Does a Longer Story Mean More Views/Readers?

[nakr]

I’m still a new author here, and I want to know: if I keep writing and expand the story to more than 100 chapters or even more, will I get more readers? I can’t judge whether my story is good or bad, which is why I’m asking about the length of the story

 

[Placeholder]

I think the first three or four chapters of a story determine if people will commit to it.

> I can’t judge whether my story is good or bad,

Find test readers? Maybe on a discord?

 

[SirContro]

More chapters generally means more opportunities for someone to find your story. For example, my story was fairly low profile for a while and it was only at around chapter 80 when it started getting close to the trending page. I think If I went past 100 the story would've gotten to the main page which would have exposed it to more readers.

(That being said, quantity doesn't matter if you have awful quality. Make a good story that takes 100s of chapters to complete with each chapter being enjoyable. Don't just drag out a mediocre story over 100s of chapters.)

 

[AncestorDuck]

You have the wrong mindset. If your work is good, people will come. It may take some time, but being recognized for writing a "hidden gem" is far better than what 1,000 readers could ever give you. Don't try to lure casual readers with quantity. I've seen posts like this before, and this is usually the first step into the LLM-generated slop trap.

 

[nakr]

You have the wrong mindset. If your work is good, people will come. It may take some time, but being recognized for writing a "hidden gem" is far better than what 1,000 readers could ever give you. Don't try to lure casual readers with quantity. I've seen posts like this before, and this is usually the first step into the LLM-generated slop trap.

It's about visibility. Sometimes your story is good, but not a lot of readers have seen it. I'm not trying to bait them into reading it; it's obvious that a trash story won’t have a lot of readers even if you try to force it.

 

[Evinoran]

It has to do with luck and visibility too, also the cover and the synopsis. To me personally, the cover doesn't entice. I'm not saying I'm an expert, but I guess you can take it as something to think about

 

[nakr]

It has to do with luck and visibility too, also the cover and the synopsis. To me personally, the cover doesn't entice. I'm not saying I'm an expert, but I guess you can take it as something to think about

This is confusing. Someone on Reddit told me that the cover is good, with money stained in blood, means how dirty are the tricks the merchant is going to do.

 

[AncestorDuck]

This is confusing. Someone on Reddit told me that the cover is good, with money stained in blood, means how dirty are the tricks the merchant is going to do.

The cover does not look inviting at all. Personally, I wouldnt click on it.

 

[Evinoran]

This is confusing. Someone on Reddit told me that the cover is good, with money stained in blood, means how dirty are the tricks the merchant is going to do.

Meaningful covers are good, but there's also the fact that your cover is essentially your advertising space here so it should be something that invites people to read, while still managing to convey what your story is about. To be fair, this isn't a hard rule and many stories manage, but in the end, success hinges on how many people click.

You can entice in various ways, big booba, pretty little girls, beastlike creatures, even a shitpost, but it has to invite clicks. Clicks can be gained by curiosity, by sheer desire, even by bewilderment, but clicks, clicks, clicks.

 

[Tatsuo]

I’m still a new author here, and I want to know: if I keep writing and expand the story to more than 100 chapters or even more, will I get more readers? I can’t judge whether my story is good or bad, which is why I’m asking about the length of the story

Same been wondering this too

 

[Tempokai]

It doesn't matter if you have 100 chapters or not. If you can't persuade the reader to keep on reading from the synopsis and first three chapters, you're doomed to not have them. Creation isn't enough; persuasion is survival. If you don't know what reader wants to read from your story, what difference 100 chapters will make if the reader will not read what you've written?

 

[Anonjohn20]

I’m still a new author here, and I want to know: if I keep writing and expand the story to more than 100 chapters or even more, will I get more readers? I can’t judge whether my story is good or bad, which is why I’m asking about the length of the story

In my brief experience, consistency matters more than length. If you are posting 1-3 chapters a week (1 can be fine; don't burn yourself out), you'll get more readers than a story with 150 chapters but it posts once or twice a month.

Don't try to lure casual readers with quantity.

At least not in this site; you can try that on Webnovel if you're fine with the Chinese stealing your story.

This is confusing. Someone on Reddit told me that the cover is good, with money stained in blood, means how dirty are the tricks the merchant is going to do.

What is the cover trying to portray?

 

[Corty]

It certainly helps but it isn't a guarantee. Consistency, in this context, is more important. And I mean, daily uploads.

 

[Anonjohn20]

It certainly helps but it isn't a guarantee. Consistency, in this context, is more important. And I mean, daily uploads.

Corty's catalogue grows ever longer. Soon it shall fill an entire library.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Take a look at my trashes/bullshits I call 'stories'. Those are pretty long, but look at the stats. That's an example answer for your question.

TLDR: No, length doesn't translate to more readers.

 

[Corty]

Corty's catalogue grows ever longer. Soon it shall fill an entire library.

I'll write until the day I die. So... Hopefully I still have about 30-something years to go

 

[Deleted member 192215]

At least not in this site; you can try that on Webnovel if you're fine with the Chinese stealing your story.

That is everywhere right now. You just don't see it.

 

[nakr]

It doesn't matter if you have 100 chapters or not. If you can't persuade the reader to keep on reading from the synopsis and first three chapters, you're doomed to not have them. Creation isn't enough; persuasion is survival. If you don't know what reader wants to read from your story, what difference 100 chapters will make if the reader will not read what you've written?

Someone on Reddit advised me to just keep writing. They mentioned that some readers might not bother with a story that has only a few chapters and could potentially stop updating at any time. They suggested writing 50 to 100 chapters first, and if it doesn’t work out, then at least I tried. That's why I'm asking for another opinion here.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Yes.

 

[Goat]

Someone on Reddit advised me to just keep writing. They mentioned that some readers might not bother with a story that has only a few chapters and could potentially stop updating at any time. They suggested writing 50 to 100 chapters first, and if it doesn’t work out, then at least I tried. That's why I'm asking for another opinion here.

The advice has some truth in it, but after you actually publish that much of chapters, you'll realize it still returns to 'how good is this novel?'. And for some people, finding their views drastically decrease after a certain chapter (and unable to figure out the problem) is more demotivating than their story not being read at all.

Increase your visibility. Consisten release, cross-posting, palatable cover and burb, etc. Those helps the most. And hopely, you'll get some loyal readers.