When Do You Submit New Chapters?

Discuss the perceived "best" and "worst" times to upload new chapters.

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See, today, I was going to upload the second chapter of my fic, but then I realized it was 9/11. No problem, it's not like RWBY has anything to do with that. Then I went to Word and looked at what I'd chose to name the chapter - "Assassin". Not that bad right? Not like I named it 'crash, boom, or hijacking'.

But it bothered me; I'm uploading this chapter late, and people were checking to see if I'd updated yesterday, so they might be checking again - how does that look if I held back a chapter with a name like that until today? An incredibly unfortunate coincidence, true. I didn't plan it. But, the only way I'd feel good about it is if I brought up and explained that coincidence in an author note which A) I don't like doing, and B) would draw attention to the fact that I picked today to upload a chapter about an assassin.

Suffice to say, this is one of those "bad" times to upload a chapter that features violence.

Akira Toriyama (April 5 1955 - March 1, 2024).

How likely do you think it is that the readers will notice if you don't draw attention to it?

In any case, just do as your conscience commands you.

Unless it's a holiday special, for me, one time is as good as any other. So once I'm comfortable with a chapter, I post it.

Of course, now I realize: I can just take the chapter title out and upload it; then re-upload it with the title added since it bothers me so much.

Akira Toriyama (April 5 1955 - March 1, 2024).

The next one's due when Half Life 3 is ready

Wait. What. I typo'd and accidentally created a second profile? Fix it.

When they're done.

Nous restons ici.

See, there are so many ways you could have done that on purpose and hopefully had it turn out awesome.

As far as my fics, most of the update on an as-I-write-it schedule. Only one of my fics actually gets beta'd^note and my beta is about to move cross country, so who knows when the chapter I wrote yesterday will get read, so I tend to write it, read it one more time myself to catch the obvious SPAG errors, and then upload.

I have noticed that fics uploaded mid-week get fewer views than when I upload on a Monday or Friday. Not entirely sure why that is.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

Wow, well then, I'll watch out to upload all mine on Mondays and Fridays!

Or I would, if I bothered, but honestly...if I write a chapter/fic, I read over it again for spell check and stuff, and if I'm satisfied I directly upload it.

No you can't call me Jar(i) I am not a glass container

Normally I do too. I've just noticed it with my most popular fic, I tend to get more reviews and more views if I upload on a Mon/Fri than any other day of the week. That's not exactly scientifically sound, of course. But it's why I try to write that particular story on a Thursday for uploading the next day.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

Hot off the press.

Well, after I've had time to check and edit. Since I have a bad habit of writing late at night, if I finish a chapter at three or four in the morning, I'll save posting it until the next day, after reading over it again because I know that the brain gets funny when I'm tired.

I don't usally pay attention to dates. The only time I recall doing that was when I was set to go to Otakon, 2013 and decided "No writing!" the week before in order to get my sleep schedule adjusted to something more normal in preparation for the trip to and the rigors of the con. So, I guess there's that - if I'm planning a major trip, I'll hold off on working on things altogether to keep it from triggering or feeding into my hypomania.

Otherwise... I find that when something is going wrong in people's lives... sometimes reading a fan fiction can be a welcome distraction.

In which I attempt to be a writer.

I'm yet another one of those who posts 'em when they're done.

Rarely, if ever, will I hold a chapter back after it's been completed. There's no point in doing so. I also don't keep schedules, either. It's written when it's written if it's written. If I were being paid, though...

himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimari

Hmm... So what if you complete multiple chapters in a week? My biggest concern is updating TOO fast. I'm a very fast writer, and when I get motivated, the words come flying out of my fingertips, but since my chapters can be anywhere from 5k - 8k words, I don't want to slam my readers with too much at once.

Is twice a week too fast? I could just build a steady buffer for myself, that way if I get busy, I have something to fall back on.

My Fanfiction Account | Kingdom Hearts: The Antipode series

Twice a week would be as often as I would post it. Anything more for chapters of that length starts getting to much, to fast for some readers. And having a buffer is nice as if you need to stop writing for some reason, you can still keep releasing.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I prefer to go once a week just to give my readers some breathing room, so I'll probably only do twice a week if the chapters aren't too insanely long. Plus, I feel like building a buffer and just holding onto those chapters means I can go back and tweak them rather than rushing in for an update.

The question is, which days to post on? I've mostly been updating on weekends, but I'm not sure if that is ideal.

My Fanfiction Account | Kingdom Hearts: The Antipode series

I try to belt out chapters on each Saturday, but that's just because I'm neurotic and am compelled to keep a schedule, I might start doing every other or so since I want to start writing longer chapters and I am an almost cripplingly non-spontaneous writer.

Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.

I once posted two chapters in twelve hours.

If it's written, I'll post it. Don't really care about building a buffer because I'm not on a schedule, so a buffer is totally pointless.

himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimari

For the current thing I'm writing, once a week.... and I did another one every 2 days....

My AO3. Results may vary

With how I'm writing for Na No, I now face the decision of updating today, doing two updates two days in a row, or holding off and posting tomorrow, knowing that I'll probably write another full chapter worth before the weekend is over. I've already done three chapters this week.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

I post when I'm done, but I also keep a semi-backlog in that I plan my fics out and write scenes ahead when the mood strikes.

Hail Martin Septim!

Oh wow. I post maybe once or twice a month because I'm busy with school.

-sighs-
Okay, so if a fanfic posts two chapters on it's first day, the next chapter two weeks later, and then doesn't have another for a month, is that really bad?

Fucking finals...

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

Pace yourself. Post one chapter a week, and if you write more than that, then you have a buffer for emergencies—emergencies like finals.

Well, it's kinda too late to start building a buffer for finals now...

What I described is the situation I'm in. I posted the prologue and Chapter One together, then fired off Chapter Two roughly two weeks later, and now it's nearing a month later.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

I have been fanwriting for almost nine years. In that time, my updates have gone from once a day to once every several months. What I've found is that the longer you've been writing, the more random your update times.

FF.net, AO 3, and Quotev as Archdemon Slayer

Due to my tendency to drop two chapters and then move on, I no longer post multichapters until I have at least five solid chapters written in advance, which I then space out and publish every other month or so. And even that has never worked out cuz all my multichapters are unfinished.

Edited by mightymewtron on Apr 11th 2021 at 4:49:00 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

I try to do at least one new chapter a month, because when I tried to tether myself to a biweekly schedule on my original story, I found that my muse wouldn't always cooperate and I wouldn't have the drive to write even a little bit. I eventually wound up dropping it in favor of fanfiction, where chapter releases are generally much slower-paced than that of original fiction.

I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!