Thoughts on Posting Multi-Chapter Manuscripts

[Oregonian]

I'm working on a story that will be longer (novel length) than anything I've written before, and I'm pondering how to post it. I'm excited about what I've written so far, but undecided about what will be my system for posting it.  In the past I've posted only after all the chapters (23,000-44,000 words) were completed, but now... not so sure.

Do you think that it is better to publish chapters as you finish them, one by one, even though the rest of the story isn't written yet (perhaps not even conceived yet)?

Or wait until all the chapters are written, even if the latter chapters are still only in first-draft form, before beginning to post?

How do you deal with the possible necessity of revising earlier, already-posted chapters after you see how the later chapters are developing?

What's the best interval for posting chapters to maximize reader interest?  The effects of too-far-apart or too-close-together?  Does it matter?

Does the way you manage the posting of chapters affect how you maintain the arc of the plot or the arc of character development?

And finally, after the first few chapters of a story are posted, what obligation do you feel to your readers as regards finishing it up?  Pros and cons of leaving a story unfinished.  

My custom has been to write the story completely, or at least have it plotted and outlined to the end, before sharing it with anyone except my beta readers, for fear of ending up rambling around with no plot or character development.  And I like to be sure that my details and foreshadowings are correct and in place.  But now, with this longer work, my Author Page can be gathering cobwebs while the piles of manuscript pages on my table grow higher and higher.  And there's this sense of urgency -- get it done, get it done.

 

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."  -- Maya Angelou

 

[Guest Noelle Zingarella]

 

@Oregonian, in my humble opinion, I am in favor of posting as you go. The feedback that I got on the first few chapters of Moonlight really helped me figure out what was working and what wasn't and--since it's so easy to edit something online and people reading it knew it was a work in progress--I didn't feel shy about going back and making alterations. I did make a note in the story shell that I had revised earlier chapters, along with the date, so that readers who were coming back to the story would know that I had done so. I probably could have gotten the same sort of help from beta-reading, but I didn't know that at the time, and there was something very encouraging and motivating to me about posting and getting feedback. I do plan to draft ahead on longer works before I start posting them in the future, but I don't think I'll complete an entire novel length story in draft form before I start posting it. Plus it can be lonely to draft the whole thing, and having that encouragement and motivation of knowing that people are reading it and cheering you on as you work can be a very positive thing. I also don't think that readers mind if there are gaps, even long ones, between posting chapters. If readers like your story, they will read it, however long it takes to write it. And all authors have abandoned works too, so I wouldn't stress worrying about whether or not you'll finish your story (which I am sure that you will anyway!) I confess that I'm not really sure how posting as I went affected the character arcs or story arcs; because I was learning how to do that for the first time as I went along. I would say that by the time I made the decision to expand the Romania section of the story, I knew my main plot points pretty well for the whole trilogy; so it just became a matter of tying each chapter to the overarching themes as I went along. And the character arcs I've pretty much had in mind since I started the story, at least as far as the main points. 

Also, on a purely selfish level, I'm super excited about your story and I would really love to read it, so I'm in favor of your posting as you go

 

[Darling_take_off_the_mask]

I echo pretty much everything Noelle said, and would add that if you're worried about the plot and character development getting away from you after you've already posted the initial chapters, maybe you can find a good middle ground where you've created a detailed outline for your entire fic with all the plot points and character arcs even if you won't actually be drafting the later chapters for a while. This is what I'm trying to do with a new fic I'm trying to get off the ground.

Personally, I think you might get a better readership if you post chapters one at a time. It can be daunting to come across a fic that's already 20+ chapters before you start reading it, depending on your personal time constraints as a reader, whether you're trying to juggle reading other fics, too, and whether you are someone who tries to review everything you read. That's not to say I won't read a story that's already complete, because I definitely will. But also, your fic constantly being updated over time will catch the eye of more people.

As far as updating frequency, with a current WIP and a new one I plan to post soon-ish, I plan on posting one chapter about every two weeks. Although, I think you will still maintain plenty of interest even if you just update monthly. And there are some fics on this site that haven't been updated in months that I would be super happy to see updated and would still go back to reading them.

I had the experience of abandoning WIP's years ago. It's not a great feeling, I'll be honest, though I felt like I had disappointed myself more than the readers. Once in a while over the years I would check my AP (this was back on HPFF) and see occasional reviews still trickling in on the last chapter(s) saying they were so bummed I wasn't updating anymore, and it really did make me sad. But it happens a lot and I think readers on these sites are used to and understanding of the fact that people get busy, get writer's block. what have you, and things happen.

[Oregonian]

Thank you both, Noelle and Melanie, for your valuable comments.  The whole thing seems daunting.  As one ventures into the writing process, chapter by chapter, the whole story grows like a marshmallow in the microwave oven, expanding and expanding.  (I once asked my son if he had ever expanded marshmallows in the microwave, and he replied, "You do know who you're talking to, don't you?")

[mymischiefmanaged]

I know this question is a few months old but it's something I've been thinking about too and I definitely support the post-as-you-go mindset! If nothing else, I think it's great motivation to actually get the thing finished because you have readers that want to find out what happens next. One of the things I struggle with most when attempting original fiction is that nobody's waiting for me to finish it, so I drag on and on. Fanfiction is a great opportunity to write something meatier and get feedback as you go.

That said, I think I annoyed some readers on HPFF because I started uploading edits to my novel-length fic Complicated that included some name changes of minor characters etc, and then the old site went down and I never finished making the changes, so now that the site is back up I occasionally get frustrated reviews asking why there are inconsistencies. I'd say it's fine to make changes but you want to make sure the story you have uploaded at any given time is consistent for your readers.