Potential format change
Added 2023-06-13 15:18:42 +0000 UTCHaving tried out the subchapter format for a while now, I'm finding that both my subscriber count and the power my story has to attract new members has fallen off dramatically in the past couple of months. Meaning either the story is getting bad, people are losing interest, or the change in format is doing more harm than good.
What do we think? Should I make a change? Do we like the subchapters, or should I go back to full ones?
The whole point of them in the first place was to provide consistent and quick releases. Which I get. As a reader, you want more story. And now. When you're in the mood for it.
However, on my end of things, I'm having to juggle a large web of behind-the-scenes plot points, weave them together at relevant moments, make sure I'm not repeating myself too much, wonder whether I've actually even mentioned something before or if that vague memory I have of having done so was from a deleted scene or not, and etc. Not so easy, in short. And that's before you even consider the massive amount of self-editing I do to present a pleasant reading experience.
All of which is to say that I don't write fast.
So here are some possible alternatives.
Comments
Excellent point! Like I've said elsewhere, I don't write subchapters, I write with the ebb and flow of a full chapter in mind. And you're exactly right. Breaking it up like I have been disrupts that natural structure, making it a poor experience for the reader! Lesson learned!
Nathaniel Bartley Logee
2023-06-14 01:25:14 +0000 UTCTo me it's about flow, you want people to be interested in the next chapter, so each thing you publish needs a hook, one can't just stop in the middle of a chapter. This was particularly bad in the puzzle section as frankly I don't remember the previous shard of the chapter. So the puzzle became unintelligible and flow broken. It would have been better if you had one big puzzle but each published section had a definitive resolution to part of the puzzle and some foretelling of what they would next checkout.
Madio27
2023-06-13 22:23:28 +0000 UTCFair enough. I've never exactly had my finger on the pulse of popularity.
Nathaniel Bartley Logee
2023-06-13 22:04:32 +0000 UTCI will still follow your story and as I said when you brought up the idea of cutting the chapters into multiple posts, whatever you need to do to make it easy on you is best. That being said... it does seem slow (I have mentioned why I think so before so I won't rehash that here) and maybe that is due to chapter length, but I am unsure. And as for popularity... Well I am not sure how it all works so... *Shrug*. I think if you can get a shout out from another popular author then that puts you in the gold road to Successville. But how you go about doing that... I dunno.
Hastur
2023-06-13 16:31:18 +0000 UTCIt absolutely does not. I do not write with subchapters in mind. It's just the full chapters which I chop up later.
Nathaniel Bartley Logee
2023-06-13 16:22:12 +0000 UTCThanks for the input! Yeah, I've felt some of what you're talking about on my end as well. I feel like I'll need to make a lot of changes once it comes time to edit this story. We'll have to see.
Nathaniel Bartley Logee
2023-06-13 16:20:56 +0000 UTCFair enough. I want to keep you guys as happy as I can while being fair to myself. :)
Nathaniel Bartley Logee
2023-06-13 16:19:19 +0000 UTCA good description. I find it hard to enjoy the chunked up chapters.
WhiteRabbit
2023-06-13 16:11:28 +0000 UTCAnother thing regarding the story is that, personally, it seems as if the story speed as decreased. It might be just a feeling because I read the first book in one book on kindle and not chapter by chapter. Also I feel like some "Arcs" dragged on for too long, like the tailor arc didn't feel like a necessity to story, yes I understand the interaction highlighted the way of thinking of the Lilims (but I feel like it was pretty clear already), and the tailor being a weirdo could have been a passing remark, that character don't feel like necessary to the story. (He has like what 3~4 chapters?). Also, since Jax is blocked at 10, it feels like the story is blocked too. Maybe winning a tournament as a first goal at 10 wasn't the best choice, what will 20 be? Win a war? Feels like the escalation is a bit steep. After all that is said, I still want to say that I like the overall story so far and the concept of characters and world you came up with those are just small issues that I feel are holding back the story. As for popularity of the story, I would not be able to tell you what make it go up. Maybe regular chapters, but I also feel like a story need a minimum of pages to really blow up, I personally often temporarily skip stories until there's enough books out to be sure the story is going to continue. Maybe ask other authors of platforms like royalroad or scribblehub what are their advice, theirs are probably better then mines. ā„ļø Keep up the good work. Love your story would love to see it get the attention it deserves. š
erdnael
2023-06-13 15:41:25 +0000 UTCi think the issue is with the tiny ground up chapters they arent satisfying its like takeing a cookie and smashing it to eat it through a straw slowly
JG
2023-06-13 15:25:57 +0000 UTCI'm not quite sure about the format of the chapter. Either full chapter or parts is fine by me, the important thing is that you release chapter in a natural way to you, and you don't feel pressured to cut them in neat portion. Even though I would say I enjoy small sub chapters regularly, because your chapters are rather long compared to the chapters of other stories on RoyalRoad, I would not wish for that process to change the way you see the story developing.
erdnael
2023-06-13 15:23:22 +0000 UTC
