What tags or genres generate readers?

[thestrangeteapot]

So I've been thinking about what to write next and then it hit me, what genre is popular?
The thing is its kinda interesting to see what readers of Web novels are looking for, not just on Tapas but on other sites too(RL, wattpad, etc.)

[yansusu]

Here on Tapas it's definitely bl Honestly, I had one novel I had under slice of life first but then I put it under bl. Nobody wanted it when it was in the first genre but then some people added it to their library after it was bl.

I did notice that it doesn't just depend on genre though. I'm on several sites and have two main projects that run at the same time. Both are bl but the way they are received is vastly different.
Here on Tapas, OMF is doing much better than LWS. It's the same on webnovel. On Scribble Hub, it's exactly the other way around. I don't know how it's with Wattpad since you can only put 200 chapters in one book so I had to split both series.

[thestrangeteapot]

I guess that every site catches different types of people But it's interesting to see the differences from each site!
Like for my novel(Not in the same neighborhood as yours ), it has done terrible on Tapas but not on the other sites, but then again its just romance(right now).

[bjwebb]

What are OMF and LWS?

[yansusu]

The names of the projects Oh. My. Fate?! and Lovely Writing System

[bjwebb]

Aha! With you now!

It really is interesting the different projects doing differently on other sites.

[Bosque]

BL, yaoi, or any romance story, Tapas is full of romance .-.
I don't know about the popular genres in another webcomic sites but here definitely romance, I don't know if that's good or bad for people who wants to share other stories (the site has pretty good comics about many genres and is kinda sad the fact of they're ignored(?)

[sunflower]

I posted a BL story earlier this week and now it's popular. It's definitely BL or romance in general XD

[thestrangeteapot]

I feel that romance is hard if you don't follow the same kind of cliché . But to be honest, it can just be that my writing sucks

[lartianmartian1]

How does one just pick a genre and hope to build a story from there? Do you already have characters or worlds on the back burner you could maybe transpose into a romance? Would you care enough? I honestly can't fathom writing a pure romance myself. Too dull, too out of my element. But a longer, more complex story with elements of romance sprinkled in, involving characters I actually give a crap about because they had to go through so much leading up to the romance (and then so much after)?! Sign me up!

But pure romances are usually short and sweet, and if time is not on your side, I would start there. I just personally wouldn't do it because I am an insane person and I sadomasochistically enjoy making life more difficult for myself (and others) by only focusing on needlessly complex narratives

BUT SERIOUSLY, I'd suggest writing whatever the hell you want, and tagging it however the hell you want. Your story should define the genre, not the other way around (in an ideal world, maybe). But uh... BL and/or romance are probably your best bets, yeah.

[thestrangeteapot]

o it because I am an insane person and I sadomasochistically enjoy making life more difficult for myself (and others) by only focusing on needlessly complex narratives

BUT SERIOUSLY, I'd suggest writing whatever the hell you want, and tagging it however the hell you want. Your story should define the genre, not the other way around (in an ideal world, maybe). But uh... B

Well, Writing something that you usually do is a way of learning new things... That's why I plan the genre before doing something new and experimental. But the thread is more about what genres are popular on different sites, and more to why.

I do agree with some points you have, but many people are looking to make this a full time paying job(Not me, learning experience) so of course they will look for something popular and then try to make it.... sure, they are dreamers and few succeed

[lartianmartian1]

Sorry to derail you, I thought romance being a popular genre, on multiple platforms, was fairly common knowledge. Because it's short, sweet, wish fulfillment-y goodness! Nothing wrong with that! It would be a challenge for me to write it though (I prefer reading it sometimes). I just feel like I have nothing new or interesting to add? Thus the dull remark. Romance is not inherently dull, I worded that poorly. My bad.

I personally would just write what I feel the story needs. There could be romance, there could be action, there could be horror, fantasy, you name it. It just seems to very-inexperienced-as-a-writer me, that picking a genre first is rather limiting. I don't know. But, again, this is coming from someone who just dreams up characters all the time and never published a story a day in her life, so don't listen to me.

But if you write something passionately enough? Regardless of genre? Mayyyyybe folks on here would still read it? Yeah, don't listen to me.

And I do this nonsense for fun too. Though a career in writing might be nice