Submission advice

[Pedals2003]

Go gentle with me, I'm new here. I'm after a bit of advice.

I submitted a one off story which was published.
I then submitted four episodes in a series. The first was published, the other 3 returned, due to paragraph length. No problem with that. I'll edit them later and submit them one at a time. Until, they are all hopefully published.

While the series was pending, I started a related spin off. I don't want to stop, while the inspiration is with me. I'm keeping the paragraphs, hopefully at a size for publication. My question is what to do with it. It is currently running at 20,000 words. No idea where, it will finish up. It has only taken a few days to reach this point. Should this be submitted as one item or broken up into sections.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

 

[BobbyBrandt]

It depends on the category, IMO.

I write novel-length stories that do fine here, but they are all published in the "Novels/Novellas" category so readers' expectations are for them to be longer tales.

20K isn't that long, and I would keep it a single submission regardless of the category.

 

[Bamagan]

Go gentle with me, I'm new here. I'm after a bit of advice.

I submitted a one off story which was published.
I then submitted four episodes in a series. The first was published, the other 3 returned, due to paragraph length. No problem with that. I'll edit them later and submit them one at a time. Until, they are all hopefully published.

While the series was pending, I started a related spin off. I don't want to stop, while the inspiration is with me. I'm keeping the paragraphs, hopefully at a size for publication. My question is what to do with it. It is currently running at 20,000 words. No idea where, it will finish up. It has only taken a few days to reach this point. Should this be submitted as one item or broken up into sections.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

There are plenty of readers out there for stories in the 20k range, and plenty of people who prefer things to be shorter and serialized. Unless you care which kind of reader you want to attract, just do whatever feels right for the story. If it has natural breaks, you can do it in a series of chapters, but don't feel pressured to chop it up just because it feels long.

More chapters generally means more exposure because you appear on the category hub more frequently, but it can sometimes mean less engagement from readers; many people report that longer tales tend to get more comments and higher vote-to-view ratios. Ultimately, stuff like that probably depends less on length/chapters and more on the quality of your writing and how well it meets the expectations or desires of the principal audience (the devotees of whichever category you choose).

 

[ElectricBlue]

While the series was pending, I started a related spin off. I don't want to stop, while the inspiration is with me. I'm keeping the paragraphs, hopefully at a size for publication. My question is what to do with it. It is currently running at 20,000 words. No idea where, it will finish up. It has only taken a few days to reach this point. Should this be submitted as one item or broken up into sections.

I'd suggest one submission. 20k - 30k is 5 - 7 Lit pages, which is quite typical of many standalone stories.

In six months, it makes no difference whether it's chapters or a single submission. Think long term, not just the release cycle.

 

[Pedals2003]

OK, thanks. My inclination is to keep it as a stand alone. I'm still adding to it today.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Readership for chapters after #1 falls off by at least 2/3 even in the most popular categories. Most readers don't seem to have a problem with 20-30k words as a stand alone.

 

[Pedals2003]

Thanks. I'm not really doing this for readership. It's an outlet for my thoughts. If people read it and like it that's fine. If they don't that's not a problem either. It's edging towards 30k. Obviously a lot of stored up sexual tension

 

[mildlyaroused]

Long stories can do well. One of my submissions is 35k words - so probably similar to what yours will be - and it has a 4.76 rating after 41k views.

If you wrote it quickly, as you have, then it'd probably serve better as one submission. Unless your writing is naturally episodic (which I'm framing as a necessarily bad thing), it can be difficult to split a larger story into smaller parts while maintaining both a meaningful structure for each chapter as a standalone installment and a satisfying arc for the story as a whole.

 

[JGittes]

I write long stories, 20 to 40k words. I read on the AH that most authors receive one vote per 100 views, but my stories receive one vote per 250 views, which I attribute to their length. A potential reader clicks in, sees the length, and clicks out.

I agree with ElectricBlue above that, in the long term, it doesn't matter whether a longer story is serialized or submitted in one go.

 

[Bluebanzai]

My submission advice? Always agree a safe word with your domme, particularly if deploying restraints.

Good luck on the story development

 

[Jay142]

I've started writing multiple chapters in one submission so the reader can decide if they want to read it in one sitting or come back to finish it later. I started doing this because the subsequent chapters don't get as many views. I'm not sure a reader is going to be that motivated to come back when more chapters are published either. Some readers visit the website every day while others might visit less regularly. It comes down to author preference. There's no right or wrong way to do it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I write long stories, 20 to 40k words. I read on the AH that most authors receive one vote per 100 views, but my stories receive one vote per 250 views, which I attribute to their length. A potential reader clicks in, sees the length, and clicks out.

I agree with ElectricBlue above that, in the long term, it doesn't matter whether a longer story is serialized or submitted in one go.

I have one of my stories that is just under 80K (single submission). That is 20 Lit pages and about an average for my stories.

It has 898 views, of which 619 of them voted.

As long as it is clearly evident that a story is complete and all parts are published, I would agree with EB's philosophy on taking the long-term view.