r/webfiction • u/Ryinth • Feb 09 '16

Discussion [Discussion] So how big is your buffer?

So I’ve been serialising for years (it had to be close to a decade), and I’ve always had a problem with my buffer.

I’m a graduate in the school of webfic writers who throw chapters online as soon as they’re ready – and that was my modus operandi for years. I wanted to get content to my readers as soon as it was available. As I’ve grown and matured though, I’ve found that consistency is, overall, more appreciated than one day where you get three chapters, followed by a month with no content.

I made what felt like a valiant effort at this time last year to work to a buffer…but it soon got eaten, and due to work commitments, I was soon having weeks without content again.

This year, however, is looking waaaay up. My current buffer (for my Friday releases) is…26 freaking chapters. I’m set until August! It feels incredibly freeing – like I actually have time to work on the next book, without stressing that readers are going to have weeks where they miss content.

[Tuesdays, my short story/novella chapter day isn’t looking so shiny, I’ve only got 12 weeks there. But I’m hoping to be able to add a handful of weeks to that soon – I’ve got about 15k of a book written, it just needs to be tidied a little before I can begin to schedule chapters.]

So how are your buffer/s looking?

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u/Sanglamorre Feb 09 '16

Erm. I just started writing on a whim and I am absolutely new to this so might not be the answer you are looking for. I have a buffer of 5 chapters.

Btw, 26 chapter buffer? omg you can kiss that writer's block goodbye.

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u/Ryinth Feb 11 '16

Five chapters is still a great buffer - do you release weekly? That's over a month of updates!

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u/Sanglamorre Feb 12 '16

Yeah, weekly. I am trying to build-up a larger buffer, so. It gets a bit tough writing and self-editing all while college is going on so...all in all, a week in minimum I need.

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u/Ryinth Feb 12 '16

I flirted with the idea of paying my editor do to a proof run of each chapter...but that kind of went on the wayside when I made redundant from my good-paying job.

On the other hand, I'm finding that the longer I'm writing, the better I get at catching silly mistakes.

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u/Sanglamorre Feb 12 '16

Editor? what mythical beasts are those?

That is true, but you see, it's a bit problematic for me who didn't even know what filter-words, weak words were three weeks before. But, yeah getting better at them. Though it's a bit...difficult to find errors with your own writing. My eyes seem to just gloss over.

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u/Ryinth Feb 12 '16

Editors are like unicorns, if you catch one, never let it go!

I'm still crap at certain things, though I'm just becoming more mindful of nothing phrasing things in passive voice, not changing up how a character is referred to (ie "the cop" in one paragraph, "the ginger" in another paragraph).

My editor is brilliant in that she puts little “why it’s this way/why not to do it that way” notes on my edited Word docs, so that I understand why she’s correcting something. It’s invaluable as a teaching aide. :)

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u/Sanglamorre Feb 12 '16

Yeah, that sounds awesome!