multi category series

[Booleanean]

I've got a story that starts focusing on swinging, then shifts to polyamory, romance, and a bunch of same sex (FF and MM) scenes. I've mostly got group sex and same-sex sex scenes separated into chapters.

How should I categorize this? I'm going to publish it as a series, with 12 chapters and mostly sex-free epilogue (one brief aftermath scene in there, they really need to break in the new bed one of them got the rest as a house warming present).

What's the best way to categorize these stories? All in group-sex because that's the most common sexual scenario? Or in novels/novella's cause it's going to end up over 90k words? Judge by chapter, so the MM chapter ends up in Gay Male, the FF chapter ends up in Lesbian sex, and the chapter where the FMC confesses to her new partner in Romance?

 

[alohadave]

There's no right answer to this question. You'll get a bunch of suggestions as to what category to place them in. And you'll get some people saying to put them all in one category, and others who'll say to put the chapters in the most appropriate category.

You'll probably annoy some readers no matter how you do it.

 

[Bamagan]

You'll probably annoy some readers no matter how you do it.

What he said.
If you go the novella route, just be sure to use tags or a preface to let people know what kinds of things they're going to find there, unless you are fine with getting irate readers complaining about kinks they don't like.
If you go the installment route, you will probably see big swings in readership numbers between chapters in different categories, and you might not be able to depend on readers seeing each chapter if they skipped one because it was in Gay Male or Group Sex or whatever. If you have a tight narrative, those readers might get lost and complain that it doesn't make sense.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

 

[Altissimus]

Author's note up front, tags stated in that note, category of choice.

"Author's note: I could've placed this story in a number of different categories. Just so you know before you get into it, tags are: FF, group sex, spanking, bondage..."
"Author's note: While this one follows on from the previous, please note the change in tags as I like my readers to be aware of what they're letting themselves in for. Tags/mini-spoilers are: MMF, gay, non-human, domination..."

...or whatever.

I find this approach has worked quite well for me and so I use it on all my stories these days.

 

[Bamagan]

Author's note up front, tags stated in that note, category of choice.

"Author's note: I could've placed this story in a number of different categories. Just so you know before you get into it, tags are: FF, group sex, spanking, bondage..."
"Author's note: While this one follows on from the previous, please note the change in tags as I like my readers to be aware of what they're letting themselves in for. Tags/mini-spoilers are: MMF, gay, non-human, domination..."

...or whatever.

I find this approach has worked quite well for me and so I use it on all my stories these days.

To the OP: I second this, it's also good advice, but there should be someone coming along soon to tell you that prefaces are a sign of weakness, so be prepared.

 

[Altissimus]

Also good advice, but there should be someone coming along soon to tell you that prefaces are a sign of weakness, so be prepared.

I'm an introvert. I don't give a fuck what other people think of what I do.

 

[Bamagan]

I'm an introvert. I don't give a fuck what other people think of what I do.

Sorry, I meant my comment for the OP, I could have been clearer.

 

[Djmac1031]

My suggestion is: start the series in whatever catagory best fits.

At the end of that chapter, explain to readers that, depending on the events of subsequent chapters, the catagory may change. Prep them for it early.

I only ran into this problem once; my series The Jenna Arrangement has been pretty much E/V themed throughout.

But I reached a point late in the series where the story focused on their first threesome, with no real E/V elements.

So I filled that once under EC instead.

Didn't really matter by then; my readers who follow series are small but loyal and were invested in the story and characters, not simply the catagory.

Rope in enough readers early on, and it won't matter what catagories you bounce between.

 

[RejectReality]

I would stay away from Romance. Romantic interactions can fit just as well in any other category. The romance readers are a lot more picky about what qualifies as romance to them. It's more about the chase than the destination to them, and the chase is in another category.

Personally sounds like something I'd keep in Group sex. The readers there are more tolerant of M/M than most other categories. F/F is irrelevant, as it doesn't attract nasty elements anywhere. Double standard, but that's just the way it is.

I'd be leery of putting a chapter in Lesbian as well. Unlike GM, which is fairly tolerant due to the intolerance in every other category, the gatekeeping in Lesbian Sex is strong. A lesbian encounter does not a lesbian story make. Unless you've heavily carved out that lesbian section of the story without losing the flow of the larger narrative somehow, you're probably going to get pushback.

My personal advice is to keep it all in Group and make sure to offer a warning on the M/M chapters. GM is the only mentioned category I would even consider deviating to with a group/poly story, and it may indeed be worth the category switch for those.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've got a story that starts focusing on swinging, then shifts to polyamory, romance, and a bunch of same sex (FF and MM) scenes. I've mostly got group sex and same-sex sex scenes separated into chapters.

You've answered your own question - even though I think Group is the least responsive category of any that I've posted in, to the point that I'll never post there again. The alternative is Erotic Couplings, if this was my story.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

One category or several (many?) - good thoughts above, but my vote goes with ‘multi-if-appropriate’. Sticking with one tends to please a fan base who found you in ______. Moving around will bring your stuff onto the screens of readers who might otherwise never have seen it. Coin-toss.

Good luck.

 

[RejectReality]

Introducing yourself to new sets of readers is all fine and dandy, but doing so in the middle of a narrative that otherwise doesn't cater to their primary interest isn't the best way to do it.

If that's your goal, then wait for your muse to deliver a story that's meant for that readership, and introduce yourself that way. If you've written a chapter or a scene you think they'll like, then you can write a whole story that will do the trick as well.

That would be the absolute last bullet point ( with an asterisk ) of reasons I might consider going multi-category with a story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I've got a story that starts focusing on swinging, then shifts to polyamory, romance, and a bunch of same sex (FF and MM) scenes. I've mostly got group sex and same-sex sex scenes separated into chapters.

How should I categorize this? I'm going to publish it as a series, with 12 chapters and mostly sex-free epilogue (one brief aftermath scene in there, they really need to break in the new bed one of them got the rest as a house warming present).

What's the best way to categorize these stories? All in group-sex because that's the most common sexual scenario? Or in novels/novella's cause it's going to end up over 90k words? Judge by chapter, so the MM chapter ends up in Gay Male, the FF chapter ends up in Lesbian sex, and the chapter where the FMC confesses to her new partner in Romance?

Start by learning the difference between a single chaptered story posted in a series of individual submissions versus a "series" of related stories.

While Literotica treats them the same, allowing them to be posted "willy-nilly" throughout the site, they should always be treated differently by the author.

When completed, a chapter story will have one single overriding genre that dictates where all sections of it get posted, just like a printed book gets placed into only one section of a library or bookstore.

A series can target multiple genres while remaining true to the same theme or characters within the different stories, but each story has its own beginning, middle and end.

With no disrespect intended to my fellow authors, a lot of the advice provided above speaks to "audience" and how best to game the system here to appease certain readers. That's fine if you're only interested in throwing crap (figuratively speaking) out to see where it sticks best. My advice speaks to making you a better, more disciplined writer. Erotica can be good literature if you allow it.

Chaptered story or series? You decide.

 

[Booleanean]

Thank you all for the advice!