Advice asked for publishing mature episodes

Namiar 2020-12-20 09:12:25 UTC #1

So, I've read the content guidelines and I'm 100% sure my mature episodes (mostly just sex, a little violence very far ahead) aren't violating any rules. But I am wondering, does including mature episodes somehow affect the visibility of the overall story? Or just the mature episode? Is there anything I should take into account?

The thing is, I can't just edit them out for Tapas, because they're very important for the overall plot. I mean, "season 2" climax is all about a scandal that'll originate from a few of the mature episodes. Editing them out would mean rewriting like 200K words

(I swear I'm not greedy, I'm just not interested in publishing into the void to be honest )

milejdyvan 2020-12-20 09:15:01 UTC #2

I don't think so... I will admit that I haven't gotten to a part in my story where a mature episode would be needed yet, but just by seeing other stories with mature episodes, I haven't noticed visibility dropping or anything. I honestly would think that the red M is more-so something that some readers might even check first XD Idk, could just be me.

Namiar 2020-12-20 09:19:33 UTC #3

Haha lol I thought I was an oddity in this. I do it too

HGohwell 2020-12-20 09:19:41 UTC #4

I've not noticed any major drop in views in chapters I've marked as mature. If anything, my mature chapters get a spike in views. Not to fall into stereotypes, but you know, the internet and mature ratings. However, I'm not sure how it applies to novels, but comics with mature chapters are taken off the app and only readable on the website which can impact the visibility of your sires over all.

milejdyvan 2020-12-20 09:29:09 UTC #5

Wait, is that true? Just one mature chapter is enough to block your story on the app? I'm just curious cuz i never knew how that worked. Or is this just the case with comics?

HGohwell 2020-12-20 09:35:17 UTC #6

I don't know the numbers or if just applies to comics or not, it was never made totally clear as far as I can remember and novels generally have a lot more leeway because they're written not pictures.

But yes, thanks to the apple store, everything on the Tapas app has to be essentially kid friendly, so anything with a mature marking isn't, so the compromise was that while you can search them, you can't read them on the app and have to be redirected to the website. We tried this with showing my comic to a friend at work who's also on Tapas, and I only have 2 mature chapters and couldn't be read on the app, but you'd have to wait for someone a bit more knowledgeable to know if it applies as firmly or at all to novels.

Namiar 2020-12-20 10:24:23 UTC #7

A fair point! However, I think it doesn't apply to novels I think I read only on mobile and as far as I can remember, the app only asks if you really wanna read it and only clicking ok will do. Don't quote me on this tho

GloamingCat 2020-12-21 00:40:05 UTC #8

Hmm... I'm not so sure about this? First, it seems like it doesn't block the comic for the ones who are already subbed (but if I unsub, then it blocks, I just tested it). But more importantly, I also seems that it doesn't affect all comics with mature episodes. I can see a few ones that appear just fine even if I'm not subbed, and they have at least one mature episode (sometimes, several).

I'm a bit worried, honestly. I checked the mature episodes in your comic and it seems so... tame. I've seen others that are definitely worse than that and are accessible from the app. Maybe you need a subscriber minimum or it will be automatically blocked out? Or maybe it's always automatically blocked and you have to request someone to manually unblock it? Now I really want to know what's the criteria behind this, because it looks pretty arbitrary.

nostalgicroxas 2020-12-21 00:46:01 UTC #9

Oh hun, it's blatantly obvious how people look for the little red M

alexlcuri07 2020-12-21 00:54:48 UTC #10

Novels have a lot more leeway with the mature guidelines. Most everyone marks episodes mature if sex or graphic violence is involved. I also personally mark episodes with more sensitive/ triggering topics but everyone does it a little differently.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as your audience has an idea of what they're getting into, most people don't have problems.

Edit: I also don't know of any novels that have been excluded from the app, but I'm don't know for sure. The general rule is that as long as it's not pure smut without any relevance to the plot then you should be fine.

foxnflames 2020-12-21 04:58:53 UTC #11

Like Alex said, novelists have more wiggle room when it comes to mature content. As long as you follow guidelines, mark them accordingly, and don’t fall into “smut with not plot” but should be fine. I haven’t seen it too much for novels, but you can opt to not have your story visible on apps, because you also still have to adhere to iOS/Android guidelines.

Most people see an uptick in engagement for mature chapters (I have) while some see a slight decline. Im not sure of the specifics for while people may skip or whatever (I guess it depends on your audience). But if you mark them and for the overly violent ones, mark them and put a CW/TW at the top, you should be fine

HGohwell 2020-12-21 05:16:50 UTC #12

Haha yeah mine was a precautionary M before this system was in place. I wouldn't have used it so cautiously if the system was in place before I did it, I'd have just put a warning at the top of the page.

Yeah, as I've said, it was never made 100% clear how it works and what the rules are just Mature = not on the app. It was just something for the OP to consider. Especially since the rules aren't clear and no one seems to know if it applies to novels or not (probably because they have a lot more leeway).

Namiar 2020-12-21 15:56:58 UTC #13

Lol yeah Looks like they are!

Namiar 2020-12-21 15:58:27 UTC #14

But my real concern here is that does having mature episodes somehow impact the overall visibily of the story, like maybe they won't list mature works on the trending and popular or something? No? I'd guess no if no-one has noticed a decrease in views + subscribers after including mature episodes.

2_YuiAkane_2 2020-12-21 16:24:06 UTC #15

Not really, I can read mature content on my phone, in the app.

2_YuiAkane_2 2020-12-21 16:25:54 UTC #16

Yeah, that's true. They only ask you if you are over 18

SleepingPoppy 2020-12-21 17:56:44 UTC #17

Short answer, no. Marking an episode as mature doesn't do anything other than warn people before they see the actual episode. It shouldn't prevent you from appearing in Fresh, Trending, Popular, etc, according to how those things normally work.

In some cases mature stories are pulled from the app but still appear on the website. This doesn't seem to be based on if you happen to mark some episodes as mature, though. I think it's based around key search words in your tags, and manual review. But obviously there's pretty limited information about this. It also probably affects comics way more than novels, so if you're writing, I wouldn't worry over this too much.

foxnflames 2020-12-21 18:10:04 UTC #18

If you have a mature episode then it won’t affect your visibility. Your entire work isn’t mature so you should be fine. The mature section on here is for premium comics and those don’t show up on the app, though once you sub you can read it from the app. I think that’s what people are referring to.