Recommendations/suggestion wanted

[Guest]

I've finally undertaken what I know will become a fairly lengthy story. I'm already twenty (word) pages into it now. Tentatively, its entitled "Maggie".

The story is based on one of the main characters in my Ya Ya Dildohood series. A story about her life, upbringing...and sexual adventures long before Ya Ya.

My problem (?) concern is this. I've probably included a lot more back ground, history etc in developing this particular character than I have in any other story I've written. To include this now as a Chapter perhaps and submit it under Mature where the rest of the Ya Ya series chapters are currently posted...well, to be honest it would probably BOMB big time. Although I have a "little" sex included in these first 20 pages...there isn't enough to keep the attention of the reader. (I don't think)

So.....would it be better under the circumstances to submit it under Novels/novellas instead? Keeping the entire story as it develops together rather than submitting it in sections/chapters individually?

I've never submitted anything under this particular grouping, so I'm frankly at a loss as to how it will be received on the one hand. I can only assume that anyone who enjoys reading stories posted in this category expect a considerable amount of back ground, character development as opposed to the shorter quickie versions posted under the majority of the other categories.

Anyway...I'd appreciate whatever insight or suggestions you might offer as to how I should approach this submission I'm currently working on.

I remain,

 

[SteamyChik]

Personally, I would post it in the novel/novella area and keep it all together. I had a rather long story that I posted in different areas and it was the wrong thing to do, hard for readers to find the entire story etc.

There are times when I want to put in my stories, "if you want to get to the sex parts, go to page 5..." .

Happy writing!

 

[TheEarl]

Unless you have a good reason for not wanting it there, put it in novellas. That way people will know what to expect. Or submit it as chapters, but with an author's note at the top which says that it's a slow-building story, it'll be good when you get there, but sex'll be a long time coming, so if you're looking for a quickie, go somewhere else. That way the reader knows what to expect and you won't get as many disgruntled 1 votes.

The Earl

 

[MaxSebastian]

If you don't want to put it in the Novellas section (the obvious section if you desperately want to leave it as it is going), and you want to put it in another section without it bombing, then you might want to think about the possibilities of re-structuring the piece.

If you wanted to break it into chapters and submit it into another section, then make sure each chapter has enough eroticism to keep the readers going. You wouldn't need to lose what you've already written.

I don't know how your story works, so my advice on how to restructure to do this would be very sketchy. But you could think about starting the narration half-way through the time-line of your plot, at the point which immediately builds up to the sex scene so that you can include it in the first chapter. Then the first half of the story can have the characters looking back on it - flashback style. The flashback can work well to cope with this, if you use it well. It can be a stylish device, but if it's used badly it can be cheesy/tacky.

It could even be used in a dual narrative structure, such as can be found in the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt movie Spy Game. That can work very well.

 

[TheEarl]

Yeah, but Spy Game was ridiculously complicated. I was constantly struggling to work out which thread any particular scene was from. If you're going to do that, you have to be very clear and very certain of what you're doing.

The Earl

 

[Just_John1]

Novels and novellas

That's what I'd vote for. You'll get crucified if you post a long lead in most categories without the eroticism to keep the reader's attention. I personally really enjoy good character development and the lead ins that really get into a characters head, makes everything else make more sense. But, if you're worried about votes Novels and novellas would probably be the right category for it. My guess is that you'll suffer some in readership because some readers just want to get in and get out so to speak. I think you'll get more readers that will give you the time investment to read through your character development in novel and novellas.

But then again, what do I know. Good luck with it, I'm looking forward to reading it.

JJ

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

MY TWO CENTS

Thesandman,

Put the sucker in Novels/Novellas. You'll get fewer votes than in some other category. But you're a good writer and will wind up with a much higher ranking.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Guest]

You've convinced me.

I went back to see if I could feasibly chop this up into decent chapters, but discovered that I'd lose far too much continuity in doing that. So.....I'm going to ride this particular horse to the finish line and see how it ends up. I'm nearly (sixty) word pages into it now. I know the "ending" already of course, but am nowhere near halfway in getting there yet. Not sure how many "Lit" pages that is already, but am convinced that if I posted this under anything else but Novels/Novella's, I'd be doing this story a BIG disservice.

As I mentioned previously. One of the main characters "Maggie" that I created in my Ya Ya Dildohood series seemed to take on a life of her own by the feedback I received regarding her from each of the chapters. And though I finished the series, I decided to go back and simply write about "Maggie" which is what I am going to call this story. Which is basically a story about her...and how she became the person that she was.

Not sure how well it will be received. It's going to be a damn long one for sure. Probably even longer than my Mrs. Steel and Mrs. Steel - The Return stories combined. So...guess we'll see when it finally is completed and posted here on Lit.

Anyway...thanks everyone for the exceptional advice. It's been much appreciated!

I remain,