Spreading the love across categories

[oneagainst]

Up until now I've religiously posted every chapter of a story in the same category, but I'm curious what would happen to reader engagement if each chapter went into a different category. Anyone got a view?

I would guess I'm going to see either views will drop off a cliff because who's gonna reach ch4 of a story that just appears out of nowhere in your favourite category, or it'll boost views because you're in front of many audiences instead of one. I have an existing similar-length story in one single category to compare against for an A/B test, so thought it's worth a look.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Category shifting generally loses readers, if previous threads on the subject are anything to go by. You lose the readers you've already got, unless they're already following you (Lit readers can be very tribal, reading only in their favourite category); and as you say, Chapter Four popping up all of a sudden might not attract as much interest. Although some category readers will look at anything, which mystifies me.

 

[Djmac1031]

Readership on series drops off in general, really. Readers of the original who really liked it may follow you to keep up, or may not.

Or they simply forget about your series as it continues. Move on to other things.

My series The Jenna Arrangement is currently at 26 chapters.

While it has maintained a small but loyal readership, there is of course a HUGE decline in views over time compared to the first few.

All but one chapter has been posted in E/V, because that's been the overall theme.

But I posted part 24 in Erotic Couplings because there simply was no exhibitionist or voyeur content in that particular chapter.

Didn't bother my readers at all. My regular readers still found it. The casual reader scrolling for a new story still skipped it because in general most won't click a part 24 of a series they haven't followed.

So I personally don't see a problem with Catagory jumping in a series if needed.

It won't bring you a new audience per say, but it shouldn't lose those following your series either

 

[RejectReality]

It's the general wisdom that category jumping isn't helpful unless there isn't a good single category option. As you suggested, people aren't inclined to pick up a Ch.x out of nowhere when Ch.1 isn't in their category. Jumping can also cost you the readers who set out on the journey with you with Ch.1. Even if you move to a high readership category such as Incest for a chapter or two, the odds of holding onto any readers you do pick up once you move away from their kink isn't good.

 

[alohadave]

Readership on series drops off in general, really. Readers of the original who really liked it may follow you to keep up, or may not.

Or they simply forget about your series as it continues. Move on to other things.

My series The Jenna Arrangement is currently at 26 chapters.

While it has maintained a small but loyal readership, there is of course a HUGE decline in views over time compared to the first few.

All but one chapter has been posted in E/V, because that's been the overall theme.

But I posted part 24 in Erotic Couplings because there simply was no exhibitionist or voyeur content in that particular chapter.

Didn't bother my readers at all. My regular readers still found it. The casual reader scrolling for a new story still skipped it because in general most won't click a part 24 of a series they haven't followed.

So I personally don't see a problem with Catagory jumping in a series if needed.

It won't bring you a new audience per say, but it shouldn't lose those following your series either

The people committed to reading the story won't generally care. When I'm reading a series, if there are different categories, I read them kind of like tags. This is what this chapter contains.

But the people who inhabit categories, they get so annoyed at category changes. Like it's a mortal sin to hop categories.

 

[lc69hunter]

Up until now I've religiously posted every chapter of a story in the same category, but I'm curious what would happen to reader engagement if each chapter went into a different category. Anyone got a view?

I would guess I'm going to see either views will drop off a cliff because who's gonna reach ch4 of a story that just appears out of nowhere in your favourite category, or it'll boost views because you're in front of many audiences instead of one. I have an existing similar-length story in one single category to compare against for an A/B test, so thought it's worth a look.

I almost missed chapter nine of a ten part story because the author put it in a different category. I only found it because of my quirk, in that I browse the new stories in every category when I log in first thing in the morning. But there are several authors that do that on multi part stories.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The people committed to reading a series is small. Many more people will click on a new chapter if it sounds like their thing. A few will then start at the beginning. I have chapters in the same category where ch.5 has 2k more readers than ch.4 (about 50% more, in the first week). So I figure may as well put it where the most readers will find that chapter.

I have an ongoing series which is meant to be independent stories, not chapters, so they are unnumbered. But even with numbers I went from EC to E/V to Group with no problem. I only put an Anal chapter separate as I hadn't written the preceding one.

It depends on the readership - Gay Male readers don't object to a bit of hetsex; Anal readers really don't want an extra man around, and I hear Incest readers really don't want any anal or GM content...

 

[lc69hunter]

"It depends on the readership - Gay Male readers don't object to a bit of hetsex; Anal readers really don't want an extra man around, and I hear Incest readers really don't want any anal or GM content..."

For a bunch of pervs, we sure are picky, aren't we?

 

[32aa]

If a chapter had parts that were not specifically part of the original category, like a Romance but maybe the MC had a 'First Time', I would leave it in Romance, but add a tag "First Time" when submitting.

Just my thought

 

[John_Vandermeer]

New Lit writer so I do not have much experience at all. Still figuring out categories myself. But I just concluded a 6 part series that has switched back and forth between BDSM and Fetish every chapter. Those two might not be best indicators as they likely share many of the same readers. I have indeed noticed the drop off of readership from chapter to chapter. But I also have noticed anytime I put out a chapter, reading of previous chapters increases again. Like some readers are catching up. And I do wonder whether I have picked a few non-shared readers I would not have had it been in just one category. Another observation is voting/reading ratio decreases from chapter to chapter. Likely readers feel they have already given you there vote. But the voting/reading ratio on last chapter so far is through the roof. Granted, readership is still minuscule, but its like they have become invested and now they have an opinion to share as to the ending.

On another, likely 8 part, series I intend to switch midway from I/T to BDSM. That might leave both groups miffed, but for me I feel I have to develop the FMC/MMC relationship as it makes sense, and that means a switch in emphasis from the themes of one category to the themes of the other. Were I to leave it in I/T the series would probably be worse off anyway. So I'll find out what kind of bomb that is.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Series or chaptered story? It matters to me because:

I could see a series possibly hoping categories, especially if it was a character-based series. If the story truly is a stand-alone entry in a series and titled properly, I can't see a dramatic impact on the readers one way or the other.

If I see a chaptered story hopping categories, I would immediately question the author's commitment to the project. I avoid unfinished chapter stories anyway, but if the author isn't certain about the category that the overall work would go into if it was a completed story, then count me out. Finish the darn story and then figure out where it belongs. I wouldn't invest my time reading any of it until you do.

 

[oneagainst]

If I see a chaptered story hopping categories, I would immediately question the author's commitment to the project. ... Finish the darn story and then figure out where it belongs. I wouldn't invest my time reading any of it until you do.

Previous stories have been about the slow evolution of the charterers, sitting nicely in Group or Noncon, etc.

This one has a hetero couple blackmailed into a lifestyle where they encounter orgies, interracial, divorcees, dom/sub, mothers and daughters, age players and paraplegics. So, uh, Erotic Couplings?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Previous stories have been about the slow evolution of the charterers, sitting nicely in Group or Noncon, etc.

This one has a hetero couple blackmailed into a lifestyle where they encounter orgies, interracial, divorcees, dom/sub, mothers and daughters, age players and paraplegics. So, uh, Erotic Couplings?

Only you can decide. If you don't know where your story will eventually fit, maybe you should step back and revisit your story arc.

A multi-dimensional tale, in the end, could fit into any category that targeted the "heart" of the story. Writing a smörgåsbord of sex scenes doesn't make it a story. It makes it a smattering of sex scenes with many of the same characters likely involved.

Not every chapter has to contain all the individual building blocks required for a complete story, but they should have components that align them purposely to the end objective of a meaningful tale. You could have BDSM, Interracial, Group, Noncon, and incest scenes in individual chapters and still end up with a complete story that in the end, fits best into something like "First Time", "Mature", or even "Romance".

You're posting individual chapters here. What if, when you are done with the story, you wanted to post it someplace like Smashwords? How would you categorize it there? Look at the whole story and determine where it best fits. That is my suggestion.

 

[oneagainst]

You're posting individual chapters here. What if, when you are done with the story, you wanted to post it someplace like Smashwords? How would you categorize it there? Look at the whole story and determine where it best fits. That is my suggestion.

Smashwords and Wattpad look like an entirely other can of worms. I have "Romance" to choose from and then I'm flung in with the k-pop fan stuff, the werewolves, and the billionaires (some of whom appear to be werewolves who are interested in k-pop band members). Which leads to a different issue: I don't want to appear in the same list as a vampire romance, I'm dealing with very adult themes and the adult tag appears to be next to useless. At least Lit has granularity.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Not the first time this has been asked, but it's been a while, and a nice break from the "why was my story rejected", "how long till published", and anything about skirting the 18+ rule. It's just best not to do it, and bdsm and fetish are often really closely related.

From my experience with Wattpad is tags rule there, probably more than catagories. I think readers are more likely to look for something by tag, than catagory, so your story sitting next to The Werewolf of Wallstreet, is pretty trivial- not like you'd ever see where it was in catagory, anyway.