Choosing a Category

[BardicInspiration]

Hi all, while I have been reading here for close to a decade, I have decided to finally take the plunge and start working on a story of my own. I do have a couple of questions though, if you guys would be so kind as to help me out.

First let me give a little background on the general themes of my story.

* It will be primarily about a brother and sister that attend the same college.
* It will be a longer multi-chapter story focusing on a slower development of their relationship, first as close siblings, then as lovers.
* It will heavily feature Greek organizations, as both siblings will be Greek (the older sister already initiated, and the brother [MC] pledging)
* There may likely be other relationships of varying degrees of seriousness along the way.

The questions that I currently have basically boil down to

1. Is it normally preferred to have your multi-chapter story be all in one category (In this case Incest) or is it generally accepted to post different chapters in different categories?

2. The incest portion of the story went get going for a while, should I start posting in another category, or will this run into too large of a risk of "tricking people into an Incest story?

 

[oggbashan]

Answer 1. Yes.

Answer 2. If it ends up as incest, keep it incest all the way through but if it takes time to develop why not post it as a longer but complete story instead of chapters?

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Answer 1. Yes.

Answer 2. If it ends up as incest, keep it incest all the way through but if it takes time to develop why not post it as a longer but complete story instead of chapters?

Spot on advice.

And as a new author with an incest series, I concur. My story Counting Pennies has seven of twelve chapters without sex or incest. It has much lower readership than complete free standing, slow-burn stories.

Posting to multiple categories will likely confuse your readers too. The second novella in my series Investing Time is in multiple categories and has half the original readership of Counting Pennies.

Alex’s Gifts has been a very successful story by a new writer Magnus Rhodes. It started in Fetish, but instead gained significant success once it moved to—and stayed in—I/T. And multiple chapters are in the hall of fame.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Hypoxia]

I'll ditto Ogg. If developing sibling incest is the main theme then Incest is the category, period. And long stories often do well with readers. Some have calculated the optimum length at 8-11 LIT pages, that's 28k-41k words.

 

[SimonDoom]

Oggbashan is right. My own tweak on this advice:

1. First, read this: https://literotica.com/s/love-your-readers-categories. This is the most useful primer on understanding how categories work at Literotica.

2. How long will the total story be? Unless the story is really, really long (well over 10 Literotica pages or 37,000 words) or unless you want to start publishing chapters before the whole thing is done, it makes more sense to post it as a single story. Why? Because chaptered stories have very high attrition rates. Later chapters get far fewer viewers than early chapters. Some readers don't like to start really long stories, but you'd be surprised how many do. On balance you are better off publishing it as a single story than as multiple chapters, if you care about how many readers you have.

3. I wrote an 8-chapter incest story that built, chapter by chapter. Actual intercourse did not happen until the last chapter. The chapters ranged from 2 to 5 Literotica pages (6,000 words to 17,000+ words). The first chapter, despite being the lowest rated, has over 3 times as many views and votes as the last chapter, so that gives you some idea about the viewer/reader attrition you can expect.

4. If you really want to publish it in chapters, publish each in the incest category and make sure there's at least something in each chapter that deals with their incestuous desire. If you can finish the whole series first and publish the chapters no more than a few days or a week apart.

 

[Pocketshaver]

Hi all, while I have been reading here for close to a decade, I have decided to finally take the plunge and start working on a story of my own. I do have a couple of questions though, if you guys would be so kind as to help me out.

First let me give a little background on the general themes of my story.

* It will be primarily about a brother and sister that attend the same college.
* It will be a longer multi-chapter story focusing on a slower development of their relationship, first as close siblings, then as lovers.
* It will heavily feature Greek organizations, as both siblings will be Greek (the older sister already initiated, and the brother [MC] pledging)
* There may likely be other relationships of varying degrees of seriousness along the way.

The questions that I currently have basically boil down to

1. Is it normally preferred to have your multi-chapter story be all in one category (In this case Incest) or is it generally accepted to post different chapters in different categories?

2. The incest portion of the story went get going for a while, should I start posting in another category, or will this run into too large of a risk of "tricking people into an Incest story?

a lot of the popular writers have 10-20 chapter stories in 3 or 4 different categories. even though the total story is meant as ONE category. Its funny but post as you want. post as it works for the material.

If chapter 3 is merely a light bondage session, post it in romance. the bondage section here is rather nuts.

But if your chapter is about a pleasant date to the movies,,, put it in romance or non erotic. NOT bondage

 

[BardicInspiration]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

What I am seeing is that unless my story is exceptionally long I should consider publishing as a long single chapter due to the slow burn nature of the story. I guess length of a single story isn't really a huge issue, considering the story that has been sitting at or near the top of I/T hall of fame for as long as I can remember clocks in at 50 Lit pages.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am hearing that if the incest takes a while to get off the ground this will usually be the better way to go? How would other non-incest sex scenes affect this guideline? I guess I am a bit confused as to the general considerations that should be taken into account when deciding whether to have several chapters or a single one.

 

[Hypoxia]

I've posted series across categories, usually what I see as neighbors: SciFi+NonHuman, and Incest+Group. The most recent of the latter did quite well; the others, not so much. And I switched the former to all SciFi. IMHO crossing categories works IF each episode is pretty self-contained, and maybe not labeled as a chapter dependent on prior chapters.

Not a chapter? LIT titles sort alphanumerically. Non-arc episodes could be written and categorized as:

Dusty Lust: Ambrosia (Romance)
Dusty Lust: Broke-Up (Incest)
Dusty Lust: Carrillion (Group)
Dusty Lust: Damned (Fetish)

LIT will group these all under Dusty Lust. They follow a sequence but aren't a series, only episodes in a shared universe, like old TV sitcoms where last week doesn't matter. Those categories hopefully grab more eyeballs, aiming readers to the rest of the Dusty Lust cycle's standalone tales.

But if you're writing a novella, keep it in one piece.

 

[Hypoxia]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am hearing that if the incest takes a while to get off the ground this will usually be the better way to go? How would other non-incest sex scenes affect this guideline? I guess I am a bit confused as to the general considerations that should be taken into account when deciding whether to have several chapters or a single one.

Successful stories in many categories, Incest too, can sustain long, slow buildups. Kin needn't fuck on every page. Romantic incest works with a slow build. But a tale can also start with a hot fuck, followed by a backstory of how they got there, and then resuming the sex. That's one of my favorite techniques: start at the punch line and trace the path to it.

Or they can only THINK of breaking the taboo without doing anything. Or any other plotline you can devise or steal. There is no formula. Read some top-rated Incest stories (or mine) and see how they're built.

 

[SimonDoom]

I guess I am a bit confused as to the general considerations that should be taken into account when deciding whether to have several chapters or a single one.

Here are my thoughts on this:

1. There's no right answer and you'll get different views, and they all have a point. It depends what your artistic goal is. The truth is you can find successful stories and chaptered stories that fit every possible mould.

2. Standalone stories and chaptered stories follow observable trends that tend to be consistent. Some people don't want to read stories longer than about 3 pages, but many, many do. On the other hand, chaptered stories tend to see a very high drop off rate, especially in the first few chapters.

3. The drop off rate will be higher if you mix up categories.

4. The drop off rate will be higher if you want a long time between publishing chapters. This happened to me.

5. Really long standalone stories may get somewhat fewer views on average than stories of 7 pages or fewer, but they may have somewhat higher scores, too, because generally speaking the people willing to finish the story are more likely to like it.

6. In chaptered stories the scores tend to go up over time as long as chapter quality maintains. This is again a matter of self selection. The readers who stick with the story tend to like it.

My goal when I publish a story is for the content to suit my own artistic vision. But I use the tools of the site -- category, chapters v. standalone, tagline, title, etc. -- to maximize how many people view my story. In my opinion, based on what I've observed, the general way to do this is to publish a single story rather than chapters. I think this is the better default IF you care about how many readers you reach. Some people don't care about that. In your case, this seems like the right call to me for several reasons that have been discussed in this thread, unless a) your story is super long, or b) you want to start publishing before it's finished.

 

[BardicInspiration]

In your case, this seems like the right call to me for several reasons that have been discussed in this thread, unless a) your story is super long, or b) you want to start publishing before it's finished.

I guess a concern that I had is that if I write it all at once I won't be able to take any feedback into account (which in many cases might be a good thing, though there might be some useful critical feedback that could help me), but I guess if that is my biggest concern then finding a good editor (for continuity, dialogue, etc. mainly, because I am pretty solid on grammar, punctuation, and spelling, even if my forum posts aren't indicative of that) and/or showing it to a couple of trusted friends for feedback would serve me better for that purpose.

 

[SimonDoom]

I guess a concern that I had is that if I write it all at once I won't be able to take any feedback into account (which in many cases might be a good thing, though there might be some useful critical feedback that could help me), but I guess if that is my biggest concern then finding a good editor (for continuity, dialogue, etc. mainly, because I am pretty solid on grammar, punctuation, and spelling, even if my forum posts aren't indicative of that) and/or showing it to a couple of trusted friends for feedback would serve me better for that purpose.

That actually is an entirely legitimate concern. I started my 8 chapter series soon after I started writing here. I had no idea how it would be received. When it was received well it encouraged me to keep going. It would have been a bummer to write the whole thing and been told it was crap, but on the other hand, I don't write primarily to get others' opinions.

I've been here for over two years and am very clear with myself what I want out of publishing a story. Your goals may be different, or may yet be unformed, and that's perfectly legitimate.

Don't fret about it too much. Take the plunge and see what happens.

 

[ElectricBlue]

1. Is it normally preferred to have your multi-chapter story be all in one category (In this case Incest) or is it generally accepted to post different chapters in different categories?

2. The incest portion of the story went get going for a while, should I start posting in another category, or will this run into too large of a risk of "tricking people into an Incest story?

If your main theme is Incest (even if it's a while getting there), start where you will end - in the I&T category.

Depending how long your story is (you've not said) there are pros and cons regarding chapters vs a single submission.

If you want to know how many people actually read the whole story, publish it as chapters - the third through to the last chapter will tell you the true reader numbers. You will see the numbers drop but you are seeing who reads the whole thing.

If you publish it as a single story you will never know how many readers quit after the first paragraph. Simon mentions attrition - that's going to be there in every story, but chapter stories give you some insight into it, a single story does not. Some people deceive themselves, I think, that their story is being read by tens of thousands, but Views does not equate to Reads.

If you are going to publish as chapters, my advice is to write the whole thing before you submit Chapter One and then release it in 8k - 10k chunks (2 - 3 Lit pages) - which seems to be an optimum chapter length, and release the chapters close together.

If you release as you finish each chapter, you've got to keep up to the delivery rate - you've made a rod for your own back, because if there's one thing Lit readers dislike more than anything else, it's the great unfinished story (and we have thousands of those). There are very good writers who do release very good stories as they go along, but there's a whole bunch of pressure put on yourself if you do it that way (I've done it both ways; life gets in the way, you'll find).

 

[NotWise]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am hearing that if the incest takes a while to get off the ground this will usually be the better way to go? How would other non-incest sex scenes affect this guideline? I guess I am a bit confused as to the general considerations that should be taken into account when deciding whether to have several chapters or a single one.

What do you mean by "a while to get off the ground"?

In one of my recent stories (Stinky and Fudd), the brother and sister didn't get going until more than half way through. That was more than 9,000 words in. If I'd broken it into chapters of about 3,000 words then they would have gotten it on in chapter four. There were sex scenes in the first half of the story, but they weren't incestuous.

No-one has complained and the story scores well.

 

[yukonnights]

I have written both 'chapter' and 'stand alone' stories. A couple of points on the chapter style not mentioned yet; 1) In each case I have written every chapter to the ending. What hasn't been mentioned is; you can—and in my opinion, should—submit every chapter at the same time. (obviously, as separate submissions, but the same day, etc.) Literotica will then dole them out at a steady pace every few days.

2) If you do this, I would put a note in the first one that assures readers that this is a completed story. Many readers have been burned by unfinished chapter style stories.

3) As has been noted above, the views will start high but taper off pretty quickly in subsequent chapters. What hasn't been mentioned is; The early chapters will also most likely be less well received and thus the ratings will reflect that. The biggest problem with that is that many readers will choose a story based on the rating...thus impacting your views.

4) In regard to 'slow build'; it has been suggested that you could start off with a really gripping scene from the future as a hook. The thing to remember with that is, in the case of a slow build this will take some of the tension out of your story since the reader will already know what's coming. The way around that is with 'foreshadowing'...subtle hints that could imply maybe they will, or maybe they won't. Bread crumbs, if you will. (note: foreshadowing is not foretelling)

 

[Hypoxia]

When to post separate chapters instead of a long story?

1. You planned a multi-episode arc, each part self-contained.
2. You extended that arc with user-demanded chapters.
3. You'll just dribble-out a chapter when you want to.
4. You don't plan to enter a contest. (Singles only.)
5. You expect the series to run almost forever.

When to post a longer story as one piece?

• You don't want readership to drop as chapters extend.
• It really is a novel or novella and should stay intact.
• You consumed stimulants and just kept on writing.
• You're entering a contest. (Singles only.)
• The voices in your head demand it.

It matters not whether the story sucks. You can always post as an alt.

 

[SimonDoom]

If you want to know how many people actually read the whole story, publish it as chapters - the third through to the last chapter will tell you the true reader numbers. You will see the numbers drop but you are seeing who reads the whole thing.

If you publish it as a single story you will never know how many readers quit after the first paragraph. Simon mentions attrition - that's going to be there in every story, but chapter stories give you some insight into it, a single story does not. Some people deceive themselves, I think, that their story is being read by tens of thousands, but Views does not equate to Reads.

.

This falls a bit outside the scope of the initial question, but I don't think this is true. I don't think you can look at the number of views in late chapters and assume those views closely approximate actual reads, although intuitively it seems like they should. The reason I say that is that IF that were true, we would assume there would be a dramatic drop in the view:vote ratio for later chapters. But that's not true. The ratio drops, but not by that much. We can therefore assume that even with late chapters in long stories many potential readers will click on the chapter, scan it, and not read it all the way through.

My working assumption is that reads probably are, on average, at most 25% of views, and at least 4 times votes. So for a story with 100,000 views and 1000 votes (100:1 being not far off as a normal view:vote ratio), the actual number of reads all the way through is between 25,000 and 4,000. The ratio improves as chapters progress, but not as much as you would think.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

I am a literotica author noob but one thing that I am not sure is often thought about is how readers access our work. As a reader, I tend to follow the site on a smartphone. I suspect that I am not alone in this. Plus, people tend to read in quick bites. Reading a really long story involves a lot of clicking and to my knowledge, you can't bookmark where you leave off easily. Because of this, I personally gravitate to chapter post stories and one not much more than 4-5 pages at most per chapter.

 

[SimonDoom]

I am a literotica author noob but one thing that I am not sure is often thought about is how readers access our work. As a reader, I tend to follow the site on a smartphone. I suspect that I am not alone in this. Plus, people tend to read in quick bites. Reading a really long story involves a lot of clicking and to my knowledge, you can't bookmark where you leave off easily. Because of this, I personally gravitate to chapter post stories and one not much more than 4-5 pages at most per chapter.

There are many readers like you who for one reason or another prefer to read shorter stories or stories published in more easily digested chunks. I'm somewhat like that. But the data that's available indicates that on balance longer stories often do really well and chapter stories lose readers over time. So, apparently, many readers have habits that are very different from yours and mine.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

There are many readers like you who for one reason or another prefer to read shorter stories or stories published in more easily digested chunks. I'm somewhat like that. But the data that's available indicates that on balance longer stories often do really well and chapter stories lose readers over time. So, apparently, many readers have habits that are very different from yours and mine.

No real argument with you there, I write erotica as a break for stuff in another genre. I have seen the drop off. on the shorter multi chapter series I am doing.