Posting novels

[jdnunyer]

I've skimmed through the novels/novellas section on Lit. It looks like most everyone submits a chapter or two or three at a time. Is there a word count limit on submissions? Or do people mostly do this because they are submitting as they are writing? If you had a complete draft of a novel, would it make any sense to submit all at once?

TIA.

 

[Darkniciad]

There's nothing stopping you from posting a whole novel as one piece.

There are two primary reasons why most people post in chapters, though. First, readers on Lit seem to prefer bite-sized chunks ( 2-3 Lit pages ) that they can finish in one sitting. It's far easier to come back to the next chapter in your list than try to figure out where you left off in a single 30 Lit page submission.

Second, when you post in chapters, your name appears on the "NEW" list more frequently, putting you in front of readers. The New story list is where most of your reads come from, so posting a novel as one piece puts your name in front of readers once. Posting each chapter as an individual submission multiplies your exposure to new readers by orders of magnitude.

You should be aware that the Novels and Novellas category is a Lit backwater. If your story has any dominant theme, you would be better served to post in another category.

 

[jdnunyer]

I see. That all makes a lot of sense. Thanks again for the useful information, Darkniciad.

 

[jomar]

Hi jdnunyer, welcome to Lit and the AH. It's best to start submitting after the story is complete since it could take a turn not accounted for in earlier chapters...you can revise.

As far as submitting all chapters at once, that's fine. I think most probably submit separate chapter and stagger them to whet appetites and sustain interest over a longer period of time...probably catch more readers that way too.

 

[jdnunyer]

Hi jomar. Nice to be here.

That was my thought about finishing it first. Hadn't though carefully enough about what would work best to get the attention of readers though. I'll go with chapters.