Crossing categories

[NotWise]

Do you tailor your story lines so that they fit more neatly into the Literotica categories? I haven't been.

My most recent story (Regaining Lost Ground) went up this morning. It has non-lesbian F/F, a cheating wife (or two) and husbands who love and protect -- and a small dog. The story is mostly about relationships and the sex is played down. It went into Romance even though maybe the story isn't a great fit there. I guess the description could have made it sound like a Loving Wives story.

The story follows up on an earlier story posted to EC and with some changes in emphasis it could have gone to LW or EC or maybe even elsewhere.

Based on early voting it is by far the least popular story I've written. It's a long way down the new story list and not getting much attention. Getting little attention might be a good thing considering how unpopular it has been.

My guess is that there are people hitting on the story because it might be a loving wife sort of story, then hating it because it isn't. Or maybe finding it in Romance and not liking the F/F aspect. Or maybe no-one likes miniature terriers. There are 0 comments, so I can't even guess.

 

[RejectReality]

When you write something that crosses a lot of categories, you just have to accept that there's a better than average chance of it having limited appeal, and be prepared for it. You're almost certain to turn off different readers with every aspect of it, and because of the tribal nature of the readership in the various categories, you don't pick up people who are turned on by something at the same rate you lose those who are turned off.

IMO, if the story is long enough, Novels and Novellas is typically the best choice for the wide-ranging category crossers. I'd say five to six Lit pages at minimum. ( For the whole story, it could be divided into smaller chapters, of course )

Reason being that the readers who look there expect all sorts of kinks and plotlines, so they're not as apt to balk. The reduced readership you get by throwing unexpected kinks into other categories ends up balancing with N&N's consistently low average readership. You may lose a few readers, but you'll have fewer low scores/rude comments by people turned off by a kink outside their comfort zone.

If it's shorter, you just have to categorize it as best you can and throw the dice.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I've had stories cross categories. You take some hit in scores, but I figure truth in advertising comes first.

 

[GoldenCojones]

Do you tailor your story lines so that they fit more neatly into the Literotica categories? I haven't been.

My most recent story (Regaining Lost Ground) went up this morning. It has non-lesbian F/F, a cheating wife (or two) and husbands who love and protect -- and a small dog. The story is mostly about relationships and the sex is played down. It went into Romance even though maybe the story isn't a great fit there. I guess the description could have made it sound like a Loving Wives story.

The story follows up on an earlier story posted to EC and with some changes in emphasis it could have gone to LW or EC or maybe even elsewhere.

Based on early voting it is by far the least popular story I've written. It's a long way down the new story list and not getting much attention. Getting little attention might be a good thing considering how unpopular it has been.

My guess is that there are people hitting on the story because it might be a loving wife sort of story, then hating it because it isn't. Or maybe finding it in Romance and not liking the F/F aspect. Or maybe no-one likes miniature terriers. There are 0 comments, so I can't even guess.

Okay, I'll bite. What the hell is Non-Lesbian F/F ???

"Oh baby, I'll lick your pussy but no matter what I'm not gonna like it!"

 

[sr71plt]

It's difficult to write a complex story without crossing categories. I don't worry about doing so.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

if it's the Loving Wives crowd hitting it, you'll know from Public Comments.

if there's a cross-category issue, and you have the length - no pun - try novels and novellas; and use a foreword to put to bed any issues readers may have before they begin.

 

[sr71plt]

If it's not a novel or a novella, it would be miscategorized by being placed in that category.

 

[Handley_Page]

Okay, I'll bite. What the hell is Non-Lesbian F/F ???

"Oh baby, I'll lick your pussy but no matter what I'm not gonna like it!"

I commend you read it; it will be understood; probably

 

[geronimo_appleby]

If it's not a novel or a novella, it would be miscategorized by being placed in that category.

no shit? i did credit the OP with some intelligence to realise the criteria.

thanks for pointing out the bleedin' obvious.

 

[TxRad]

no shit? i did credit the OP with some intelligence to realise the criteria.

thanks for pointing out the bleedin' obvious.

Orderly! Tourniquet on aisle three. Stat!

 

[MiddleAgedMan]

Crossing categories is mandatory for anything other that a very short, very specific story. (IMHO) With categories being as they are, you almost always get elements of a story that cross over. I think the main point is to aim for the central concept of the story and let that be the defining trait, and rather add a note at the beginning if you have specific details that belong in other categories. For example, I have written in Exhibitionist & Voyeur, but my stories frequently contain group sex, anal, lesbian sex and other things, but the core of it still belongs in E&V as the main setting revolves around that.

I think the bottom line is, as has been pointed out before, to write what you feel like and post it where you think it's reasonable. It's your story, and the readers will never agree either way, so aim to please those who appreciate the same things you do.

 

[NotWise]

Okay, I'll bite. What the hell is Non-Lesbian F/F ???

The women aren't lesbians. I guess you could say that they're Bi, or that they're experimenting.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Oh you posted in Story Feedback asking if your story sucked! I didn't realise you were actually looking for tips about how the possibly-bi-maybe-just-experimenting women might be doing their thing

Did you find those comments helpful?

I do have a werewolf saga which I am deliberately writing to go across as many categories as I can. It's an experiment in online writing. If you're writing online, readers might be able to dip in and out of parts - skip a chapter if they're not into Gay Male; get the story and the sexy bits they like while not bothering with the scenes that turn them on.

 

[NotWise]

Did you find those comments helpful?

I found the comments in both threads to be useful. The story is SO unpopular that I don't think that crossing categories is the problem. That's too common.

I guess you would say it was 1-bombed; something about the story seems to be polarizing, but (existentialism aside) I've only had one comment on the story itself that might say why it's polarizing -- it doesn't fit the romance category.

I asked Laurel to take it down, but I probably used the wrong mechanism for that -- I PM'd her rather than reporting the story. If she allows it I may rewrite the ending and try submitting it to EC.

 

[NaokoSmith]

I found the comments in both threads to be useful. The story is SO unpopular that I don't think that crossing categories is the problem. That's too common.

I guess you would say it was 1-bombed; something about the story seems to be polarizing, but (existentialism aside) I've only had one comment on the story itself that might say why it's polarizing -- it doesn't fit the romance category.

I asked Laurel to take it down, but I probably used the wrong mechanism for that -- I PM'd her rather than reporting the story. If she allows it I may rewrite the ending and try submitting it to EC.

To ask for a story to be taken down, I think you have to resubmit it as a blank document with a note to explain you want it to be deleted? In the FAQs it says to contact the site owners, but I believe I read elsewhere that you do it through quite a complicated re-submission method.

As long as you PMed Laurel, rather than email her (email doesn't work), she will get back to you. She is very courteous like that.

I thought you had some people say some good things about the story? You don't want to take NoirTrash's comments to heart, y'know. He has a reputation as a grumpy old sod to keep up.

 

[NotWise]

I thought you had some people say some good things about the story? You don't want to take NoirTrash's comments to heart, y'know. He has a reputation as a grumpy old sod to keep up.

Some people enjoy the story and it has had some good reactions -- not many, but it's had just over 2000 views in two days. A couple of my stories had that many views by the time I woke up on the morning they posted.

If the problem is that it's in the wrong category then doing a sweep won't help -- readers will keep hating it. It needs to be moved and probably should be edited for whatever the new category will be. I do need to figure out that process.

NoirTrash is grumpy, but he's not useless. His comment didn't bother me, and he has a pretty original way of expressing himself. I was glad to have his feedback.

As with all general comments it can be hard to figure out what feature of the story caused his reaction. After some thought I figured that he was actually talking about part of my writing style that at least some readers like, but which I may have overdone in that story.

 

[49greg]

Generally by the time I start on the story, I've already decided the category, so in that sense I do write for a specific category. Having said that, I have posted stories with elements of other categories, but the main thrust (hehehe, thrust, giggity,) is clearly in one category.

It's easier to write that way. After all, I'm not writing anything with plans to submit them to the Nobel or Pulitzer committees.

 

[GoldenCojones]

Some people enjoy the story and it has had some good reactions -- not many, but it's had just over 2000 views in two days. A couple of my stories had that many views by the time I woke up on the morning they posted.

It could be the title or the short description. A lot of readers only click on stories that have a catchy title or at least a short description that grabs them. If you aren't getting the views, that might be the culprit. Even if they hate the story, they have to view it to find out they hate it.

 

[NotWise]

I've asked Laurel to pull the story out of Romance. Maybe later I'll submit an edited version of it somewhere else. I think the low number of views is a combination of: 1) it's in Romance, which is a small group and 2) the initial scores were low and then went lower.

The story has been one-bombed by the Romance group, but I'm still getting favorites and comments that are consistent with my most popular stories. Odd. I think the Romance group is (at best) highly dysfunctional.