Should I write long chapters or short chapters?

[Nafew]

I usually see a lot of writers who post their chapters daily but each chapters are really short (400-600 words).
Whenever I'm writing, each one of my chapters are around 2000-4000 words but I only publish once every 5-6 days.

Which method do you (experienced authors) think is better for gain more readers?

Here's the link to my story: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/613899/naruto-kai/

 

[NitroxDarks]

If I were a reader of a work that is uploaded every few days to up to a week, that is has less than 3,000 words would just turn me entirely off. On the other hand, short chapters aren't bad at all, but their release would also need to be more frequent, not everyone is content with waiting for days for so little.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Honestly, too long chapters are a slog to read.
Too bite-sized are kinda eh too. I will generally not stick with a daily novel that doesn't fit exactly to my tastes, so I'll leave it in the backburner to pile up and read it some other time that may never come.
Try 1200~1500, every 2-3 days - this feels more or less optimal, at least for me.
You should refer to your own reading experince though, first and foremost.

 

[Immortal_17]

I usually see a lot of writers who post their chapters daily but each chapters are really short (400-600 words).
Whenever I'm writing, each one of my chapters are around 2000-4000 words but I only publish once every 5-6 days.

Which method do you (experienced authors) think is better for gain more readers?

Here's the link to my story: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/613899/naruto-kai/

1500 words is the average you should aim for as a new author. There are many readers who will rather skim through the chapter just because it's long. Only make your chapters longer than 2500 words if there are very important plotpoints and scenes. Other than that you can split chapters however you wish. I usually write 3000 and more for chapters where a lot of stuff is happening. Side stories should have the most words IMO. My first side story was 7000+ words(20 or so pages). If your chapters are too long then consider editing your scenes so that you can divide them into parts.

 

[Jemini]

1500 words is the average you should aim for as a new author. There are many readers who will rather skim through the chapter just because it's long. Only make your chapters longer than 2500 words if there are very important plotpoints and scenes. Other than that you can split chapters however you wish. I usually write 3000 and more for chapters where a lot of stuff is happening. Side stories should have the most words IMO. My first side story was 7000+ words(20 or so pages). If your chapters are too long then consider editing your scenes so that you can divide them into parts.

This is exactly right so far as I've seen.

Most of the big-name series from Japan had 8000 word chapters back in the day, but even those are significantly shortening these days. In the English speaking webnovel scene, 1500 to 2500 words seems to be exactly where the goldie-lox zone is for chapter length. This originally developed with the writers who were pushing to release 1 chapter per day. At that release rate, even the absolute best writers who do nothing else simply cannot manage more than 2000 words per chapter on average. This has since become the expectation readers have for chapter length, and they will tend to grow exhausted if you make them read more than 2500 words, and feel like the writer must be lazy or like they're being ripped off if the chapter length goes below 1500.

You can stray out above 2500 by a little bit on occasion so long as you don't do it too often, but you should NEVER go below 1500.

 

[Nneeil]

Am I the only one has no issue reading 10k words chapters? If the story is compelling enough, the more the better I would say.

 

[melchi]

I think it depends on how much one writes in a day. I'd rather someone post a 3000 word chapter than two 1500 word chapters in a single day. I think it is best to not post more frequently than one chapter a day. Many of the stories that have big paetrons try to do 3000 words times a week. I don't think there is an absolute best practice though. The author of wandering inn often posts 20,000 word chapters and she is doing quite well for herself.

 

[LilRora]

Am I the only one has no issue reading 10k words chapters? If the story is compelling enough, the more the better I would say.

I can't disagree with that, and I also like reading long chapters, but consider that ~5000 word chapters take at least 10-15 minutes to read if you're a fast reader, and may go over 20 if you're slow, which is too long for many people. It can also get tedious if a chapter is this long, so long chapters need to be really engaging to keep readers' attention.

And in regards to the topic of the thread, I'd say that ideally you should publish a thousand words a day on average in a week (so 3k word chapter twice a week is really good, or 2k thrice a week), though that's really hard to achieve in practice.

Generally preferred chapter length is around 2k words. Shorter and you might have trouble keeping readers engaged because there's very little happening in each chapter. Longer... doesn't change much, though the further you go, the better your writing needs to be or it will just become tiring to read.

Generally adhere to positng at least 1,5k in a chapter and no more frequently than 1 chapter a day, and you're good. Also, if possible don't go below 1 chapter a week. As long as you don't cross those numbers, it doesn't particularly matter how much and how often you post.

 

[Shard]

I'd say whatever you are comfortable with is the best. That said, readers can get annoyed by massive chapters and tiny chapters alike. If you barely write anything per sitting, just keep in mind that you can merge things to make a larger chapter. Likewise, if you sit down and spew out 10-20k words, you can split it up into multiple chapters. Write however it works best for you, and post however you find your readers prefer.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Do what works for you and your lifestyle.

 

[Nafew]

Am I the only one has no issue reading 10k words chapters? If the story is compelling enough, the more the better I would say.

Nope

 

[lambenttyto]

Which method do you (experienced authors) think is better for gain more readers?

My experience is on Royal Road for this. I've uploaded extremely short chapters consistently, and I've uploaded beefier 2-3-4k chapters consistently and I haven't notice any difference at all. None.

 

[AiLovesToGrow]

I prefer longer chapters. Allows more narration to take the reader on an emotional journey.

 

[lambenttyto]

I prefer longer chapters. Allows more narration to take the reader on an emotional journey.

To each their own. It can be nice if well written. You would be surprised, older stories like what you find in the Arabian Nights and the Heike don't spend a lot of time on narration. Personally, I crave this older story form.