(I scrolled down the list of suggested features but couldn’t find this, please merge with an existing topic if you see one.)
Just like we can specify if the story has been completed or more episodes are coming soon, we could specify the average chapter length. Obviously, this depends a lot on the reading speed, but we can select a range to give the reader an idea of how long the chapters in this story are.
We could have a dropdown menu with ranges like 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30 minutes etc.
It would help a lot because many readers select stories to read based on the chapter length. If they see that the chapters are too long for their taste, they will read a different story without ruining the writer’s retention.
I like the idea of this, but I’m not sure this is something I’d use to be honest. Judging reading speeds is very difficult. I’ve read chapters in 13 or so minutes, when it’s taken others around 20. I’d also worry that it would put more people off. I know if I saw a story more than 10-15 minute chapters, I probably wouldn’t start it. Others may not start anything less than 15-20 minutes. Again though, what’s 10 minutes to one person, can be completely different to another.
I appreciate it would be a good way to help readers when deciding on if to read, but I guess my fear is, I or others could be missing out on great stories because the chapter length put them off (me included) when actually if they read it, they may enjoy it so much, that the length of the chapter may not bother them.
As said above, I also feel it is so hard to get an average time, plus different chapters could vary. I’ve read stories with mixes of chapter lengths, some 10 minutes, some 20 for example.
I think there’s pros and cons to this. But ultimately, if it was optional information, then an author can decide if they want to add this and if they feel they would be able to select an average length based on their story x