Audience for erotic short stories, male or female?
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soflabbwlvr
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Good question
And one which I don't think anyone really knows the answer. I have always assumed that the audience here was around 90% male/10% female, since that is roughly the proportion of male/female usage of most other porn sites. Others dispute the classification of Lit. as a porn site, and consider their work to be non-pornographic. They may be right. I read an article the other day which threw out a figure stating that the audience for erotica is 70% female. There was no attribution for that statistic, however, so I don't know how accurate it was. The bottom line, I think, is nobody really knows.
Moreover, the audience will vary between categories. Romance should skew more heavily female, while loving wives would lean toward angry male. As for the rest--who knows?
And one which I don't think anyone really knows the answer. I have always assumed that the audience here was around 90% male/10% female, since that is roughly the proportion of male/female usage of most other porn sites. Others dispute the classification of Lit. as a porn site, and consider their work to be non-pornographic. They may be right. I read an article the other day which threw out a figure stating that the audience for erotica is 70% female. There was no attribution for that statistic, however, so I don't know how accurate it was. The bottom line, I think, is nobody really knows.
Moreover, the audience will vary between categories. Romance should skew more heavily female, while loving wives would lean toward angry male. As for the rest--who knows?
I don't think it's such a weird question. I mean every genre, every niche has a demographic, if I take the demographic of literotica.com it shows mostly male http://www.quantcast.com/literotica.com so was just wondering what people here thought based on their experience.
sweetfanny
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I'd go with tracked demographics over subjective personal experience.
Based on my experience, I don't bother with demographics. My concern is simply to write because that's what I want to do. If I tried to write toward a presumed readership, I wouldn't be here.
C
Candlelight062
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But as arguably the top author on Literotica - Selena Kitt - has stated in one of her many blog posts: "...write what people want to read." Every genre has its fans. Romance, no matter what subgenre you write it in {Taboo, NonHuman, BDSM, etc}, will attract both the dominating demographic and a good chunk of the others. That's been my experience.
Selena Kit offers golden advice. This is from a Lit author who sold 100K books in 2011 and was set to double that in 2012 {have not read her latest blogpost, but I'm sure she met that goal}, so she knows what she's doing.
C
Candlelight062
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It wasn't a weird question. Don't mind Pilot. He treats everyone with the same derision, not only Noobs.
JackLuis
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I think the genra is more a splitting point with readers and I am trying to address that in my latest Romance, aiming for a female audience. In my limited expierence Romance and Group sex seem to be eaiser to score well in.
Lit may have a heavily male readership as I think a lot of 'Soccer Mommies' get intimidated by having a PORN SIte on their internet history.
Just write and see how the scores, comments sort out. Then decide if it matters to you.
Lit may have a heavily male readership as I think a lot of 'Soccer Mommies' get intimidated by having a PORN SIte on their internet history.
Just write and see how the scores, comments sort out. Then decide if it matters to you.
Well I can see Selena is doing very well, but in order to write what people want you'll have to know what they want, which is kind of hard to figure out, right?
JackLuis
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Stella_Omega
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Yes, pretty much. There are a few people who identify as neither man or women, and some that ID as both at once, but hardly any cats, dogs, or spiny anteaters stop by to read smut.
And you'll have to write it well, which is something Selena excels at. She understands and sympathises with the motives of her characters' kinks-- every subgenre she writes in, she writes as if it's her favorite.
That's pretty important. I've been told that the most popular category here is incest, but I won't read it and don't write it. I write for a very narrow audience, but those people are glad that I do.
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Ironiclaconic
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No hard data but my sense is that the readership on the site is closer to 60-70% male than 90%. I estimate this based on the gender of readers who comment on or favorite my stories, which doesn't cater to a particularly feminine readership. There is a huge female readership out there for erotica, particularly in books people are willing to pay for. I am a member of some of the erotic reader groups on Goodreads and they are overwhelmingly female.
On Lit, it varies by category. Stories in Non-human, romance, erotic couplings, nonconsent have a lot of comments from female readers.
On Lit, it varies by category. Stories in Non-human, romance, erotic couplings, nonconsent have a lot of comments from female readers.
Bramblethorn
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The 70/30 split seems plausible; I think the 90/10 stat is heavily influenced by video/photo porn sites which may have a different readership to a text stories site.
However, I note a little disclaimer "Not Quantified - Data is estimated" which leaves me wondering how their estimation method works.
soflabbwlvr
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They do a "head count"
chocolatecookie3
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Laurel should get some marketing spyware, then it'd figure out the ratio of men to women, what stories we read, even what we do afterwards! (Those I guess that's pretty easy to figure out.)
I get almost exclusively male comments and feedback.
I get almost exclusively male comments and feedback.
Cruel2BKind
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I get about a 50/50 readership in gay male, if comments are anything to go by.
I think many people are still incredulous that women write and consume erotica. Many of the women who comment on my stories feel the need to say that they are a woman.
"Strange tastes for a grandmother of two!"
"I read your story (and as a female reader) found it very hot!"
"Never had a kink for GM before, as a chick I could never insert myself into the characters"
Et cetera, et cetera.
But there are far more of us than you think.
I think many people are still incredulous that women write and consume erotica. Many of the women who comment on my stories feel the need to say that they are a woman.
"Strange tastes for a grandmother of two!"
"I read your story (and as a female reader) found it very hot!"
"Never had a kink for GM before, as a chick I could never insert myself into the characters"
Et cetera, et cetera.
But there are far more of us than you think.
