Frequency of Updates

[lilmissapricot]

Hi friends I've started writing a new story for the first time in years, and I'm currently considering how best to share it. In the past I've just posted chapters as I completed them. I liked that I got feedback along the way, and I didn't like the idea of having thousands of completed words collecting dust in my Google drive until I reached some indeterminate point in the future where I felt it was ready to be published. So, that was my method.

Anyway, this time round I'm reconsidering that. The problem with posting as I went was that quite often there were massive droughts between updates. You get everyone invested with the first few chapters, then life gets busy and the story dies for a while. That feels really bad. I'm thinking I write the entire story then post a chapter a week consistently until it's all out there, even if I don't get feedback and it means I sit on a bit of nest egg until it's done. I guess my question is, how frequently do you as a reader feel a story needs to be updated for you to remain interested? Do you need the assurance that the story will be finished before you commit to reading it? Will you return to a story if disappears for a year? What do the writers recommend? I feel like waiting til it's done means I can go back and edit too. Would you re-read a story if it's polished / re-written after 'completion' to compensate for any roughness that comes from being published in real time?

Just thinking out loud and considering whether to post my two brand spanking new chapters now or when the whole thing is done. Thanks for your thoughts

[Apache Raccoon]

13 minutes ago, lilmissapricot said:

I'm thinking I write the entire story then post a chapter a week consistently until it's all out there, even if I don't get feedback and it means I sit on a bit of nest egg until it's done. I guess my question is, how frequently do you as a reader feel a story needs to be updated for you to remain interested?

Once a week sounds good, post a good chapter and leave the readers wanting more and writing it ALL before publishing means you don't end up with a few chapters and suddenly running out of ideas and readers in the lurch. 

13 minutes ago, lilmissapricot said:

Would you re-read a story if it's polished / re-written after 'completion' to compensate for any roughness that comes from being published in real time?

I think editing and making sure it's all good before you first post it is better.

[Babypants]

I never release a scene until I am at least six chapters farther along.  This allows you to revise content for next week on the basis of what you know is coming more than a month out (assuming weekly production).  A lot of stories around here have died because the author painted her/himself into a narrative corner, from which there was no escape.

[Ubba]

As a reader I tend to  wait for a story to have a couple of chapters before I start reading if its from an Author I am not familiar with. But I have gone back and re read stories when new chapters are released if there has been a drought, well depending on the size haha, like if its hundreads of thousands of words deep then I probably would just do a quick recap. 

 

But when I do get around to writing things I tend to post as I go as I want feedback on the story which could possible lead me to change future posts. 

 

I guess its something you need to figure out what is the important thing for you, the feedback or the readers attention. If its feedback probably posting each chapter as you finish is the way to go.

If its reader attention then probably the best thing to do is either finish the story or keep going until you lose momentum and start posting piece by piece