Is it better to consolidate all chapters into a single large story or leave as published chapters?

[SueDNimm]

I get the serialized nature of stories I see on this site, but sometimes I find it a little annoying to have to bounce from one chapter to another. I recently finished writing my own series, and I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to consolidate all the chapters together for the convenience of the reader. Thoughts?

 

[lc69hunter]

I read, and I comment (#10 on all time list). If it is more than 5 pages, I will not read it. So my vote is to break it up

 

[ElectricBlue]

I get the serialized nature of stories I see on this site, but sometimes I find it a little annoying to have to bounce from one chapter to another. I recently finished writing my own series, and I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to consolidate all the chapters together for the convenience of the reader. Thoughts?

How long is the story, how many chapters?

Keep in mind, in six months it won't make a shred of difference, because the whole thing will be published. The one advantage of chapters, is that you get a better idea as to how many people read the whole thing, by looking at the Views the last chapter gets. With a standalone story, you have no idea.

 

[Cagivagurl]

My preference is a long story. I have written both.
As a reader I prefer long stories. I'm looking for depth of characters, interesting plot lines, and well crafted stories.
I usually veer away from chaptered stories, I lose interest if the next chapter doesn't post soon after the first...
I have also been put off by writers who leave series unfinished. So I'll wait till all have posted before opening the first.
That means I probably won't go back to it...
So, for mer.... A nice long story..,.

Cagivagurl

 

[Gamblnluck]

I tend to prefer to break my stories up into 12k word bites if I can. Sometimes the chapter is ready to end a little earlier. I currently am working on a very large story with 41 chapters posted of that size. Larger than a full length novel. It reads more like a soap opera, a continually evolving story line.
My Slave Camp story was 36 chapters.
I personally find it difficult to sit and read through a single large 50K and larger story. My problem is no bookmark. I have to go back and figure where I left off. But I have to admit I hate a story that just stops. I have one that appears to have been abandoned, but I am just too busy at the moment to even edit some of the unsubmitted work.
I do read large stories, but only when I am familiar with the author's work and enjoy it.

 

[alohadave]

You'll find adherents to both strategies.

The general difference is that with chaptered stories, you are putting the work in front of readers for how ever long it takes you to post all the chapters. The first chapter will have the most views, and each subsequent chapter will be lower until you hit the amount of readers who are reading the whole thing. Scores will be variable from chapter to chapter.

With one long story, the views will be less as fewer people will put in the effort to read a long story. But, scores tend to be higher, since the only people who get to the end to score are readers who liked it enough to read the whole thing (and bombers, but they aren't worth worrying about).

 

[SueDNimm]

How long is the story, how many chapters?

Keep in mind, in six months it won't make a shred of difference, because the whole thing will be published. The one advantage of chapters, is that you get a better idea as to how many people read the whole thing, by looking at the Views the last chapter gets. With a standalone story, you have no idea.

In my case, 6 chapters (5 in the main story and an epilogue chapter to wrap up some secondary story arcs). That is an interesting point about the last-chapter-statistics. Of course, if people enjoy a certain part of a story more than others, they may wind up going back to that specific chapter, which can skew those results.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

In my case, 6 chapters (5 in the main story and an epilogue chapter to wrap up some secondary story arcs). That is an interesting point about the last-chapter-statistics. Of course, if people enjoy a certain part of a story more than others, they may wind up going back to that specific chapter, which can skew those results.

How many total words for the whole piece?
How many words would it be for chapter?

For me, if I saw a 6 chapter story, and the first chapter was, say, only 2k words, I'd wonder how much I could seek my into teeth when deciding to take a risk and read it. Whereas if the first chapter was 20k, I might hesitate given the time commitment for Chapter 1 and the rest of the chapters.

Ultimately though, if the writing's good and hooks me right away, I'd be flexible.

 

[ElectricBlue]

In my case, 6 chapters (5 in the main story and an epilogue chapter to wrap up some secondary story arcs). That is an interesting point about the last-chapter-statistics. Of course, if people enjoy a certain part of a story more than others, they may wind up going back to that specific chapter, which can skew those results.

Yes, you can always spot the chapter people went back and read twice, because of the kick up in Views and the score, compared to the chapters on each side of it.

You've still not said how many words. Six chapters say, 10k each, would be a sweet spot for a novella or short novel, I reckon. I've got one with twelve chapters, 104k in total; but I've also got stand-alones that are eight or nine Lit pages (30k words, thereabouts). I don't think it makes much difference in the long run - they're still being read, years later.

 

[NightSoulvane]

I tend to prefer to break my stories up into 12k word bites if I can. Sometimes the chapter is ready to end a little earlier. I currently am working on a very large story with 41 chapters posted of that size. Larger than a full length novel. It reads more like a soap opera, a continually evolving story line.
My Slave Camp story was 36 chapters.
I personally find it difficult to sit and read through a single large 50K and larger story. My problem is no bookmark. I have to go back and figure where I left off. But I have to admit I hate a story that just stops. I have one that appears to have been abandoned, but I am just too busy at the moment to even edit some of the unsubmitted work.
I do read large stories, but only when I am familiar with the author's work and enjoy it.

Oh I swear if you abandon My neighbor Rachel before Naomi gets the happy ending she deserves...I'll haunt you . In regards to long story versus chapters. I generally prefer chapters as long as the chapters are reasonable in length.. like if the chapter is going to be less than 1k words maybe wait to combine it with another and make it a bit larger.

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

In my experience, if you write a really long story, it will deter casual readers and the number of people reading it will be fairly low. However, splitting it up into a lot of smaller chapters will also reduce readership dramatically, especially for the later chapters.

I suppose the best solution is to write shorter (but not too short) stories. Three or four Literotica pages seems to be about the optimum length. But I understand this is easier said than done.