Novels and novellas

[GrantBricksly]

This category is new to me. I've never written in this category before. I've also never really written a story that had as many chapters/parts as this will have.
I've written stories that were in the same universe..same characters, and technically a continuation..but they were each standalone stories.

Now, these are legit chapters of one larger story. Chapter 4 is not going to make sense if you haven't read chapters 1-3..

So..my question is this:
When the whole story is done, and put together, there will be a good amount of sex in it..but how much forgiveness will I get from readers if I publish a chapter that has a steamy scene..but no actual sex?

In a novel...sex in every single chapter seems gratuitous and unnecessary. But when I'm posting each individual chapter here on Lit....I'm worried that a chapter without sex will not perform well...

 

[NotWise]

Novels and Novellas doesn't have a lot of readers, but the readers seem to accept a lot of variation. My one story there is in a single document but it's divided internally into twelve chapters. There's no sex in either of the last two chapters, and no-one's ever complained.

 

[SkyBubble]

How many words would novels and novellas be?

 

[GrantBricksly]

For what I'm posting here, each submission is a minimum of around 10k words...

 

[GrantBricksly]

For what I'm posting here, each submission is a minimum of around 10k words...

So far only one chapter is up..but the second and third chapter have been submitted, and I'm almost done with chapter 4

 

[Bramblethorn]

How many words would novels and novellas be?

Definition of a "novella" depends on who you ask, but approximately 17500 to 40000 words seems to be the usual range, with anything longer being a novel. I tend to think of about 80k-100k as being a typical novel size though some go much longer.

I don't think Lit enforces any particular definition.

 

[GrantBricksly]

Definition of a "novella" depends on who you ask, but approximately 17500 to 40000 words seems to be the usual range, with anything longer being a novel. I tend to think of about 80k-100k as being a typical novel size though some go much longer.

I don't think Lit enforces any particular definition.

That's about what I figured...and I've got probably a good 30-40 chapters minimum planned. So at 10k a piece, I'm looking at a total of 300-400k...
Though to be fair...I might split it into multiple "books"

 

[SimonDoom]

40,000 words is generally considered the minimum for a novel. The Great Gatsby is about 47,000 words. That's a short novel, but it's a novel.

Literotica reader story preferences, based on data, skew long. 20,000 words probably is long enough to be a novella by conventional standards, but there are many Literotica stories published in other categories that are that long or longer.

If you have a long story that isn't clearly anchored in another category, then I think N&N would be appropriate. But if the story clearly falls in a well-defined category, I'd recommend posting it in that category rather than Novels and Novellas, to maximize your ability to reach the appropriate receptive audience.

 

[THBGato]

but how much forgiveness will I get from readers if I publish a chapter that has a steamy scene..but no actual sex?

You'll be fine. I've got five chapters of stories up that are sex free and all are 4.8+. That is in lesbian though - might be different in other categories. But I suspect not - often the anticipation is the most exciting part.

 

[MelissaBaby]

This category is new to me. I've never written in this category before. I've also never really written a story that had as many chapters/parts as this will have.
I've written stories that were in the same universe..same characters, and technically a continuation..but they were each standalone stories.

Now, these are legit chapters of one larger story. Chapter 4 is not going to make sense if you haven't read chapters 1-3..

So..my question is this:
When the whole story is done, and put together, there will be a good amount of sex in it..but how much forgiveness will I get from readers if I publish a chapter that has a steamy scene..but no actual sex?

In a novel...sex in every single chapter seems gratuitous and unnecessary. But when I'm posting each individual chapter here on Lit....I'm worried that a chapter without sex will not perform well...

You shouldn't have any problems. Readers there are generally invested enough in the narrative aspects that they aren't likely to object to non-erotic chapters.