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Serial Release Planner
Tell it how fast you write and how fast you post, and it shows how long your chapter buffer lasts, the date it runs dry, and how many advance chapters you can safely put behind a Patreon tier. Everything runs in your browser.
Your current buffer, the chapters banked ahead of readers.
A pace you can hold, not a best week.
Your public release cadence.
If you are writing faster than you post, see when you reach this many chapters ahead. Leave at 0 to skip.
You post faster than you write, so the buffer is shrinking. Buffer empty around 2 Jan 2027.
| Week | Buffer |
|---|---|
| 0 | 12 |
| 1 | 11 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 7 |
| 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 5 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 3 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 11 | 1 |
| 12 | 0 (you are here) |
| 13 | 0 |
| 14 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 |
| 16 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 |
| 18 | 0 |
| 19 | 0 |
| 20 | 0 |
| 21 | 0 |
| 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 0 |
| 24 | 0 |
| 25 | 0 |
| 26 | 0 |
The gold line marks the week your buffer reaches zero.
A rough guide, not a rule. An "N ahead" tier lets patrons read N chapters before free readers.
| Depth | Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2 ahead | Tight~10 wk | Holds about 10 weeks at this pace, then the lead slips under 2. |
| 5 ahead | Tight~7 wk | Holds about 7 weeks at this pace, then the lead slips under 5. |
| 10 ahead | Tight~2 wk | Holds about 2 weeks at this pace, then the lead slips under 10. |
Copy a plain-text summary for Discord or Reddit, or download a labelled plan card as a PNG to drop into a Patreon post.
How the runway math works
Your buffer is the chapters you have written but not yet posted. Every week you add the chapters you write and subtract the chapters you post. If you write more than you post the buffer grows and you are safe. If you post more than you write the buffer shrinks, and the runway is simply the buffer divided by how much faster you post than you write. Twelve chapters, posting one more per week than you write, is twelve weeks of runway, and then the buffer is gone.
The burn date is that runway counted forward in whole days from today, rounded up so the date is never a day the buffer has already run out. It is recomputed the moment you load the page, so it is always relative to now, not to when this page was built.
Reading the advance-tier suggestions
A Patreon advance tier promises patrons a set number of chapters ahead of free readers. The three depths here, two, five, and ten ahead, are the most common serial tiers. For each one the table is honest about whether you can promise it today and how long you can keep the promise.
- Safe means your buffer holds or grows, so you can stay that many chapters ahead for as long as you keep the pace.
- Tight means you can launch the tier today, but the lead erodes. The week count is how long you stay at least that far ahead before it slips.
- Not yet means you have not banked that many chapters, so you cannot open the tier until you write more.
The tool never suggests a dollar price. Pricing is your call and varies by audience. What is deterministic is the depth you can hold, and that is all this table claims.
Everything here is computed in your browser
Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and the planner keeps working with your network off. The numbers update as you type, and you can copy a plain-text summary or download a plan card to share. WriteIDE, the desktop studio this tool comes from, tracks your chapters, scenes, and word counts across a whole novel, so your buffer number is live instead of guessed.
Good to know
Questions about this tool
What does the planner need from me?
Your current buffer (chapters written but not yet posted), how many chapters you write and post each week, and how many weeks to look ahead. An optional target shows when you would reach a set number of chapters ahead.
How are the runway and burn date calculated?
Each week the buffer gains what you write and loses what you post. If you post faster than you write, runway is the buffer divided by the difference. The burn date counts that runway forward in whole days from today.
What do the Patreon advance tiers show?
For two, five, and ten chapters ahead, whether you can promise that depth today and how long you can keep it. It never suggests a price.
Is anything sent or saved?
No. The planner runs in your browser and keeps working with your network off.