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8:59 am
August 9, 2014
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I adress this topic to both people writing and reading– what is a good length on a serial? Behemoths ticking in on 160-200k? A more standard 100k- to 120k?
Novel-length at 60-90k?
For my serial, Fallowfell, I had intended for the first book to be somewhere around 80k. But currently at 15 000 words and moving upwards, I don’t think I will be able to keep that limit. So I wonder; notions/ thoughts/ flaws / regarding length? Hit me
9:45 pm
May 31, 2014
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As long as it needs to be. I’ve written 20,000 words, 80 pages, and I still haven’t really gotten to the main plot of the whole serial. I am almost done with the first arc, but I’m planning it as
Series is organized into
books which have huge plots and are organized into
arcs which have big plots and are organized into
chapters which are organized into
scenes
So for example, I’m almost done (writing) the first arc, which is about my main character establishing himself as a super hero. This entire arc is just to get him involved in the world, so he’ll be able to interact with the first huge plot. But I haven’t plotted out the first book except in incredibly vague terms, because I don’t know how long it’ll take to hit each plot point. The first book, the first huge plot, may end up taking only 3 arcs but arc 2 and 3 are 40,000 words long.
Basically, I’m saying don’t worry about length. If it’s longer than you originality planned, then that’s how long it needs to be.
2:29 pm
June 14, 2014
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Sebastian said
So I wonder; notions/ thoughts/ flaws / regarding length? Hit me
I very much want my serial to finish out at the typical length for a sci fi novel. ( http://www.writersdigest.com/e…..itive-post ) After it finishes here, I hope to clean it up based on reader comments, put it together in a single file, and get harshly rejected by agents for a reasons of writing quality rather then length. 
One could argue that I’m being silly, as it will probably be rejected because I’ve already published it as a web serial.
10:45 pm
June 14, 2014
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I started with the idea of writing a novel BEFORE I discovered Starter Serials so I’m going to follow my story for as long as it needs – no matter how many words a serial needs. Currently, I’m sitting at 24K and I’m pretty sure I will be seeing 75K. I would LOVE to hit 100,000 words.
9:46 pm
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May 15, 2014
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I don’t think there’s any standard length — unless you’re trying to think about what comes after it’s done. If you’re planning to rework it and attempt to submit, you’ll have to look at genre specifications and sort that out.
Since I wasn’t planning on doing anything but selfpublishing, I let myself wander close to 200k. >_<
That wasn’t a problem for me until it came to formatting the work for print. The work is like 500 pages in print. It’s extremely cost-ineffective as a book.
I’m hoping the follow-up volume will come in lower but it’s hard when serializing to be that efficient. :/
12:35 am
February 1, 2015
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I am a big advocate of just letting the story flow, and if it gets too long, breaking up into volumes. I just love telling stories. I guess I’l figure out the length when I’m done.
Scincerely, Scintor
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