Today's Question: How do you categorize your work???

[Theylo_Bleu]

Incest and LW, I'll never get good views, haha. Just not my thing personally but not shame to all who enjoy. Does romance do well?

That's a great question - cause that can seem almost like a separate sites worth of focus

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

I almost entirely stick to Exhibitionist/Voyeur. Some of my stuff could probably fit into other categories - they don't necessarily include a lot of super public sex or people watching (though some of them do), but I think I stick with that category because of the spirit of the thing. I enjoy playing around with the feeling and thrill of being exposed. So I think for me it's less about checking the boxes of plot requirements than it is about the element of the story that turns me on. And that's the EV stuff.

you are speaking my language. almost my entire series is in that world and the extended lore is all based on the POV watching someone else exist and such. Also, as a writer, I feel like "I'm watching my characters live" so it deepens the voyeur of it all.

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

I tend to stick to E&V as well. My stories do tend to feature public-ish nudity and sex, but don't usually focus on it. Still, the category has seemed to have turned into a grab-bag of sorts. So long as there's some tiny scene of sex with somebody else in the room, or a hint of even potential public exposure, almost anything seems to do well there.

My stories usually wander across category lines with impunity. I like to focus on what is going through people's heads rather than just what's going on lower, and people aren't as one-dimensional as the categories here. And I tend towards longer stories with more than one scene. I have been thinking about branching out though, but since most of my reading has been in E&V, I'm not as familiar with the expectations in other categories.

No Talent Hack's recent story about LW got me thinking that the draft I just finished might actually be a fit there.

100% me too as well

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm guessing a 20-sided die.
1 = lw for sure. Wonder what 20 is

I think 20 means "capable of consuming dragons at breakfast with a butter knife," but it's been a while since I've been a dungeon master. And I have no idea how that strength would apply here.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Ex: You've got a beautiful coupling, you've got romance, you've got eroticism, oh, and they're trans and two different racial backgrounds...

Romance? Erotic Couplings? TS/CD? Interracial?

A lot of stories bridge categories, but you need to put the work in front of your target audience. So all things aside, the biggest bullet here is that the MC's are transgender. Regardless of anything else. Readers who want stories about transgender people will go to that category. It's as simple as that.

 

[AchtungNight]

I let my POV character decide. Lisa was the POV character for Ruleskirter, she thought the Don Quixote references and inclusion of an alleged Faerie Alien Hybrid was enough for Sci-Fi & Fantasy. I personally think it would have done better in Romance. [shrug]

 

[EmilyMiller]

Today's Question: How do you categorize your work???​

Smut. Occasionally smut with literary pretensions. But still smut.

Em

 

[lovecraft68]

In terms of views, incest. Comments and votes, LW.

I'd agree for the most part, but an exceptional brother/sister or Mother/son can leave LW in the dust.
You also have to factor in the fact that some authors delete the nasty comments in LW which brings the number down considerably. That's not generally the case in I/T

 

[AllenWoody]

I think 20 means "capable of consuming dragons at breakfast with a butter knife," but it's been a while since I've been a dungeon master. And I have no idea how that strength would apply here.

Doesn't a 20 earn double damage?

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Here's a thread for: When you write a story that kinda sorta (or maybe a whole lot) exists between categories. How do you pick which one to put it in.

Ex: You've got a beautiful coupling, you've got romance, you've got eroticism, oh, and they're trans and two different racial backgrounds...

Romance? Erotic Couplings? TS/CD? Interracial?

Thoughts?

Put it where it'll get the best views with least hate. Or figure out the main theme and put it there.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

It also means "accidentally get a crit on your teammate as he grapples a baby dragon because you got a 1 on your attempt to shoot an arrow at said baby dragon."

I don't know what it was about me and him, but two campaigns together and both times I caused nothing but trouble for him. (Second campaign he lost all of his weapons, armor, and clothing for about 1/4 of the game because of me.)

D&D geeks. Ugh... going back to making another MtG deck, lemme know when this is over.

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

A lot of stories bridge categories, but you need to put the work in front of your target audience. So all things aside, the biggest bullet here is that the MC's are transgender. Regardless of anything else. Readers who want stories about transgender people will go to that category. It's as simple as that.

That's what I was thinking for sure

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

I let my POV character decide. Lisa was the POV character for Ruleskirter, she thought the Don Quixote references and inclusion of an alleged Faerie Alien Hybrid was enough for Sci-Fi & Fantasy. I personally think it would have done better in Romance. [shrug]

Oh my gosh, the personifcation of your POV like that just gave me internal squeals. I wanna think about my poeple like that!!!

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

Smut. Occasionally smut with literary pretensions. But still smut.

Em

Let's talk to Laurel and see if she'll add smut to the category list

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

I'd agree for the most part, but an exceptional brother/sister or Mother/son can leave LW in the dust.
You also have to factor in the fact that some authors delete the nasty comments in LW which brings the number down considerably. That's not generally the case in I/T

Is Loving Wives really that popular? What are these stories seven about?

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

Put it where it'll get the best views with least hate. Or figure out the main theme and put it there.

which ones give the most hate???

 

[AchtungNight]

Oh my gosh, the personifcation of your POV like that just gave me internal squeals. I wanna think about my poeple like that!!!

Sometimes it changes things up a bit, mind you. I posted a story about a foster twin couple in Incest a while back that got a lot of attention. The follow up story featuring that same couple and a lucky stag will be in Group Sex. He doesn’t consider the foster twins as real sisters, and it’s his POV, so it’s not going in Incest. Never mind that his lovers disagree. They had POV last time. Maybe next time they’ll get back in Incest. Or they’ll be in another category, should that be most appropriate. They hook up with Black Panther, it’s going in Fanfic, I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

Certain categories top everything else.

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

Sometimes it changes things up a bit, mind you. I posted a story about a foster twin couple in Incest a while back that got a lot of attention. The follow up story featuring that same couple and a lucky stag will be in Group Sex. He doesn’t consider the foster twins as real sisters, and it’s his POV, so it’s not going in Incest. Never mind that his lovers disagree. They had POV last time. Maybe next time they’ll get back in Incest. Or they’ll be in another category, should that be most appropriate. They hook up with Black Panther, it’s going in Fanfic, I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

Certain categories top everything else.

Oh snap!! changing things up!!

 

[M_K_Babalon]

which ones give the most hate???

It's not about what catagory has the most/least hate. Any of them will be hateful if you give'm a curve ball.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Here's a thread for: When you write a story that kinda sorta (or maybe a whole lot) exists between categories. How do you pick which one to put it in.

Ex: You've got a beautiful coupling, you've got romance, you've got eroticism, oh, and they're trans and two different racial backgrounds...

Romance? Erotic Couplings? TS/CD? Interracial?

Thoughts?

Depends on the story, and I'd always recommend skimming a few high-rated stories in the relevant categories to see what the focus is.

For instance, Interracial is dominated by stories where the racial difference is sexually fetishised, usually leaning heavily on stereotypes. Big black studs defiling hitherto-respectable white housewives, that kind of thing. It's not a great place for stories about people who just happen to be of different races, or even for stories where the background is a significant plot point but isn't in itself a fetish.

It also depends on how much you're prepared to piss off readers. Putting trans characters anywhere outside Trans/CD is something that can get a bit of backlash, even when it's not a major part of the story. Sometimes that's a good reason to do it, even at the cost of a few downvotes.

I've written a couple of lesbian romances here. One of them went in Lesbian, which is where those kinds of stories usually go. But I put the second one in Romance, because I felt that the romance aspect was the heart of the story, and also a little bit because I wanted to push back against the attitude that catering to people who are squicked by same-sex relationships is automatically the most important thing.

 

[lovecraft68]

Is Loving Wives really that popular? What are these stories seven about?

I'd say infamous is the word. Its a category where a large faction of readers show up to literally just hate on the stories there.
Its telling of a our society that when people discover a place that allows anon comments and outright hate speech how fast that group multiplies. Its a haven for outright incels and whiny 'scorned' men who hate women.

There's an element of sane readership, so you'll get some positive remarks and votes, but over the last few years the hate has taken over. If you want pure numbers like views and comments you can get them there, but unless you write "man good, woman bad" most of what you'll get is crap.

I'll drop something there occasionally if I have an idea for it, but just because I won't shy away from where I feel the story should go and I don't let the abuse bother me, to the contrary I smirk at every nasty comment because they're the type of person who's opinion means nothing, but I like knowing I got under their skin.

If the story fits and its your thing put it there and that goes for any category, but there are people here who would sell a family member for a high view count and that's why many will try a story there.

 

[Pabiporffor]

My last story revolved around a group of fathers who spied on their daughters. I was torn between putting it into voyeurism or into taboo. The story also covered first-time, anal and interracial to a lesser extent. However, the main theme was watching so that's where it went. The mods disagreed and put it into incest/taboo. At first I was concerned because that audience isn't usually happy unless there's actual incest in a tale. However it was well received so I think it is best not to worry where you stick it because the mods will put it in the right place if your wrong.

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

It's not about what catagory has the most/least hate. Any of them will be hateful if you give'm a curve ball.

Ahhh, and there lies the rub. I get it though. For those who are searching for a fix or to dive deeper into the world they find the most livable and exciting, you just want more of it in different bodies and dialogue, but, in some ways, you want the repeat.

I think of it almost like fruit. You know the general flavor and texture you want, but each apple/orange/etc is going to be slightly different from another. Same taste you can trust, but with enough variation to make it unique, or something like that

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

Depends on the story, and I'd always recommend skimming a few high-rated stories in the relevant categories to see what the focus is.

For instance, Interracial is dominated by stories where the racial difference is sexually fetishised, usually leaning heavily on stereotypes. Big black studs defiling hitherto-respectable white housewives, that kind of thing. It's not a great place for stories about people who just happen to be of different races, or even for stories where the background is a significant plot point but isn't in itself a fetish.

It also depends on how much you're prepared to piss off readers. Putting trans characters anywhere outside Trans/CD is something that can get a bit of backlash, even when it's not a major part of the story. Sometimes that's a good reason to do it, even at the cost of a few downvotes.

I've written a couple of lesbian romances here. One of them went in Lesbian, which is where those kinds of stories usually go. But I put the second one in Romance, because I felt that the romance aspect was the heart of the story, and also a little bit because I wanted to push back against the attitude that catering to people who are squicked by same-sex relationships is automatically the most important thing.

Oh I love this SO MUCH! Yes, what a fine line. and a great point. I do get a little worried about the things that will turn off readers, especially when there's a bevy of opinions.

In my world of stories, there are a lot of random additions, someone is lesbian, someone is trans, etc etc. These factors may be central to a storyline at a given time, but sometimes, its just a fact about a character and irrelevant otherwise to the storyline. I reckon I'll see how the folks of the world will feel about all that.

I'm often considering the "novel" category for my larger series because there's less expectation I think, but I don't know how the foot traffic fairs therein

 

[Theylo_Bleu]

I'd say infamous is the word. Its a category where a large faction of readers show up to literally just hate on the stories there.
Its telling of a our society that when people discover a place that allows anon comments and outright hate speech how fast that group multiplies. Its a haven for outright incels and whiny 'scorned' men who hate women.

There's an element of sane readership, so you'll get some positive remarks and votes, but over the last few years the hate has taken over. If you want pure numbers like views and comments you can get them there, but unless you write "man good, woman bad" most of what you'll get is crap.

I'll drop something there occasionally if I have an idea for it, but just because I won't shy away from where I feel the story should go and I don't let the abuse bother me, to the contrary I smirk at every nasty comment because they're the type of person who's opinion means nothing, but I like knowing I got under their skin.

If the story fits and its your thing put it there and that goes for any category, but there are people here who would sell a family member for a high view count and that's why many will try a story there.

the truth comes out!! deep. Well, currently, none of my characters are married, so I'll steer clear, and in general, my vibe is a little more "women get the win" in scenarios of that ilk. so, I reckon that's not my category, but also, a little yikes.