What do readers in each category like and dislike?

[FreyaGersemi]

Is there a list anywhere that shows what readers in each category generally prefer to read? I think that would help authors in choosing the right category. I’ve read that the “Romance” readers seem to like their sex less graphic than in other categories while “Erotic Couplings” may sound like a similar category as “Romance” but those readers prefer much more in the way of sex scenes.

Any published list? Or do we start one here?

 

[samhasstories]

I've seen some threads around here that have done deep dives into individual categories. It's sort of a subjective assessment, I think, but some of those who have been around and paid close to attention to what seems to garner ratings etc. have laid out some thoughts. If you have insights of your own this is probably as good a place as any to share those. Not sure if anyone's tried to compile those analyses into a comprehensive list.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Is there a list anywhere that shows what readers in each category generally prefer to read? I think that would help authors in choosing the right category. I’ve read that the “Romance” readers seem to like their sex less graphic than in other categories while “Erotic Couplings” may sound like a similar category as “Romance” but those readers prefer much more in the way of sex scenes.

Any published list? Or do we start one here?

People in Loving Wives hate married lesbians and married sex workers.

People in Mature hate 750 word stories with no sex.

Some people in Lesbian are a bit squick about any fetish elements.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

People in trans/CD seem to like character development with good sex and a happy ending. I’ve found they will even accept a slow burn for a good story. Not a guarantee, but it works for me as I have I think nine or ten stories in the top fifty and that’s pretty much all I write.

Also, don’t try to cram 17 categories in a 750 word piece and put it in I/T. Trust me, just don’t.

 

[StillStunned]

Readers of mother/son stories hate anything resembling personal grooming.

 

[MrPixel]

...married sex workers.

I still reflect on that story, Em. Heartfelt and genuine.

Not authoritative here, just observations from my own work. I get few comments, so not a lot to go on. Anyway, Group Sex readers appear to reward variety in their sex scenes. Mature readers like a bit of romance.

 

[StillStunned]

Another one I discovered recently: I/T readers don't like women teaching men lessons about humility. Even if it leads to a hot threesome.

 

[Bamagan]

Is there a list anywhere that shows what readers in each category generally prefer to read? I think that would help authors in choosing the right category. I’ve read that the “Romance” readers seem to like their sex less graphic than in other categories while “Erotic Couplings” may sound like a similar category as “Romance” but those readers prefer much more in the way of sex scenes.

Any published list? Or do we start one here?

At the risk of sounding offensively obvious, each category has a list of the top stories by rating, which presumably have some degree of correlation to what the category 'likes' most. Granted, that's not much help unless one does the research to identify commonalities between those stories. On the other hand, it's not like readers are constrained to vote in only a single category, nor vote in anything resembling a logical or consistent fashion, so the ratings might be a bad guide. *gasp*

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Lesbian Sex - Readers in this category prefer romance above all. Some light BDSM/spanking and such are well accepted, although, as Em said, fetishes in general are not as welcome. In general, more extreme fetishes will be punished but it's nothing serious. You will mostly lose on readership by introducing such elements rather than being rating-bombed.

SciFi/Fantasy - Readers in this category prefer a good fantastic story above everything else. Long/chaptered stories that include world-building, good characters, and plot, will be rewarded even without any sexual content, although the same as most other categories, certain sexual tropes such as incest, harem, breeding, futanari, and so on, will attract much more attention. It's a very positive category, one with very active readers when it comes to voting, although not that much when it comes to commenting.

Fetish - This is a catch-all category that accepts various fetishes. You are unlikely to get extremely bad comments or votes no matter what your story content is, so some authors prefer to post their stories there rather than in LW or BDSM categories. As far as I have seen, people don't comment that much in this category.

These are the only three categories I can claim to know well so I'll stop here.

 

[SimonDoom]

This is as good a summary answer to this question as I know of: https://literotica.com/s/love-your-readers-categories

 

[EmilyMiller]

Another one I discovered recently: I/T readers don't like women teaching men lessons about humility. Even if it leads to a hot threesome.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, I/T readers don’t like characters who experience parental rape, or express even vaguely realistic opinions about inter generational incest. Odd really.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

NC/R readers don’t like stories about male authors of rape porn being anally trained by a pair of women. They also seem to think that satire is a type of male woodland spirit.

Nor are they overly fond of women who submit themselves to humiliation and acts they don’t enjoy due to chronic self-esteem issues.

Emily

 

[StillStunned]

It's alright Em, this is a safe place. Breathe. Let it all out.

 

[MrPixel]

...the ratings might be a bad guide.

Hmm. Ratings IMO are a poor indicator. Stories can easily be voted up or down on one or two scenes or even single sentences that tweaked the reader one way or another. I have one story in a series otherwise well-received that suffered because I was occasionally poking fun or leveling criticism at the peculiarities of a particular region.

Long way of saying that comments are a more accurate indicator of likes/dislikes in a category.

 

[KeithD]

Is there a list anywhere that shows what readers in each category generally prefer to read?

There couldn't be. There's no way to capture the individual disparate likes and dislikes of the volume of readers on Literotica.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's alright Em, this is a safe place. Breathe. Let it all out.

I’m good . I write what I want to. Not that this always fits nicely with category expectations.

Emily

 

[joy_of_cooking]

I once submitted a story to N/C by accident and then resubmitted to Fetish where it belonged. In N/C it was 3.3 when I stopped looking. In Fetish it's now 4.5. https://forum.literotica.com/threads/read-14k-and-tell-me-what-i-did-wrong.1602044/

The story was a bait-and-switch that hinted at noncon vanilla maledom and turned into consensual-in-the-moment/regretted-afterward femdom shoe fetish. It seems N/C readers didn't like that but Fetish readers do.

In my defense, I advertised the reversal pretty clearly:

Snowed In with a Predator
Junior analyst turns the tables on her shoe fetishist boss.

 

[SimonDoom]

Somewhat unsurprisingly, I/T readers don’t like characters who experience parental rape, or express even vaguely realistic opinions about inter generational incest. Odd really.

Emily

I would say, rather, that not only is not odd, it's entirely predictable. I/T readers seek fun, escapist fantasy. Most are not interesting in dealing with the real-world aspects of incest. There's nothing odd about that.

 

[EmilyMiller]

There's nothing odd about that.

As always, we’ll agree to differ.

Emily

 

[SimonDoom]

As always, we’ll agree to differ.

Emily

I'm curious why you think it's odd that people would not want to face ugly reality in their escapist fantasies. Nobody wants that with escapist fantasy, do they?

 

[StillStunned]

I’m good . I write what I want to. Not that this always fits nicely with category expectations.

Emily

One of my first posts on this forum was about this particular issue. I'd just published "Love at First Sight": a stalker's monologue about peeping on their neighbour.

I'd put it in Exhibitionist & Voyeur because, well, it was a story about a voyeur. It was only later that I realised that readers in a particular category don't particularly like to be reminded of the less acceptable side to their kinks.

Fortunately most people appreciated it for what it was, and it has a respectable score. But there was a moment when I realised that what it says on the tin isn't necessarily the best fit.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm curious why you think it's odd that people would not want to face ugly reality in their escapist fantasies. Nobody wants that with escapist fantasy, do they?

People have odd choices of fantasies.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

One of my first posts on this forum was about this particular issue. I'd just published "Love at First Sight": a stalker's monologue about peeping on their neighbour.

I'd put it in Exhibitionist & Voyeur because, well, it was a story about a voyeur. It was only later that I realised that readers in a particular category don't particularly like to be reminded of the less acceptable side to their kinks.

Fortunately most people appreciated it for what it was, and it has a respectable score. But there was a moment when I realised that what it says on the tin isn't necessarily the best fit.

Yeah - people are often in denial about the reality of their kinks. At least some kinks.

And people think anal and water sports are squick!

Emily

 

[tenyari]

Yeah - people are often in denial about the reality of their kinks. At least some kinks.

We kind of have to be.

A lot of our kinks are actually horrible scenarios when explored with a 'if this was real' spotlight.


Exploring some of that works better in novella or sci-fi / fantasy like categories where readers are expecting a deep story. Many other types of readers just want something to get through for 2-5 minutes of one-handed reading...

 

[EmilyMiller]

We kind of have to be.

A lot of our kinks are actually horrible scenarios when explored with a 'if this was real' spotlight.

Yeah - this is kinda my point. You are just very honest about it.

Exploring some of that works better in novella or sci-fi / fantasy like categories where readers are expecting a deep story. Many other types of readers just want something to get through for 2-5 minutes of one-handed reading...

I suck at tailoring my stories for audiences . But I nevertheless get by.

Emily