Should I change categories?

[Bad_Kitty3000]

Hello! I have just had my first short story published here. It’s doing relatively well it seems with only a couple negative comments. After seeing other commenters on here I’m wondering if I put it in the wrong category?
It’s a married couple where the wife is role playing as a school girl for the husband. I put it in Loving Wives, but maybe that’s not a good fit? Should it be fetish or erotica instead?

 

[Eyetheo]

No, Loving Wives sounds good, without having read the story or comments. As long as you included tags like “school girl” or “roleplay”, the readers can’t act surprised.

This happened with my first story too. It’s rather violent and involves non-consent. I regret putting it in Gay male, because comments were negative and intense. And rightfully so, about what’s essentially a rape, that I should’ve more plainly warned people about. Would’ve been better off in Reluctant/Nonconsent. But now I know. And I’ll be extremely picky about categories and tags in the future.

 

[Bad_Kitty3000]

Thank you! Yeah I had mostly nice comments and then one was like “oh this guy is a pedophile don’t let him have any kids” and I have it tagged with school girl and role play and married sex and other kinks. So I was a bit surprised when it was clearly tagged like that and they still complained! It’s a story between two consenting adults I don’t see the issue. People just have to complain no matter what I guess!
Thank you for your reply that is very helpful. I will have to check out your story now!

 

[RejectReality]

I think it fits the description of the category. The expectations of the readers — not so much. They're expecting infidelity.

If I was contemplating where to put it, I would have probably gone with Fetish or Erotic Couplings. Because the readerships there are so used to a grab-bag of different kinks, they're more accepting of edgier things like Daddy roleplay.

I'm honestly surprised it got through the vetting process. Roleplay like this has had a hard time passing for a decade or so, when the rules got tightened. Even the old 'standard' would have made me question whether it would pass. That standard was that the sex scene — absent any context from the rest of the story — couldn't be read as underage. I only skimmed, but I didn't notice any of the flags that usually had be dropped during the scene making it plain that it was roleplay and both people were of age.

As far as moving it goes, I wouldn't bother. By the time an edit to change the category goes through, the bulk of the story's lifespan will be over. It just makes extra work for Laurel for virtually no gain. You might be exposing it to additional scrutiny that could get it sent back after the fact as well. Like I said, roleplay like this has been tough to get through the queue for a long time now.

 

[Eyetheo]

No problem. Yeah, some people are always gonna complain, because it’s the internet, but there’s usually a kernel of truth to people’s criticism. You could interpret their comments to mean you should include disclaimers at the beginning of future stories about controversial kinks.

Here’s what I have planned for one of my next stories:

“Content Warning: This fictional story is about the exploitation of a vulnerable, straight, 18 year-old male by two older men. If that is offensive to you, don’t read ahead.”

And I’m sure people are gonna complain anyway. Lmao.

 

[alohadave]

If I was contemplating where to put it, I would have probably gone with Fetish or Erotic Couplings.

Agreed, leaning to EC, as role play is a light fetish.

 

[Bad_Kitty3000]

No problem. Yeah, some people are always gonna complain, because it’s the internet, but there’s usually a kernel of truth to people’s criticism. You could interpret their comments to mean you should include disclaimers at the beginning of future stories about controversial kinks.

Here’s what I have planned for one of my next stories:

“Content Warning: This fictional story is about the exploitation of a vulnerable, straight, 18 year-old male by two older men. If that is offensive to you, don’t read ahead.”

And I’m sure people are gonna complain anyway. Lmao.

That’s a good idea. Thanks I will consider a warning like that in the future

 

[Bad_Kitty3000]

I think it fits the description of the category. The expectations of the readers — not so much. They're expecting infidelity.

If I was contemplating where to put it, I would have probably gone with Fetish or Erotic Couplings. Because the readerships there are so used to a grab-bag of different kinks, they're more accepting of edgier things like Daddy roleplay.

I'm honestly surprised it got through the vetting process. Roleplay like this has had a hard time passing for a decade or so, when the rules got tightened. Even the old 'standard' would have made me question whether it would pass. That standard was that the sex scene — absent any context from the rest of the story — couldn't be read as underage. I only skimmed, but I didn't notice any of the flags that usually had be dropped during the scene making it plain that it was roleplay and both people were of age.

As far as moving it goes, I wouldn't bother. By the time an edit to change the category goes through, the bulk of the story's lifespan will be over. It just makes extra work for Laurel for virtually no gain. You might be exposing it to additional scrutiny that could get it sent back after the fact as well. Like I said, roleplay like this has been tough to get through the queue for a long time now.

I think it fits the description of the category. The expectations of the readers — not so much. They're expecting infidelity.

If I was contemplating where to put it, I would have probably gone with Fetish or Erotic Couplings. Because the readerships there are so used to a grab-bag of different kinks, they're more accepting of edgier things like Daddy roleplay.

I'm honestly surprised it got through the vetting process. Roleplay like this has had a hard time passing for a decade or so, when the rules got tightened. Even the old 'standard' would have made me question whether it would pass. That standard was that the sex scene — absent any context from the rest of the story — couldn't be read as underage. I only skimmed, but I didn't notice any of the flags that usually had be dropped during the scene making it plain that it was roleplay and both people were of age.

As far as moving it goes, I wouldn't bother. By the time an edit to change the category goes through, the bulk of the story's lifespan will be over. It just makes extra work for Laurel for virtually no gain. You might be exposing it to additional scrutiny that could get it sent back after the fact as well. Like I said, roleplay like this has been tough to get through the queue for a long time now.

Thanks! This is all good information to have. I had no idea about the role play thing so that’s good to know as well. I guess I should be glad it got through! I do see the issue if it’s not explicitly stated it’s consenting adults.

I won’t bother changing categories then, doesn’t sound like it’s really worth it. But all of this I will keep in mind for any future postings.
Thanks again for your time!

 

[RejectReality]

Agreed, leaning to EC, as role play is a light fetish.

Roleplay is a light fetish. Daddy/Daughter roleplay, not so much. I think it's probably a wash of which category would work out better. It's all going to come down to the title and description combination alerting people who enjoy it that it's what they're looking for.

 

[alohadave]

Roleplay is a light fetish. Daddy/Daughter roleplay, not so much. I think it's probably a wash of which category would work out better. It's all going to come down to the title and description combination alerting people who enjoy it that it's what they're looking for.

That's a fair point. Like many category choices, could go either way.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Hello! I have just had my first short story published here. It’s doing relatively well it seems with only a couple negative comments. After seeing other commenters on here I’m wondering if I put it in the wrong category?
It’s a married couple where the wife is role playing as a school girl for the husband. I put it in Loving Wives, but maybe that’s not a good fit? Should it be fetish or erotica instead?

Ooof. You jumped into the deep end.

Loving Wives is not really meant for what you wrote. It's a cute story, and there's nothing wrong with it, but LW started out as "infidelity kink" and kind of went from there. The name is essentially a play on words: yeah, they're Loving Wives, but they're loving someone besides their husband. While you can occasionally get a monogamous story by in there, especially if it's something like "this couple seems to be cheating on each other, but it's just an RP of them pretending to be strangers in a bar," the category tends to prefer sex-light relationship drama centered around infidelity to anything else these days.

 

[Bad_Kitty3000]

Yeah, I’ve kind of realized that now. But oh well…I’m not going to fret about it too much. Resubmitting it just to change categories is probably not worth it. But at least I know now! Like someone else responded, it will just make more work for everyone involved and probably won’t make a difference in the long run.
But I’m glad I know all of this now!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yeah, I’ve kind of realized that now. But oh well…I’m not going to fret about it too much. Resubmitting it just to change categories is probably not worth it. But at least I know now! Like someone else responded, it will just make more work for everyone involved and probably won’t make a difference in the long run.
But I’m glad I know all of this now!

To save yourself some grief, you could go in and turn voting and comments off (which you can do story by story, anytime). At least that way no-one can leave bilious comments, and you'll know better, next time.

 

[Britva415]

I think it fits the description of the category.

I don't see how - the description is:

"Married extra-marital fun: swinging, sharing & more."

The expectations of the readers — not so much. They're expecting infidelity.

I mean, no wonder. It says "extra-marital" right there.

 

[Constories]

Loving Wives normally equals extra-marital "stuff".

Fun, drama, heartbreak... It all flies there to varying degrees.

Monogamous married sex is not expected, and I've seen good stories be penalized for that.

 

[Heledd]

Living wives is weird, or at least, some of the armchair critics who hang out there are weird. If your story doesn't meet the expectation of a woman worshipping a strangers cock, expect some unpleasant comments

 

[Heledd]

They are weird in Loving Wives. Here is a selection of my comments. Don't take it personally!
######
by Anonymous user on 12/16/2022
Hit both fictitious cunts in the face, tell them to get their own fucking divorce and go home and get your imaginary manhood back!
by You on 12/18/2022
This is a disturbing story. It keeps on surprising me when a small detail takes on a life of its own and becomes a twist in the plot. I can see its only going to become more disturbing. Or I might just stop and they can all live happily ever after.

One thing that won't happen is hitting C and Jenny in the face. If that's the sort of thing that turns you on then you're more fucked up than I am
#####

Don't come to LW from other categories, it rarely goes well.
####
by Anonymous user on 11/23/2022
Wrong category, but considering how pathetic the story is, it's no surprise that the "author" is too fucking stupid to find the right category for this crap.
#####
More stupid is always possible, your story proves it to us! A normal married couple, but the husband likes to wear women's clothes? And she, confess to him that she has fallen in love with a woman and becomes intimate with her! Your normality has to be a very special one, if that's normal for you! For me, you're just telling a cheap cuckold story with a slut and an idiot as a married couple. Do you know why they are married? Because a normal man wouldn't marry a slut!

 

[Bad_Kitty3000]

What the fuck? This is awful. Does any of this get reported? I’m used to other sites where this shit does not fly. I know people are assholes especially on the internet but this seems a bit much. Also, this is an entire website devoted to porn is it not? Why do people find it necessary to be offended by something they absolutely do not need to read. Drives me nuts!
Anyway, thank you for sharing this and I’m sorry you received these ignorant comments

 

[RejectReality]

What the fuck? This is awful. Does any of this get reported? I’m used to other sites where this shit does not fly. I know people are assholes especially on the internet but this seems a bit much. Also, this is an entire website devoted to porn is it not? Why do people find it necessary to be offended by something they absolutely do not need to read. Drives me nuts!
Anyway, thank you for sharing this and I’m sorry you received these ignorant comments

If it gets reported, the comments will sometimes get removed. Otherwise, it's up to the author to police their own comment section via deleting comments or blocking anonymous comments.

LW is a shark pit that far too many new authors wade into unknowingly. You were actually fortunate that you waded in with something that didn't have cheating. It didn't trigger any of the camps that have staked out their territory there, and won't abide the stories the other camps enjoy being in the same category. Instead, most of them just ignore it because there's nothing to hate. A few half-heartedly take pot-shots at the Daddy/Daughter roleplay because they feel the need to hate something.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Living wives is weird, or at least, some of the armchair critics who hang out there are weird. If your story doesn't meet the expectation of a woman worshipping a strangers cock, expect some unpleasant comments

That’s about the furthest thing away from what most LW readers want. There’s a group that want swinging/sharing/swapping stories, but the majority want relationship drama; the wife worshipping a stranger’s cock, in their opinion, should be met with sone kind of reaction from the husband.

 

[NoTalentHack]

What the fuck? This is awful. Does any of this get reported? I’m used to other sites where this shit does not fly. I know people are assholes especially on the internet but this seems a bit much. Also, this is an entire website devoted to porn is it not? Why do people find it necessary to be offended by something they absolutely do not need to read. Drives me nuts!
Anyway, thank you for sharing this and I’m sorry you received these ignorant comments

If they get reported, they get removed, usually. But the author can choose to delete any comments from their own stories they want, and they can also choose to turn off anonymous comments, which is where the angriest stuff tends to come from. However, the idea that the entire site is dedicated to porn is incorrect; there is a non-erotic section, but, more importantly, several sections have seem a sizable percentage of non-erotic content posted over the years: LW, Sci-Fi, Romance, and Novels all have a pretty good chunk of NE stories, and non-erotic to mildly erotic actually perform best in LW.

LW is a great place to post in IF you’re prepared for the amount of feedback you’ll get and its possible harshness. In terms of improving as a writer? You’ll get more useful comments on your craft there than almost anywhere on the site, including Authors Hangout at times. You’ll also get people telling you your work is shit, or they hate your characters, or that you’re an idiot cuck. Go in with a thick skin and a IDGAF attitude (but DO NOT REPLY) and you can learn a lot.

 

[Constories]

Go in with a thick skin and a IDGAF attitude (but DO NOT REPLY) and you can learn a lot.

DO NOT REPLY is less of a "good idea" and more of a "necessity for maintaining sanity"

Me: "I love when authors respond to comments! I'm gonna respond to them all!"

160+ COMMENTS LATER

"Uhh folks, thanks for all the kind words. Ummm I can't respond to you individually. Sorry."

 

[Tomh1966]

Ooof. You jumped into the deep end.

Loving Wives is not really meant for what you wrote. It's a cute story, and there's nothing wrong with it, but LW started out as "infidelity kink" and kind of went from there. The name is essentially a play on words: yeah, they're Loving Wives, but they're loving someone besides their husband. While you can occasionally get a monogamous story by in there, especially if it's something like "this couple seems to be cheating on each other, but it's just an RP of them pretending to be strangers in a bar," the category tends to prefer sex-light relationship drama centered around infidelity to anything else these days.

The above is all true. I got burned (but not as bad as you) on my first story there. Actually I got burned on EVERY story there, even my best rated one.

LW is full of trolls and just plain sociopaths... and cool people. Funny thing is I went from dreading those comments to getting laughs now. I'm writing two reconciliation stories (A long way off but have outlines) and I am going to get some downright evil comments about writing 'cuck shit.' Funny irony, the wife comes up with her own list of things she will do to stay married and I copied the list straight from an anti cheating site of things a wife should to try to stay married if she is caught cheating. I will still get 'cuck shit' and insults.

PS. I write in other categories too. Mix it up. EC wont get nearly the number of views, but there are fewer sociopaths. EV can be fun.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

If you review the category descriptions you see that Loving Wives is meant for "Married extra-marital fun: swinging, sharing & more"
https://www.literotica.com/stories/
Your story was probably a better fit for Erotic Couplings (Wild one-on-one consensual sex) or Fetish (Feet, panties, food, and other kinky things).
You can ask to have the category changed but I don't know that it would matter as long as you've used good Tags. I use the Tags Portal for almost every story I submit to see what people search for the most. https://tags.literotica.com/

 

[AG31]

Hello! I have just had my first short story published here. It’s doing relatively well it seems with only a couple negative comments. After seeing other commenters on here I’m wondering if I put it in the wrong category?
It’s a married couple where the wife is role playing as a school girl for the husband. I put it in Loving Wives, but maybe that’s not a good fit? Should it be fetish or erotica instead?

Speaking from a reader's perspective, I've seen so many posts here in AH asking which category to use that I realize that different authors could choose different categories for the same story. There's no way to out think it. Consequently I always skim over three different categories, although what I'm looking for is very narrow.

I'm an author, too, and figure that anyone who is a good candidate to like my story, but doesn't pick my category (among others) is a rare bird.

Bottom line, don't worry about it.