Pace of rolling out chapters

[Publius68]

I have a question for the series writers out there. How fast do you roll out your chapters?
I typically write limited series, 4-10+ chapters, then move on, and I have learned the hard way that it is better to have the whole thing written, at least in draft form, before publishing the first chapter. That way, I can go back and change details if I get a good idea later.
That means that I can usually publish the chapters about as fast as I want to, once I begin.
I have chosen, with my newest series, Guilty Pleasures, to do a pretty fast roll-out. There is only a chapter or two left to go.
I am noticing that while the ratings are high, if perhaps a tenth of a point lower than I'm used to, the page views are a little lower, and are stalling earlier on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

I'm not sure if all this is because the story just isn't resonating as much as previous series, if my usually indirect summaries are more indirect than usual, or if is due to a too quick release schedule.

If you could publish your chapters/episodes/scenes at the pace you wanted, what would it be?

And if you are following someone else's series, does a quick release habit increase your chance of continuing to follow?

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think there's a science to it, but this is my thought. You should publish chapters close together enough that your readers don't get bored and impatient and leave, but far enough apart that you give each chapter time to maximize views before the next chapter. I think a few days to a week is about ideal, because stories remain on category new story hubs for one week. By doing it this way, just as one chapter is about to fall off the list the next one appears. By spreading it out this way you maximize the number of days that the entire story remains on the new story list while not stretching your readers' patience too thin.

 

[MrPixel]

I upload multi-chapter all in one drop, in sequence, and the-powers-that-be publish one a day, in order. I don't upload until it's all fully polished. I have no confidence in myself in starting to upload with later chapters still in draft form because I have a bad habit of leaving holes in the plot waiting for my muse. She occasionally stands me up, sometimes for months.

While I appreciate nice scores, I don't get hung-up on them, and I publish in a low-interest category, anyway. I write for myself, and if somebody else appreciates it, I'll send a nice telepathic "thank you" and move on.

And if you are following someone else's series, does a quick release habit increase your chance of continuing to follow?

Absolutely. I actually don't read others' multi-chapter work until all of it is up. If it is a compelling read I want to continue with the flow at my pace, just like I'd read a book.

 

[oneagainst]

I get all the chapters finished, edited, proof read for internal consistency, then drop on the same day and the same time every week so if you're following you know when. For the big stories (18-25 ch) I top and tail the weekend, going live on Friday and Sunday, to keep the momentum up. Viewer numbers hold up fine, but obv you have to have all your poo in a pile ready to go if you're going to be dropping 10k words a week for a couple of months.

 

[12oclocktales]

I think it was P.T. Barnum who said if you want to have a good audience you have to give them what they want and keep them waiting. I roll out a new chapter every 2 weeks (15 so far), though all chapters are written already (30).

 

[ElectricBlue]

if you submit every chapter at the same time and leave it to Laurel to schedule, she'll typically set a 24 hour publication clock running, with each chapter going live around the same time, each day.

It depends on category turnover, obviously, as to how long each chapter stays on the front page. I had a seventeen chapter novel stay on the Sci-Fi and Fantasy front page for about sixty days, because it's a low volume category. For most of that time, every chapter was visible.

It's not something I worry about now - that novel has had three times as many readers over the intervening years, compared to the first six months. I think some folk overthink the first release, and forget that a story has the rest of its life, getting read.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I upload multi-chapter all in one drop, in sequence, and the-powers-that-be publish one a day, in order. I don't upload until it's all fully polished. I have no confidence in myself in starting to upload with later chapters still in draft form because I have a bad habit of leaving holes in the plot waiting for my muse. She occasionally stands me up, sometimes for months.

While I appreciate nice scores, I don't get hung-up on them, and I publish in a low-interest category, anyway. I write for myself, and if somebody else appreciates it, I'll send a nice telepathic "thank you" and move on.



Absolutely. I actually don't read others' multi-chapter work until all of it is up. If it is a compelling read I want to continue with the flow at my pace, just like I'd read a book.

I will echo this reply, although I no longer break my stories up into chapters at the request of readers.

I believe in storytelling. Imagine how you would like to have someone tell you a compelling story. Would you like them to tell you a little bit every couple of weeks, or all at once without teasing you?

All of this advice goes out the window if the OP is creating an actual series and not a chaptered story. That part is a bit confusing to me from the original post.

 

[Duleigh]

If you could publish your chapters/episodes/scenes at the pace you wanted, what would it be?

23 days apart. I had finished a story in the background and I wanted it to finish rollout in December so I rolled them out about 23 days apart just to make it even and it worked out.

 

[Publius68]

I will echo this reply, although I no longer break my stories up into chapters at the request of readers.

I believe in storytelling. Imagine how you would like to have someone tell you a compelling story. Would you like them to tell you a little bit every couple of weeks, or all at once without teasing you?

All of this advice goes out the window if the OP is creating an actual series and not a chaptered story. That part is a bit confusing to me from the original post.

Yeah, I can see a gigantic difference between a true series, and my sort of self-limiting chapters in a story. I can't imagine being one of those people who seem to be able to write those gigantic, hundred entry story lines you see. Worse, I'm pretty sure that for them, the importance is the regularity of posting, not the frequency.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Yeah, I can see a gigantic difference between a true series, and my sort of self-limiting chapters in a story. I can't imagine being one of those people who seem to be able to write those gigantic, hundred entry story lines you see. Worse, I'm pretty sure that for them, the importance is the regularity of posting, not the frequency.

As you can see from the responses from Simon and others, some have a strategy to maximize views of their submissions, and I can't blame them for leveraging that aspect.

I listened to what my readers preferred and considered the category that the stories were posting to (Novel/Novellas).

Expectations, behaviors, and tolerances vary widely here depending upon the category, so take that into account when deciding your own strategy. Research what other writers have done and how their stories were received by readers. Check the comments to see if any speak to the frequency of the posts. Put yourself in the place of your target reader and consider what you would want.