I am just curious to learn and survey this matter. When do you usually decide to follow a novel?  Is it after reading the first chapter?  Or is it after catching up with the latest chapter?  Or is it after reading first couple of chapters?
And, why? 

I follow after reading the first chapter :) because if i enjoyed the first chapter, I have high hopes for the next chapters. Also, since there are way too many stories on RR it gets hard to keep track if I don't follow a story

I follow only when the story has captured my interest. It can be on chapter one or a few chapters in. So long as I am enjoyin the story I will follow it

When I find a new story I usually binge read everything and then rate and follow when I've caught up

I follow if I enjoy the first five chapters, and I always read the first five chaps before deciding if I drop it or not.

Usually after I’ve read everything available.

If I like what I'm reading after 2 chapters, I'll follow.

Three different reasons for me:

• Stories I am currently reading and want to include to my list so I remember to pick up where I left off.
• Stories that are on hiatus and I want to know if they resume so I know if it is 'safe' to start reading.
• Stories that I think are really interesting and a tier above the usual stuff I put into the 'read later' list that I very rarely ever check.

After the first chapters usually, as many have said. If I enjoy it, I will follow it

As soon as I see blue boxes I search desperately for the follow button.  I am not always successful because it is so well hidden.

If I come to the last chapter, and find myself wanting more.

After I've read the last chapter available.  At that point, I'll normally know if I'm going to be interested in reading more, as I haven't dropped it.  If the story was really engaging, that's when I look for that Patreon option.

tfisb Wrote: As soon as I see blue boxes I search desperately for the follow button.  I am not always successful because it is so well hidden.

What's blue box? 

Depending on the chapter lengh, i usually follow after the first or first few chapters (~3k words).

i used to follow in the past, but now I just check fictions that interest me manually

If I start reading from chapter 1, and I liked the story (and want to continue reading it), I will follow. This will be after I am done with my "reading session", which might mean I'm on chapter 3, but also might mean I got to chapter 30 in one sitting. Or, if I'm really excited about the story, I will open a new tab just to follow it (so I don't forget) and then continue reading. Also, this might mean that I binged all the available chapters in one sitting, and then follow afterwards.

But I will almost never read just one chapter and follow (unless there's only one chapter available, and I really loved it.) 

I usually don't even start reading a story until there's about a month of updates, which for a lot of novels is about twenty chapters.

I'll know if the novel is something I want to keep reading pretty fast; usually three to five chapters.

If I like it, I'll read until the latest chapter, and as long as I feel like I want more when I get there, I'll follow.

So the answer could be any of the above, I guess. Practically, it's after a month; mechanically, it's after the latest chapter; honestly, if I get five chapters in, I'm probably already following.

I put plenty of things on my read later list. When I sit down with a story and read, when I am done with that session if I want to read more I will put it on follow, and if it wasn't enough to make me want to keep reading I leave it on read later or in those few cases where it was uninteresting I just remove it from my list completely. Initial reading sessions can be a couple chapters or six hours of binge reading depending on what is going on. Most stories don't have more than two or three chapters to hook an interest before I move on, but can hit a squick and lose interest very fast. 

So its a follow after the first reading session if the story got me to want to finish it. 

When knowing what happens next is important enough for me that I would be willing to receive push notifications (though I believe that is a premium feature that I don't currently pay for so don't have).

Ranty-cat Wrote:

tfisb Wrote: As soon as I see blue boxes I search desperately for the follow button.  I am not always successful because it is so well hidden.

What's blue box?

By the time you find out, it will be too late.  Mwuhahahaha.