Category in a Series

[martiron]

I'm writing a series (my first one) and have a question about to what category to put it. For what I read in the forum (and for what i see in the series that I read), it is not only OK but also good etiquette to check each chapter content to decide what category to assign to that chapter (of course, always using some basic common sense)

My question is a bit different: I'm not sure what's the overall category of the series. It is between Non-consensual and dubious consent, about a couple with a hot wife (don't want to give too much away , so I'm between Reluctance/NonConsent and Loving Wives. It is OK to publish the series in both categories? Not duplicating the series, but alternating chapters between one category and the other. At the end, it is kind of similar to assign a category based on the chapter content (my idea is not to do that randomly), but more with a pre-meditated intention.

While not the objective, an additional benefit of this approach is to be able to reach a larger audience... .I guess

Thanks,
M

 

[IWroteThis]

Category hopping can be risky, and it may cause you to reach a smaller audience.

People who see chapter 2 first may skip it rather than take the time to look for chapter 1. Those who see chapter 1 may never see chapter 2. This can be especially true with Loving Wives, which has a very dedicated following, and a very dedicated non-following.

YMMV, but I would recommend picking a single category for the series.

 

[Katie_Mae]

If I am writing a chaptered story I always put each chapter in the same category-- that is the category which suits the story as a whole, because the story is to be read as a whole in the order it is posted in.
If you feel needed, you can use content warnings to warn against content which some readers may find upsetting (eg non-con, incest, death, self-harm etc).
Tags are also used to indicate which kinks are in the story, but aren't so great for actual content warnings.

If I were doing a series of linked stories, where each "unit" was its own, complete story, then I'd consider putting them in different categories, but I've not done that before.

Specifically, with non-con, there are readers who won't touch that category, and readers who don't really read outside it. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a chaptered story part in non-con and part in another category ESPECIALLY if the non-con chapters came later. If it's non-con, then I believe that's where it should go.

(As a reader, once I start reading a story I won't notice a category shift. So if chapter 1 was non in non-con and the later chapters were, I wouldn't notice as I'd just be clicking to the next chapter.)

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm writing a series (my first one) and have a question about to what category to put it. For what I read in the forum (and for what i see in the series that I read), it is not only OK but also good etiquette to check each chapter content to decide what category to assign to that chapter (of course, always using some basic common sense)

My question is a bit different: I'm not sure what's the overall category of the series. It is between Non-consensual and dubious consent, about a couple with a hot wife (don't want to give too much away , so I'm between Reluctance/NonConsent and Loving Wives. It is OK to publish the series in both categories? Not duplicating the series, but alternating chapters between one category and the other.

I wouldn't do that, and cross-pollinating with Loving Wives might get you more engagement, but it might not be what you want. Don't go in blind!

From the brief description, the whole series in R/NC sounds more sensible to me.

 

[martiron]

Thank you @ElectricBlue , @Katie_Mae and @IWroteThis for your comments. I think that I will stick to one single category, unless the theme materially changes.

 

[Duil2]

I'm writing a series (my first one) and have a question about to what category to put it. For what I read in the forum (and for what i see in the series that I read), it is not only OK but also good etiquette to check each chapter content to decide what category to assign to that chapter (of course, always using some basic common sense)

My question is a bit different: I'm not sure what's the overall category of the series. It is between Non-consensual and dubious consent, about a couple with a hot wife (don't want to give too much away , so I'm between Reluctance/NonConsent and Loving Wives. It is OK to publish the series in both categories? Not duplicating the series, but alternating chapters between one category and the other. At the end, it is kind of similar to assign a category based on the chapter content (my idea is not to do that randomly), but more with a pre-meditated intention.

While not the objective, an additional benefit of this approach is to be able to reach a larger audience... .I guess

Thanks,
M

Also bear in mind that if there is any R/NC throughout the story I would suspect that it might be put in there when it's being published. I've had at least one story have the category I picked changed at publication.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thank you @ElectricBlue , @Katie_Mae and @IWroteThis for your comments. I think that I will stick to one single category, unless the theme materially changes.

The issue I've found with smorgasbord stories, as I call them, is that your collection of kinks won't be the same as the next guy's, and you'll always upset someone.

It's better, I reckon, to really lean into the kinks hard, but one at a time, and give them all separate stories in the appropriate categories. I really think you get a better response, doing it that way. Give readers a decent meal, rather than little bits and pieces of everything.

Edit: removed the word "board" - meant smorgasbord, just by itself

 

[martiron]

smorgasbord board stories

I will keep that analogy in mind!!!

 

[martiron]

Thank you for all your help. At the end my first post was with the other series that I had in mind, where the category is more straightforward (Mind Control), but this discussion was very helpful for next series that i have in the parking lot.

PS: in case you are interested, this is the first chapter... and feedback is ALWAYS welcomed!
Pam #01: Unconditional Trust

 

[JohnBJohn]

For a wide-ranging series, its sometimes best to have different tags for each chapter. If a story starts as a First Time and they consummate their relationship, then the next chapter shouldn't be First Time again (unless its a different First Time). At that point it might be good to switch to Erotic Couplings, or if things get crazy, Group Sex, NonCon, etc.

 

[THBGato]

I think it depends on the adjacency of the categories in terms of themes.

For examples, one of my series moves from Lesbian Sex to Romance. Thematically, there isn't much difference there, so readers don't seem to have minded and the drop off in views between chapters is what you would expect in the normal run of things. (Though one reader did complain in a comment.)

Similarly, I've seen a series that have moved from EC, to Lesbian, to Sci Fi, and back, and it did fine - similar numbers for most chapters.

But categories that clash - or categories that are Trump categories - might put people off the whole thing. Just speaking personally, if I saw a chapter in one of my "nope" categories, I probably wouldn't read any of the series at all given that categories clue you in as to where the series is going.

 

[TheLobster]

Trump categories

 

[Ianus4]

I also don’t recommend changing categories between chapters. Try to think from a reader’s perspective. If someone is reading a particular category, they probably won’t start following the series just because of a "Chapter 5" that appears there, since the story won’t be familiar to them and they likely won’t go back and read previous chapters. (Incidentally, this is why a long gap between two chapters of a story is problematic, even if the category doesn’t change.)
On the other hand, a reader who joined at the first chapter and became your follower won’t see in their news feed that the story they’re following has just changed its category, and if they click on the new chapter, they won’t check the category first either. For example, a reader who became engaged based on the first few chapters -say, those in the Romance category - will react very negatively if they suddenly find themselves in the world of Group Sex, LW, cuckolding, or NC/R. It’s best to set the stage right from the start so they know what kinds of trump themes to expect later on. Just as it’s proper to list allergens on a food label.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Just because you can doesn't mean that you should.

There are several publishing features available on this site that don't align with traditional publishing. Placing pieces of a story into different categories is one of these. That, and not differentiating between a story written serially and story that is a series of stand-alone episodes.

Finish a story completely before publishing any part of it. This allows you to maintain better control of the writing, but it also gives you a better perspective on what the story is actually about and which category best suits it. If you don't know where your story, as a whole, belongs, how do you expect readers to figure it out?

 

[martiron]

Finish a story completely before publishing any part of it.

I see your point, but part of why I'm writing here is to get people's feedback. I do have 3 stories going, all with the first/second chapter written, and the plot going a few more chapters.
But I want to publish the first chapter (or two) and then wait for some feedback, to see if someone has an idea that i like and adds to what I already had in mind.

PS: and I don't want to publish them all because I want to have enough time to keep publishing one chapter every 1 or 2 weeks, something that I can only do with one story at a time, as it takes me too long to make sure that each chapter doesn't have errors - grammatically ('m not a native speaker) and technical/continuity/storyline

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I see your point, but part of why I'm writing here is to get people's feedback. I do have 3 stories going, all with the first/second chapter written, and the plot going a few more chapters.
But I want to publish the first chapter (or two) and then wait for some feedback, to see if someone has an idea that i like and adds to what I already had in mind.

PS: and I don't want to publish them all because I want to have enough time to keep publishing one chapter every 1 or 2 weeks, something that I can only do with one story at a time, as it takes me too long to make sure that each chapter doesn't have errors - grammatically ('m not a native speaker) and technical/continuity/storyline

Finishing the story doesn't mean that you have to publish it all at once.

You could still publish the initial chapters and see what people think before possibly modifying subsequent chapters and publishing them.

The difference is that by finishing your initial concept of the story, this allows you to better gauge where is fits, as well as whether reader feedback is aligned with what your intention for the story was. As it is, by submitting pieces, you are seeking influence through reader feedback that no longer makes the story purely yours. You are writing strictly for an audience.