Quote by Piquet
Personally, I've never used the Novels tag. I've shied away from it, imagining a potential reader thinking that they're about to be confronted with something the length of Anna Karenina. I recently learned that the 'Outstanding Series' tag was abolished. I remember seeing that back in the 90s when I was writing long, multi-chapter series and praying that I could win it. Of course I didn't. Now I think it's a mistake to write a long multi-chapter series if you care about views, likes, and comments, and let's face it, who the hell doesn't?
I've written four novel-length series since I started here, and while some of the individual chapters have received Recommended Reads and even a few Editor's Pick badges, none of the series have done well in terms of likes and comments. (eg, Editor's Pick for 'The Slave Princess, Chap 2. It got 17 likes and 8 comments.) I consider any story that gets fewer than ten comments a failure.
Maybe I'm being too harsh on myself, but I certainly won't be writing multi-chapter stories in the future, nor will I be tagging anything a 'novel'.
An interesting post, Piquet. From now on, I too won't be using the novel tag as much as I used to, having used it for around 80 of my first 100 stories here. I do think it puts people off, so now I tend to use Wife Lovers, or, where it is appropriate, another genre, with a novel's tag. I also agree with the 10 likes. If I didn't get that on an ongoing story, I too would probably stop there.
One thing I will say about my novels, though, is that it is nice to hear or see via the likes, members reading them, crossing off each chapter. I get a lot of pleasure from that.
Which brings me to my latest series, "Cash in Hand", although none of the chapters is in the novel genre. It currently runs to over 100,000 words, and it has surprised me how many members are enjoying it. As long as I receive around 50 likes per chapter, I will continue to add stories to the series. π
I would also like the 'Outstanding Series' badge to come back, but I don't see it (reasons discussed elsewhere). For me, the ultimate challenge for any author is to write a 50,000-word-plus story that keeps readers entertained, although I admit, I would like to receive at least one RR on the way! π³π