Whole book or break it down by chapter?

[LukasGrey]

So here's a question out there to help out a newb such as myself!

I notice a lot of authors break their book down and submit them by chapter. I've written one full novel length story at this point (which is doing very well thanks to readers such as yourself!) and was curious to see what everyone's opinion was on delivering a story episodically versus dropping the whole story on?

I see benefits to both, especially if you are publishing here as I am, in the hopes of sharpening my writing.

To the point of dropping the whole story. It seems to me that it makes it easier on the reader to jump into the story and stay immersed as they don't have to constantly back out, find the next chapter and then jump back in. On the downside, it seems that it may be daunting to jump into a really long story. I know I got one point of negative comment (which is awesome, I'm frankly thankful when anyone takes a minute to comment whether it's positive or negative) when a reader dropped my book because they didn't immediately like my protagonist...

To the point of dropping chapters. This seems to give a better view of the areas of the story that people enjoyed, versus what they don't. I mean, this gives the reader a chance to vote based on the chapter. Considering that MOST people don't comment with their feelings on the story the ratings seem to be a better indicator of what people like versus what they didn't?

What is everyone's thoughts on this?

 

[NotWise]

You might get more detailed feedback if you drop the story in chapters, or groups of chapters. There is also a tendency for scores to build as you develop a readership chapter-by-chapter -- as long as you get them out on a good schedule.

I'm leaning toward putting longer stories out in single submissions, broken down internally into chapters so that readers can find where they left off more easily. Readers do seem to be able to get into them more readily. They probably stick with them better too.

 

[Bramblethorn]

To the point of dropping chapters. This seems to give a better view of the areas of the story that people enjoyed, versus what they don't. I mean, this gives the reader a chance to vote based on the chapter. Considering that MOST people don't comment with their feelings on the story the ratings seem to be a better indicator of what people like versus what they didn't?

Ratings will tell you how popular it was among those who read it, but the makeup of "those who read it" will change. The voter base for Chapter 1 is just about everybody; readers for Chapter 2 will mostly be those who read Chapter 1 and liked it enough to keep going. So, like NotWise says, your scores will go up as the story goes on. This is good for ratings but not so helpful for feedback, alas.

That effect seems to plateau after a few chapters; from there you can start comparing chapter scores again.

I do find comments useful, even in small numbers. They can give a lot of information about why people voted high or low for a given chapter, and they can show the difference between "I give 5s to just about everything" and "this was the best thing I've read on this site".

As a reader, I prefer chapters of a few Lit pages (say, 2-5) because it's easier for me to manage my reading than if they're all in one big chunk. A 50-page epic might scare me away unless I've read some of the author's other work and have a feel for how they write.

 

[LukasGrey]

So from what I'm seeing it seems about what I thought. I mean my scores right now are pretty good. I'm running at a 4.79 currently on my story with 61 votes...

I guess my biggest concern is with pulling readers in and avoiding scaring them off with an epic!

I've been published for 4 days now and have 2200 views...

All of this I'm really happy with, especially for my first go.

The other concern and perhaps question I have is do you all write and then, edit and then publish, leaving the story as you write, or wait until the whole thing is done and then break into chapters and publish?

My biggest objective is to see what content the readers really enjoy that way I can cut the stuff that seems like it works in the story but that may be getting watered down by overall quality of the story while a part of the book really didn't work for my audience?

Also, while I love ratings, I really want the comments so as Bramble pointed out, I can farm them for what people liked or didn't like...

Any advice on getting more people to comment short of just begging them to?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Any advice on getting more people to comment short of just begging them to?

Write exceptionally well so readers really want to say how the piece moved them.

BTW, your score rate of 61 votes from 2200 views, and a score of 4.79 is solid. A typical pattern is 1% of views will score so you're running high there. Comments are rare, and depends on category a lot.

 

[sr71plt]

At Lit., I'd suggest separate chapters (except for contest entries, which require standalone, complete stories), as this is computerized copy in a frenetic medium. A lot of us won't put the time and effort into opening anything that's more than three Lit. pages (so, more than 11,500 words). That said, also because Lit. is rife with long-chaptered, uncompleted works, I suggest not doing chaptered works if you aren't going to complete the series. Readers who might have been continuing fans will be prone to give everything you subsequently write in chapters a pass because they don't want to invest time and interest in something that might be abandoned and that you've shown you have abandoned in the past.

Yearning for lots of comments here on stories seems mostly to be an exercise in self-flagellation. There's a great divergence too among the categories on likelihood to receive comments. Some that include a higher proportion of comments will be comments you don't necessarily want to see.

 

[LukasGrey]

SR71, thanks for the advice!

I have been thinking on it and I think I will take it. Comments are great, as they help narrow down for the reader what they want, but I'll take what I can get! I'd like to move the content of my work up to the point where I can sell it one day, but also am not really interested in this being my primary income stream... so I can live with the idea of delivering a product and letting people take it or leave it!

Mostly I'm writing because it's helping me to work through some issues, and it gives me something to do besides sit and stare at the idiot box!

Breaking it down into manageable chunks once I finish the novel seems like the best course based on the input I'm seeing, so I'll work to do that in the future!

All of this brings me to my next question. As I write, I am finding this story ballooning up pretty quickly. My brain has really locked in on it and I am now at about 140,000 words all told. I found a good point at about 90k to cut it off and start on the next volume, but that does mean that I am kind of letting the reader sit and hold the bag.

I write quickly, my first novel, while I was on vacation from work I managed to pound out in about 5 days at 90k words. The second, written on the evenings and during weekends has taken me a bit longer, but I've also taken a break and done a re-edit of my first work and re-edited my second, has to be at about two weeks with about 30k words left. I also wrote my entire first novel on my tablet and have since broken down and bought myself a laptop which seems to be speeding things up!

Should I keep pounding on it until I hit the point that I feel the work is done/done? Should I break into novel length chunks and then publish? Thoughts? Comments? Advice?

 

[sr71plt]

Comments are great, as they help narrow down for the reader what they want,

I think that's a common mistake here. What reader? There isn't a "universal reader" here. There are 2 million users with accounts to Literotica. And most of them are unsophisticated readers because this, basically, is an "immediate gratification" story site (which helps explain why there aren't many comments).

I suggest (and it gets suggested ad nausem here) that you turn that around. Write what you want and there will be an audience for it here if you do that well.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The other concern and perhaps question I have is do you all write and then, edit and then publish, leaving the story as you write, or wait until the whole thing is done and then break into chapters and publish?

My first story here was a serial. It worked out OK, but in general I'd recommend completing the story before you post. That way you're not going to leave readers hanging in the middle if you get interrupted by life, and you've got less risk of painting yourself into a corner because you can go back and change things.

Any advice on getting more people to comment short of just begging them to?

That's pretty much it. Note at the end to the effect of "If you enjoyed my story, please comment!"

There are ways to get lots of hostile comments pretty easily, but you probably don't want that

 

[LukasGrey]

SR71, excellent point!

I'm a bit concerned. I've seen a lot of dumbasses come in here and ask a question and then argue...

Frankly, I've seen a lot of them argue with you particularly, and every time they do so I lurk and shake my head about how dumb that is...

So please don't take my questions as arguments!

I realize when I'm asking a subject matter expert for help, and frankly you seem to know what the hell you are saying!

Anyhow, while the artistic part of me realizes the merit of what you suggest, the business part of me recognizes the need to deliver a product that resonates with the audience, especially if you wish to sell it!

Now I'll never be a best selling author. Hell, I'll probably be lucky to ever get someone to get stupid enough to pay for my work. It is still a dream however, and if I want to pursue that dream I have to learn! If you always write what you want to, how do you deliver a product that your customer will love and be willing to part with a buck or two for?

I know I've heard people in the past say do what makes you passionate and then find a thousand people each willing to give you a dollar for that and you will make money quickly, but that always seemed like loser talk to me!

I like Literotica, and as a loyal person will most likely hide a lot of my work here as sort of a beta test even when I publish elsewhere, but without having people honestly appraise work, how does one go from a hobby writer, to a professional one?

 

[sr71plt]

Interests in erotica break down into topical niches. The more specific you are within the particular niche(s) you are writing to, the better your fan base will be (not necessarily bigger--but more supportive and "there"). The more general you are, the more you'll be including folks who were disappointed with something as well as maybe a larger--but not a more loyal--audience that will read just one or two works and then move on to someone else.

That's why I continue to shake my head at thread after thread here seeking the answer to the holy grail of pleasing "the reader." There is no "the reader" here--and the more you try to expand the tent to include "the reader" the more your writing will sink into the morass as just more pablum. I suggest you find niches that either you enjoy writing to and/or are underserved. My most success in the marketplace is finding and filling undersevered niches, which was made possible by the e-revolution and the resurgence of the novella. The success of those writing incest here stems from the limited number of places it can be found. If the demand is there, and you write it, it will come to you.