Category Question

[BgDaddy33]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I did a search and didn't find what I was looking for so I'm asking...

I keep reading that the Loving Wives category is famous for being very tough/harsh on feedback.

In your experiences as writers, which would be the opposite of that? Which categories would you say were the most welcoming/ appreciative/ generous when it came towards feedback?

Respectfully, I am not looking for "Write for yourself" advice. I want to grow as a writer and the feedback is encouraging to me. If I can fit a story into a category that would offer that, that would be great (much like trying to write for a challenge.)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rob_Royale]

The crowd in the mature category has been very nice to me.

 

[Bamagan]

I don't think there's a categorical division like that. LW, like a few other categories, has readership cliques with largely incompatible opinions about what the category is supposed to be about. Some people manage to navigate those waters with aplomb, but many others play to one side or another and generate ire (and such is sometimes exactly their intent). Categories that are more focused, like Anal or Toys, might be easier to please simply by virtue of having reasonably specific kinks to play to (or Mature, as Rob suggested). Assuming you deliver on their expectations, anyway.
The simplest advice, which is not helpful, is to write something so amazing it causes gushing, effusive praise no matter where it's placed.

 

[Rob_Royale]

The simplest advice, which is not helpful, is to write something so amazing it causes gushing, effusive praise no matter where it's placed.

I'm still working on that.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The simplest advice, which is not helpful, is to write something so amazing it causes gushing, effusive praise no matter where it's placed.

And this is possible to do. Even for a writer as limited as me.

Em

 

[Bamagan]

And this is possible to do. Even for a writer as limited as me.

Em

Cue @onehitwanda to drop in with a gif suggestive of Emily gushing, or causing gushing.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Cue @onehitwanda to drop in with a gif suggestive of Emily gushing, or causing gushing.

Just a matter of time, hun.

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

I write a LOT of E/V stories. And the crowd there has been amazing.

They're a pretty easy going audience, but then it's a pretty non controversial category for the most part.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The crowd in the mature category has been very nice to me.

Yep, agree.

Having said that, my second and third most commented on stories are in Erotic Couplings (which is why I always say, don't dismiss that Category - as many do).

 

[RejectReality]

1) Non-con/blackmail or any trickery that causes someone to engage in sex that they wouldn't have consented to if they know the truth goes over badly in most categories.
2) Incest gives people the heebie jeebies when it appears outside that specific category.

Anal: Anal should be the centerpiece of the story and the readers will be quite accepting. There are also a lot of them. Easily just below the highest readership categories ( Incest, LW, Mature )
Exhibitionist & Voyeur: Middling readership. Hit the kink and they're fairly friendly. More into exhibition than voyeurism.
Fetish: Hard to get noticed because it's such a wide-ranging set of kinks that are usually on the edge. Don't do what 90% of the writers seem to do and obscure what kink you're writing about in the title and description. Advertise what you're selling and you're more likely to find an audience.
First time: The readers are there for virgins' first time — not the first time someone does X or Y. Female virgins attract far more attention.
Gay Male: Because the content is so viciously shunned in most other categories, the readership is more tolerant than many other categories. So long as you're writing M/M sex, they're okay with you exploring other kinks as well. Also has a fairly large readership who seem particularly loyal when they find an author they like.
Group Sex: Middling readership, and one of the few places where M/M is at least slightly tolerated outside of Gay Male. Drive-by readers pull the scores down with 4s quite a bit.
Humor & Satire: Low readership and hard to please. Humor is too subjective.
Incest & Taboo: Largest readership on the site. Blood relatives from the nuclear family are king. Ranging farther down the family tree or into step/in-law can have less impressive results, and sometimes complaints about it not being real incest. Non-con is particularly frowned upon, and anal can often get you in hot water.
Interracial: Middling readership, and enough hate-readers wearing sheets/intersectional cancellers to depress scoring.
Lesbian Sex: The polar opposite of Gay Male. F/F is accepted virtually everywhere, so the gatekeeping in LS is strong. If there's a penis that isn't plastic lurking anywhere, you're asking for trouble. That includes one attached to the author. Most of the big numbers go to women writing in the category. Whether that's bias or men failing to portray women correctly is up for debate. Probably the latter in most cases.
Mature: Large readership with May/Dec. couplings as king. Friendly to both smut and romance, but a well-done romance more likely to pull both views and high votes.
Non-Human: Low to middling readership, but can be particularly loyal when they find an author they like. Heed content warnings better than many categories. Accepting of a lot of kinks. Not nearly as hostile to M/M, Non-con or Incest as most 'real world' categories. Prefer long, world-building stories. Willing to stay for a story with minimal sex.
Novels & Novellas: Low readership. Also a grab-bag like EC, with readers that are similarly tolerant of kinks.
Romance: Middling readership, but quite friendly when you're actually providing romance. It's more about the chase/emotion than the sex. Going overboard with the naughty scenes or ranging too far into kink often doesn't go over well. Perfectly happy with limited/no sex when the story provides the emotion they're looking for.
Sci-Fi&Fantasy: See Non-Human. Reasonable place to put things like pseudo-historical fiction that have no fantastic elements. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc.
Toys & Masturbation: Low readership, and a lot of drive-by 4s depress scores.

 

[onehitwanda]

Just a matter of time, hun.

Em

 

[ArdentHemingway]

I have no idea. Frequently I put a story in a category and the mods put it on another one -- it boggles my mind.
I'm of the opinion that categories shouldn't co-exist with tags -- choose one system or the other, and tags are just better.
On another site I've posted to, the readers get to add the tags, and I think that's best.
Things would be different if I ran the zoo.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I need to write centaur sex .

Em

 

[HordHolm]

I need to write centaur sex .

Em

I wrote a script for an amateur movie that, with my friends, we were ultimately unable to make due to everyone suddenly having kids. Anyway, the thrust of the script was people with odd kinks being interviewed mockumentary style, and one of the interviews was with a guy who had to go on Craigslist to find someone to be the back of a pantomime centaur and cuck him with his wife, who wanted to be done by a centaur. The extra kick for the 'back end' guy was that he had a fetish for smelling farts... The front end guy was the only one who got nothing out of it, so obviously had to be the one interviewed. I'm so sad we never got to make it.

 

[Bamagan]

I need to write centaur sex .

Em

National Horse Day is Dec 13. There's time! Maybe you can even work it into the Christmas contest.

 

[EmilyMiller]

National Horse Day is Dec 13. There's time! Maybe you can even work it into the Christmas contest.

I’ve written horse / human sex before (kinda - spoilers), but not centaurs.

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

I need to write centaur sex .

Em

Emma & Lily Meet Chiron.

You're welcome.

 

[Britva415]

my second and third most commented on stories are in Erotic Couplings (which is why I always say, don't dismiss that Category - as many do).

I was just about to ask "why does anyone dismiss that category?" I wasn't even aware that that was the case.

Wouldn't you know it, when I scrolled down to hit the Reply button, I noticed that the very next post presented comments regarding as far as I can tell every single other category - and left that one out for some reason!

 

[Bamagan]

I was just about to ask "why does anyone dismiss that category?" I wasn't even aware that that was the case.

Wouldn't you know it, when I scrolled down to hit the Reply button, I noticed that the very next post presented comments regarding as far as I can tell every single other category - and left that one out for some reason!

Also left out Mind Control and Trans/CD and a few others.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I wrote a script for an amateur movie that, with my friends, we were ultimately unable to make due to everyone suddenly having kids. Anyway, the thrust of the script was people with odd kinks being interviewed mockumentary style, and one of the interviews was with a guy who had to go on Craigslist to find someone to be the back of a pantomime centaur and cuck him with his wife, who wanted to be done by a centaur. The extra kick for the 'back end' guy was that he had a fetish for smelling farts... The front end guy was the only one who got nothing out of it, so obviously had to be the one interviewed. I'm so sad we never got to make it.

O-M-F-G!

Em

 

[RejectReality]

I accidentally deleted EC. I reference it as if it's still there when talking about N&N, but failed to notice I'd wiped it along with a couple of others.

Middling, transient readership. Catch-all category, and for that reason, the readers are a little more tolerant of kinks. Lots of drive-by 4s depressing scores.

The rest I skipped was because I don't feel I have enough experience/research into the categories to make a reasonable call.

 

[Bamagan]

I’ve written horse / human sex before (kinda - spoilers), but not centaurs.

Em

Well, I might try my hand at a Santaur story now that I'm thinking of it.

 

[alohadave]

Well, I might try my hand at a Santaur story now that I'm thinking of it.

Centaur Santa. There's something I've never imagined before.

 

[Bamagan]

Centaur Santa. There's something I've never imagined before.

The tagline will be, "It's not your chimney this Christmas stallion will be coming down."

 

[alohadave]

The tagline will be, "It's not your chimney this Christmas stallion will be coming down."

He'll be stuffing more than stockings this year.