Does the niche of your writing affect your chances in the story contests?

[SissyGirlSammi]

I've been on here for a year but for the first time, I'm thinking about taking a crack at the monthly story contests. I have some ideas that fit great with Summer, Halloween and the holidays, but I happen to write a sort of weird, niche type of fiction (Sissy/Gender Bender) which I'm worried might negatively affect their reception. Is it even worth it to write for the contest if you're working with a smaller group of potential voters? Obviously I'm going to pursue my ideas as they strike me, and the contests themselves are not my main motivation, but I'm wondering, as someone who never much paid them attention, what your thoughts on this are?

 

[AwkwardMD]

I've been on here for a year but for the first time, I'm thinking about taking a crack at the monthly story contests. I have some ideas that fit great with Summer, Halloween and the holidays, but I happen to write a sort of weird, niche type of fiction (Sissy/Gender Bender) which I'm worried might negatively affect their reception. Is it even worth it to write for the contest if you're working with a smaller group of potential voters? Obviously I'm going to pursue my ideas as they strike me, and the contests themselves are not my main motivation, but I'm wondering, as someone who never much paid them attention, what your thoughts on this are?

Contests like those are one of the best ways to get comments that read like "This normally isn't my thing but wow," which is always a great feeling.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I've been on here for a year but for the first time, I'm thinking about taking a crack at the monthly story contests. I have some ideas that fit great with Summer, Halloween and the holidays, but I happen to write a sort of weird, niche type of fiction (Sissy/Gender Bender) which I'm worried might negatively affect their reception. Is it even worth it to write for the contest if you're working with a smaller group of potential voters? Obviously I'm going to pursue my ideas as they strike me, and the contests themselves are not my main motivation, but I'm wondering, as someone who never much paid them attention, what your thoughts on this are?

I write almost exclusively in the Trans/CD area and have won a contest, so... Take that for what it's worth. It was a reader's choice and I don't think they do those any more, but hey. It was a blue W...

Personally, I don't worry about it. If the contest catches my interest, I'll enter. I don't really care if I win or not. As @AwkwardMD said, it can get you some unexpected attention - on all your stories.

 

[MelissaBaby]

The odds of winning a contest are long against any author. The real value of entering is that you will get exposure from a much wider audience than you do in a category with a smaller audience. A lot of readers will read through all the entries. As the good doctor noted above, you will almost certainly draw the attention of people who have never read in your genre before.

Bare in mind, scoring in those contests is by rating, not cumulative voting, and a story with high scoring from a relatively low readership can win.

And if you do win, the benefits are considerable. I won the Winter Holidays contest a couple of years ago, and that story has twice the number of views as my next most popular story. And the little blue W icon will attract attention as long as your story is posted.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

As long as it's not so niche that you don't get 25 votes, it's not a problem. Gay Male, certain Fetish content. and sometimes Erotic Couplings may struggle even if you post on the first day (speaking from experience here). But on the other hand you likely get more readers than you might have got otherwise, so you've lost nothing.

And LW stories always score low. Beyond that, most categories have a chance for a well-crafted story that fits the category nicely to score well.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

As long as it's not so niche that you don't get 25 votes, it's not a problem. Gay Male, certain Fetish content. and sometimes Erotic Couplings may struggle even if you post on the first day (speaking from experience here). But on the other hand you likely get more readers than you might have got otherwise, so you've lost nothing.

And LW stories always score low. Beyond that, most categories have a chance for a well-crafted story that fits the category nicely to score well.

She nailed it.
Worst case scenario your story will get significantly more views if it's entered in a contest vs. just posting it.
It's a great way to expand your audience and that's a win.

 

[TheRedChamber]

You know how they say that its the taking part that counts? I wouldn't strain yourself to write a story with the deliberate aim of winning (or placing high) in a contest. What I typically do is I scan the dates of the various events on Lit every few months and have them at the back of my mind as a brainstorm stories. If you have a spark that could fit a contest and that you actually want to write, maybe give it higher priority and pay attention to deadlines (with the caveat that most contests will most likely be run again next year.)

There probably is a discussion to be had about whether contests favour particular categories. Its certainly true that longer works place higher that shorter ones (on average/9 times out of 10.)

 

[PennyThompson]

comments that read like "This normally isn't my thing but wow," which is always a great feeling.

My absolute favorite type of story comment

 

[TheLobster]

Does the niche of your writing affect your chances in the story contests?​

Yes.

The more niche your writing is, the higher the chances of winning. Most people will bounce away from a story that explicitly warns them contains kinks they don’t jive with; this acts as a high-pass filter for your ratings.

As long as you have something to carry you to the 25 vote threshold, like decent following or posting on the first day, this is really he winning strategy.

 

[lovecraft68]

Anything and everything and nothing at all can affect how a story is viewed here and contest stories double down on this. Best to write your story and simply see how it shakes out than wonder about it.

I've seen comments along the lines of "Great five pages, then she says X and it was ruined" there are people like that and they're not worth worrying about.

Title and tag call out the niche its the best you can do.