Am I about to make a mistake?

[LiterallyLiterate]

Just wanted to check something before getting too deep into writing a new story I’m planning.

Is it a good idea to hop between categories with the same series? I have an idea I want to write out, about someone exploring their sexuality, seeking new experiences in her quest to find what tickles her fancy.
To that end, it’s natural to divide the story into chapters detailing each experiment in various categories.
I’m not exactly sure yet, but I’m thinking E/V, Anal, BDSM and straight erotic coupling for now, but the list might grow.

Is this a good idea, or will I just exclude a bunch of readers who don’t hop categories?

 

[Buffy47]

You will never please everyone and there are certain Readers that only want and enjoy one Genre and so if they start enjoying a story and then Drastically changes They will cry and winge. Just remember this is all amateur Writing and so write what you want to write and ignore those that 1 star stories for the fun of it. Haters always hate

 

[Poeticwolf]

Start with one theme and if it makes sense to the story to venture out into others then do so. I would suggest to return back to the original theme now and again. Make it your base. But as a story grows let it run as it will. Ultimately you should have fun with it and enjoy it. It's for you. If others enjoy it, all the better.

 

[SyleusSnow]

Go right ahead. I've done series with chapters in different categories. If any readers cared, none said a word.

Readers in some categories expect specific content (e.g. incest) and some readers will get turned off by gay male and anal (I've had readers flame me for even hinting about anal sex in one story), but don't worry about it. Write what you want. If the characters and story are compelling, readers will follow it.

 

[Inkent]

Readers in some categories expect specific content (e.g. incest) and some readers will get turned off by gay male and anal (I've had readers flame me for even hinting about anal sex in one story), but don't worry about it. Write what you want. If the characters and story are compelling, readers will follow it.

I agree with SyleusSnow. The vast majority of us are amateur writers of varying skills and styles. The same goes for those that choose to comment, they are mostly amateur book/story reviewers of varying ability. You could add tags to help identify some of the genres you'll touch on, even create a short preface outlining what you may cover without disclosing the plot. I've had people read a single sentence in a 30k story where a "non-character" is described as gay, and that's ruined the poor readers day

 

[ElectricBlue]

My approach generally is to avoid smorgasbord stories. I find a full meal is more satisfying than nibbles and snacks. If a kink warrants full exploration, which of course, they always do, I reckon it's worth a story of its own.

There's nothing to stop you using the same characters, and the same broad story arc, but I tend to write each story as a standalone piece with only one or two sexual themes, and place it in the most appropriate category. That way I get to see each category's response and judge its effect. Sometimes the overall story is doing just fine, but one particular category might not be as strong as the others.

My gut feeling is that category hopping doesn't necessarily do your story the best favour.

 

[LiterallyLiterate]

Thanks for the replies, guys. It’s most appreciated. I’m not entirely sure about the format just yet, but quite sure her core sexuality is in the E/V category, but she wants to explore. I already have a finished draft of her first taste of bondage and submission, with a follow-up planned out, mostly.

I do like the idea of doing individual stories along a general timeline, but not necessarily as a series. I have an established series already, and want to add to that ‘universe’ with spin-off series in other categories. This proposed series will intersect most of my other series in different ways, but it could, as you say, be more or less stand alone stories with a timeline and overlying arc.

I’ll give it some thought and see how I decide to run with it.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Just wanted to check something before getting too deep into writing a new story I’m planning.

Is it a good idea to hop between categories with the same series? I have an idea I want to write out, about someone exploring their sexuality, seeking new experiences in her quest to find what tickles her fancy.
To that end, it’s natural to divide the story into chapters detailing each experiment in various categories.
I’m not exactly sure yet, but I’m thinking E/V, Anal, BDSM and straight erotic coupling for now, but the list might grow.

Is this a good idea, or will I just exclude a bunch of readers who don’t hop categories?

If you post it across categories, and if you title them Chapter 1, Chapter 2 etc. you're likely to lose a lot of readers along the way. People who liked Chapter 1 may not see Chapter 2; people who see Chapter 2 might skip it because they haven't read Chapter 1.

If the chapters are largely self-contained, what you could do is give each one a title without numbering (Debbie Does Dallas, Debbie Does Donald, Debbie Does the Dishes etc. etc.) and then use the series tool to link them together. That avoids giving an impression of "this won't make sense unless you read the last one".

 

[Trionyx]

Or combine all the chapters into ONE story and put it under Novels and Novellas.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

It also depends on how pivotal the kink is. Just because your character tries anal doesn't mean it has to go in anal, same with bondage and so forth.

 

[8letters]

If you post it across categories, and if you title them Chapter 1, Chapter 2 etc. you're likely to lose a lot of readers along the way. People who liked Chapter 1 may not see Chapter 2; people who see Chapter 2 might skip it because they haven't read Chapter 1.

If the chapters are largely self-contained, what you could do is give each one a title without numbering (Debbie Does Dallas, Debbie Does Donald, Debbie Does the Dishes etc. etc.) and then use the series tool to link them together. That avoids giving an impression of "this won't make sense unless you read the last one".

I agree with Bramblethorn here. Make each "chapter" a self-contained story with the same main character but featuring a different kink. You'll get a lot more views that way. Also, you can stop the series at any time without people saying "Hey! You didn't finish the story!"

 

[PennyThompson]

For my series I've been giving each story a different name, not just "Penny Ch. 1," etc. I use the Series (Beta) tool, it's pretty easy to use.

I also started in one category (Scifi & Fantasy), decided I was more at home in a different category (erotic couplings), and my most recent story made more sense in Group Sex, and put it there.

My sample size is pretty small, but my most recent story, posted in Group, has already gotten almost twice the views of the previous two chapters.

I also also put a sentence in my author's note at the top of each story, saying:

This is Number 7 in a series -- The Adventures of Penny Thompson. Each story is meant to be self-contained and enjoyable on their own, but they're best read in order!

I don't know if it's better or worse than other ways of doing it, but I don't feel like it's hurting my series, at least

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'll be honest. If I read Part 1, and I like it, when I click on Part 2, I'm not interested in it's category. I likely won't even look. I just want a good story to continue. It leads wherever it leads.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

I'm going to have the same issue when I post my novel-length. It'll be categorized in Incest, but actual incest wont occur until chapter 5. Other relevant categories will include Erotic couplings, Group Sex, Lesbian, and Romance. I'd actually liked to put it in the Romance category and treat everything else as tags, but the incest is pretty prevalent.

 

[LiterallyLiterate]

It also depends on how pivotal the kink is. Just because your character tries anal doesn't mean it has to go in anal, same with bondage and so forth.

That is a fair point, and will be relevant to some of the things she’ll be experimenting with, I think. Anal will be a recurring theme in many of her exploits, but you’re right, it won’t necessarily be something that needs to go into the anal category for that reason alone.
I’m still developing the story and finding out where it fits in my little universe, but for now I still have quite a bit of world building to do, and she’ll be lurking in the outskirts of my stories for quite some time yet, I think.

As for the naming convention, that’s actually a really good way to get around it. It’ll be harder to make each story fully stand-alone, but I’ll see if I can manage it. Could perhaps be solved with small flashback reminders if a certain point hinges on something from a previous chapter.