I think sex is a consequence of the story, not the other way around) but the comments usually say something to the tune of "I wasn't going to read this when I seen the length" or "you should have broken this into parts" etc.

What I'm wondering is, if this is too long as a story or should I break it up into 4 separate chunks? I personally don't care for the separate "chapters" approach but don't want to turn people off my writing before reading it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[sr71plt]

There isn't a single arbiter of anything at Literotica. There isn't even a discernible majority opinion on much of anything.

 

[RejectReality]

There's not a significant enough difference between the numbers long, single-submission stories and long, multi-chapter stories get to really determine whether one is better than the other.

It's more a question of goal. If you want to put your name out there, breaking it into chapters does that. With a twelve or thirteen page story, breaking it into 3 or 4 parts ( depending upon where logical breaks are ) leaves plenty of meat on each chapter.

There's also an argument to be made that it's easier for readers to come back to if they can't finish it all in one sitting.

Odds are that if you don't like multi-chapter stories, it's being influenced by the large number of them that are 1 pagers going for 50 chapters. Stories with more meat on the bone and published on a regular schedule because they're complete before the first chapter is posted are a different animal.

If you do decide to go chapters, state that the story is already finished from the outset at the top of chapter 1 in an author's note, along with a general posting schedule. That helps a lot with attracting people to start it.

 

[NaokoSmith]

If you go for a multi-parter, make it Parts 1, 2, 3 etc too, rather than calling it Ch.01, Ch.02. That signals that it's not a long novel but a novella or a long short story (LOL), which you've put into parts.

 

[RejectReality]

I don't think readers make that distinction. I've also seen Laurel change it from Pt. to Ch. at publication unless specifically asked in the notes section to leave it as is. Not always, but it has happened enough that it should be taken note of.

Now, calling it "Title Pt. 1 of 4" might accomplish that goal, if the title is short enough to fit in the submission form.

If you go for a multi-parter, make it Parts 1, 2, 3 etc too, rather than calling it Ch.01, Ch.02. That signals that it's not a long novel but a novella or a long short story (LOL), which you've put into parts.

 

[Mobilier]

So far I'm getting the impression that multi parts is the best way to go

 

[SamScribble]

I think one of the important things with longer stories is to make sure that the individual parts are 'satisfying', that they reward the reader - and not necessarily in a sexual sense. But, at the same time, you need to leave the reader with a reason to come back. Usually, that's 'what happens next?' But sometimes it's just about creating a character that the reader 'cares' about.

Good luck.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Recently, I got an idea in my head and began writing it. What I thought was only going to be a quick 2 page story, turned into something much more and seemed to take on a life of it's own. Currently, I'm on page 7 but when I finish my story, I expect it to be somewhere closer to 12/13 pages long (Yes, I'm going by literotica story page lengths). I have read a lot of stories on here and the longer ones are always my favorite (I think sex is a consequence of the story, not the other way around) but the comments usually say something to the tune of "I wasn't going to read this when I seen the length" or "you should have broken this into parts" etc.

What I'm wondering is, if this is too long as a story or should I break it up into 4 separate chunks? I personally don't care for the separate "chapters" approach but don't want to turn people off my writing before reading it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

What kind of pages? Word pages? Or Lit pages?

A lit page is around 3700 words. A Word page is around 470 words. Both depend on the amount of dialog and scene breaks you have.

So while 12/13 word pages seems to be a lot, it actually isn't compared to a lit page. 12 or 13 word pages is about a lit page and a half...maybe.

 

[Mobilier]

Recently, I got an idea in my head and began writing it. What I thought was only going to be a quick 2 page story, turned into something much more and seemed to take on a life of it's own. Currently, I'm on page 7 but when I finish my story, I expect it to be somewhere closer to 12/13 pages long (Yes, I'm going by literotica story page lengths). I have read a lot of stories on here and the longer ones are always my favorite (I think sex is a consequence of the story, not the other way around) but the comments usually say something to the tune of "I wasn't going to read this when I seen the length" or "you should have broken this into parts" etc.

What I'm wondering is, if this is too long as a story or should I break it up into 4 separate chunks? I personally don't care for the separate "chapters" approach but don't want to turn people off my writing before reading it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

I'm going by the length of the Literotica pages. I assumed they were 3,500 words.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I recently wrote a blow job story of 17K words. Its now 5K and features the blow job and intercourse with Ma and Aunt Emma. Ma's angst was too much of the story so I cut most of it out, like 12K words of it. The real story was simple: Sonny has a big schlong, ma and aunty were pretty horny, and sonny teased them enough to overcome their principles.

Write the story as it needs to be told. Keep it flowing. Don't stop to gaze at your navel.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

A single long story, if it's good at all, rates better. In part because people are impressed by the effort when it's all presented at once; but largely because people who don't like it will give up before they see any stars to click on.

High scores attract readers.

But sometimes the flow of a story demands chapter breaks. If that happens, a separate posting feels more natural than a dashed line in the text.

If people are just looking to get off, a high page count might send them elsewhere.

The time gap between posted chapters can annoy some readers. A single submission avoids all that. Note that long submissions sometimes get very slow approvals.

If the story is good, the chapter organization won't make or break the story. Decide what you care about and just pick a form.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I'm going by the length of the Literotica pages. I assumed they were 3,500 words.

I have written chapters of a story that were 11 - 12 lit pages long...it was in the sci-fi category, where they like substance over sex.

I have also written stand alone stories that were that long with no complaints about the length, although they did complain about how the story ends.

But then again, I have stories with chapters that are only 1-3 lit pages long.

It really depends on the story.

 

[MatthewVett]

I've seen a lot of stories that length or longer, and generally, they tend to do well, if only because the only people who make it to page 13 really liked it. If you want it enjoyed as one piece, submit it as a single work.

 

[DreamCloud]

I personally prefer stories as a single post. My editor prefers it in chapters since it is easier to edit small chunks. My new rule (which I will violate on a whim) is that if the story hits 50k, I break it into chapters.

I have had many comments about the delay in which chapter stories get posted. Lit, in all fairness, delays each chapter a day or two even if they are all posted at once. I suspect it is to stop someone flooding the new section of a category with a 20 chapter beast and not delaying other author's stories. As consolation, each of the chapters will spend a few days in the list, therefore the story will stay there for a longer time.

I have never had a complaint that a story is too many lit pages long. A reader who doesn't have the patience to finish it, probably doesn't have the time to complain. They may not even have the energy to click to the last page to vote.

As a reader, I prefer to know how long the whole story is before I start reading. It is hard to do with chapters since you have little idea of their individual lengths.

 

[JKendallDane]

There's not a significant enough difference between the numbers long, single-submission stories and long, multi-chapter stories get to really determine whether one is better than the other.

It's more a question of goal. If you want to put your name out there, breaking it into chapters does that. With a twelve or thirteen page story, breaking it into 3 or 4 parts ( depending upon where logical breaks are ) leaves plenty of meat on each chapter.

There's also an argument to be made that it's easier for readers to come back to if they can't finish it all in one sitting.

Odds are that if you don't like multi-chapter stories, it's being influenced by the large number of them that are 1 pagers going for 50 chapters. Stories with more meat on the bone and published on a regular schedule because they're complete before the first chapter is posted are a different animal.

If you do decide to go chapters, state that the story is already finished from the outset at the top of chapter 1 in an author's note, along with a general posting schedule. That helps a lot with attracting people to start it.

^^THIS^^ is the best answer. It will get you more eyeballs than a single, massive offering...and exposure is the name of the game at Lit.

RR's final tip is gold too. Don't leave that little tidbit out.

.

 

[Black_and_White_Writer]

Recently, I got an idea in my head and began writing it. What I thought was only going to be a quick 2 page story, turned into something much more and seemed to take on a life of it's own. Currently, I'm on page 7 but when I finish my story, I expect it to be somewhere closer to 12/13 pages long (Yes, I'm going by literotica story page lengths). I have read a lot of stories on here and the longer ones are always my favorite (I think sex is a consequence of the story, not the other way around) but the comments usually say something to the tune of "I wasn't going to read this when I seen the length" or "you should have broken this into parts" etc.

What I'm wondering is, if this is too long as a story or should I break it up into 4 separate chunks? I personally don't care for the separate "chapters" approach but don't want to turn people off my writing before reading it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Believe me sweetie, I can't write anything under 3-5 pages for a 'quickie' story. I can't decide if that's good or bad.