Advice on category

[cawastedyouth]

Hi,

So for the past few days, I've been polishing a story I had written about a fantasy BDSM society, both heterosexual and homosexual partners exist.

Thing is, that the entire story doesn't actually go into detail about coupling or even sex. There is very little evidence of power exchange or anything else that would sincerely place it in context of BDSM.

So I was looking at the other categories where it could fit and I'm not quite sure if it does fit at all. There are obvious categories such as Incest/Taboo, Sci-Fi, Erotic Horror, Non-Consentual/Reluctance where this story does not actually belong. However, it does contain enough imagry to make Non-Erotic not an option.

The bottom line is: How do you choose your category? Do you start with one in mind or do you just blindly choose? And any suggestions for me?

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Typically, the story will tell you. You seem to have a story that will fit in several catagories. I would pick the one that most describes the story as you know it. When the story is reviewed by the Editors and Laural, if they feel the catagorie is incorrect they will reassign it using their best understanding.

As a side remark, if the story has all those different kinds of elements it seems as though it would be quite long, maybe it should be done in chapters with each chapter dealing with a different element. That would avoid the problem.

 

[S-Des]

If it's long enough, Novels & Novellas is a perfect catch-all. The tweener stories are the hardest. You want to avoid putting it in a category that will garner you negative reaction (where some of the character's actions will offend normal readers of that category). I don't have advice for a specific category, but you know what the main focus of the story is, so if you take the time, I'm sure you'll find the right place.

Good luck

 

[3113]

So for the past few days, I've been polishing a story I had written about a fantasy BDSM society, both heterosexual and homosexual partners exist.

Think of the readers for each category. What do they want to read MOST? For example, MOST categories are dominated (and read by) heterosexuals. Anal is there for heterosexual anal sex even though there are some stories which have both hetero/homo. But every story where a gay male couple engage in anal sex does not end up in the anal category they always end up in gay male.

This is evident also in BDSM and interractial. Gay male or lesbian BDSM/interracial is usually in the Gay male or lesbian category rather than BDSM/interracial.

Do you see what I'm getting at? If your story was entirely gay male, then even if it involved BDSM or science fiction, you'd still probably go for Gay Male, because readers of Gay Male would most appreciate it. If it was mostly BDSM--say, a future world not too different from us where women rule and men are all slaves--then you might go with that even if it involved some homosexuaity and was, essentially, sci-fi.

Now lucky for you, the fantasy/sci-fi folk (also erotic horror folk) are pretty happy with anything fantasy/sci-fi, even if it includes some homosexuality, BDSM, etc. as well as heterosexuality. So that would probably be the way to go.

Remember also that you get a tag line for each chapter of a story. So you can say in your tag line "Buck Spaceman is anally taken against his will...." or whatever to warn readers of that this chapter will include non-con, BDSM and anal sex.

The category will simply draw certain readers. So the question you have to ask is, which readers do you think would be happiest with your story? Putting it another way, which would enjoy the wide variety more--rather than be put off by it because they read THIS category for a particular thing and they're not getting enough of it?

 

[cawastedyouth]

Much thanks to you all for your advice. Trying to get this all squared away and hopefully it'll be accepted. (Of course, there's that little hurdle)

 

[Weird Harold]

about a fantasy BDSM society, both heterosexual and homosexual partners exist.

Thing is, that the entire story doesn't actually go into detail about coupling or even sex. There is very little evidence of power exchange or anything else that would sincerely place it in context of BDSM.

In spite of its probable rough reception from hardcore BDM Fans, it sounds like the main theme is BDSM.

However, there is "the rule of least squick" that says you should put your story in the category that will offend the fewest people.

The Erotic Couplings category is the catch-all category for stories to short to qualify for Novels and Novellas -- under about 10,000 words. Graphic "coupling" is not necessarily a requirement for Erotic Couplings, either.

Finally, Romance seems the most tolerant of stories without a lot a graphic sex -- they're more about feelings and relationsips.

 

[3113]

Finally, Romance seems the most tolerant of stories without a lot a graphic sex -- they're more about feelings and relationsips.

But romance is least tolerant of BDSM. They want the feeling and relationships to be loving and gentle as well as sexy, not to involve heavy bondage (outside, perhaps of some silk handkerchiefs), punishments (outside of a little spanking), and folk calling each other "Master" and "Pet" rather than "Sweetheart" and "Lover."

This is not to say BDSM can't be romantic (one of the most touching and romantic stories I've read here was in BDSM), or romance can't have BDSM, but given what I've read, the BDSM category is more favorable to the tropes of BDSM like collars, slaves/masters, kneeling, whippings, etc. Romance is Romance--love-at-first-sight, soft candlelight, the fairy tale love story as it were.

 

[joeys-game]

Your first post described the story as a BDSM fantasy..so thats what it prob is..put it there man!

 

[cawastedyouth]

The Erotic Couplings category is the catch-all category for stories to short to qualify for Novels and Novellas -- under about 10,000 words..

Well the first segment is over 25,000 words, in 18 sections (so I won't post the entire thing in one major post...)

The following 2 installments, spin-offs, are considerably shorter and actually are currently missing endings of any sort.

 

[Weird Harold]

Well the first segment is over 25,000 words, in 18 sections (so I won't post the entire thing in one major post...)

At 25,000 words (divided by 3500) You've got roughly seven and a fraction Lit Pages -- easily in the novels and novelas category even if you post it in chapters.

The two sequels can be added as additional chapters or epliogies to the main story.