Tapas seems to advise people to post 500 - 700 words per part.

Which is, well, small.

I'm leaving my chapters at the counts they are now -- between 1000 - 4000 words (depends on the book.)

I was only ever given feedback about it once and it read: "longer episodes please."

So, I try my best to use up the character limit.

Longer episodes are better, especially if you're only going to post once a week however my suggestion is to leave at least 2,000-5,000 of the 15,000 character limit free. The reason I say this is that, if you want to add more to your previous work, you have the room to do so.

I tried going back to one of my older chapters because I wanted to add more to it. Give the chapter more description and just make it better overall. However, since I had already basically hit that 15,000 character limit, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move some of the text to the next episode because that was an entirely new chapter. I was basically screwed since it wasn't like I could post new material between two episodes.

Now I try to post in batches, posting enough material that's worth reading while keeping enough room open when and if I need to make any specific changes or add something.

(I know I am a comic here, but I promise I write prose too)
It depends on your subject, but I'd say go for at least 800 words.

For more detailed advice, I'd say it depends on the clip of your story. A fast paced story where you want the reader to constantly be turning the page should be short chapters that end with a bit of resolution, a bit of cliffhanger.

For longer stories, a long chapter can be rewarding. You can even purposely use a long chapter to create a feeling of slow tension or exhaustion. In general, you want longer chapters that give the reader more to chew on.

At the end of the day, I'd focus on making your story good. Some chapters will naturally be fast paced, others naturally need some room, and you want to break where it's right for the story. I'd put that first, and let the wordcount fall as it may. (That said, if your word count is falling under 800, you may need to flesh out the chapter a bit, because not much can happen in 800 words)

I'm personally of the opinion you can't convey detail in 500 words. If you want a long, intriguing series with a fleshed out setting you just need those words.
However some works like diaries or short stories that focus on interaction or a single plot device can work very well with these short chapters.

I've written both, and my result was more or less the following:

Short chapters? 3 chapters had 1000 + views and 20 subscribers
Long chapters? 9 chapters had 300 views and about 15 subscribers, and 6 chapters had 400 views and 55 subscribers

This is of course not significant data, but it kind of points towards shorter chapters = more views, but less dedicated subscribers.

I have been aiming for about 10k, since I feel that if it's too short, you'll leave people wanting more but I also want to leave some room for make adjustments when I am reviewing the post. I also think that about 10k allows me to get to a good stopping point for that chapter.

Perhaps that is why comics are more popular than novels(on Tapas). Comic pages are the ultimate form of short.

EDIT: Sarcasm aside, I think there's a general dislike of written text in our culture nowadays. And the more I look at the people who come after us(those much younger than us), the more I'm left with the impression that they're growing more and more attention deficit.

I've been on wattpad for a long time posting my writing there. I used to post full chapters all the time. This made it hard to post regularly though because some chapters are longer than others and take longer to write.

Since change to tapas, especially since they have a character limit, I have lowered my update word count and started spilting chapter in what I think is a decent place to split them. This means my posts are usually somewhere around 1000 to 1500 words? The only time I will post only 500 words is if the chapter is slightly too long to split the chapters nice and evenly. I think 500 words is way too short for an update and I feel bad if that's all i give to my readers especially since I only update once a week.

I mean, sure, it seems like the format works the best for those willing to split up their chapters literally scene-by-scene... Maybe Tapas isn't meant for wannabe epic fantasy authors. XD

Now, I say that, but the readership here still beats Wattpad and Fictionpress by a country mile. And I have a feeling that the staff is keeping tabs on all respectable up-and-coming stories to see which could be the next big hit

@daniellekoste At least you don't update once a month, like someone cough I know.

Not going to lie I was about to scold you for being too hard on an author when I realized you were talking about yourself?

Maybe I should still scold you. DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF D:

Writing is hard. I update once a week because I'm an author and I've sacrified time and money to make it my part time job (I work a day job only part time so I have time to focus on my writing career in the afternoon and evening, but that also means I make significantly less money than if I just worked full time) and I'm only able to do this because I have the support of my SO helping me

Writing takes up lots of time and effort that most people do not have. If you can only update once a month, so be it. At least that's one update closer to your goals

Also just so you know, it still pains me every time to spilt up my chapters, but I have to just to post them on Tapas with their character limit D:

Yeah, I do split up my chapters too, but I always upload the whole chapter over the course of one day. I would hate doing the weekly splitting thing to my readers. This is just a personal preference, not an ethic thing. I just find it so unfair that the readers won't get a "whole" experience, even if that "whole" experience is just another buildup chapter.

Now, this attitude probably won't earn me any consolation subs, but I think that it's the one thing that I don't want to switch away from. I'm able to control the reader's experience a lot more this way, even if I have to pay a major price of lower sub count for it. I can only hope that the steady, stable fanbase pays off in the future.

And yes, I was talking about myself. XD I don't think I'm being hard on myself. I just had to accept the reality - my way of doing things is less efficient(in increasing one's fanbase) than yours. I am not bitter about it, just slightly sad that it has to be this way. I wonder if there's any way to remedy this.

Okay, there is. I would have to write two chapters in a month. No way I'm gonna be able to do that with my current health situation. Maybe that's what I'm most troubled about.

But that's life. I'm mostly trying to remedy the low update schedule by arranging cross-promotions with people whose stories I like. I've figured that's the best way(for me) to go about promoting myself, and even help others in the process.

That said, I have had the time and motivation to keep writing scripts for two upcoming webcomics, so it's not all doom and gloom. Just figured I needed to clarify on this point, lest someone think that I wallow in self-pity. XD

Everyone's situation is different and we're all doing the best we can. Mental and physical health is so much more important and I certainly haven't always been posting once a week for similar reasons to yours.

Also, speaking from experience, those true fans are worth it. They made it possible for me to self publish my first novel and not dig myself into a hole of debt. I've had fans that have followed my work for years. The good ones will stick with you through anything, and 20 dedicated readers beat out thousands of occasionals any day just keep doing what feels right for you and the right people will find ya

Aye, that's what I've found to be the best strategy. I used to have a relatively nice following back in my fanfiction days, but that's just easy attention. Only a handful(I can count them with five fingers) of people continued on to read my original stories; however, to their credit, I took a three-year break from writing... So I guess the people who read my stuff now are EXTRA amazing people, then.

I also have a history in fanfiction lol. I'm pretty sure black magic and selling your soul to the devil are the only ways to get fanfiction readers to read your original fiction lmao

Close, but not quite.

Nah, I kid. You just need them to become fans of your writing, as opposed to the fanwork. I'd imagine this also requires one to have their own interpretation of the said fandom universe, and yet not be derivative of the original work. But then again, out of 600 readers and 170 or so followers, I suspect that only 20 or so would've followed me to my original original fiction had I started immediately after I quit writing fanfiction. That said, I wasn't as good at writing as I am now, so this was the better choice.

Honestly, who knew that by not writing for three years, one could become that much better? Me neither. Actually, it might have stem from the change in my diet, now that I think about it...

Anyhow, it's all weird and wonky and wonderful how one CAN actually capitalize on one's fanbase, if they're the kind to post reviews/comment on every single chapter. One such fan transferred over to my original fiction, and they've made all the difference.

EDIT: The numbers are not here for me to boast about them. I just wanted to provide some subjective statistics to people.

I'm also being a little facetious lol. I have some pervious fans that are now close friends who started with reading my fanfiction and went over to reading my original fiction, so I'm #blessed. It just sometimes seems like you really gotta beg people, while the readers come to you with minimal effort with fanfiction as long as you're writing a popular ship, ya know?

that being said, places like tapas that specialize in original content, really help with finding the right kind of people, obviously. I guess when you think about it, advertising original fiction to people looking for fanfiction is probably not the most effective way to gain new readers.

You're definitely right though about getting those fans of your writing. The ones that will read whatever you put out there just cus it's you, those are the jems.

I have to make a confession, though - my story WAS about the most popular ship, although I managed to cloak it in a grand epic fantasy narrative(that was easy due to the nature of the story).