Timing a series

[UnexpectedLuggage]

Hey fellow writers,

I'm going to be starting on a my first series here, hopefully, kinda soon. As I've never done one, I thought I'd ask something that's been bouncing around my head.

Do y'all write your entire series before releasing any of it, or do you just release parts as you finish them?

I ask because I am, to put it generously, kinda inconsistent in my releases. My last one was in June, and I'm still only about halfway through the one I started shortly after that got published. I usually take a little downtime after publishing something to let my mind rest and a story marinate, but I worry with a series people will be expecting a more consistent release schedule.

Am I over thinking this, or are readers less demanding than I'm assuming here?

Appreciate any advice, thanks!

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

If you want a more consistent story and happier readers, finish the story before you start releasing it. Tell the readers up front that the story is complete and will be released on a regular schedule. Release installments on that schedule, a few days to perhaps a week (at most) apart so you get the publicity of having your name on the new list for a period of time to build your fan base.

Many readers, myself included, do not regularly read installment stories unless the story is complete. Most of us have been burned at some point or another by reading an interesting story that dies in the middle, never to be completed (just like so many shows on FOX and HBO).

 

[Bamagan]

A second vote for finishing the series, or at least finishing a decent draft, before posting begins.

There's an understandable desire to post the first part immediately and hopefully get some feedback, since that tends to energize a lot of writers and help them find the will to sit down and continue. I think there are a fair few who give up when accolades aren't showered, because the reality for most authors is roughly one comment per thousand views, unless they manage to generate some hate mail. Of those that continue, more probably give up when they notice views declining on later chapters, another very common occurrence that might kill motivation from those seeking high levels of engagement in order to 'justify' finishing their story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do y'all write your entire series before releasing any of it, or do you just release parts as you finish them?

I've done both, there are pros and cons. Generally though, unless each part is pretty much self-contained, the best approach is to complete the whole thing.

I ask because I am, to put it generously, kinda inconsistent in my releases.

I think that answers your question. If you can't keep up with your own story, you really can't expect readers to stay interested.

My last one was in June, and I'm still only about halfway through the one I started shortly after that got published. I usually take a little downtime after publishing something to let my mind rest and a story marinate, but I worry with a series people will be expecting a more consistent release schedule.

You've got to keep ahead of the story or you'll put yourself on a hamster wheel. Remember, people can read faster than you ever can write.

Am I over thinking this, or are readers less demanding than I'm assuming here?

Readers will go to the next story. Don't expect loyal readers until you have finished stories under your belt.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

My recommendation is to finish it before you start publishing, but it has nothing to do with readers or timing.
Write the whole thing so you can make changes if you have to. If you write/publish then write/publish the next installment, and you write yourself into a corner, you're stuck. You also have to obsessively plan for everything to avoid deus ex machina scenarios because you forgot to include Checkhov's gun four chapters previously.

I'm working on a story that is 18 chapters in will drop somewhere around 200k words. I got stuck at a scene about 2/3 through. I eventually skipped it and wrote what came after. What came after changed what came before. I had to go back and add in foreshadowing and change stuff I had written in 5 previous chapters so that it looks like it was this way all along.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Most of my stories interrelate in some ways, e. g. characters from Coffee With Blushes appear in Pranked and Maria in the Tack Shop. Those stories are all stand-alone in the sense that you do not need to read CWB to read "Pranked". I don't see those as needing to be all finished before you release the first.

On the other hand, Liz Enslaved is a series in the sense I think you mean, a single story released in pieces. I stopped that after three parts because I realized I had to finish the darn thing before starting the next section, for all the reasons upstream of here. I treated the end of what was originally Section One of the longer narrative as an ending and closed LE. The longer narrative, Owned, will begin publication pretty soon. My plan is to have the whole thing in first draft, maybe second, before I publish Chapter One.

The Writing Group collaboration, Benefactor, was completely finished before we put out Chapter One.

--Annie

 

[Writer61]

All the arguments for completing a series before publishing any of it make sense. But against that, there is the desire for gratification ASAP.

I ask because I am, to put it generously, kinda inconsistent in my releases. My last one was in June, and I'm still only about halfway through the one I started shortly after that got published.

I am guilty of that sometimes.

Today I have submitted two parts of a series that I have been stuck on since my last publication in July. I wasn't sure if it would be one piece or two, but completing the whole thing helped me with the structure. There probably will be a third part, but the plot is a bit hazy at the moment.

 

[Writer61]

This thread has encouraged me to change the priority of my next work.

After the two parts mentioned above, I had begun something else, but I have stopped that in favour of completing the third and (probably) final part of the series. The plot still needs a lot of work, but things are beginning to take shape.

Thus, my thanks to @UnexpectedLuggage.

 

[Britva415]

All the arguments for completing a series before publishing any of it make sense. But against that, there is the desire for gratification ASAP.

Understandable and forgivable.

Advice to the OP would be to at least anticipate and have a plan for and a commitment to achieving regular completion and publishing of subsequent installments.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

If you’re looking for instant gratification, write a one-off story set outside the timeline or plot line of your story. It will give something for people to latch onto and give you an idea about whether people like the idea or characters.
My story A Different Kind of Valentine is set in a larger story I’m writing. The reactions I got to it really encouraged me.

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

I really appreciate all the answers, folks!

Sounds like my assumption of getting all four parts done first (or at least the first three published while working on the fourth) is the smart play.

So I guess then comes another question: is it advisable to try and sprinkle in a one-off story while working on those so it doesn't seem like I just vanished? I worry my brain will have trouble focusing on more than kne narrative at a time.

Y'all have been awesome for the help.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Series or chapter story? Literotica treats them the same, but they are different in many ways.

A true episode of a series would have its own beginning, middle, and end, enabling it to stand on its own indefinitely. However, an episode that is merely a part of a larger story requires the subsequent parts to make it whole. This is the type of story that you should complete in its entirety before posting any part of it.

 

[Writer61]

So I guess then comes another question: is it advisable to try and sprinkle in a one-off story while working on those so it doesn't seem like I just vanished? I worry my brain will have trouble focusing on more than kne narrative at a time.

I doubt that anyone would notice if you, or any other writer, had not posted for a while.

If we stick to the ideal of completing all parts of a series before publishing, then I might tackle something else only if I get stuck on it.

Real example: I have been struggling with parts 1 & 2 of series A, so last week I switched to another story (actually part 1 of a series). After getting that done, I was able to finish A1 and A2 and am now working on A3. The advantage of this is that I now have B1 'in the can' so when I have series A complete, I am also nearer to completing series B.

A related question
If we complete all parts of a series before submitting, should they all be submitted at the same time? I understand that in this scenario, Laurel will usually publish them one day apart. Or, is it better to submit the next part after the previous one has been posted to increase the separation?

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

Series or chapter story? Literotica treats them the same, but they are different in many ways.

A true episode of a series would have its own beginning, middle, and end, enabling it to stand on its own indefinitely. However, an episode that is merely a part of a larger story requires the subsequent parts to make it whole. This is the type of story that you should complete in its entirety before posting any part of it.

So it'll be four parts, the first three will be sort of standalone, shared MC, with the fourth featuring all the characters together.

So basically: three stories about separate encounters with separate women, and the fourth featuring all three women together.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

So it'll be four parts, the first three will be sort of standalone, shared MC, with the fourth featuring all the characters together.

So basically: three stories about separate encounters with separate women, and the fourth featuring all three women together.

That sounds similar to a series that I have here, "Uncle Sugar Daddy"

Each is a stand alone episode that doesn't rely upon the others. They were written weeks apart and posted as each was completed. They all are still doing well.

 

[Britva415]

is it advisable to try and sprinkle in a one-off story while working on those so it doesn't seem like I just vanished?

I mean, you shouldn't contrive one JUST to show proof of life.

But if you're inspired, go for it!

 

[iwatchus]

I sometimes need to write one just for my own sanity.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

A related question
If we complete all parts of a series before submitting, should they all be submitted at the same time? I understand that in this scenario, Laurel will usually publish them one day apart. Or, is it better to submit the next part after the previous one has been posted to increase the separation?

This was actually going to be part of my question - *does* Laurel post them a day apart? Can you request a certain duration apart in the notes section? How does she know? I figured you'd have to time the submission of the second part or chapter around when the first gets published and hope there wasn't a delay, which could make it hard to say "next part comes next week" or whatever.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So I guess then comes another question: is it advisable to try and sprinkle in a one-off story while working on those so it doesn't seem like I just vanished? I worry my brain will have trouble focusing on more than one narrative at a time.

I do that all the time. Everything I've published in the last three or four years, probably longer, has been a side project while I've been writing something else. In some cases, I'm into the third generation of "side". It's got to the point where I no longer worry about it.

Also, I've never had someone turn up and say, "About that last story of yours. Is there going to be a next chapter?"

People fret too much about this, I reckon. Just make sure each part is self-contained within itself, and you'll be fine. Readers have got so much to read here, most really don't care. Don't be too precious about your content - it's all a consumable, like putting petrol in a car. So long as you keep going, each tank doesn't really matter.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This was actually going to be part of my question - *does* Laurel post them a day apart? Can you request a certain duration apart in the notes section? How does she know? I figured you'd have to time the submission of the second part or chapter around when the first gets published and hope there wasn't a delay, which could make it hard to say "next part comes next week" or whatever.

If you submit a whole bunch of chapters together, her default is to release 24 hours apart. If you want a longer gap than that, put a note in the Note to the Editor box. She just sets a timer on the publication clock.

Remember also that in six months none of this matters, because the whole story is out there, and readers are coming to the story from some place else.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

If you submit a whole bunch of chapters together, her default is to release 24 hours apart. If you want a longer gap than that, put a note in the Note to the Editor box. She just sets a timer on the publication clock.

Remember also that in six months none of this matters, because the whole story is out there, and readers are coming to the story from some place else.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.

And, I mean, for me none of it matters either. I'm a new author with relatively few followers who isn't going to write something that people watch for the next day. But it's still kinda cool to know how it works, ya know?

 

[Britva415]

This was actually going to be part of my question - *does* Laurel post them a day apart? Can you request a certain duration apart in the notes section? How does she know?

I have seen people say that she has done this, absent other instructions.

I have also seen people say that she has done scheduling according to requests in Notes.