Ideal length for chapters

[ViktorBloodfallen]

I was wondering about chapter length. so far With just , chapter 1, 2, 3 and not even finished with 4 I am already averaging 3k+ words a chapter according to my google docs. I am wondering if it would be ideal to split the chapters in half and post them that way. In an attempt to keep retention and help with readability.


I personally don't think this is an issue, however I do not mind reading longer forms of media. That is why I am asking you the general public and seeing what the median consensus is.

Thank you for reading.

 

[expentio]

Usually, 1500-2000 is recommended. Less and it appears a bit short to wait for. More and one misses out on exposure for appearing on the starting page with the new chapter more regularly.

 

[Jerynboe]

I personally do 3k+ per chapter, which I release at a rate of 1/week. Idk if this is optimal, but I’ve never gotten complaints. With that said, my current story that works like that is to this day still getting less traffic than my older story that was 1-2k per chapter, but posted 3-5 times a week. This is despite it being actively updated and (imo) far improved in terms of craft.

 

[FRWriter]

I personally do 3k+ per chapter, which I release at a rate of 1/week. Idk if this is optimal, but I’ve never gotten complaints. With that said, my current story that works like that is to this day still getting less traffic than my older story that was 1-2k per chapter, but posted 3-5 times a week. This is despite it being actively updated and (imo) far improved in terms of craft.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Your new chapters show up on the front page for a certain amount of time. It doesn't matter if they contain 100 words or 10k words. So posting more chapters gets you more exposure and more readers. Idealy you want to choose a length that satisfies your readers without pissing them off with tiny chapters. This is why people think around 1.5k words is perfect. 3k is too long IMO. Some people just have a few minutes, and if the chapters get too long and you reload, you need to search where you stopped.

 

[ViktorBloodfallen]

This is pretty self-explanatory. Your new chapters show up on the front page for a certain amount of time. It doesn't matter if they contain 100 words or 10k words. So posting more chapters gets you more exposure and more readers. Indially you want to choose a length that satisfies your readers without pissing them off with tiny chapters. This is why people think around 1.5k words is perfect. 3k is too long IMO. Some people just have a few minutes, and if the chapters get too long and you reload, you need to search where you stopped.

That is a valid point, i did not think of mobile readers losing their spot. Thank you for that insight.

 

[empalgepuk]

1500-2500

Can be around 1000 if you update more than once a week

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

It depends on the media, I would say. Mine average around 3000 words a chapter. But it’s a completed novel I am uploading, so it’s a little different than web novels. I had never thought about splitting chapters to make it easier for mobile readers, but that is a valid point.

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

1500 to 2500 is the most common; you can go longer or shorter, depending on the type of your story or the chapter's context. I seen some stories put out like 10k+ first chapters and do fine.

 

[OCQueen96]

It depends on your target audience and on the story.

 

[Joyager2]

I've previously aimed for upwards of 3k/chapter, but more recently, I've been putting aside the word count. If a chapter's fewer than 1500 words, I'll go back and see if I've moved to quickly, but even if I have, I'm unlikely to stretch it all the way to 3000. I might not even touch it at all. More than a few novels (even some of my favorites) have single-page chapters. It happens almost as often as 20 page chapters.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I'm pretty sure this is the most asked question in the forums.

 

[Alski]

I'm pretty sure this is the most asked question in the forums.

And there is still no concrete answer, but 1.5-2.5k is the general consensus. My preference is on the longer side.

 

[Ral_062]

Ah, is there such limits for me? I rewrote my chapter 5 and split it into 5 parts for being that long LMAO. and the some of the parts are at least 3k+ according to the word count of this site.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

2-3 K is fine... just try to be somewhat consistent... I have very few chapters sub 2k, and more than a few that breached 4-6k that I should have broken up.

Edit - There was a thread here last month similar to this saying 800-1200 was an *average length* which I think we had a few discussions about how short that really was for a reader.

 

[Anonjohn20]

1.5-2.5k is the general consensus.

It is. If you make the chapter too long, then people are less likely to read the entire chapter, which is a pain, as one can't bookmark like they could with a book in print.

My preference is on the longer side.

Most people who read few chapters at a time prefer longer chapters, while people who read until they drop nonstop will prefer easily digestible chapters so they can stop at any point.

 

[Alski]

Most people who read few chapters at a time prefer longer chapters, while people who read until they drop nonstop will prefer easily digestible chapters so they can stop at any point.

I'm not most people then.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I'm not most people then.

 

[Alski]

View attachment 45763

I didn't think you were female. ?️

 

[Anonjohn20]

I didn't think you were female. ?️

Penholders have no gender.

 

[DoodTheMan]

I used to worry about the actual length of a chapter, but then I found that I would be either rushing scenes in order to not make it so long, or I would be stretching a scene much further than what was interesting just to make it longer. Scene breaks, having multiple characters in different people to jump perspectives, or timeskips are very helpful. Usually I'll split my chapter in half or into thirds and do 2-3 scenes per chapter, and I find that to make a satisfying length.