Romance vs Erotic Couplings

[Tomh1966]

How do they compare? What is the difference in primary goals?
What are the pet peeves of each group? (I've read romance HATES any hint of cheating.)
Which has more readers?

I was thinking of trying one of the categories doing a what-if of two characters from an as-yet unpublished story simply starting a life together instead of the trials and tribulations of other people. Ie just a story of people falling in love and having a lot of sex.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Romance is log fires and cuddles and seduction, leading to the characters living happily ever after, or with the promise of such; Erotic Couplings is for stories that don't really fit in any other category.

They're not like-for-like categories as you seem to be seeing them. They're not comparable in that sense.

EC has four times as many stories as Romance, but how that relates to readers, who knows. I always assume some kind of linear relationship between the story counts and the number of readers, in terms of supply and demand.

You probably need to read within each category to get a sense of what fits.

 

[NotWise]

The Romance category is mostly for Romances. The Romance Writers of America describes the Genre here. You can find other definitions, and they tend to be similar.

Romance readers are a fairly small group. They tend to dislike stories that don't fit the Romance description.

Stories in Erotic Coupling are mostly generic man/woman sex stories. It can be a catch-all. Erotic Coupling is also commonly used by inexperienced writers and non-English speaking writers.

Erotic Coupling is Lit's largest category in terms of the number of stories posted. It's readership isn't huge, so their attention gets spread out quite a bit.

I can't tell from your description what your story is like. If it features tension, action, and emotional struggles in building a relationship then it's good for Romance. If your couple just gets together and fucks, then it's more Erotic Coupling or some other category, depending on the major emphasis.

 

[EmilyMiller]

How do they compare? What is the difference in primary goals?

EC is where my stories go to die. Having said that, the only things I have posted there were because I had no clue where else they might go.

Em

 

[MelissaBaby]

EC is where my stories go to die. Having said that, the only things I have posted there were because I had no clue where else they might go.

Em

Try the Melissa method: Add 20,000 words and put it in Novels and Novellas

 

[Djmac1031]

EC is where my stories go to die. Having said that, the only things I have posted there were because I had no clue where else they might go.

Em

I've had a few minor successes in EC. That said, they're certainly not my most read or even most viewed.

 

[ElectricBlue]

EC is where my stories go to die. Having said that, the only things I have posted there were because I had no clue where else they might go.

Em

It's not always the death knell people think it is. One of my most successful, and second most commented on story, did well in EC, and a few others have tracked okay, too. I'd bring up some comparative stats, but my CP is the cycle of death at the moment.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Try the Melissa method: Add 20,000 words and put it in Novels and Novellas

What is the difference in the sense of readership? Larger or smaller? Somehow, I've always had the impression that not many people read Novels and Novellas? There is one story hatching in my mind and right now I have no idea where to put it eventually, as it would be relatively vanilla sex-wise.

 

[Voboy]

I avoid EC where I can. There are times when I cannot.

I'd almost always rather post in some other category. I just posted my first Romance story and enjoyed it; I associate that category with Love (rather than Lust) and HEA. So my next story will go there too, even though it's unconventional for the category and might trigger people. Which I'm fine with.

 

[MelissaBaby]

What is the difference in the sense of readership? Larger or smaller? Somehow, I've always had the impression that not many people read Novels and Novellas? There is one story hatching in my mind and right now I have no idea where to put it eventually, as it would be relatively vanilla sex-wise.

Readership in Novels and Novellas will never be great, by the very nature of the content. Either the stories are presented in multiple chapters, or they will be very long. Both options inherently limit readership.

I was just joking though. I would never advise anyone to pad a story to fit a category. It's just that a lot of my own stuff is long and doesn't fit well elsewhere.