Choosing the right category

[OliviaM]

Sorry if this is a common question -- how do you decide which category best fits your story when it would fit in more than one? I realize there's going to be debate and probably no one right way to do this, but I'm interested to hear how others think through the process. Choosing where to put some of my stuff could come down to flipping a coin. My own first post I put in Romance because I thought the emotional connection and friendship between the characters was more important than the sex. Otherwise it would have gone in Erotic Couplings or just Exhibitionist, both categories I'm unfamiliar with in terms of content.

Apart from just going with your favorite theme, does it really matter which category you use? With a less popular category, your story will be on the new list longer, but with a busier category, you'd hopefully get more readers. I'm not even sure which categories trend which way. Romance and Non-Con seem to have healthy readerships, but I don't know how they compare to others. Personally, my preferred method of reading here has been to follow specific authors. If someone writes one thing I like, chances are I'll enjoy the rest.

Edit: How often do readers use tags? I tend to ignore them about 90% of the time.

 

[Kantarii]

I've always felt the categorization for the stories on this site were a bit vague. When I wrote my story "The Diablo Masquerade", it could have easily fit any category that had non consent, forced sex, oral, anal, transexual & cross dressers, BDSM, or sci-fi fantasy. I was gonna initially put it in the transexuals & cross dressers section because the protagonist is a transvestite, but the overall theme to the story was sci-fi fantasy set 20 years in the future. I eventually categorized my story entirely in Sci-fi & fantasy based against the overall theme of my story.


As far as tags go, I use all ten slots for tags on my stories. I also search by tags as well since it gives me an idea of types of stories I can write that are different.(i.e. Transvestite ghost stories / sci-fi transvestite stories yielded very few results) thus, I decided to write a story that isn't saturated on this site with tons of others similar to it.

 

[sr71plt]

I've always felt the categorization for the stories on this site were a bit vague. When I wrote my story "The Diablo Masquerade", it could have easily fit any category that had non consent, forced sex, oral, anal, transexual & cross dressers, BDSM, or sci-fi fantasy. I was gonna initially put it in the transexuals & cross dressers section because the protagonist is a transvestite, but the overall theme to the story was sci-fi fantasy set 20 years in the future. I eventually categorized my story entirely in Sci-fi & fantasy based against the overall theme of my story.


As far as tags go, I use all ten slots for tags on my stories. I also search by tags as well since it gives me an idea of types of stories I can write that are different.(i.e. Transvestite ghost stories / sci-fi transvestite stories yielded very few results) thus, I decided to write a story that isn't saturated on this site with tons of others similar to it.

The decision here on this one needn't have been that difficult. If your major character(s) was/were transexual or cross dresser, that's where it would have gotten the best reception, I think.

 

[Kantarii]

The decision here on this one needn't have been that difficult. If your major character(s) was/were transexual or cross dresser, that's where it would have gotten the best reception, I think.

I write about transvestite/ transexual/ cross dressers.... That is my scope of understanding. I don't have to do a lot of research on the subject because I can relate to my characters from a real world experience. I as a writer have a choice of how I want my stories categorized. I wasn't looking for the "best reception", I don't categorize my stories based against the characters in them; I categorize them based on the story theme. If I wanted all the same readers to my stories and not branch out for new readers, I would put everything I write into "gay male" or "transexuals & cross dressers"; thus limiting my new readers potential.

 

[sr71plt]

Fine. "Best reader reception" is sort of the default in "where to put" discussions, though. And, with experience, I think I noted the best place here to put transexual and cross-dresser character stories. I'm willing to bet that far more readers of the forum are motivated by the consideration of "best reader reception" on this question than aren't.

 

[Kantarii]

Fine. "Best reader reception" is sort of the default in "where to put" discussions, though. And, with experience, I think I noted the best place here to put transexual and cross-dresser character stories. I'm willing to bet that far more readers of the forum are motivated by the consideration of "best reader reception" on this question than aren't.

Again, that is your opinion. I can respect it, but I don't follow that way of thinking. I categorize my stories differently from how you would. So, ultimately, the choice of where to place the stories falls on the author of the story in my eyes, not the reader.

Your "with experience" statement makes little sense to me, beyond the fact, it sounds like you are speaking as if you "know best" how to categorize stories. Like, there is some type of standardized model to place stories in categories. Sorry, I'm not buying that. The author of a story should have some freedom of choice when deciding how to categorize their own story.

 

[Kantarii]

To the OP: this is Literotica. It's not a library or a book store where stories are easily categorized as fiction, non fiction, or resource material. The story categories are vague, at best, when deciding where to place your story. Is "reader reception" that important? That is debatable among some people. This is a site to enjoy your passions for writing or reading mostly erotic material splashed with a bit of social networking - nothing more. In the end do what is best for "you" and have fun doing it. A claim to fame on this site holds as much water as a fork.

 

[sr71plt]

Again, that is your opinion. I can respect it, but I don't follow that way of thinking.

I said fine--for you.

 

[georgie57]

Category not in your hands

Sorry if this is a common question -- how do you decide which category best fits your story when it would fit in more than one? I realize there's going to be debate and probably no one right way to do this, but I'm interested to hear how others think through the process. Choosing where to put some of my stuff could come down to flipping a coin. My own first post I put in Romance because I thought the emotional connection and friendship between the characters was more important than the sex. Otherwise it would have gone in Erotic Couplings or just Exhibitionist, both categories I'm unfamiliar with in terms of content.

Apart from just going with your favorite theme, does it really matter which category you use? With a less popular category, your story will be on the new list longer, but with a busier category, you'd hopefully get more readers. I'm not even sure which categories trend which way. Romance and Non-Con seem to have healthy readerships, but I don't know how they compare to others. Personally, my preferred method of reading here has been to follow specific authors. If someone writes one thing I like, chances are I'll enjoy the rest.

Edit: How often do readers use tags? I tend to ignore them about 90% of the time.

I agree about the problem with Lit categories. I recently submitted my first story and couldn't decide the best category, because it seemed to go across many. Actually if there had been a 'bisexual' section I would have chosen it, so I think there is also an issue with gaps. In the end I chose Erotic Couplings, but then when it appeared, it had been shifted to Exhibitionist. I don't know how common this is, because most authors seem to choose their own

https://www.literotica.com/s/his-first-massage

 

[ElectricBlue]

Laurel is the final arbiter of where a story goes.

I suspect she chose Exhibitionist because you had the major theme of the woman watching, along with several other kinks (no spoilers). Putting it into Exhibitionist will probably give you some more open minded readers, as your story isn't vanilla. Having a bit of a kink for one thing makes other kinks more acceptable, I suspect.

Some people will call you out on the use of second person address. I'm male and no, I wasn't doing any of the things she was doing, so telling me I was would be enough for some readers to back out of the story. Your massage narrative kept me engaged though - nice and spicy.

I agree about the problem with Lit categories. I recently submitted my first story and couldn't decide the best category, because it seemed to go across many. Actually if there had been a 'bisexual' section I would have chosen it, so I think there is also an issue with gaps. In the end I chose Erotic Couplings, but then when it appeared, it had been shifted to Exhibitionist. I don't know how common this is, because most authors seem to choose their own

https://www.literotica.com/s/his-first-massage

 

[sr71plt]

*nevermind*

 

[geronimo_appleby]

can you not post it as chapters into appropriate categories?

there's always novels and novellas, if you've got the length - no pun. thing is, for N&N you'd need a title that gives a bit of a hint as to what's contained therein. or preface the text with a short blurb?

 

[Hypoxia]

It's easier to write for a category than to write and have to pick one. My latest submission, How I Became An Evil Queen, is mostly 1-on-1 MF but with enough MFF 3-somes that I sent it to Group Sex rather than Erotic Couplings. I've had much better responses in GS than EC so that biased me also. I'm now writing Best Blowjobs in the World with exclusively 1-on-1 MF but with a fantasy/horror twist ending. I'll post it to EC rather than Erotic Horror because it's just not horrible enough -- and because EC gets many more readers. My goal is to grab eyeballs.

 

[TidakSense]

I find myself wrestling with this topic for a multi-part story I'm planning on submitting. It covers many kinks and could fit in several categories. It features a fantasy setting, involves non-human mythical creatures, many of whom have both sets of genitals.

So do I focus on the inhumanity of the sexual partners or the fantasy setting? Would the hermaphroditic nature of the sexual partners coupled with male to female transformation be better for the transsexual category?

Now I'm wondering which group of readers would be least bothered by light mind control, group sex, magic powers, exhibitionism, lesbian acts and pregnancy. Once I figure that out, then I can look for an editor.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Sorry if this is a common question -- how do you decide which category best fits your story when it would fit in more than one?.

It's a common question, and here insert my standard rant abut how categories don't work and especially don't work here. (My stories are generally poor fits for established categories so I'm especially annoyed by them, but probably anyone other than a straight ahead fetish writer has run into this.)

Pick whatever you think the story is most about, and don't overthink it. You can ask Laurel to move it if it gets a bad reception.

I routinely put different chapters in different categories - in part I'm aiming for truth in advertising and in part it might get more eyeballs on the story. I don't think that's hurt scores, though of course there's no way to be sure.

Some readers definitely use tags, so specify them for your stories and try to fill all the slots.