Optimum time to post complete story

[Octavian]

When I posted my first story a number of potential readers were intimidated by its length. (47000 words)

I am now writing another one and intend to post it chapter by chapter.

Is it better to

a) wait until the story is complete and then post a chapter a day
or
b) post each chapter as it is finished. And if so what is the recommended maximum interval between postings.

I would welcome advice.

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[Pookie]

I finished both my stories before I began posting it. Then I did a chapter a day.

It really depends on how comfortable you feel that when you get to chapter 10 that you won't need to fix something in chapter 1 or 2. Personally, I would wait until the story is finished and let it sit for a few days. Then read the story through completely (or give to a good editor) and make sure everything is as you want it to be then.

 

[Quasimodem]

I would suggest waiting until you have all the chapters written, before publishing, for two reasons.

1). Uncompleted 'novels' are such a glut on the market that many have given up reading them, until the final chapter is published.

2). Sometimes, when you finish, you find a chapter or two requires 'retro fitting' to help your plot make sense.

Then, post the whole opus.

If you prefer, you may publish one chapter at a time, but I would slow it down just a bit. Don't submit Chapter 3, until Chapter 2 shows up on the New List. That will prevent any accident from causing your novel to be published out of sequence.

Just a thought.

 

[Weird Harold]

a) wait until the story is complete and then post a chapter a day
or
b) post each chapter as it is finished. And if so what is the recommended maximum interval between postings.

As others have recommended, finish the story before posting any of it, to give yourself a chance to fine tune the overall story.

Once youhave it finishd, you can submit it all on one day and request Laurel space the chapters at a specific interval -- She normally will NOT post more than one chapter a day to prevent one author/story from dominating the new stories page, so the default is one chapter a day unless you specify differently.

I would not wait more than a week between chapters, although a once-a-month is workable if it's a VERY good story that can maintain anticipation through the interval.

In some ways a multi-part story can follow three models:

A daily soap opera

A Saturday Morning Matinee "Cliff-hanger"

A monthly magazine serial.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

My only long story had chapter 1 and 2 only a few days apart as were 3 and 4 also the two were like a month apart. Chapter 5 was like 2 month afterwards. I think the readership of the last few chapters has a lot to do with the length of time in between submissions. I think the few days apart, week apart approach would be best.

 

[Whispersecret]

I also believe strongly that you should finish the story before submitting, for all the same reasons. I know the temptation is to send a chapter the minute it's finished. It's such a thrill to get a chunk done, but you should resist. There is much more to be gained by waiting.

As for the interval between chapters...hmmm. I think that's up to you. It's hard to know whether readers will retain interest over the course of a week. Then again, if you post daily, then the excitement is over so quickly, after all that hard work.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

My long story "12 Hearts" can be read in any order. For some reason, I have completed and posted chapters 3 and 5, but no others. Ofcourse, the ideal would have been to let people get aquainted with the characters in chronological order, but the way the chapters are written, like individual stories, that is not really necessary.

 

[Octavian]

Thank you

Thank you for your advice. I will complete my story before I post it chapter by chapter.

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