I know that most writers on SOL post as they write. Because of that, they really have little control over the amount of time between chapters. Even still, I'd like to know everyone's thoughts about what you consider too long between postings. For me, it's too long when I have to go back and reread the last two or three chapters to remember what's happening and to get back into the flow of the story. What are your thoughts?
For me, it's too long when I have to go back and reread the last two or three chapters to remember what's happening and to get back into the flow of the story.
That's why so many authors on SOL repeat what happened before in the beginning of each chapter. I hate when they do that because I read stories after they're finished and that's simply annoying.
Once a week works. A couple of times a week (like Monday and Thursday) is even better. Much longer than weekly and its hard to remember what is going on. Then there is DMan 3 which comes once a year, as a Christmas present. If the yellow stain of incomplete gets attached to the story, posting is not often enough.
If you post on the weekend, particularly Saturday, your new chapter moves off the front page faster than you might like, as there are so many new items posted that day the ones at 8am only last to about 5pm.
Normally, I post on Tuesday and Friday of every week. That seems to work the best for me. I am down on postings only once per week, and I normally refuse to read any story with postings less often than that.
Normally, I post on Tuesday and Friday of every week. That seems to work the best for me. I am down on postings only once per week, and I normally refuse to read any story with postings less often than that
I have no idea how other readers handle the matter. I keep a list of favourites in a separate browser dedicated to SOL consisting of SOL itself, this forum and the indices of the stories I am following. Everyday I check the SOL page; favourites show up in orange so it is easy to see what has been posted and the chapters already read show up coloured in their individual index. Occasionally I go through the indices to see if something has slipped through.
Ya'll are reinforcing why I began posting only after a story was done. Posting, as in multiple times. One guy I knew would write a great story, have it edited, then post all at once. His stories only got readers from the new story page. He lost a lot of readers that way.
I would post twice a week, and still have time to modify future chapters as feedback determined. The temptation to start posting early is strong, sometimes you just want to share, but holding off is much more satisfying. The dreaded yellow highlight does not appear.
I complete the story and then post it in groups of several thousand words every two days until all done.
I complete the story and then post it in groups of several thousand words every two days until all done.
This is timely for me, as I've changed my writing style, producing much more concise works. Instead of 20 chapters at 6,000 words each, now I'm writing 15 - 18 chapters at 2,000 apiece. Now, I'm wondering how best to post them.
I traditionally post two chapters a week, Tuesday and Thursday, so the Thursday posting shows up on the Saturday, "New Posts" list. What are your typical posting size, Ernest? Should I post two 2,000 word chapters a week, or combine them for one 4,000 word post. (I was hoping to cut back to once a week, as one story is only 14 chapters and I can't write a new story in only seven weeks!)
If I post a 1,500 word chapter, will readers feel cheated?
I'm wondering how best to post them.
That's a decision you'll have to make. Some authors will post only a few hundred words, while some (like me) post several thousand words at a time. I write chapters to the size I feel they need to be, then post what I call a SOL Chapter Part where I work out the rough wordage that aligns with the end of a chapter or sub-chapter and then post that as a single unit at SOL - aiming between 4,500 words and 10,000 words. Flames of Life has 11 Parts (SOL chapters) but has about 40 actual chapters and sub-chapters. That sort of variation is typical of my posts.
Soap operas are M-F daily. Most other TV shows are weekly. Comic books tend to be monthly. Movies get two or three years until the next sequel.
The stories that I am interested in following go into my Library. I scan the list of new stories every day to see if there is anything that catches my interest.
The few stories that interest me are usually easy to remember, so I have no problem catching them as they appear; nevertheless, I still check my Library every day.
Most of my SOL time is spent writing, so I don't have much time for reading.
Sounds to me like you are ready to review stories, mostly ones you like, that haven't been reviewed yet, or if you disagree with a prior review. Lazeez or someone in Management will approve an email request to become a reviewer (or not, if he doesn't like you) and give you a line (Reviewers) up near the author/editor line at the top of the front page. You get a space to talk about yourself and your goals as a reviewer, if you have any you want to disclose. You get to pick a pseudonym or penname, most reviewers prefer to shield their identities from angry authors or review readers. There is a way to chose stories to review from that page, or you can read a story and click on the option to review it at the end of the story. You can both do a review and send a message to the author, as separate actions. There probably will be times you don't put in the review things you want to say to the author privately. Reviews that are too negative may not get published. The reason reviewers have the chance to use valuable bandwidth is to encourage people to read stories, with a less obvious reason to help writers do more or better next time. Often its better to communicate those ideas privately.
Remember, the review is not to tell potential readers all about the plot and give cliff notes that remove the reason to read the story. If you were to review Romeo and Juliet mentioning they all die at the end might not be helpful.
