Ignoring content, what do you think is the minimum number of chapters in a novel to be considered worth reading?

[Eldoria]

True, I'm one of those fans. Cultivation worlds are super fascinating when you're just getting into it, but they feel repetitive eventually. However, can't say the same for all chinese web novels, I myself have finished two web novels with 1k+ chapters, and both of them are not cultivation novels.

I myself have never read thousands of web novels. My record is ~800 chapters for a web novel. And all the Chinese novels I've read are mostly high fantasy and sci-fi, some of which are: Game is Too Real, Game of the World Tree, Gospel of Blood, and The Knight and the Blood Princess. I haven't even read LOTM, the masterpiece of Chinese web novels. Lol.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

I myself have never read thousands of web novels. My record is ~800 chapters for a web novel. And all the Chinese novels I've read are mostly high fantasy and sci-fi, some of which are: Game is Too Real, Game of the World Tree, Gospel of Blood, and The Knight and the Blood Princess. I haven't even read LOTM, the masterpiece of Chinese web novels. Lol.

Do you like game of the world tree? If yes, you should check out the legendary mechanic, its one of the two novels that i finished. The premise is pretty similar, but imo the legendary mechanic is more enjoyable for me. Also, you should check out The King's Avatar. That's basically the first web novel I read, (one of the two novels i 'finished'. I didn't read the last 20-ish chapters though) and it's absolute cinema dude.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I've always wanted to read "Worm," but I'd feel guilty if I spent so much time reading that rather than doing something productive.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

You don't have "Other" or "1-1000 (as less than one is just a synopsis and more than 1k is just overwhelming)"

 

[Eldoria]

You don't have "Other" or "1-1000 (as less than one is just a synopsis and more than 1k is just overwhelming)"

Well, I didn't provide the "other" or 1-1000 options because I wanted to find a 'minimum' standard for the number of chapters in a novel, which would serve as a starting point for new writers to reach a quantitatively readable standard. Answers like "other" and similar seem abstract and don't answer this issue.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Well, I didn't provide the "other" or 1-1000 options because I wanted to find a 'minimum' standard for the number of chapters in a novel, which would serve as a starting point for new writers to reach a quantitatively readable standard. Answers like "other" and similar seem abstract and don't answer this issue.

Right - and it varies by personal preference (when I first started here, about a year and a quarter back, I was told 20 was the minimum; since then I've been told 50 or 100 - and I have one story, on PocketFM unfortunately, that hit the 100 mark with my last update and will hit 101 if I finish the current chapter; as my one real success HERE took off in the low teens - the same day, but before, I had actual cover art approved, I know for a fact there are no hard-and-fast rules).
Honestly, I am unlikely to start something with more than 20 chapters UNLESS it is marked as "Completed" - but I am in the definite minority.

 

[Tacit]

As an avid consumer, the premise and synopsis of your story is a lot more important than the amount of existing chapters. I'll add a story to my reading list with 3 chapters if the premise seems interesting enough but an amazing epic with 800 chapters won't even make it to my list if the description didn't seem interesting to me.

 

[paul_ryenold]

My first novel on this site had only released 5 chapter when I started reading it, it only released 10 totally. If something is interesting I tend to start it regardless of lenght, I would only wait if the novel would soon finish.

Dear reader, we're looking for feedback on 'Revenge's Requiem: The Isekai Journey'. As the author's assistant, I'd appreciate it if you could share your honest review of the book.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Dear reader, we're looking for feedback on 'Revenge's Requiem: The Isekai Journey'. As the author's assistant, I'd appreciate it if you could share your honest review of the book.

The story you have shown me is of no interest due to its premise and everything that I have seen until now suggesting that what's happening here to lead to this very moment seems shady.

 

[Max02]

It can have 5, 10, 20, 35 or 200 chapters.

The real important thing is that by each chapter's ending you be like "What's next??" and not "When will this shit end?"

 

[paul_ryenold]

Thank you for your honest feedback! I appreciate your thoughts on the story...If you're willing there are more chapters available on Webnovel that might help clarify some of the plot points you found shady. Would you like to give it a try and see if your perspective changes?

 

[VanVeleca]

I like it more in the hundreds range, I like picking one specific story and sticking with it. The large size does seem scary though, especially if I'm iffy on the description and genre. Quite often I've read things that I wished I hadn't...or at least not for THAT long...

 

[paul_ryenold]

It can have 5, 10, 20, 35 or 200 chapters.

The real important thing is that by each chapter's ending you be like "What's next??" and not "When will this shit end?"

Love that insight! Making each chapter end with a hook to keep readers curious is definitely a goal for authors including the one behind 'Revenge's requiem: The Isekai Journey'. If you're interested in checking out this story, you can find it on Webnovel, where it currently has 138 chapters...The Author would really appreciate it with your feedback

 

[DireBadger]

225 pages. Below that, it feels like a short story or a cash grab

 

[Anonjohn20]

a cash grab

Shelbie, the stories posted in Scribblehub are free. Whoever you've been paying, stop paying him.

 

[Ruyi]

chapter counts are meaningless to me because authors choose different wordcount lengths for each. like there was this one BG novel i remember from china that had some ridiculous number of chapters---8000? 15000? but the chapters were more bite-sized than a dollar-menu-value chicken nugget from a mcdonald's kids meal

still my requirements aren't too high--i think 20k words minimum is a good start, enough that even if the story's unfinished, i'll feel like i got something out of it.

EDIT: also i think in the poll the "20-99 chapters" range is waaaaay too wide. if you're gonna force me to choose a chapter count, i think 40-50 chapters is also solid

 

[Bartun]

Well, my story has exactly 20 chapters of the chunky ones, so I hope it doesn't get ignored. ?

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

While some of the most disappointing novels I've read are the ones that get abandoned after a handful of chapters, I go with tags that I like. Give em all a shot at surprising me. What else am I going to do? Not read during the same time I would have used for nothing else?

 

[Golden_Hyde]

what matters is how long you're going to drag your own story before closing it once and for all.

Note: the "you" here is a generic "you", not you the OP