long fic is long.

[kaydeefalls]

X-Men medieval AU fic is just shy of 80k words and it is a COMPLETE DRAFT Y'ALL.

*faceplants*

I was averaging about 10k words per week there for the month of August, what the everloving fuck. And then of course it took me two weeks just to write the last damn scene. But it is COMPLETE. I do not say that it is done, because my most excellent betas get to pick it apart some more now, and I already know I've got some serious revising to do in the earlier chapters. But still. \o/

Related to this, I have a genuine question for my fellow readers of longfic. I'm at the point where I vastly prefer reading longer fics, because I love having some actual plot mixed in with my ship of choice (and also, if I'm enjoying a story, I want to be able to really settle into it). I'm less fond of reading active WIPs, because I've been burned too many times by unfinished stories, and even when I know a fic is complete, I'll generally wait until the entirety has been posted before I dive in so that I can enjoy it at my own pace rather than the author's. However! I have also noticed that many readers seem to prefer for longer fics to be posted chapter by chapter, and it does seem to help build up interest in a fic -- if nothing else, it keeps bumping the fic back up to the top of the recent AO3 results list.

So I'm curious. Which method of posting fic do you, as a reader, prefer? All at once, or chapter by chapter? Or something else entirely?

Comments

[musesfool]

Complete and all at once!

[lilacsigil]

I'm so excited to read it! I definitely prefer to have it posted all at once, though other people have said they seem to get less feedback that way?

[tassosss]

If the author tells me that it’s finished and there’s no question mark on the chapter count I’m fine with reading chapter by chapter, especially if it’s on a schedule I can look forward to. All at once is good too.

[andrealyn]

I've really come around to loving chapters, especially if there's some thought put into it. It adds to the plot cadence and is something to look forward to regularly.

[rabid_bookwyrm]

I prefer to read works all at once, but I suspect the value to the author is in posting a chapter at a time on a regular schedule - it keeps the work on people's minds for so much longer.

[schneefink]

I prefer longfic to be posted chapter by chapter once they're already finished; frequency depending on chapter length but about every 1-3 days is usually my favorite, on a regular schedule. It'll definitely get more feedback from me that way, because if I read it all at once I definitely won't comment on specific chapters. And when a long fic is posted all at once I'm more likely to just bookmark it to read it one day when I don't have time right now, while shorter chapters are easier to read as they are posted.

[pocketmouse]

I don't read WIPs either. I don't trust that it'll get completed, like you said, and I also don't want to have to try and remember what details go with which fic, or that I might forget between chapters. Plus I just really love that feeling of spending several hours reading a story, and reading it all the way through instead of in stops and starts.

[via_ostiense]

All at once--I download long fic to my kindle for reading, and if it's posted chapter by chapter, I plan to wait until the whole thing is posted, but usually forget to keep tabs on the story and end up not reading it.

Congratulations on finishing the draft!