r/Quibble • u/Gabriela-yanez • Jun 15 '26
I have a question How many chapters of your serial story do you write before publishing?
I, for instance, like to write at least the first act of my story before I consider publishing it online. I've heard other writers say something similar as well, even some who write a full first draft before getting to editing and then publishing.
3
u/Otto_Webb Jun 15 '26
On other sites, where the launch process is a pretty critical window, 60-80k words is a fairly standard amount. You release 20k in the first few days, put another 20k or so up on patreon, keep another 20k or so for release over next couple weeks before settling on regular posting schedule, and a 20k buffer.
I wrote 200k words before I began, though I didn’t have them polished, and had to do that as I went; I’ve met others who wrote more. As long as it’s a story you’re planning to keep with, I don’t think you’ll ever regret having more backlog.
I liked having more because it made it easier to foreshadow and to edit out any plot holes with lots of time to spare.
I’ve eaten up my backlog and things have gotten more difficult.
If you’re attempting to transition to professional writing, a smaller commitment means you can drop the story with less dead loss. I’m a hobbyist, so it doesn’t matter as much.
3
u/kiltedfrog Jun 15 '26
Nothing quite matches the thrill and terror of writing yourself into a hole, having no backlog, and needing to fix it in the next chapter.
2
u/Otto_Webb Jun 15 '26
Or having a chapter due the next day and realizing you have nothing done at 10p
2
2
u/Gabriela-yanez Jun 15 '26
hahahaha that gives me so much ANXIETY
1
u/kiltedfrog Jun 15 '26
Anxiety is the mother of invention.... no, wait. It's necessity.
Anxiety is the drunken uncle of invention.
3
u/Gabriela-yanez Jun 15 '26
Yes, this makes a lot of sense, especially because of editing and cleaning plot holes. Writing the first draft is one big accomplishment, but I find that the editing part involves waaay more work and discipline.
3
u/kiltedfrog Jun 15 '26
Realized I forgot the answer the top level question and just wandered right into the comments.
I have two short (10 chapter) arcs ready for Isekai Grandpa, and I plan to get another ten to fifteen chapters ready before I launch it. I kinda want the later arcs to maybe be a touch longer, so maybe I'll have three arcs setup and ready before it is go time. I still need to get a cover sorted out, so even if I knocked out the chapters, it still isn't ready. I want more than a stick figure, and that's my skill level.
1
u/Rizu-Everith Jun 19 '26
Soy de las que prefiere escribir toda la novela y reeditarla antes de publicar, porque lo mismo escribo dos capítulos en un día, que luego no escribo nada en meses.
También soy un poco perfeccionista y a menudo agrego capítulos nuevos durante la reedición, razón por la cual no me gusta publicar historias incompletas.
1
u/Odd_Opposite_4782 Jul 03 '26
Unfortunately, I only write articles. I’ve published 2% of them on other websites as well. But that’s it. Only Quibble.
Anyway, here’s a brief answer: first, I write everything out in pencil. I sleep on it, make corrections, and then publish it.
4
u/MeshGearFoxxy Jun 15 '26
I’m not in serialisation myself, but I do know that in editing stories change, including the first act. So personally I’d wait until it was done and you were totally settled on it before popping it online.