As long as each part is - at least at some level - able to stand alone, I think it should be acceptable to submit them separately. Parts that can't exist or be understood except in the context of the larger story, should be submitted only as part of a single larger submission. (Just my opinion. :shrug:)
I say that because I have been close to - or over - that line myself once. I originally submitted "After a Door Slams" thinking that it was done. Only after I submitted it, did I start on the sequel. In retrospect, the three "Door Slams" stories are at (or over) the edge of what was allowed.
Now I am planning to do something like that again. I wrote LLMS several years ago as a stand-alone. Now I plan to add (at least) four more parts to that arc. Each will be written with the goal of being able to be read as stand-alone parts, but will be tightly linked to the others of the series.
I was plotting LLM... stories while this thread was in process. Between my history with the "Door Slams" stories and my plans for LLM..., I am keenly interested.
Now, all that said, I don't really have a strong opinion. If I had to do it over, "Door Slams" would be one longer story in three movements. (Actually four, since "Evening After" is itself in two movements.) As for my planned LLM... stories, I have no idea what I would do now if I hadn't started by writing the last part three years before the first part. As things are, I plan to submit them in parts.
However, I'm a "color within the lines" sort of person and am happy to drift with the tide.
Bob
