Appropriate # of Pages for Individual Chapters?

[paracosmlex]

On a different comic forum I've joined, a guy finished an entire story arc in 12 pages. He had a pretty interesting idea, it wasn't that simplistic.

I looked at my own W.I.P. script and I'm already on page sixteen......and still technically in chapter one.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting to be a bit too wordy, drawing my scenes out too much, or maybe the page numbers aren't anything to worry about? @.@

[Aetherwing]

I generally see comic issues being like 22-24 pages so I don't think you have anything to worry about! My own comic, Aetherwing has an average of around 22 per chapter, and I think that's a good size (I've had issue one printed before and it worked out fairly well I think?)

But I also think it depends on your story. Some stories can get away with having shorter arcs and others can't. As long as it's under like 30 pages and has good pacing, it should be fine!

[AnnaLandin]

It depends entirely on the story, really.

My chapters vary in length, because I make them as long as they need to be. I try to pace stuff after what happens, rather than how many pages they take up - so some chapters end up being 33 pages, and other chapters end up being 17. I COULD pad out the 17-page chapter to make it longer - but why should I?

Drawing out scenes longer than they need to be is something I have to struggle with as well. It's probably the heavy manga influence - where the stories are generally slower-paced, with lots of space for atmosphere (which is is nice, if you can pull it off well!) - but I have a tendency to slow things down. To counter this, I storyboard meticulously, and try to fight against the urge to drag things out - if I can tell a plotpoint in one page, I probably should. Aim for the least amount of pages you need to get the story across.

Perhaps the guy who did the 12-page arc has found a way to condense his story and cut down on length. Perhaps he had a less complex story to tell, thus requiring fewer pages. Knowing nothing about your story, I can't tell you if 16 pages is too much or too little.

Don't measure your page-count against what other people are doing - measure it against what your story needs.

[Kura]

If you're just releasing on the internet, you really don't have to worry about how many pages a chapter will be, you get a lot of freedom via digital releases than you don't get when trying to work with print restrictions. Even if you're thinking of printing it later on the page count is between you and the printer and no other party. (technically you don't even have to worry about following a specific page size if you release it on sites compatible with that type of formatting and plan to do no printing at all)

I like to keep mine at a 40 page range per chapter (sometimes chapters will be under or over that number, but I still try to keep close to it I just like a somewhat consistent chapter size for my own stuff) For me it's just easier for my own scheduling and layout purposes, as well as works best for the way that I write and storyboard.

Honestly go by what works the best for you and your story, after all, what is works best for someone else and their story may not work best for what you need.

EDIT: Apologies, I replied to the wrong person, I actually meant to reply to the original post.

[KSlinger]

I've got to be looking at 50-60 pages for my first chapter. I don't think it really matters though. It's not like I count the pages in a book, I only anticipate the end of a chapter as the story narrows down.

[KrugosNavarro]

As it was mentioned in previous comments, do what your story requires. If you're posting all the pages into a single Tapastic format episode, I think there's a limit of 40 pages or something like that, so that should be your guide; if you're posting individual pages, then there's no limit, use as many as you need per chapter.

[xo1]

Depends, I have a mini chapter that is only 2 pages. Do what feels good.

[Doubtcent]

In the professional manga industry, you are told to (after you are greenlit for a series) make 40 pages your first chapter, around 30 or 25 pages for the second chapter, then around 10-12 pages for every chapter after that.

[Kayke]

As a kid, I once asked one of my teachers how long the story I was writing should be and she responded "how long is a piece of string?" and that always stuck with me.

A piece of string can be any length and so can your stories/chapters. I've had mini-chapters that told whole stories in only 11 pages... but I've also had chapters that took 40 pages to tell the whole story. The great thing about webcomics is that there's no limits or requirements in length.

[eschaefges]

I agree with all the wisdom said - however, i would add the caveat "don't make the story longer than you are willing to finish". If you make a 2000 page epic, but stop producing at page 250, well... people may be less inclined to view your next work. I've learned from experience in the past that it is important to finish what you start. Director James Gunn (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy) says this is the #1 rule of writing. If you are committed, then length is no object! You dont even NEED chapter breaks - however they can be useful places for breathers in production.

[Kayke]

don't make the story longer than you are willing to finish

GOOD POINT! There is a certain artist, who's name I will not mention, who had started this really great comic and never finished it... she just completely let it hanging! And now she has started another comic and I can't bring myself to read it because a) I'm a little miffed she didn't finish the other story which I was already invested in and b) I don't want to get invested in a new set of characters if the same thing might happen

[paracosmlex]

To @Aetherwing, @AnnaLandin, @kurapikasuki, @ScampiCub, @KrugosNavarro & @xo1 - Thank you for the advice! You're all very wise and I appreciate that, and I feel a bit better now hehe. ^.^ I'll be keeping an eye on the pacing of my own piece and a little less comparison to the difference of other peoples' work.

To @vincentprendick - I'm an avid manga reader and I can honestly say I did not know that! I guess the pace of the beginning of most manga series is a bit slower though, I never noticed the difference personally haha. Thanks for the info!

@Kaykedrawsthings - Sounds like you had very interesting teachers, and that's a nice piece of advice to remember. =]

@eschaefges - That's a reallly good point, thank you. I have an awful track record of that kind of behaviour (especially during NaNoWriMo) that I'm trying really hard to break - I start off really strong and slowly my ability/interest tapers off and I get distracted/overwhelmed by another story or something going on IRL. I'll try to remember that as I work on this series. x.x