How Often Should You Update?

How often do you think writers should update to get (and keep) the optimum amount of readers?

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Maybe I'm just a voracious reader, but my favorite stories are ones that:

A. get finished
B. are updated regularly
C. are updated OFTEN. meaning every other day to twice a day.

When I update often, some people love it and some people hate it and say, "You update too fast! I missed 3 chapters!"

I am updating fast on my story because most of it is pre-written. I had written it a few months ago and only recently decided to share it here. When I post a chapter, I usually just have to edit it or maybe spruce it up a bit.

Plus some people are like me - they want something to read every day. I don't know, maybe I'm not considering other readers' point of view.

I update when I finish the chapter XD It takes me a while sometimes because I really have to get into character and make sure everything sounds right and it flows. My Dark Blue Eyes readers hate me by now cause I update like once every two months. Doppelganger gets updated once every two weeks, maybe....okay no maybe not haha. I update Cherry Soda Boy when my friend Sara comments it. I do take a while to update, so I don't really mind when another author whose story I am reading takes a while aswell. I am not really the kind of person who abandons a story if they don't update every day. The only time I really updated like...alot...was with Anonymous. I think I once updated six times in one day XD

Depends. If I have a lot of chapters written out, I give a "due date". One of my stories is to be updated every 11 days since I have the first ten chapters written out. The one I just finished got updated whenever I was done with a chapter - that was normally every two or so weeks. I generally give myself a due date. I hate when people update so fast. I don't always have the time every day to read, and sometimes I get behind. I am in high school, and have a life outside the internet, therefore I'm have other things to do than read. When I do get behind I never tend to get caught back up and I stop reading a story.

I agree that stories should be updated regularly, but then I'm notorious for being an extremely slow updater because I tend to either get homework, busy, I work part time and juggle school. So sometimes I'm just way to tired to even think about writing.

I also need to be in the right mood to write, otherwise whatever I write, I hate. I'm just odd like that, it's a personal thing I guess.

Yeah. I agree with Chelsea. You need to be in the mood. And sometimes, inspiration just strikes you and you need to just get it down before you lose it again.

I don't think there's any such thing as updating too soon. However, part of the thrill of reading stories online comes from the wait. It is awesome to read completed stories, of course. But the thing is...when you're still updating, that's when the story gets readers. Even if your story is finished, I think it's always good to keep a few days gap in between updates.

I think if you force yourself to update because of the reader's demands, what comes out is pure and utter crap. In my experience, at least. It might take longer than what you or your readers would prefer, but that's the writing process and what makes us writers. We write what we feel, when we feel it. :XD

^ Yes, absolutely!
Even though I don't actually have any reader's demands.

But still, it's unhealthy to update as little as I do. Although, it's generally the best authors on here that NEVER UPDATE EVER, but when they do it's pure magic. The ones who update every day, sometimes more than once, I seriously wonder if they ever eat or sleep.

Heh. Well basically, it's true what they say: you can't rush art.

I don't update unless I feel like it. :XD Because when I force myself, the chapter will end up being crappy.

I actually didn't update for 3 months!

yeah, normally i update when creativity strikes. but this story is finished. so now i like to update because i like the feeling of sharing it with the readers.

but i've decided to do something like what spaztastic said. not really give them a due date, but i just posted a note letting them know that i will update every day at the same time. because basically....i do anyways. but just so they wont be surprised or complain about it. and i told them to always check to make sure they've read the previous d ay's update. we'll see how this goes.

unfortunately, this is going to spoil them for the next story i'm writing. because i cant normally update this fast. my inspiration comes in bursts and then lulls. and i never know how long each period will last.

sometimes i have no ideas at all for like two weeks!

and i work on a million different stories at a time, so sometimes i just lose interest in a particular story. dont you hate it when that happens?

I update when I feel like it :cute:
But since I have like, two chaptered stories I bother to update, it's not a major worry of mine I update like every three weeks - month O.O
Or when I feel like I've spent too much time without updating; 'cause what I mainly write now is one-shots.
But I usually have my updates written down on paper then I type them up :con:
In general, I don't update my chaptered stories much. I have one that hasn't been updated since September :cheese:

But as a rule or my own, I never update by typing up my current chapter [aka the chapter I just finished writing] because I always need a couple of more chapters to fall back on.

I'm kind of bothered by stories that get updated really fast. I think the perfect rhythm is once a week/once every 10 days.
Myself, I don't really have due dates, though that's a pretty good idea.
I dunno, I update when I feel like it. Or something. Thing is, I sometimes get really into a story, and my mind is permanently stuck on it for a while. I can't possibly think of my other stories when that's the case.
It's also happened that my stories simply... die/go into a coma. Up to now, I've had 3 stories go into a coma, one is back, live and kicking, one passed away, and one... is still in a coma.

My readers probably want to kill me for how slow I update.

I usually update when I'm done...sometimes two chapters in a day, sometimes once a month. But generally, if it'll be a while for all my stories, I put a notice up on my profile, like now.

I don't like people that update twice a day [no offense Gianna your stories are nice regardless of how often you update or what I think about it :shifty]
I'm partly jealous at their high speed and partially incapable of following a fast paced story. And I mean if you can write 2 chapters a day why not make one bigger chapter ?
But if I really like the story I won't be that bothered about it. I suppose that's what matters after all, if the story is good or not, I don't usually unsubcribe.
Once a week is really nice though.

Lovesick.:

I don't like people that update twice a day [no offense Gianna your stories are nice regardless of how often you update or what I think about it :shifty]
I'm partly jealous at their high speed and partially incapable of following a fast paced story. And I mean if you can write 2 chapters a day why not make one bigger chapter ?
But if I really like the story I won't be that bothered about it. I suppose that's what matters after all, if the story is good or not, I don't usually unsubcribe.
Once a week is really nice though.

None taken. :XD

What really annoys me, though, is when someone has really long chapters and updates twice a day, every day. I can never keep up, and unless it's really, really good, I don't bother. :cheese:

I dont understand this "keeping up" thing. so i guess i need you guys to explain it to me. why do all updates have to be read at once? isnt it better to have someone update a lot and then there's material there whenever you want to read it?

i thought you only had to "keep up" with something that's running away. lol! all the chapters will stay there until you read them.

i am just confused.

i've started a lot of stories that were100+ chapters long and i would just go read when i could. they were constantly updating, too, as i was catching up. this did not bother me. ????

i dunno, its agonizing having to post my story so slowly when it only took me 2 days to write it. and yeah i have a life too. job, friends, family, etc. but i still write a lot and read a lot. and talk a lot. its just my nature. *shrug*

^ I read 100+ chaptered stories, too, but that's different.

Say I'm fourteen chapters behind, I go to post a comment, something someone else said completely gives it away.

Oh. I never look. Are there any other reasons its bothersome?

(I'm seriously considering switching to once a week of updating. I guess the general consensus is less is more)

When you're subscribed to like 10 stories and read 2 real life books and also have homework, it is :cheese:
I don't have the time to read that much, that fast. And if I lose track of a story I don't usually go back. Unless it's really good. I'm not that keen on really long stories either. I'm not the sensational reader, I like to read a chapter now and think about it for a while, what everything means and then write a review and such and then go to the next chapter. If I think about it I'm a horrible writer.

i think every other day is a nice rate.
i'll put up with slow-burners too, if they're GOOD. a quality update a month is way better than five lines of shit five times a day.

frankly: if you're updating several times a day, i fail to see how you can be putting enough effort in to make it worthwhile. either your chapters will be very poor quality, or ridiculously short - or both. i HATE fics with dozens of shitty 100-word chapters.

my chapters are usually at least 1000 words, [sometimes a little less, it's true], they're always proof read and beta-read by someone else, and that takes TIME.

any story that consistently has chapters of less than 500 words, isn't going to impress me.
anything that's been thrown up without proof-reading isn't going to impress me either.
and spamming my inbox with hundreds of crappy chapters will just make me unsubscribe in disgust.

</bitch>

I try to update once a week. I never force it though; if I don't want to write, I don't. My chapters are normally a few pages on Word. As soon as I'm done, I look it over and put it up so there's no delay. I don't like making readers wait any longer than they have to.

I won't read anything that gets updated more than once every day. Because otherwise with school and everything I just fall behind. If a story's good, even if it hasn't been updated in three months, I'll subscribe anyway.

I really don't like horrendously long chapters, though. I try to read the new chapter all in one sitting and then I get bored.