Category versus audience

[StillStunned]

The other day I submitted a story of mine in Exhibitionist & Voyeur. It's a short monologue of a voyeur confessing their love for (not to, I think) their neighbour. If anyone's interested, it's here: https://literotica.com/s/love-at-first-sight-17

After I submitted it, though, I realised that E&V probably wasn't the best category for it. I mean, if we assume that most of a category's readers share the kink that's the category's subject, then those readers probably expect the stories to cater to their kink. Which my story doesn't, or only not as its main theme or purpose.

The votes reflect this. At least one reader was kind enough to give me 5 stars, but the average is still 3.14 out of 7 votes, from 1.1k views. One reader (going by "Anonymous") commented that the story is well-written, but "disturbing as fuck". Which was what I was going for, on both counts. So yay me!

Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, except to point out that the obvious category for a story, from the author's perspective, isn't always the best choice from the reader's perspective.

 

[alohadave]

It is a voyeur story so the category is correct. You nailed the creepy stalker angle.

There's no real story here, it's a series of short recollections.

I wonder how it would do in Letters & Transcripts, if it was formatted as a love letter written, but never sent.

 

[AchtungNight]

Yeah, you got to think sometimes. Is Compensation, my story about a roadie and a singer starting a relationship, an Erotic Coupling? Yes. Could it be a Romance too? Yes. There’s Oral Sex in there too, but it’s not a main focus. But since I based the singer on Celebrity Lindsay Pagano, I had to put the end result in Celebrity. For organization purposes. Hopefully it still attracts fans of all the genres included. Same for my other multi genre works. Rendezvous is a Novella length story featuring Swingers indulging in Lesbian loving. Oral sex, exhibition, voyeurism, and other fetishes are featured. Again, I based the characters on celebrities- it’s a workplace hookup story while these four conflicted characters are making a film. They’re based on Celebrities, that’s the category. All the other stuff is less important. Go through my work, you’ll see similar themes.

 

[NotWise]

It's good to put your story in front of the right audience. From a writer's perspective, that's what the categories are for.

The readers in some categories are going to react unkindly if your story doesn't emphasize their specialty. I/T is a great example of that. But there are other categories where the specialty isn't well-defined. SciFi&F covers a huge range. E&V covers opposites (watching and being watched), Mature might be about age gaps, or it might be about mature participants. Etc.

I'd expect E&V to be accepting, but it seems to me like it's mostly about exhibitionism. Maybe the readers reacted to the voyeur aspect, or maybe there are other causes. Among other things, I wouldn't expect a story told in half a Lit page to get a very high score. You aren't giving your readers an opportunity to get involved in the story and its characters.

 

[comegently]

It's tricky when it comes to Illustrated Stories, because
"Illustrated Stories" is treated as a category and a story can only be in one category.
The fact it's illustrated is really a format, rather than a genre.
This means the story gets a load of hits because it's illustrated, but typically a relatively low rating (if it's niche) because a lot of hits are from people who aren't interested in the genre.
I think "illustrated" should be an extra attribute of a story, not a category per-se.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've probably fumbled that ball more than once.

Most notably on my story, The Devil And Angel Em.

It's a fantasy story featuring Demons and Angels. But I filled it under BDSM because it included some rough sex and BDSM elements.

But frankly, in retrospect, it's not a TRUE BDSM story.

So I probably lost BDSM readers who were looking for more whips and chains etc.

Meanwhile I probably also scared off readers who don't like BDSM and so avoided it.

It's a little late now, but I'm considering resubmiting it under Fantasy. I should have just done that the first time.

I'm writing a prequel of sorts to it that will definitely go into Fantasy when done and I'm planning on linking the original story at the end, so I want the categories to match.

 

[yukonnights]

I've probably fumbled that ball more than once.

Most notably on my story, The Devil And Angel Em.

It's a fantasy story featuring Demons and Angels. But I filled it under BDSM because it included some rough sex and BDSM elements.

But frankly, in retrospect, it's not a TRUE BDSM story.

So I probably lost BDSM readers who were looking for more whips and chains etc.

Meanwhile I probably also scared off readers who don't like BDSM and so avoided it.

It's a little late now, but I'm considering resubmiting it under Fantasy. I should have just done that the first time.

I'm writing a prequel of sorts to it that will definitely go into Fantasy when done and I'm planning on linking the original story at the end, so I want the categories to match.

As Djmac said, the BDSM readers can be bristly if the action isn't done right. Resumitting as you said sounds like a sound plan. The BDSM readers are pretty intolerant if the BDSM isn't portrayed in their "approved" way. You can have Lit delete the story and resubmit the prequel as you see fit. If the story is on the short side in length, you might want to consider putting the two together.

 

[Djmac1031]

As Djmac said, the BDSM readers can be bristly if the action isn't done right. Resumitting as you said sounds like a sound plan. The BDSM readers are pretty intolerant if the BDSM isn't portrayed in their "approved" way. You can have Lit delete the story and resubmit the prequel as you see fit. If the story is on the short side in length, you might want to consider putting the two together.

Wasn't so much I feel I angered the BDSM crowd so much as simply lost them.

And again, lost other potential readers who may have been put off by it being in BDSM.

The story as it stands has a lovely rating and very nice comments.

I just think it had the potential to reach a wider audience if I'd have just put it in Fantasy.

I doubt I'll remove it to start over. I think resubmitting the catagory is probably the better move at this point.

 

[NotWise]

I just think it had the potential to reach a wider audience if I'd have just put it in Fantasy.

Maybe, maybe not. SciFi&F has a pretty low readership.

 

[Djmac1031]

Maybe, maybe not. SciFi&F has a pretty low readership.

I've heard that. But my first foray into the genre did quite well, IMO.

But you could be right; it's all a crap shoot, really.

Plus there's always the possibility The Devil And Angel Em didn't find a wider audience simply because the title and description just didn't appeal to most readers and they just scrolled on by.

 

[Paul_Chance]

The other day I submitted a story of mine in Exhibitionist & Voyeur. It's a short monologue of a voyeur confessing their love for (not to, I think) their neighbour. If anyone's interested, it's here: https://literotica.com/s/love-at-first-sight-17

After I submitted it, though, I realised that E&V probably wasn't the best category for it. I mean, if we assume that most of a category's readers share the kink that's the category's subject, then those readers probably expect the stories to cater to their kink. Which my story doesn't, or only not as its main theme or purpose.

The votes reflect this. At least one reader was kind enough to give me 5 stars, but the average is still 3.14 out of 7 votes, from 1.1k views. One reader (going by "Anonymous") commented that the story is well-written, but "disturbing as fuck". Which was what I was going for, on both counts. So yay me!

Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, except to point out that the obvious category for a story, from the author's perspective, isn't always the best choice from the reader's perspective.

Category is often a "best guess". Sometimes the guessing is easier than other. For my ten cents you dropped it in the right category, which means "where I would have put it".

It's a well written little piece. Good job!

 

[Rob_Royale]

I wonder how it would do in Letters & Transcripts, if it was formatted as a love letter written, but never sent.

It would do poorly. Because everything there does poorly. It's a dead zone. My five month old story has 1900 views.

 

[Voboy]

Regardless, OP, I'm not sure you can draw any meaningful conclusion from just seven votes.

 

[RejectReality]

My L&T actually outperformed my one Sci-Fi & Fantasy in this name. Not by much, but it did beat it out. I'm sure it would have been orders of magnitude behind in one of my fantasy heavy pen names, but in this name they're both one offs that are off brand, so it's a bit of apples to apples.

A one page story also is more in keeping with the expectations of the L&T category I believe.

If it was formatted as a letter never sent, it might very well have done better there. If you're far enough outside of the readership's expectations, the sheer volume of readers in the category doesn't mean much. Find a smaller group that's more receptive of what you're writing, and you'll reap the rewards.

With some stories, it is indeed a crap shoot. With most, some time spent researching can narrow that down significantly.

 

[Mastered_again]

Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, except to point out that the obvious category for a story, from the author's perspective, isn't always the best choice from the reader's peperspective.

I have no idea what the audience for a particular category expects. I have written for N/R, E/V, Anal and EC. They all have done well enough
However, they are all part of a series. It could be that some (I don't get huge numbers of views) just like my writing and grant me latitude. Hell if I know.
Not trying to boast here, just pointing to an secondary interpretation.

 

[bumpercars]

Maybe, maybe not. SciFi&F has a pretty low readership.

They're a wonderful audience, though. My stories in SF/F have gotten way more comments than other stories, even though their view counts are lower.

 

[NotWise]

They're a wonderful audience, though. My stories in SF/F have gotten way more comments than other stories, even though their view counts are lower.

I like the crowd there, too, albeit small. I seem to finally have an idea for the third installment of my "Third Ring" anthology, so maybe I'll visit them again pretty soon.

 

[StillStunned]

Thanks for the input everyone! And thanks to everyone who went and read the story and gave feedback there. Very much appreciated.

Now I'm wondering whether to write the same story from the woman's perspective.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thanks for the input everyone! And thanks to everyone who went and read the story and gave feedback there. Very much appreciated.

Now I'm wondering whether to write the same story from the woman's perspective.

If you do, go deeper, rather than merely repeat from her pov. She's got a lot more going on than your voyeur, so she's got a much longer, more complex story.

 

[StillStunned]

Oh definitely! It would be a journey, from being unaware, to suspecting, to being horrified, to being excited, to becoming dependent. Or something like that.

 

[davion2308]

I read your story and while you absolutely nailed the vibe, and you're in the absolute correct category, the audience for Ex/Voy is kind of split the same way LW is.

Most Exhib/Voyeur readers are looking for the exhibitionist side of things. My most commented stories are the ones where someone is showing off, generally for the first time or with reservations. That's the story that seems to do the best in that category. You did fine and that's the best spot for it but a majority of the readers want the other angle, not necessarily the voyeur side.

And it's not the most popular category anyway.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Thanks for the input everyone! And thanks to everyone who went and read the story and gave feedback there. Very much appreciated.

Now I'm wondering whether to write the same story from the woman's perspective.

I think you should. Use the same style and set it up as a mirror piece. (I thought that while reading it, it would be a good piece to do the other POV with.)

 

[TheDok]

It is a voyeur story so the category is correct. You nailed the creepy stalker angle.

There's no real story here, it's a series of short recollections.

I wonder how it would do in Letters & Transcripts, if it was formatted as a love letter written, but never sent.

If you want any reads avoid letters and transcripts like the plague. I posted a story there and got a few hundred votes on the first day (I would normally expect 1-2000 votes). I got it republished in Romance and folk started to read it straight away.