Is it worth going back to split up larger chapters?

[kosamsel]

I’ve been reading some of the general advice posts here on the forum, and most of them (rightly, I think) suggest that WNs should stick to chapters in the 1.5k-2.5k word range. I’ve been making an effort to keep my newest chapters on the shorter side, but my problem is that my first ten-ish chapters have some CHONKERS that clock in at the 4-7k mark.

Do you guys think it would be worth going back to split up those chapters to make the story more approachable to new readers, or should I leave them as is?

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

I’ve been reading some of the general advice posts here on the forum, and most of them (rightly, I think) suggest that WNs should stick to chapters in the 1.5k-2.5k word range. I’ve been making an effort to keep my newest chapters on the shorter side, but my problem is that my first ten-ish chapters have some CHONKERS that clock in at the 4-7k mark.

Do you guys think it would be worth going back to split up those chapters to make the story more approachable to new readers, or should I leave them as is?

Yes. More chapters = more views =betters stats = more readers

 

[kosamsel]

Yes. More chapters = more views =betters stats = more readers

Thank you very much for the response!!! I’m definitely strongly considering it LOL

 

[Dec]

Do you guys think it would be worth going back to split up those chapters to make the story more approachable to new readers, or should I leave them as is?

Leave them. Bigger chapters are nice.
And, if you go back and start splitting, you will lose all the current engagement they already have.

And I, personally, wouldn't call a sub-10k chapter a "chonker." More like a nice and fast breakfast read.

 

[Keene]

According to SH my average chappie length is 4.2k, with my max being 7k+. It's worked well for me and how I write my scenes. It is, of course, subjective on reader preference and chapter upload frequency. I think it's better to think of it more as how many words my readers are getting weekly? Readers can be quite forgiving on upload sizes/frequency if they feel they're getting enough material.

However, chapter lengths 1.5-2.5k seem to be optimal for commercial success. Amelia Thornheart is launching on Tapas in August, and they've assigned a copy-editor to go through the series and I'm watching them chop up the chapters to split them and make them shorter. The ~90ish chapters I've supplied are going to become 200+ chapters for launch time. Not that I'm complaining, it'll mean more money for me

 

[kosamsel]

Leave them. Bigger chapters are nice.
And, if you go back and start splitting, you will lose all the current engagement they already have.

And I, personally, wouldn't call a sub-10k chapter a "chonker." More like a nice and fast breakfast read.

LOLLL fair!!! As a reader, I come from AO3 where the upload culture is WAAAAY different, so I’m still figuring out what people prefer from WNs!

According to SH my average chappie length is 4.2k, with my max being 7k+. It's worked well for me and how I write my scenes. It is, of course, subjective on reader preference and chapter upload frequency. I think it's better to think of it more as how many words my readers are getting weekly? Readers can be quite forgiving on upload sizes/frequency if they feel they're getting enough material.

However, chapter lengths 1.5-2.5k seem to be optimal for commercial success. Amelia Thornheart is launching on Tapas in August, and they've assigned a copy-editor to go through the series and I'm watching them chop up the chapters to split them and make them shorter. The ~90ish chapters I've supplied are going to become 200+ chapters for launch time. Not that I'm complaining, it'll mean more money for me

Oooh okay that’s really useful to know, thanks so much!!! And absolutely best of luck on Tapas! ???

 

[Dec]

LOLLL fair!!! As a reader, I come from AO3 where the upload culture is WAAAAY different, so I’m still figuring out what people prefer from WNs!

TBH, the best chapter size is the one you feel most comfortable with. Don't try to fit into imaginary boundaries, as it is tiring and will make you burn out faster.
Write your way, don't try to "fit in." Readers will always come.

 

[Bartun]

Chapter size doesn't matter as long as you upload frequently. My story's average chapter size is +5K words, and the longest is +9K words. I tried shorter chapters, but they didn't work for me. If you feel comfortable writing long chapters, then good for you!

 

[Xcalibur_Xc]

It all depends on how many chapters you upload. 7k-10 words 1 ch/week. 1.5-2.5k minimum 4 chs/week. The thing is some like big chapters, while others like short chapters since reading a single 7k words chapter to some might be immersion breaking. Just my personal opinion

 

[Alski]

My chapters range from 11,000 to 60,000 words. The two chapters that are over over 50,000 words had to be split into multiple chapters because of the site's text boxes not being able to handle more than 50,000 lol

Those arnt chapters, they are books in their own right

For me my preference is in the 3-6k range when reading.

 

[kosamsel]

My chapters range from 11,000 to 60,000 words. The two chapters that are over over 50,000 words had to be split into multiple chapters because of the site's text boxes not being able to handle more than 50,000 lol

I AM IN AWE OF YOU. ABSOLUTE UNITS

It all depends on how many chapters you upload. 7k-10 words 1 ch/week. 1.5-2.5k minimum 4 chs/week. The thing is some like big chapters, while others like short chapters since reading a single 7k words chapter to some might be immersion breaking. Just my personal opinion

Yeah, that sounds fair to me! Thanks for the reply ^^

 

[CrimsonGenius]

Honestly it’s, better for me to split them. I won’t have to edit one massive project.

 

[Clo]

Those arnt chapters, they are books in their own right

I hear Pirateaba of The Wandering Inn fame is also hitting those 80k words chapters in length.

As you said, book in its own right! xD

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Depends on how easy they are to chop and why you are considering it.
When I started adapting one story for PocketFM, I had to really butcher a few chapters to keep them in the "1000-5000 accepted, 1200-3000 preferred" length they require and it was harder than originally writing them (also why the chapter numbers are such a mess here now; kept the current numbers for uploading rather than trying to keep track of versions that are the same except for a few lines of text and chapter lengths).

 

[AdamKusy]

There are two main factors about this subject.

The first is that some readers have short attention spans and they shorter chapters somewhere around 1.5-2k words and anything above they lose concentration and interest.

On the other hand, there are also readers, (such as me) who prefer 4k or even more words per chapter as every chapter is also a mini story in itself. I also tend to like slower-paced chapters with more words in them as I like to immerse myself into the story and imagine every segment on it while shorter chapters often tend to be more fast-paced. There are, of course, exceptions to this and not everything is set in stone.

The second factor is the content of the chapter. I usually don't like dividing my chapters into smaller ones because often times they end anti-climatically and often times you can't cut a chapter which has many words because you have to find a satisfying end to a chapter, which intrigues your reader to click on that icon for the next chapter. Also, you have to be careful not to end literally every chapter on a cliffhanger which gets tiring very soon and it's preferable that you find a healthy mix between cliffhangers and non-cliffhangers.

Adding on to this, let's say that you have a whole chapter of just two people talking. That's the entire chapter. Some important information gets revealed to the reader, the pace is very slow, and you describe the inner thoughts of both characters in details. You are barely able to hit 2k words, maybe even 1.8 or 1.5k. And then you have the next chapter, where your team of heroes explores a dungeon, meet some new characters, fight a new enemy and you hit a chapter length of 5-6k because there is just so much going on.

In the end, you can try experimenting with both ways, for example, write one story arc with splitting chapters and one with whole chapters and see how your readers react to it. Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I like shorter chapters between 1k and 3k. Anything more than 4k starts feeling like a slog to get through, and I don't want to pause mid scrolling. It's worse than regular novels where you can bookmark pages.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I’ve been reading some of the general advice posts here on the forum, and most of them (rightly, I think) suggest that WNs should stick to chapters in the 1.5k-2.5k word range. I’ve been making an effort to keep my newest chapters on the shorter side, but my problem is that my first ten-ish chapters have some CHONKERS that clock in at the 4-7k mark.

Do you guys think it would be worth going back to split up those chapters to make the story more approachable to new readers, or should I leave them as is?

4-7k isn't unreadable. Back when books were published rather than shared chapter by chapter online, they used to average 3-5k per chapter, with some outliers being 10k+ (Game of Thrones is one of those outliers, and look how popular it got). Chapters only got shorter because the authors constantly posting to keep readers engaged didn't want to get burnt out.

 

[Arkus86]

From my limited understanding, no, it's not.

Writing shorter chapters might have merit (up to a point) by upping your release frequency and exposure on latest updates, and keeping readers engaged by constant and frequent releases. But going back to split already posted chapters is not going to help in this regard.
It might in fact hurt your story by confusing your existing readers, and potentially new readers too depending on how you do it. It might even trigger the automated bot protection on this site that would then scrub you from latest updates altogether (maybe from search too? I can't really say) - I hear it does not like when you delete or rearange past chapters, or post too many chapters in a short window (apparently this is a myth).

It all depends on how many chapters you upload. 7k-10 words 1 ch/week. 1.5-2.5k minimum 4 chs/week. The thing is some like big chapters, while others like short chapters since reading a single 7k words chapter to some might be immersion breaking. Just my personal opinion

Personally, I find too short chapters immersion breaking. Too long chapters are not good either, but I don't like when the chapter ends just when I start really getting into it, so broadly sub-2k words chapters. Roughly around 4-6k is ideal.
But as you say, personal preference.

 

[EphemeralEmperor]

No, you're better off slowly reducing existing sizes. If you don't like breaking chapters, you can always signify this in chapter titles. You don't have to give them numbers like (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3... etc.) but rather whatever title you would give that arc/section/"longer chapter", for the first part you post as a single chapter would be "[Name of Chapter] (1)". Next piece of the same "longer chapter" would be "[Name of Chapter] (2)" and so on. That way you can still write longer chapters for yourself, but your readers will still be able to enjoy the slightly smaller sizes.

Good luck writing.

 

[Joseon_Walking]

I’ve been reading some of the general advice posts here on the forum, and most of them (rightly, I think) suggest that WNs should stick to chapters in the 1.5k-2.5k word range. I’ve been making an effort to keep my newest chapters on the shorter side, but my problem is that my first ten-ish chapters have some CHONKERS that clock in at the 4-7k mark.

Do you guys think it would be worth going back to split up those chapters to make the story more approachable to new readers, or should I leave them as is?

My answer is only if you clearly do Chapter 1.1 1.2 1.3 etc. DO NOT label them as distinct chapters. It is a nightmare to reformat later