Should I publish before the whole story is finished?

[HisDivineShadow]

I've got 2 pieces of advice on this, which may or may not apply in your situation.

1. Few authors realistically handle more than one project at a time. They might have two going, one that is their main project, then a second that is an easier, side story (which then sometimes morphs to become their main project). Some do, obviously, but most handle only one. It's hard to keep more than one coherent plot going in your head at a time. I write a story, and I have a pathfinder campaign that I run as my side creative endeavor. I have other stories that I'd like to write, but I know I'd be completely overwhelmed if I tried to write two stories at the same time. One thing I have found is that I can do groundwork stuff alongside my main project without much issue. That means researching the feasibility of other project ideas, or doing other writing related work that isn't actually doing plot. Art/character design/world building/etc. Things that go in my notes that would help me hit the ground running on a new project when I get to it (of course though, that makes me all the more eager to start said new project, which makes me less eager to write what I need to for my existing projects).

2. Once you get into a flow, Patreon isn't that bad. My advice, however, is that the old "create multiple tiers" advice is outdated for authors now. Realistically, you should probably just have 1 tier. Set the price at what you want, $10 is the norm. Most subscribers will get the highest tier anyway. I like that I have a handful of people at lower tiers, but ultimately, each tier is equal amounts of work for diminishing returns. My tiers are $2, $5, and $10 for 10, 20, 30 chapters ahead. That means I have to do all that extra work to support the lower tiers, which make up less than 10% of revenue. It's not *a ton* of extra work, but it does mean I spend about an extra hour a month maintaining patreon. I usually set aside a morning on a Saturday to schedule chapters there and on SH/RR. If you've got weird time windows that you could manage your patreon during where you wouldn't be able to do much else, then maybe it would be worth it.

Thanks for this. it really helped, especially the part about sticking to one tier.
Lately, I’ve probably been spending way too much time polishing things before I even publish, and it slows everything down. Maybe I should save the heavy editing for the final pass and just focus on keeping the updates moving.
Also, I totally relate to what you said about new stories trying to steal the spotlight. I started a second one just for practice to ground myself. now it’s alive . I don’t really struggle with balancing two plots mentally (if anything, switching helps reset my brain), but yeah… time is the real enemy here.
Thanks again for sharing. I really appreciate your comment. it gave me a lot of clarity.

I finished mine before I published, but both of mine were short stories so I'm not the best example to follow. However, a lot of the people commenting here are absolutely right in what they're saying. If you choose to finish the main story and use the side project (the one on the 2nd arc) as a go-to for burnout or clearing your mind on the first, you've made a great choice. If you choose to publish as you finish each chapter (minus any backlogs) to get it out there and start self-promoting for later, you've made a great choice.

Point is there's a ton of people I follow on here who publish hundreds of chapters before taking a break, going back and re-visiting/editing the earlier work for physical publication. There's a ton of others who finish their stories and release them slowly so that they can edit as they release. Ultimately, because you're the writer and doing what works best for you, no matter what you choose to do, it's the right choice.

Speaking as a reader, I don't really care which way an author does things as long as they finish the story (or at the very least leave things on a satisfying cliffhanger where we can make our own ending). I rarely comment on chapters, and never like/favorite them, but the fact that I keep it on my list (and the list is public) should count for something. Dragons would do well on most sites, where people start getting turned off is the psychology stuff because it requires more brainpower than some people are willing to invest (there's a reason we call this place "smut hub").

Thanks it’s really interesting to hear things from the other side.
I think psychology in a story really helps show the natural reactions and behavior of characters, especially when it comes to trauma and its consequences.

Most readers don’t say much, which makes it harder to understand each other. So I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

I probably made a mistake publishing so early I only had 15 chapters ready for publishing and another 15 in rough draft form, but my perfectionism really slows me down when it comes to preparing chapters for release. I’m starting to rethink my standards for now.

But at the same time, I’ve learned a lot through the process. So in my case, I think it ended up working out… at least so far.

 

[soupsabaw]

Everybody is different. I think it really boils down to personal preference and your style of writing.

I try to finish the entire work before I start posting anything. This allows me to be stress free when it comes to posting work; I know my chapters won't catch up to me. If I can't get a chapter done in time for the next update then I would feel so much stress and I might rush it and create something I'm not satisfied with. The only instance where I post before it's completely finished is if I have a ton of pre-written chapters and/or it's nearly done. But I hardly ever. I like having it completed. Not trying to sell you on doing it my way, but it also allows me to reread it in one go and determine the flow of the story and keep an eye out for inconsistencies or plot holes or anything like that. Or even! Sometimes I go back and write in character things I forget while writing (Ex. if a character has glasses and you want to throw in some add-ons because you forgot to mention them more frequently). I've always preferred the method of having it complete.

Other people can write out chapters and publish on the spot. Their brain just flies. If that works for you then that's completely fine. I can't speak on this process because I simply suck at it

You sound like you want feedback. I recommend finding someone you can spoil the book for and use to bounce ideas off of and get opinions from! I have a friend who knows all my ocs and universes. She's a great help and always yapping with me and giving me ideas.

 

[Deleteacc]

I started publishing my current project when I was about three chapters ahead. I'm publishing one total chapter per week. With one chapter ahead on Patreon (which I'm now learning is not enough incentive to get people to subscribe--or at least no one yet) I'm currently publishing the 13th chapter here (14th on Patreon) and I'm writing the 15th chapter. I've basically not been able to keep up with writing one chapter per week and have slowly fallen to the point where now I'm writing the chapter that I want to publish next week and that is quite stressful because I want to keep a steady pace going for the readers. Not sure if I'll fall behind next week or the week after. Fortunately I still have that Patreon buffer to get me at least one more week. I'm close to the end of the book so I may just make it if I hustle, but I don't want to rush anything if I can avoid it.

Next time I'm definitely writing the entire book before publishing. At least one draft. This way I can offer the entire book on Patreon (which should be more enticing) and be far less stressed about keeping up with the release schedule. Of course this will lead to a longer gap between releases, but what can you do. Maybe I'll through in some short stories to remind people I exist.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

One more question for you writers. How do you not drown in your story? I do. Sometimes it scares me especially when I keep seeing the story in my sleep

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I have several going - that keeps me from drowning in them but also means it will take longer to complete

 

[HisDivineShadow]

I have several going - that keeps me from drowning in them but also means it will take longer to complete

Today, I wrote three versions of a chapter in my sleep and forgot them all when I woke up. ?
And this was for a story I started just to distract myself.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

I’ve decided to take the advice and experiences shared by others here seriously. I also read through many writers’ stories on Reddit, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who shared.
I’ve made the decision to stop publishing my books for now. it takes a lot of time and in return, there’s very little response from readers. I’ve finished writing my book about AI and will now move on to editing. The second book is still in progress.

I’m posting this here as a way to bring some closure for myself. Maybe it’ll also be helpful to someone else going through the same phase I am now.

 

[AdamKusy]

You could post the first few story arcs to see how the readers react to it. Then you can use the feedback to improve on your later story progression.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

You could post the first few story arcs to see how the readers react to it. Then you can use the feedback to improve on your later story progression.

I did. But I didn’t get much feedback from readers
?

 

[Madmcgee]

I did. But I didn’t get much feedback from readers
?

Sadly, you fell into the same trap that I have, and no doubt, many others have as well. You posted a huge chunk of your story all at once and probably got next to no opportunity for anyone to see it.

The best way to do it is, at maximum, a chapter a day, even if you only start out with one. There are so many stories that most people won't ever see because there's this 'idea' you've got to upload big when you start. No idea where it came from, but it kills me when I see someone with a few dozen chapters and literally no views.

 

[Anonjohn20]

either rush to finish the rough draft of my book

Try not to get burnt out.

or take my time revisiting the chapters I’ve already written, polishing them up

Many authors lose momentum and get writer's block when they try to revisit old chapters before finishing their draft.

I’ve talked to some experienced writers, people who’ve been doing this for years, and their advice was: just keep writing the story while it’s alive in you, don’t look back. Only after you’ve written the final sentence should you go back and start refining.

They are right.

The thing is, if I follow that advice, I won’t be getting any feedback or motivation along the way.

If you're pro-publishing, your editor and publisher do that; if you are self-publishing on a site like this one, it doesn't matter. Take the feedback and motivation once you're done with your current story so it'll help you for the next story. LOL

do I go offline and just write the whole thing without looking back? Or do I keep publishing bit by bit

You should write it when you can; it's priority one.

 

[BurningSunlvl99]

Well, for me i finish an arc. Like a chunk of a story and then move on. I don't think i have it in me to continue writing the same story, until finished. While writing I would keeping having ideas that doesn't fit in the story; So, write an arc got through it for any mistakes and let chat gpt get rid of grammer errors.
Done!
Now, move on. Write something else and if feels like it, return to the story.