Enticing tease, or too much trouble?

[BobbyBrandt]

I was in a discussion on an ALLi forum (The Alliance of Independent Authors) regarding the benefit of including an excerpt from another story at the end of the one that they were writing currently to entice readers to check out the story that the excerpt was from.

I've seen this done in mainstream publishing, where after the end of the story, there will be a few pages taken from either a current or future work by the same author, but this has always been in printed books. I don't recall seeing similar in e-books, but I haven't read many in that format.

So, the question is, would this be something that would be practical for stories here on Literotica?

Obviously, if a story is already published the only way to add an excerpt to the end of it now would be to submit an edit, which for many would be too much trouble. It might be worth exploring for something yet to be published here.

Off the top of my head, factors that might influence the effectiveness of an excerpt include:

1. The excerpt category should probably match that of the original story.
2. The excerpt should be enticing and not just the first 100 or so words.
3. The excerpt should include a link to the story it comes from

 

[ThatNewGuy]

Speaking as a reader, I would be put off by an excerpt of a new story appended to the one I'd just finished.

If I've enjoyed a story, I can just click the writer's name to check out their back catalog.

Just my two cents. Other readers may appreciate a teaser for a separate story. I would not.

*ETA: A good story often leaves an emotional footprint when you reach the end. Maybe it leaves you feeling melancholy. Or hopeful. Whatever the case, I like to sit with that feeling for a bit. I don't want to jump straight into 100 words of something entirely new.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I don't see how that would be particularly beneficial for either side. What makes more sense is to make a note like: If you enjoyed this story, you might be interested in these stories from the same author, followed by links to those stories. Anything else seems like too much.

 

[Voboy]

I hate that when conventional published works do it. I'd hate it here too.

That's a writer I'd stop clicking on.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So, the question is, would this be something that would be practical for stories here on Literotica?

Obviously, if a story is already published the only way to add an excerpt to the end of it now would be to submit an edit, which for many would be too much trouble. It might be worth exploring for something yet to be published here.

Too much hassle for me. Readers can just go click on my story page and trawl through my back catalogue, which they obviously do, judging by knock-on comments.

I have a vague intention of writing a compendium to help interested readers navigate around my story world, which is quite sprawly and interconnected, but that's a round tuit.

 

[AlinaX]

I hate when I think I’m at 90% and suddenly the story is finished and a whole new one starts.

 

[Fatdog25]

I was in a discussion on an ALLi forum (The Alliance of Independent Authors) regarding the benefit of including an excerpt from another story at the end of the one that they were writing currently to entice readers to check out the story that the excerpt was from.

I've seen this done in mainstream publishing, where after the end of the story, there will be a few pages taken from either a current or future work by the same author, but this has always been in printed books. I don't recall seeing similar in e-books, but I haven't read many in that format.

So, the question is, would this be something that would be practical for stories here on Literotica?

Obviously, if a story is already published the only way to add an excerpt to the end of it now would be to submit an edit, which for many would be too much trouble. It might be worth exploring for something yet to be published here.

Off the top of my head, factors that might influence the effectiveness of an excerpt include:

1. The excerpt category should probably match that of the original story.
2. The excerpt should be enticing and not just the first 100 or so words.
3. The excerpt should include a link to the story it comes from

I think that this falls under the prohibition of publishing:

• Teasers, partial works, excerpts of offsite works, or any work that appears to be a promotion for other platforms.

Taken from Literotica Content Guidelines

While what you propose would fall at the end of a story that otherwise falls within the guidelines, I could see where Laurel would kick it back, since there is no guarantee the actual story would appear on Lit in the future.

As for me, I'm not a fan of the practice.

 

[OralAllOver]

I admire your intellectual focus on marketing. Another approach:

Act like a great writer.
Take the eagle: he does not fret over the next breeze, it is the wind who pursues him, grateful for fleeting proximity

Write like Hemingway drank, no other worries IMHO

 

[lovecraft68]

Tacky and reeks of needy and being desperate "Please, please, please read another of my stores"

Because thing is for them to see it, they have clicked on one of your stories and if they like it, they're try another. Pulling that stunt is a turn off.

 

[Bamagan]

It feels anachronistic in this setting. It might make sense in a paper book, particularly from pre-internet days, but anyone who gets to the end of a story here and wants more is only a few clicks away from finding the author's catalog.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I've seen it done in e-books. But I think the purpose it serves in mainstream publishing doesn't translate very well to Lit.

Say I buy the first book of a brand new series. Under mainstream publishing schedules, Book 2 probably won't be available for another year, but the author has at least written the first chapter. Including that as a teaser at the end of Book 1 whets my appetite for more, and the author/publisher are hoping it'll persuade me to pre-order that book, because they love pre-orders. Without that, if I wanted to preview Book 2 I'd have to go looking around to see if it was available online anywhere. Even if Book 2 is already out, giving me a "free" sample helps suck me in and improve the chance that I'll go buy it.

On Lit, the waiting time is generally much shorter, and I can just favourite an author to get notified when they have new stuff out. The stories are free anyway, so why link to a free sample when they can just link to the whole thing?

The closest I've come to this on Lit, when writing a series, is to include a one-sentence teaser: "Next time: Bob and Susan discover a new use for guacamole!" kind of thing. But I wouldn't post a long excerpt.

 

[StillStunned]

Say I buy the first book of a brand new series. Under mainstream publishing schedules, Book 2 probably won't be available for another year, but the author has at least written the first chapter. Including that as a teaser at the end of Book 1 whets my appetite for more, and the author/publisher are hoping it'll persuade me to pre-order that book, because they love pre-orders. Without that, if I wanted to preview Book 2 I'd have to go looking around to see if it was available online anywhere. Even if Book 2 is already out, giving me a "free" sample helps suck me in and improve the chance that I'll go buy it.

If Book 1 of the series hasn't done enough to make readers look forward to Book 2, it's not doing its job. I can see an argument for including an excerpt from a completely different work by the same author, though.

I agree that it's a bit redundant to do it here on Lit. At most, if the writer has a diverse portfolio, I could see adding a comment (in the comments section, which I've done before) saying, "If you liked this story, you might also like these, which are about the same characters/set in the same world/deal with similar issues."

 

[Voboy]

At most, if the writer has a diverse portfolio, I could see adding a comment (in the comments section, which I've done before) saying, "If you liked this story, you might also like these, which are about the same characters/set in the same world/deal with similar issues."

I do that in my forewords or afterwords. Not really a rec; more of a "here's what stories this one is connected to, FYI."

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't see it serving much of a purpose here, because the author's stories are just a click away, if the reader is interested.

 

[TheLobster]

I don't see it serving much of a purpose here, because the author's stories are just a click away, if the reader is interested.

Also, if you tag your stories appropriately, readers will get automatic recommendations based on those tags.

 

[Bramblethorn]

If Book 1 of the series hasn't done enough to make readers look forward to Book 2, it's not doing its job. I can see an argument for including an excerpt from a completely different work by the same author, though.

The kind of thing I mostly see it on is the kind of series where every book can be read independently, but there's some ongoing story. The one I have in mind is a series of romances all set in the small same town; each one focusses on a different couple, and resolves that particular story, then the spotlight shifts to a new couple. Some of the characters in the next book may have been minor characters in the previous one, others will be new.

So although it's still a "series" it's not like, say, the typical fantasy trilogy where stopping at Book 1 leaves the world in peril and everything unresolved. "I like this author and this setting" is a weaker hook than "I need to find out whether Frodo and Sam destroy the ring and finally kiss".

There's also a gap between "I liked this book and would happily read a sequel, if I remember it a year from now" and "I liked this book and am pre-ordering the sequel right now".

 

[WaxPhilosophic]

I'll do this if I'm writing a multi-chapter serial and releasing as I go. I know what's coming next, because it's in my notes, but it's not fully fleshed out. So I generally add an afterword with something like you might see in a cliff-hanger television show. "Will our hero escape the clutches of. Dr. X?"; "Will they finally give in to their repressed feelings and kiss?"; "Tune in next time!"

 

[StillStunned]

"I need to find out whether Frodo and Sam destroy the ring and finally kiss"

Shouldn't they kiss first, before anyone's ring is destroyed?

 

[Britva415]

Also, if you tag your stories appropriately, readers will get automatic recommendations based on those tags.

Not necessarily from among the same author's similarly-tagged works, though.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Shouldn't they kiss first, before anyone's ring is destroyed?

Oldey-timey romance, probably yes. But in newey-timey, "ring gets destroyed in a casual encounter, they never expect to meet again, but then they get assigned as quest buddies and it's awkward" is quite viable.

 

[Bamagan]

They had a master-servant dynamic, though. It's probably more like Frodo has Sam smoke his pipe whenever the mood strikes.

 

[StillStunned]

They had a master-servant dynamic, though. It's probably more like Frodo has Sam smoke his pipe whenever the mood strikes.

I'm rereading The Fellowship of the Ring, and it struck me that when Frodo wakes in Rivendell after being cured by Elrond, the first person he asks about is Sam - and then the rest. Sam came first, even before his cousins.