Am I the only one who does this?

[krait]

One of the most influential factors in whether I read an unfinished work is the presence of a defined number of parts. I'm far more likely to read a story that's at "Chapter 3/18" than one that's at "Chapter 3/?" ...and I often 'save' or 'subscribe' to fics but hold off on reading them until that finish-point estimate goes up!

Comments

[soc_puppet]

Honestly, I've just been keeping "Complete only" checked on AO3. I rarely venture out of it, except for specific authors or kinks or, occasionally, ridiculously high "kudos" counts. If I didn't keep it checked, though, that is totally what my strategy would be. Having left unfinished more than a few fics in my day, I like even the suggestion that there's an end in sight.

[dancing_serpent]

That totally depends. If it's a pairing I like and the summary sounds really good, and the freeform tags contain some of my favourite tropes...then I'll start reading a "Chapter 2/?" WIP anyway and subscribe to it.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm more likely to read if there's an estimate of chapters, too. Especially if, like me, the writer has finished the piece and is merely posting it in parts. That's why I distinguish if something is already done, as opposed to things like the poetic series which are usually storylines-in-progress even though individual poems are complete.

[tropicsbear]

I'm more likely to read the WIP with the defined number of chapters. You kind of have an idea of what you're in for? Unlike the "3/?" one that could go one forever.

[pennie_dreadful]

If it's on LJ or DW, I check the dates on the chapters to see how frequently it gets updated. On AO3 I just take a chance, given that the only fandoms I ever seem to get interested in are usually relatively small (or very small), so I'll take what I can get.

[spaceoperadiva]

I do that too. I have a fear of Chapter 3/??, after having read several ?? chapter stories that were abandoned by their authors. Really people, I have enough abandoned stories of my own without having yours stuck in my head as well!

[cluegirl]

Nope. I do that too -- but I'll usually sample the first couple of chapters, to be sure I like the writer's prose and characterizations, unless I'm already familiar with their work.