lovecraft68
Bad Doggie
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Posts
- 45,534
Back in 2010-2011 I wrote my magnum opus. A long brother sister story that spanned twenty years of their twisted and often tragic relationship. The story was like nothing anyone had seen, and that is not a brag, its a fact, and part of the reason for how it 'landed'. While many sibling stories were "Sis has tits, I want them" this was a dark nasty deep dive into abuse, mental illness, addiction, despair and violence with some occult thrown in and if I needed to find one more turn off the siblings engaging in BDSM sex as well as what at times was sexual violence and with some triumphs and tender moments in between. To this day, one of my all-time favorite comments-I still have it taped to my laptop- is "Well written, but so stark in its realism I won't be continuing."
It's what I aimed for, and hit the target on.
Problem was the story certainly wasn't for everyone for sure and while one handed reads were getting hundreds of votes and dozens of comments these chapters were getting maybe 60 or so votes upon release and a small handful of comments. For all those here who know how big of a draw I/T is, let that sink in. 50 votes on a sibling story. Now, the small readership was very loyal, the comments encouraging(mostly) and the scores good because it was quickly down to a core readership.
But looking back on it, there was another factor that I feel contributed as much as the darker material; I was brand new. No following, no brand, no past achievements of library of other stories. I showed up the taboo scene and just shit all over expectations and had one memorable feedback stating "Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you on about with this horror show?"
Lately I've been thinking what if I came out with that story now? 15 years in, 150+ stories, large following and a 'brand name". What would the reaction be? Same story, same not the usual I/T content, but would it be read by many more people? Would they be more willing to invest because they know me? More forgiving of the content because I have a history of stories they have enjoyed. Would the numbers be more on par with the usual taboo story?
There's no way to find out, although in 2014 I did do a father/daughter one off trainwreck I thought would be killed and did surprisingly well and by then I'd had a bunch of stories and a good sized following.
Then again, I get comments on a lot of old stories and see many bookmarked, but few on this series, so....maybe not.
I see this in terms of this analogy. Take a famous actor or director who's movies are usually hits. Then you discover something they did years ago that either tanked or no one even heard of, and you watch it, but even though its old, the actor/actress of now is what is in your mind and you see it in a more elevated way. Its appreciated now more than when it came out.
Do you have stories like this that may have had a meh response early in your journey here but you wonder what would happen now that you're established? Of course some folks hit hot right out of the gate, but some of us not so much.
It's what I aimed for, and hit the target on.
Problem was the story certainly wasn't for everyone for sure and while one handed reads were getting hundreds of votes and dozens of comments these chapters were getting maybe 60 or so votes upon release and a small handful of comments. For all those here who know how big of a draw I/T is, let that sink in. 50 votes on a sibling story. Now, the small readership was very loyal, the comments encouraging(mostly) and the scores good because it was quickly down to a core readership.
But looking back on it, there was another factor that I feel contributed as much as the darker material; I was brand new. No following, no brand, no past achievements of library of other stories. I showed up the taboo scene and just shit all over expectations and had one memorable feedback stating "Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you on about with this horror show?"
Lately I've been thinking what if I came out with that story now? 15 years in, 150+ stories, large following and a 'brand name". What would the reaction be? Same story, same not the usual I/T content, but would it be read by many more people? Would they be more willing to invest because they know me? More forgiving of the content because I have a history of stories they have enjoyed. Would the numbers be more on par with the usual taboo story?
There's no way to find out, although in 2014 I did do a father/daughter one off trainwreck I thought would be killed and did surprisingly well and by then I'd had a bunch of stories and a good sized following.
Then again, I get comments on a lot of old stories and see many bookmarked, but few on this series, so....maybe not.
I see this in terms of this analogy. Take a famous actor or director who's movies are usually hits. Then you discover something they did years ago that either tanked or no one even heard of, and you watch it, but even though its old, the actor/actress of now is what is in your mind and you see it in a more elevated way. Its appreciated now more than when it came out.
Do you have stories like this that may have had a meh response early in your journey here but you wonder what would happen now that you're established? Of course some folks hit hot right out of the gate, but some of us not so much.
