Should a novel long enough to be a series be published here separately?

[YS_og]

I am about to finish the 3rd arc of my novel that's over 320k words. I have 1 more to go and it'll eclipse 400k, and now I want to ask if it's best to keep posting as one long novel or to break it up?

Reason why I am asking now is because in between the break coming up between arcs, I will re-edit a lot of my earlier work (like cleaning up grammar, discontinuity fixes etc.) and republish while I write up the 4th.

I realize it'd be less work to just keep working on what's already published but I got commentary that being as long as it is, it's too daunting for new readers when they see there's more than 150 episodes and each episode is pretty long. Said it'd be worth considering publishing as 4 novels in series rather than 1 huge one, and that in itself would be easier to pick up as a new reader if I do pick up any new ones.
(No, I don't have a lot of readers as is lol)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[cherrystark]

Well what's your long term plan for the series? Would the story make sense if you broke it up into multiple parts (books)?

If a reader likes your series, 150+ episodes is nothing. They will read and come back for more. But if you're planning on it being one book, like it wouldn't make sense if you divided it into quarters, you could try formatting the manuscript now to see about how many pages a reader would have to go through if they read the book cover to cover.

[YS_og]

I realize the whole 150+ episodes thing would be a perspective thing. Person I talked to was saying no one has time to catch up to anything 50+ for novels.

I mean, I do have each arc ending as if it was its own closure but not fully, kind of like you'd expect in any series, I guess? And again, it will end at the 4th arc. I figured each being about 100k words each, but then again yeah to some that might be small?

I will continue to think about it, but thanks for the input.

[vapidink]

I get what your reader is saying, and it's true. A lot of people will stick with a story for 100+ chapters if they like it, but new readers will definitely stop and think about starting a story that long. If the story still makes sense when split, I'd say do it.

Right now, I'm actually working on a trilogy that was originally meant to be one book. While writing it I realized it would be too long as one book, and if I structured it right it would work well as three books and maintain three acts each, so that's what I'm doing. It's still the same story, but it's a bit easier to digest, and it gives me a chance to take a break between posting each book. It's also easier to edit the story when it's split into three smaller parts. Ultimately, it's up to what you think works best for the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it.

[cherrystark]

I mean, I do have each arc ending as if it was its own closure but not fully, kind of like you'd expect in any series, I guess? And again, it will end at the 4th arc. I figured each being about 100k words each, but then again yeah to some that might be small?

There really isn't a right or a wrong way to do it. You have to decide what's best for you and your series. A 400k word manuscript sounds really impressive in writers' circles but it's daunting to edit and a 600+ page book is a lot for a reader of a debut novel.

Just remember a good story should be your goal. Not a word count or a book series.

[YS_og]

"Just remember a good story should be your goal. Not a word count or a book series."

This. lol.

Yeah I definitely am not focused on word count or length. I am writing exactly what I feel needs to be written lol I just want to make sure I don't forsake or ignore the execution part

Thanks again for the perspective!

[YS_og]

Glad to see it wasn't just me Yeah that was along the lines of what was hinted towards me initially. Appreciate the input!