Posting a series/novel-length work

[Kumquatqueen]

I got inspiration from the thread about smoking a few months ago, and started writing a little story.
Next thing I know, I've edited it down to around 100k and about 10 chapters - this being Lit, I'm defining chapter pretty much as a chunk of plot with a sex scene or two, except for one which has a lot of plot, lots of talking about sex, not much of it actually happening.

I've seen threads where people mention gaps between chapters - do you submit them a few days apart, or can you submit a few at a time with a note asking for an interval? What length of interval leads to the most readers? I'm guessing mentioning at the top of chapter 1 that the story is complete may help?

For reference, most of the story will be in Gay Male, one chapter Erotic Couplings, and one probably Exhib/Voyeur - it's basically a gay romance with the main character a bisexual man who has interludes with his female best friend.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I submitted a thirteen chapter novel all at the same time - Laurel checked the whole thing in one block, then released a chapter every twenty-four hours. She obviously set a timer running, because each chapter went live at exactly the same time each day. The alternative is for you to submit each chapter at your own pace. The downside of that is no guarantee of a regular release time, as you don't know what else might be in the queue on any particular day.

 

[sirhugs]

My only novel length piece written that way I submitted one each day (4 days) and that is how they were posted. Other works, I wrote the chapters with gaps of time, so they were spaced naturally.

I suggest considering putting your work in the Novels and Novellas category.

 

[KeithD]

I've seen threads where people mention gaps between chapters - do you submit them a few days apart, or can you submit a few at a time with a note asking for an interval? What length of interval leads to the most readers? I'm guessing mentioning at the top of chapter 1 that the story is complete may help?

I take full responsibility on the submission/posting of each chapter, giving the system and Laurel as little work as possible. I complete the work before posting the first chapter. Then the day the previous chapter posts, I submit the next chapter (to ensure everything is accepted before I continue).

I don't worry about what "the readers" will do in receiving it. There are too many variables in play in the posting of works here and the mix of readers roaming around at any given time. What I do for the readers is let them know in a note on the first chapter that the work is completed, how many chapters it is, and an estimated time it should complete posting. Then I just keep the chapters coming as quickly as the current posting times permit at Literotica while not submitting a new chapter until the previous one has successfully posted.

 

[SimonDoom]

I haven't actually tried this, but it seems to me it makes sense, if the story is done, to publish the chapters about four days apart or so -- meaning, submit chapter 2 about the same time chapter 1 is published, and so on.

Why? Because you maximize the exposure to the story in the new story hubs. You give readers a few days to read chapter 1, then publish chapter 2.

If you publish the chapters on back to back days, and you have 10 chapters, then the story will be off the hubs much sooner.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

That's what I was thinking, @SimonDoom.

I'll give it a go and see what happens.

My impression is not Novels & Novellas because 1 - fewer readers, and 2 - that's more for stories that don't have paydirt in every chapter. I might tweak the chapter boundaries so all mine do.

@KeithD - how can you tell when it's the day before your story getting posted? Psychic powers or is there an alert function I've not found?

 

[KeithD]

That's what I was thinking, @SimonDoom.

I'll give it a go and see what happens.

My impression is not Novels & Novellas because 1 - fewer readers, and 2 - that's more for stories that don't have paydirt in every chapter. I might tweak the chapter boundaries so all mine do.

@KeithD - how can you tell when it's the day before your story getting posted? Psychic powers or is there an alert function I've not found?

I submit on the day the previous one gets posted--after I've seen it has been posted. (my post says: "the day the previous chapter posts, I submit the next chapter") This is happening now with a novella of mine. Chapter 1 of "Confederate Gold" is marked on my author's page as posting tomorrow, 21 July. When it does, I'll submit chapter 2. Mine almost always post two days after I've submitted. I submitted chapter 1 of this on the 19th.

 

[yowser]

Like others, I think leaving intervals between posting is wise, and it preserves the tradition of earlier serial writers like Dickens (with the intervals shortened and calibrated for a vastly shorter contemporary attention span.) As with all multi-part series, the challenge is always finishing a chapter, not necessarily with a cliff-hanger event, but with a situation that increases the desire to know more - about the characters, the plot direction.

Readers will appreciate that your work is completed fully (and they aren't left panting for a conclusion that is ages away) and your idea of a note up front seems sensible.

I should think the category assigned the first chapter should be the overall one (ie. the one that would best characterise the whole piece) even if others you choose to classify differently (and nothing wrong with that.)

Good luck.

 

[SimonDoom]

@KeithD - how can you tell when it's the day before your story getting posted? Psychic powers or is there an alert function I've not found?

Actually, you CAN tell when your story is going to be published without magical powers, usually about 24 hours before it does. Keep clicking on it when it is pending and usually about 24 hours before publication it will give you the date it's going to be published. You can then submit your next story and know that it will be published shortly after that.

Keep in mind, though, that not everyone gets published as fast as KeithD does. He says it takes only 2 days for his stories to get published after submission. It takes me 4, and I've been doing this for a while and have been rejected only once (erroneously -- I got that reversed), so I have a solid track record re publication. So unless you are on the fast track you should assume 4 days or so from submission to publication.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Kumquat-
I have a three part series that published last month, I'd planned to do what EB talks about, but in the end decided to use Keith's method. And the first chapter got rejected three times before i was able to correct part and get Laurel to understand the rest of why it didn't violate any rules. I'm not sure what would have happened if she'd accepted parts 2 and 3 while I was still trying to fix part 1.

So, with that experience, I'd opt for Keith/SDs method again. Like SD said, if you keep checking the "pending" in your author submission tab, you'll see the day before that the story is posting the next day. For me chapter 1 and 2 were a week apart (but I think that had to do with accidentally submitting during a contest) chapter 2 and 3 were only a few days apart.

I will add that I got several comments thanking me for indicating that the story was complete and being submitted.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

I submitted a thirteen chapter novel all at the same time - Laurel checked the whole thing in one block, then released a chapter every twenty-four hours. She obviously set a timer running, because each chapter went live at exactly the same time each day. The alternative is for you to submit each chapter at your own pace. The downside of that is no guarantee of a regular release time, as you don't know what else might be in the queue on any particular day.

In my experience of about 10 years, every st ory I've published under all my former alts (now deleted) stories all go live about 2am ET.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

I got inspiration from the thread about smoking a few months ago, and started writing a little story.
Next thing I know, I've edited it down to around 100k and about 10 chapters - this being Lit, I'm defining chapter pretty much as a chunk of plot with a sex scene or two, except for one which has a lot of plot, lots of talking about sex, not much of it actually happening.

I've seen threads where people mention gaps between chapters - do you submit them a few days apart, or can you submit a few at a time with a note asking for an interval? What length of interval leads to the most readers? I'm guessing mentioning at the top of chapter 1 that the story is complete may help?

For reference, most of the story will be in Gay Male, one chapter Erotic Couplings, and one probably Exhib/Voyeur - it's basically a gay romance with the main character a bisexual man who has interludes with his female best friend.

I submitted 8 chapters of a single serial one the same day. For each I put in the authors note a request to space them 3-4 days apart.

Each one went live between 2 and 5 days after the previous one. Just ask nice and show gratitude.