Is it best to upload a novel chapter into one part or two parts?

RiidDisBuk 2019-01-28 23:44:19 UTC #1

I have started to post a novel and I first started to upload 2 parts for 1 chapter per week.

Is it better to post it a chapter into 1 or 2 parts?

orionsloosetooth 2019-01-29 00:57:46 UTC #2

Hi, RiidDisBuk! From my experience, I upload chapters in one part if they do not exceed the 15,000 character limit. If they do exceed the character limit, I will break the chapter into 2 parts. But sometimes I'll exceed the character limit to 15,230 or somewhere around there, so, typically, I'll cut the chapter in half and publish it in two parts. Also, be cautious when publishing chapters in parts, you don't want to write something in one chapter and not have it make sense in another — make sure the content is either the same and continuing the story from that chapter, so it doesn't confuse the readers.

I hope that helps! If you're still concerned, just ask!

RiidDisBuk 2019-01-29 01:01:44 UTC #3

That is so helpful! Thank you so much

Maps 2019-01-29 22:16:44 UTC #4

I do the exact same thing as you! If my chapter is too long, that’s generally when I will Part 1 and Part 2 my chapters. I will also split them up so they are pretty even in word limit (and so one chapter isn’t like 12,000 while the other is 3,000).
And I definitely post them back to back and don’t wait to post the second part a week later or anything.

laurelevermore 2019-01-29 22:27:53 UTC #5

I don't know if my advice is useful or not but I tend to post my chapters in small chunks. Sometimes because there are flashbacks or changes of point of view. Normally, I'd publish them one day after the other. So like, Pt.1 on Monday and the subsequent parts on Tuesday and Wednesday etc. I'd also label the chapters with pt1, pt.2 etc. followed by the chapter title. I guess this varies depending on how you label your chapters as well.

echoeotto 2019-01-29 22:30:13 UTC #6

My method's completely different from @Fanty's and @Maps's, actually

I try not to post a chapter all in one part/episode—personally because I prefer to break the story up into bite-sized chunks/scenes. A couple people have messaged me to say they find that method easier to read. I feel like it works better for mobile.

This is definitely important though. I'd try not to break up the parts in such a way that separates direct references or anything else that would make the part not make sense on its own. I also include chapter headers, thumbnails, and name my parts in a way that I hope makes it easy to distinguish the organization.

https://tapas.io/series/Dreams-of-Scale-and-Bone

(in case you want to see what I mean)

Obviously do whatever feels right for your story though! Stories have their own kind of natural rythym and flow that lends themselves to different kinds of organization.

Maps 2019-01-30 01:21:05 UTC #7

I guess in a way my chapters all stand on their own which is why I need to make my part 1 and part 2s stick together (I often switch between character point of views, so I need to have completion with my chapters as to not ruin the flow). If I have a part 1 and part 2 it's usually because I'm focusing on one character's POV chapter and I've surpassed the word count!
I checked out your style and it's very cool! It's like a long continuation of a story rather than cut scenes. Flows like a river!

echoeotto 2019-01-30 01:38:08 UTC #8

Ah, yeah. POV switching would make it harder to break up because you don't want to disorient people who are jumping into the story after X amount of time, especially if the chapter's from the POV of a side character. That's difficult. You're talking about Vows of the Sentinel, right? Your chapters don't feel super long to me, either.

I think I've seen more variation over on Wattpad, where they don't limit the length of parts. They have these annual awards, and somebody on the longlist for these awards had posted their entire book in one piece. There was some talk on the forums about whether or not that was a good idea.

Oh, hey thanks! I appreciate it.

orionsloosetooth 2019-01-30 02:49:53 UTC #9

I understand this completely! When I started my novel, I thought about putting it into small chunks, per se, but it confused me a little bit. It works really well for you — I checked out your novel and it flows well!

Maps 2019-01-30 02:53:46 UTC #10

Yeah, I was talking about Vows! I do try to keep them a decent length. Some tend to go longer than the others! I try not to drag a chapter out for words if it's going to dilute the story, if you know what I mean.

cleo_san 2019-01-30 15:17:02 UTC #11

I'm only a reader, not a novel writer, but I enjoy shorter chapters very much.

Reading long walls of text on a screen tires my eyes out easily, up to the point where I have to give up reading long chapters, simply because my eyes can't deal with that >.<

So, as from a readers point of view: Shorter chunks are better =)

echoeotto 2019-01-30 16:47:54 UTC #12

Aw, thanks ^-^

Totally. It's better not to have fluff. One downside to having shorter parts is that I find the length actually varies more because of stuff like this.

Ex: I might write a 2.3k word chapter. I try not to split in awkward spots or let the parts go below 500 words, so inevitably, one part ends up being like 800 words, which is 300 extra words, or a +60% difference. If I split that chapter into longer parts, say, minimum 1k words, one might be 1k and the other 1.3k words, which is still an extra 300 words, but now a +30% difference. So the length variance for longer parts ends up feeling more consistent.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Idk. Probably not a big deal. Something to think about though.

^^^ This is what I've heard other people say, too.

Ceru 2019-01-30 17:39:06 UTC #13

I would post it in one part if the chapter is within the limit. If you're going to do it in two parts--I mean, why would you? You might as well call it chapter 2 then. Otherwise, cut out unnecessary words if you're at like 20,000. All novels can always be edited for unnecessary words

My chapters are long and so I have to do them in different parts. That, for me, would only ever be justifiable.

I prefer long chapters and for me, I think I rather read them on in books (considering how I can't seem to finish a ebook yet) but what you know, it's the digital age so meh ¯_(ツ)_/¯