How many chapters does it take on average to start gaining steady writer?

[abu_nur]

Currently my new work is at its 7th chapter. It's gaining a decent amount of viewers (around 700). But no readers at all. I only have like 5 readers, four of which are my friends, and the last one just dropped it right after putting it in his reading list. (I feel bad about that). I been releasing once a week, on a steady base. The one time i kinda messed up, i wrote two chapters back to back to make up for it. (I don't even know who i am making up for, no one is reading that thing).

Each chapter is around 1500-1800 words, and i try to revise it 2 times to the best of my abilities before posting. But i kinda feel that effort pay off is minimal.

 

[empalgepuk]

Will this work of yours extend to chapter 50 and beyond? If the answer is yes, rejoice. All you need is patience.

 

[Eldoria]

There are several things you can improve without overly blaming yourself:

First, you can replace your cover with an anime/LN cover. SH readers tend to prefer LN/anime covers. It's even better if your cover features an elegant heroine.

Second, for new novels, it's recommended to release short chapters of 700-1500 words per chapter to increase visibility. Don't release long chapters before you have a large reader base.

Third, the turning point in a new novel usually occurs around chapter 20 or later because, for most readers, a novel with tens of chapters is considered a serious one by the author. You know, many new novels stop at less than 10 chapters. This makes readers sceptical of new novels, as they are perceived as unstable.

Fourth, write a concise, engaging synopsis with a strong hook. I recommend including a moral premise in your synopsis, as it's the most marketable part of the story (if potential readers aren't interested in the story's moral premise, then they're not the target audience for the story).

Fifth, update regularly, 2-4 chapters a week. Don't update too many chapters at once, as this won't help your novel's exposure.

Finally, be patient! You can take a break if you're tired. Don't push yourself too hard. Writing fiction requires creativity, not just hard work.

Good luck. Best regards.

 

[Corty]

It took me 60+ chapters to get my first comments and to let me know there are people reading.

 

[Shiriru_B]

I'm pretty sure readers here are a lot more likely to wait until a author has made a considerable amount of chapters so they can binge read on.

 

[Grizzly18]

There are a lot of novels on this site that petter out before chapter 50 so unless a title or cover catches my eye I won’t read it until it reaches closer to 50 because it’s kinda disheartening to read a story you think has potential and then the author abruptly stops writing or gets burned out. It sucks because new authors need encouragement but for me it’s once bitten twice shy. Keep writing. Eventually people will read your story. Maybe not a ton but some and they might tell people who will recommend it to other people. Chin up man remember to write not just your audience but for you.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Though there is no "hard and fast" rules - the "sweet spots" tend to be 20, 50, and, allegedly (have not gotten that far myself with anything here) 100. You'll see upticks when you hit each of those chapter counts.
As to comments and feedback... those are completely random (and, IME, mostly "Are you sure you posted this to the correct story?" "Oh, no I didn't, thanks" or "Thanks for the chapter"/TFTC)

 

[DeepWater]

Personally, I try to get over 2000 words when I write.

 

[Arkus86]

It's true people here tend to wait until you have a decent number of chapters before they commit, due to the high infant mortality rate of the stories here. They don't want to risk getting emotionally invested in a story, if the author loses interest before even finishing ten chapters.

and the last one just dropped it right after putting it in his reading list.

Anyone who puts a story into their reading list shows as "1/x" status, whether they actually opened a single chapter or not. It does not mean they dropped the story. They might have put it in a reading list to easily find it later, if you do not abandon the story.

Second, for new novels, it's recommended to release short chapters of 700-1500 words per chapter to increase visibility. Don't release long chapters before you have a large reader base.

Writing too short chapters will turn away readers too. I don't have actual statistics for SH, but speaking for myself, I don't bother reading anything with ~1000 average words or below, and anything under 1500 I'm still hesitant.

 

[DismaiNaim]

I've been posting chapters somewhat irregularly, so maybe that's hurting me. Sometimes 3-4 per month, and sometimes only once per month, but I'd rather put out quality so some chapters take time to get it right. Most fall between 3500-5000 words. Been doing this for two years now, and so far it hasn't really taken off. Whatever, having readers is nice, but I write because I have to.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I've been posting chapters somewhat irregularly, so maybe that's hurting me. Sometimes 3-4 per month, and sometimes only once per month, but I'd rather put out quality so some chapters take time to get it right. Most fall between 3500-5000 words. Been doing this for two years now, and so far it hasn't really taken off. Whatever, having readers is nice, but I write because I have to.

Any way you could cut the chapters in half and post more frequently? Chapters that large can intimidate a lot of readers.

 

[Eldoria]

Most fall between 3500-5000 words. Been doing this for two years now, and so far it hasn't really taken off. Whatever, having readers is nice, but I write because I have to.

5K words for one chapter?! That's too much. You should cut the big chapter into three smaller ones.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

So when I crested 25 in two of my works, I started to recieve more traffic. Then when I hit 55 chapters in one of those, I had a very significant increase in traffic, nearly gaining 10k more views in a week even though i hadn't updated it for almost 10 days.

 

[DismaiNaim]

Any way you could cut the chapters in half and post more frequently? Chapters that large can intimidate a lot of readers.

Nope!

5K words for one chapter?! That's too much. You should cut the big chapter into three smaller ones.

Nope! This is the right length for my target audience, and enough meat to tell the story that needs to be told.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Nope!

Nope! This is the right length for my target audience, and enough meat to tell the story that needs to be told.

I thought that about one of mine until I was forced to cut down a few (one had just hit 5.5k and another was 4.8) for PocketFM (also had to pad a few that weren't 1k - wound up changing my chapter numbering by about 8 when all was said and done). Though I hated having to redo the entire first chapter, I think I wound up with a stronger overall story as a result - but it was a bit of work

 

[DismaiNaim]

I thought that about one of mine until I was forced to cut down a few (one had just hit 5.5k and another was 4.8) for PocketFM (also had to pad a few that weren't 1k - wound up changing my chapter numbering by about 8 when all was said and done). Though I hated having to redo the entire first chapter, I think I wound up with a stronger overall story as a result - but it was a bit of work

There were a few venues that didn't like my chapter word counts. I don't post there.

 

[abu_nur]

There are several things you can improve without overly blaming yourself:

First, you can replace your cover with an anime/LN cover. SH readers tend to prefer LN/anime covers. It's even better if your cover features an elegant heroine.

Second, for new novels, it's recommended to release short chapters of 700-1500 words per chapter to increase visibility. Don't release long chapters before you have a large reader base.

Third, the turning point in a new novel usually occurs around chapter 20 or later because, for most readers, a novel with tens of chapters is considered a serious one by the author. You know, many new novels stop at less than 10 chapters. This makes readers sceptical of new novels, as they are perceived as unstable.

Fourth, write a concise, engaging synopsis with a strong hook. I recommend including a moral premise in your synopsis, as it's the most marketable part of the story (if potential readers aren't interested in the story's moral premise, then they're not the target audience for the story).

Fifth, update regularly, 2-4 chapters a week. Don't update too many chapters at once, as this won't help your novel's exposure.

Finally, be patient! You can take a break if you're tired. Don't push yourself too hard. Writing fiction requires creativity, not just hard work.

Good luck. Best regards.

Thanks for the long advices fr. A lot of time must gone in writing these. I am already working on the cover to still be relevant (after realising i have a severe shortage of female characters too)

It took me 60+ chapters to get my first comments and to let me know there are people reading.

Looks like i will be riding the same boat. Scout over give me some place to sit ah energy fr

There are a lot of novels on this site that petter out before chapter 50 so unless a title or cover catches my eye I won’t read it until it reaches closer to 50 because it’s kinda disheartening to read a story you think has potential and then the author abruptly stops writing or gets burned out. It sucks because new authors need encouragement but for me it’s once bitten twice shy. Keep writing. Eventually people will read your story. Maybe not a ton but some and they might tell people who will recommend it to other people. Chin up man remember to write not just your audience but for you.

It kinda reminds me of vicious cycles. More auther early death = people getting more suspicious of new Stories = new authors not getting support = them dying as well. I am not going to stop tho, i am too thick headed for that. (Although i think that's kinda why the plant to read reader status exist. Show support without reading, to tell them you want to read once it's larger)

Though there is no "hard and fast" rules - the "sweet spots" tend to be 20, 50, and, allegedly (have not gotten that far myself with anything here) 100. You'll see upticks when you hit each of those chapter counts.
As to comments and feedback... those are completely random (and, IME, mostly "Are you sure you posted this to the correct story?" "Oh, no I didn't, thanks" or "Thanks for the chapter"/TFTC)

I didn't see feedbacks since 2020. It was just because people had nothing better to do ??

It's true people here tend to wait until you have a decent number of chapters before they commit, due to the high infant mortality rate of the stories here. They don't want to risk getting emotionally invested in a story, if the author loses interest before even finishing ten chapters.

Anyone who puts a story into their reading list shows as "1/x" status, whether they actually opened a single chapter or not. It does not mean they dropped the story. They might have put it in a reading list to easily find it later, if you do not abandon the story.


Writing too short chapters will turn away readers too. I don't have actual statistics for SH, but speaking for myself, I don't bother reading anything with ~1000 average words or below, and anything under 1500 I'm still hesitant.

Yea ik but having the dropped condition immediately was kinda surprising. I am not that sad over it, it's just chapter 7

I've been posting chapters somewhat irregularly, so maybe that's hurting me. Sometimes 3-4 per month, and sometimes only once per month, but I'd rather put out quality so some chapters take time to get it right. Most fall between 3500-5000 words. Been doing this for two years now, and so far it hasn't really taken off. Whatever, having readers is nice, but I write because I have to.

I can write till 4000 at best so 5000 is still astonishing to me. Although i been writing since 2020 (never published again since 2021 kinda). But i think 1600 is a very sweat spot for readers and i get to include details about my world. (Because i mainly use narrator third person view. Which is affected by my experience as a D&D DM and a roleplayer)

So when I crested 25 in two of my works, I started to recieve more traffic. Then when I hit 55 chapters in one of those, I had a very significant increase in traffic, nearly gaining 10k more views in a week even though i hadn't updated it for almost 10 days.

So it just spikes. Not a gradual thing like back in 2020?

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

So it just spikes. Not a gradual thing like back in 2020?

I have no idea about 2020, but I am guessing many of the 'silent' readers don't bother with anything with less than a certain number of chapters

 

[V8485]

Hey, I don't want to sound rude, but it seems like you're doing pretty good, friend.

909 Views

17 Favorites

And 6 readers seems good.

All I have to say is if you are writing something good and writing something you believe you would read, people will read.

This last comment is totally off-topic, but seeing your book do so well is rather sobering.

But I am happy that your work is getting readers. I hope you continue to do your best.

 

[abu_nur]

Hey, I don't want to sound rude, but it seems like you're doing pretty good, friend.

909 Views

17 Favorites

And 6 readers seems good.

All I have to say is if you are writing something good and writing something you believe you would read, people will read.

This last comment is totally off-topic, but seeing your book do so well is rather sobering.

But I am happy that your work is getting readers. I hope you continue to do your best.

Well thanks for your words. But i have to clarify that out of those 6 readers 4 are my friends, 1 dropped it and one deleted his account after adding it to his reading list. So i am only getting views so far. I am also writing to the best of my abilities, but i am asking to see if that amount of growth is the norm or not. Because i am notorious for having boring tastes and worry i will bore people out tbh.