Writing in niche genres

[Akhilles]

Hello fellow writers.

I noticed a recent topic on niche genres and how certain writers don't seem to find a large reader base for them. I can definitely understand the struggle. It seems easy to add in a werewolf, toss in the half-naked muscular guy or the pretty girl, and then blend in some erotica for good measure. I have seen such books garner great reader base. That is not to say that other genres don't get attention, but if you look at the trends on sites like Wattpad and Inkitt, you might notice a pattern.

Niche genres need time to mature, but I believe that once they do, they get truly invested readers. That's because no one reads those genres unless they TRULY want to.

Having said that, if you believe that your story is in a niche genre, then promote your book here. I recently created a thread to promote my story, so I'm going to avoid promotion until at least 20 people have posted their stories and had a chance to gain attention.

Before that, a few rules.

1) You should check out as many stories that get posted here as possible. Read a couple of chapters and if you truly like the story, subscribe to it. You don't have to subscribe to every story you come across. However, there is a caveat to this, and that comes in the form of the next rule.
2) Anyone who receives a subscribe should subscribe back. In this case, maybe you may not like the story of the author, but since they supported you, give them a little support as well. Every bit of support helps, and who knows? Your subscription might just be the one that makes someone's story popular.
3) Tell us why your story is considered niche. It's easy to drop in a link here, but try to describe your series. The reason for this is that I would like you to feel more confident talking about your story

Sounds fair? Alright. Go right ahead!

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

Oh cool! I love niche stuff, so this should be a great space for me.

My story is one big character study taking place after the apocalypse. Theres a lot of swearing (there's backstory reasons why)

Theres no plot for the entire first part, instead focusing on the physiology of these characters who have survived the end of the world and how that changed them (or didn't change them) from who they were before.

Theres also my format. Each part (currently at the end of 1 of 3) each part is made of one big long group interaction where the narration is very basic and only explains what is happening, then five smaller little interactions between characters with more contextual narration. My writing style is weird.

Post-Apocalyptic Introductions | Tapas

[An_Alias]

Hello!
I love finding new/weird/interesting stuff to read.

I write almost exclusively about guys who I endearingly refer to as shit-bois! They're usually potheads trying to do anything other than deal with their own problems. Realism, heavy themes, and a general lack of romantic archs are the other main aspects. My writing style is also very direct. I don't use a lot of purple prose.

I just started posting this one!
Horror/Psychological/Drama/Supernatural(fantasy?)

Bad Day | Tapas

This one is completed:
Thriller/LGBT/Drama/Mystery

Boil Frogs Slowly | Tapas

[YS_og]

Will check out the ones above!

Mine is Mecha with Drama mixed in, had no choice but to label it Scifi in Tapas. I'd say its niche qualified as it's the only mecha novel on Tapas :\

Harbinger: Infinity | Tapas

[Moctemma]

Hi!
My story is about the evil in humans and how to transform it. My protagonist goes through a living hell most of her life but with perseverance she achieves a nice life. Few people want to read a story about a woman suffering while she ponders about life as many see it as edgy, but unlike those types of stories mine focus on improving one's life by studying ourselves.
Warning! It contains rape, murder, torture, suicide, and mentions of lots of traumatizing content like cannibalism, incest, mind manipulation, etc.

Uzziye became a florist | Tapas

[YS_og]

Liking how easy your story is to pick up! Subbed and will continue reading

Makes me think my chapter setup has all of them too long.

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

Oh no, your chapters are fine! My chapters are super short because I had to split up a fully written short story into parts.

[KhanSpring]

People say that they want something different, but when it is offered to them, they reject it, as it does not fit the requirements to be the type of different they want. Thus even if it is not considered niche in real life, it becomes niche online. And it leads to many people sacrificing their "individuality" for a few more likes.
It is nice when you find a group of people who enjoy your story and when you, yourself find stories you enjoy and support. However subscribing back just because someone subscribed at you first should not be an obligation. No creator wants inactive subscribers, who subscribed with the mindset that you'll be liking and commenting on each of their episodes, without them doing the same.

[kitkatxk]

I was going to add mine here but I actually don't know if mine is niche anymore. It was two years ago when I started the series. But recently I have been seeing so many people writing boys love read thread series that I am not even sure anymore.

I mean i haven't noticed any that focus so heavily on the gods, their motives and actions behind things. But I could have just missed something.

My story is like Percy Jackson meets BL, meets red threads, fate, and are we even in charge of our own destiny and hearts if everything really is all Fate's design. And just how much power does Fate really have?

You tell me if that's mainstream or not now. I legit have no clue. I might just think I am niche, and it turns to I am mainstream and just suck at writing so my story is swallowed by the rest. I assumed that my stories are not popular because they didn't have enough mainstream content. But who knows maybe its just bad. XD

hahaha.

[EchoMan]

I would say that my story fits into a niche purely because of the combination of genres it falls into. It's sci-fi, which in itself is not really niche, but also cyberpunk and crime. Those two elements, I believe really mean this story will only appeal to a limited group. I know OP has already subbed, but I really hope others who look at this thread will do so too.

So, if you're interested, feel free to check out my novel:

N3on Noir | Tapas

[Akhilles]

I agree to this sentiment and initially, I considered not imparting the rule of subscribing back.

However, here's my thought on it. A lot of readers on Tapas are influenced by Subscriber count. There is nothing wrong with that, by the way. But such is the nature of things. I know that people look at a book, see that it has 25 subs or more and have this perception that it is good.

It's purely psychological and once that idea sets in, it sticks. Which is why, rather than subscribing randomly, I wanted it to be done as thanks.

[Akhilles]

It doesn't sound too niche. But it does sound like an interesting story. I'll check it out when I get the chance. Can I find the story on your profile?

[An_Alias]

I think I saw a discussion about how the algorithm detects dead/inactive/unengaged subs and takes that into account. I don’t know if it’s counted against the series of anything, but thats why sub for subs don’t seem to do anything for visibility.

[KhanSpring]

I can't speak how the number of subscribers influences one to subscribe themselves, as I don't look at it when I decide to. It is the story itself that draws me to.

[alcoholandcaffeine]

I noticed a recent topic on niche genres and how certain writers don't seem to find a large reader base for them. I can definitely understand the struggle. It seems easy to add in a werewolf, toss in the half-naked muscular guy or the pretty girl, and then blend in some erotica for good measure. I have seen such books garner great reader base. That is not to say that other genres don't get attention, but if you look at the trends on sites like Wattpad and Inkitt, you might notice a pattern.

You know, that sets us up nicely for the question of - what is considered niche? This is probably something that varies from platform to platform. I've written a variety of stuff, but the story I brought to Tapas is a slice-of-life historical fic...with selkies lol. Think Outlander meets Downton Abbey, but with selkies.

Is it a niche thing on Tapas? I'm not very sure. I feel like it might be, because despite the romance and fantasy elements, the story is heavily grounded in the real world. Was it niche on Wattpad? Maybe, because selkies aren't that common and the steamy scenes are all PG-13

So, I guess you could say niche is in the eye of the beholder, haha >_<

[Akhilles]

That is fantastic! It is good to know that you have an open-minded approach to reading stories. However, that may not be for everyone. It's the same with a lot of platforms, including Wattpad. Why else do people actively seek subscribers or why else would people promote their book in threads? They want more readers, followers, and subscribers.

It's the illusion of popularity and that works in many cases.

[Akhilles]

I can see your point. But when you look at most platforms, fantasy romance and erotica are the common denominator when it comes to popular genres.

I like your premise. Slice-of-life is fairly challenging, since it requires a good balance between conversations and situations.

[therosesword]

Wish this post would have been here a few months ago when i moved my Wuxia to vella. Darn. Best of luck. The niche market over there is the same story. maybe I SHOULD throw in a were wolf and erotica, it might get more notice. Ha! I'll stay true to my niche.

[Akhilles]

That is interesting and I'm glad to know I got to know this.

My point was about reader perception. While I personally prefer to read a story before making judgments, there are those who look at a story, see the small subscriber count, and then conclude that maybe the story isn't all the interesting. There isn't any evidence to support this so take this with a grain of salt, but I noticed this happen on platforms like Wattpad.

[kitkatxk]

Yes it's called Tie Him To Me. Thank you for the interest. I hope you enjoy it. And if not any feedback on why not would be super appreciated even if it's only a sentence. XD

Tie Him To Me (Book 1 of THTM The Series) | Tapas