I'm starting to write a story but am wondering how many chapters I should be launching with, and if it's better to go deep on one branch at launch so there's something that has a bit of narrative depth to it, or offer a few shallow branches initially to illustrate more of the breadth of where I could see the concept going. And I get that this is probably a personal taste thing rather than there being any hard and fast rules, but... What are people's general preferences?
This is, as you say, a personal preference deal, but I feel that the best option is to give readers something that's best representative of what your story is going to be like. If the shallow branches are shallow because your story is intended by nature to have many shallow branches, then that could be fine. If they'll be shallow because they'll be written in parallel but none reach a satisfying conclusion, the deep single branch would be better to give the reader a hook to chew on. Personally, I find a new story with branches attractive if they're all interesting, worthwhile branches. But as always, if they're branches like "I turn down the offer, stay at home, and do nothing" that are clearly weak alternatives and only one is interesting, I'd rather just see the interesting one built out.
It all depends on the story you want to tell. One thing to consider also is if you want others to add to it. My very first story was pretty short on plot and though I haven't added to it in years it has over a million and a half views because others have taken it over. Anyone looking to add long chapters to a someone elses story are just as likely to want write there own. While a casual reader might be more inspired by a short story and want to throw there hat in the ring where as a grand sweeping epic would be a bit to intimidating for someone to want to just jump into the middle but they can have the most loyal fans who will go through and hit the like button on every single chapter. I think it is a matter of taste. As far as launching. I tend to start with just one chapter but have several written out or at the very least planned. Putting some time between your post gives more people a chance to see it on the main page. While a new story does show up on the main page it is underneath the stories that are currently updated so they are more likely to get noticed. A story with more branches also might get more attention then a linear story since it spends more time on the front page and a reader might have to go back to see where the story branched off while with a linear story the reader can just pick up where they left off.
I am still working on my first publication, but this is the current plan: Intro Chapter ~1,000 words Main branch: 10x ~1,000 words (I wanted to have enough to get people interested and keep people interested) Major side branches: 3 x ~1,000 words (1 intro chapter each) Worldbuilding: Complete (my story currently has 6 chapters introducing the world and various races...yours may not need this) I also have enough extra chapters for one chapter per week for a year, approximately 1,000 words each, so that I don't feel pressured when I'm unproductive. Though most of the chapters are my creations, I have a co-creator who is adamant that we should flesh out at least one of the side branches pre-publication, which means I'll probably be closer to two years of content in the queue prior to publication. I don't like a million tiny branches that don't go anywhere. My main branch is expected to be at least 50, probably closer to 100, chapters in length. Branches off the main branch will be intended to reconnect to the main branch, so that they are not left dangling, never going anywhere.
Actually, there's no real benefit to publishing more than 3-5 chapters of story content (i.e. not worldbuilding/notes/etc) to begin with, aside from some game mode related exceptions. Users looking at a brand-new story will only expect as much. If you're trying to maximise your readership, you should have several new chapters saved offline or in another drafted story that you can add to your approved story regularly over a few days. This will keep your story on the home page, and readers who take interest will see your frequent updates. Going deep or wide is personal preference, but regardless, you have time after publishing to reach that "satisfactory" state. If you decide you want at least one finished branch of 15 chapters, you can write the branch ahead of time and drip-feed it over a week instead of publishing the story with the branch completed. The number of potential readers that are turned away over those few days due to your story lacking whatever it is you have drafted - the rest of the branch, or whatever - is negligible compared with the visibility this gets you.
