Having both straight/female-centric and gay stories

[ofbuttons]

I currently have two series (one complete, one starting) that involve a male main character who identifies as straight but winds up in gay predicaments (and enjoys it). This is the central premise of one series, and will only be a small aspect of the other. Part of the appeal of these stories is the reluctance aspect, but I prefer to characterise these guys as having latent bi tendencies they might feel embarrassed about.

So I think I am skirting a bit of a line. I know many readers want zero gay stuff at all, so they'll never be my audience and I'm fine with that. However, I definitely have some followers who are clearly into gay content (perhaps even exclusively), and maybe they enjoy that aspect of my writing. However, it's not the be all and end all for me - I would love to write some heterosexual stuff, or women-centric stories. I'd enjoy contributing to the Pink Orchid event, for instance, or dabbling in lesbian writing (which, despite the umbrella of 'gay', is a very different audience than MLM stories, obviously). As a person and a writer, I am interested in a wide spectrum of sexuality and gender expression, so I think that will come out in my stories too.

This may present a problem, however. Would I be betraying the people who followed me for reluctant gay male stuff if I suddenly produce heterosexual or women-centric erotica? I would probably say my core themes are kink and reluctance stories, regardless of gender, but I'm not sure if that perspective applies to readership.

My questions are: does anyone here have experience in this? Is it appropriate to have more than one account to split up audience? Or should I just keep following the 'write what you want' advice and not worry?

(I'm also very new, obviously, so I'm aware I don't have a long term loyal following to worry about, lol. Maybe one day! But I want to get it right.)

 

[Britva415]

Just mark clearly what the category and content of each story are.

If followers can't self-select stories based on that, fuck'em. Literotica is for the literate.

And triple if they flame you for it.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I have not written Gay Male, but I have written in Lesbian, in Romance, Erotic Horror and Novels and Novellas. It's a pretty broad range. Even within the Lesbian category, I have gone from a tender romance to a violent, gritty noir story.

Most of my followers seem to have to issues with reading whatever I've submitted. Some have expressed preferences for one thing over another, but none have ever really complained.

 

[Euphony]

Literotica is for the literate.

I enjoyed this way more than I reasonably should have.

I sometimes wish we had a "you must be at least this semi-literate" cartoon octopus sign to measure the riders as they try to board the ride.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This may present a problem, however. Would I be betraying the people who followed me for reluctant gay male stuff if I suddenly produce heterosexual or women-centric erotica? I would probably say my core themes are kink and reluctance stories, regardless of gender, but I'm not sure if that perspective applies to readership.

My questions are: does anyone here have experience in this? Is it appropriate to have more than one account to split up audience? Or should I just keep following the 'write what you want' advice and not worry?

If you assume your audience(s) are mature adults and can cope with multiple sexualities, and write accordingly, I can't see you having a problem.

But if your audience gets spooked by a marshmallow, do you really want to write for them? Why pander to the lowest common denominator? That makes no sense to me.

 

[Trionyx]

A brief note at the beginning of the story letting the reader know of the unique or unusual features of the story or themes for that category can be of some help.

 

[ofbuttons]

If you assume your audience(s) are mature adults and can cope with multiple sexualities, and write accordingly, I can't see you having a problem.

But if your audience gets spooked by a marshmallow, do you really want to write for them? Why pander to the lowest common denominator? That makes no sense to me.

That's fair, and also made me laugh.

I think my question is as much a decorum thing as it is about pandering. Ultimately, I don't have the energy in me to write anything besides exactly what I want to write, so that safeguards me against pandering to some extent, but I want to make sure I'm not wildly pushing the boundaries of expectations if my interests run more eclectic (and you make a good point about not shying off from a sensitive audience).

Basically, I tend to see a lot of authors with story lists that don't colour outside the sexuality lines or even the Category lines, so I was wondering if people ever bother with multiple accounts or what have you, or if it's more common to have a mix than I realise.

A brief note at the beginning of the story letting the reader know of the unique or unusual features of the story or themes for that category can be of some help.

Thanks for that - I have opted to being as descriptive in my tags as I can, and I also put up an author note regarding content at the start of my current series so people would know what to expect.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

‘Betrayal’? Ok, so give the, their money back…

A better way to look at it, IMHO, is broadening your fan base.

Good luck.

 

[ofbuttons]

Just mark clearly what the category and content of each story are.

If followers can't self-select stories based on that, fuck'em. Literotica is for the literate.

And triple if they flame you for it.

Thanks for this encouragement! Looks like I'll be seeking to embody it.

‘Betrayal’? Ok, so give the, their money back…

A better way to look at it, IMHO, is broadening your fan base.

Good luck.

lol! Only if they can produce receipts.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Basically, I tend to see a lot of authors with story lists that don't colour outside the sexuality lines or even the Category lines, so I was wondering if people ever bother with multiple accounts or what have you, or if it's more common to have a mix than I realise.

Some writers set up separate accounts for different categories (I suspect, not many), while others (most?) don't bother. Others again limit themselves to writing or reading in one or only a few categories (and some get absurdly tribal about it).

Ultimately, I think you get the readers you write for, and you get the readers at the level you write. If you assume intelligence on both halves of the equation, the corollary also applies.

 

[SimonDoom]

I write different kinds of stories that appeal to people with different tastes. I don't use different pseudonyms. I try to make sure I put stories in the right category and that I give my stories the right tags. I don't see "betrayal" as an issue. Readers can decide if they want to read the stories or not.

 

[PennameWombat]

This may present a problem, however. Would I be betraying the people who followed me for reluctant gay male stuff if I suddenly produce heterosexual or women-centric erotica? I would probably say my core themes are kink and reluctance stories, regardless of gender, but I'm not sure if that perspective applies to readership.

My questions are: does anyone here have experience in this? Is it appropriate to have more than one account to split up audience? Or should I just keep following the 'write what you want' advice and not worry?

(I'm also very new, obviously, so I'm aware I don't have a long term loyal following to worry about, lol. Maybe one day! But I want to get it right.)

In the 'real world,' using multiple pen names to separate your work in different genres - or in this case different sexual tastes - is common. Is there anyone doing it here? I know some AH regulars have mentioned having multiple IDs, but they'll have to chime in for the why. Everything I publish here is under this account. One problem with multiple IDs, in the real world and here, is you have to build a following for each. You can use the different ones purely for 'branding' and make explicit it's all you... but again, is that extra work you need? As well as the followers who want to follow 'you' need to follow multiple accounts.

As to 'betrayal,' the site here offers Categories that do a decent job of 'corralling' stories, as well as the Tags that allow you to highlight contents. If someone feels like that, they can ask for the money back that they spent purchasing the story.

Whether every follower I have reads everything I write, I don't know. I have heterosexual (including Group) and FF (including one Lesbian story (that bordered on BDSM), others with FF included in many of the other Categories. I don't portray explicit gay male activity, but I do have males who like to be pegged by their girlfriends, both explicitly portrayed (Fetish) and offscreen but openly discussed (First Time and SF&F). No one's ever claimed that was something that caused them to feel betrayed. In fact, no one's commented on that point at all.

Whether this is useful...

 

[Omenainen]

Literotica is for the literate.

I laughed at this. Excellently put!

I’ve written in, I think, 14 categories so far, all under this account. I do, however, have a second, shared account for collaborations, and I want to point out that maintaining multiple accounts is a pain in the ass. So unless you are aiming to become some kind of smut producing machine, I wouldn’t bother. (And even if you were… this is a free site. I suppose that would be more important while publishing for money.)

 

[KeithD]

In my previous account of sr71plt, I wrote in nearly every category there is here. This didn't seem to be a problem in the story file itself--no apparent downvoting there or negative comments there (although over the last year "someone" has been tearing down the ratings of that account--but across the board). There occasionally were snarky comments here on the discussion board of a Gay Male category writer trying to write in other categories, but this didn't show up in the actual story file. I did, though, eventually just mostly separate my straight-category stories from my GM ones into separate accounts and have not revealed what the straight accounts are. Again, I've seen no negative effect in the actual story file.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've written in Gay Male, Lesbian Sex, BDSM and several other categories. I probably don't have as many followers as if I stuck to one niche, but people who find my stories tend to like them.

 

[Nellymcboatface]

Write what you want to write.
Just be sure to categorise them correctly.
I think readers can judge for themselves what they want...
It's well known that a lot of straight men read gay male, lesbian and trans porn, so I don't think that is a hindrance.
You may find that if people like your one genre style you may encourage them to read one of your others and find they still like your writing. Nothing to lose, just expand your style, experience and enjoy...

 

[jehoram]

A short disclaimer at the beginning of the story might help to steer readers away if they won't like the content. Also, be sure that the tags on the story accurately reflect the content.

After that, the readers are on their own.