Series Question

[AgentDoiron]

I have a question for the collective literotica wisdom.

I have four stories set in the same universe. The first three form a series, the fourth is only loosely related. I plan on writing more in the same universe. Is it better to keep them all in one series or to split them into multiple series?

I try to make everything I write accessible to new readers. That way they don't need to do homework before reading my latest story, but at a certain point it gets repetitive. The repetition can be annoying to people who aren't new to my writing.

Thoughts?

Latest in series if needed for context:
https://literotica.com/s/collar-girls-rosies-bar

 

[CalBishForNow]

I'd split them into multiple series, or just have the fourth and future stories be standalone.

There's a lot of judgement calls here. Personally I enjoy the frequent reinforcement and results of publishing my stories more or less as they're written, but that means I have to deal with the uncertainty and unpredictability of seat-of-the-pants writing. People often ask whether it's better to release a large work all at once or in multiple parts, and the consensus seems to be that it's a wash for scores but you get more views and engagement across multiple parts.

I like having Forewords or Author's Notes before most of my stories, and if a story is standalone but uses characters introduced in another story, I'd link to the other story in the Author's Note. If a story is standalone, I'd still try to write it in such a way that the essentials are self-contained, but if there is a backstory I think it's reasonable to make it easy for readers to find.

 

[THBGato]

I have four stories set in the same universe. The first three form a series, the fourth is only loosely related. I plan on writing more in the same universe. Is it better to keep them all in one series or to split them into multiple series?

All but two of my stories are set in the same world, with characters cross-pollinating. I publish them as separate stories BUT, within that, I have several series. I put a suggested reading order to my bio. Others do the same.

(I sometimes wonder if that's the right way to do it. The first three stories in the chronology are short, sweet and, when compared to the others, kind of bland. So I do wonder whether some people read them and then don't bother carrying on to the longer, more complex and twisty stories that follow...)

Anyway, there's no right or wrong way to do things. However, I would say that even though I am a totally voracious reader (I read over 900 stories here in 2025, plus 62 books IRL), I am sometimes put off very long series. It just seems like a long commitment and also makes me worry that the writer has no idea how to end it. Thus, if you can avoid putting them all in the same series, I would.

But, as ever, that's just my view.

 

[old_prof]

All but two of my stories are set in the same world, with characters cross-pollinating. I publish them as separate stories BUT, within that, I have several series. I put a suggested reading order to my bio. Others do the same.

(I sometimes wonder if that's the right way to do it. The first three stories in the chronology are short, sweet and, when compared to the others, kind of bland. So I do wonder whether some people read them and then don't bother carrying on to the longer, more complex and twisty stories that follow...)

Anyway, there's no right or wrong way to do things. However, I would say that even though I am a totally voracious reader (I read over 900 stories here in 2025, plus 62 books IRL), I am sometimes put off very long series. It just seems like a long commitment and also makes me worry that the writer has no idea how to end it. Thus, if you can avoid putting them all in the same series, I would.

But, as ever, that's just my view.

As someone who is working their way through your pseudo-series, I would prefer them to be in a lit series in the suggested order. I do have your bio page one to figure out the next one to read, but that's a minor nuisance. Well worth it to read the stories though, I will say.

 

[THBGato]

As someone who is working their way through your pseudo-series, I would prefer them to be in a lit series in the suggested order.

Thanks! This has just prompted me to check what happened to one of the series I tried to create (it would include Twenty, Thirty and Forty) and I've discovered it was rejected because I didn't use Title Case in the name of the series. And I hadn't noticed it had been rejected for that reason for almost 9 months!

Doh!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have a question for the collective literotica wisdom.

I have four stories set in the same universe. The first three form a series, the fourth is only loosely related. I plan on writing more in the same universe. Is it better to keep them all in one series or to split them into multiple series?

I try to make everything I write accessible to new readers. That way they don't need to do homework before reading my latest story, but at a certain point it gets repetitive. The repetition can be annoying to people who aren't new to my writing.

Thoughts?

Latest in series if needed for context:
https://literotica.com/s/collar-girls-rosies-bar

As a check, I dove right into "Collar Girls - Jessica's Decision".

I was lost, because it is a part of the larger piece of work and not a stand-alone episode. In other words, it is a "chapter".

That's fine as long as you treat the story and your readers right. You did well getting them arranged in order in the "Series Manager" but if someone finds one of them through a search or some other method, they would have no indication that they might be jumping into a story mid-stream.

I understand that the character limitations in the title field sometimes makes identifying chapters difficult, and the description field is best used to market the story. However, even an author note at the beginning that informs readers that they would benefit from starting with the previous chapters will minimize their frustration with your works and save you having to write a bunch of redundant background details.

I have two different types of series stories published here. One is a set of three episodes involving the same characters (The Uncle Sugar Daddy series). The other are six stand alone episodes (Before They Were Stars) that have entirely different characters but share a common thematic element.

I also have a universe of chapter stories that have a common family dynamic, and five "satellite" stories that orbit around the universe with adjacent characters and plot elements. I have experienced no feedback on anyone being confused over the sequence in which to best enjoy any of the stories because I endeavored to make the path clear, or to make venturing off the path painless for them.