Which online platform(s) do you use to publish your stories and why?

[EverenVale]

Hi

I am Everen Vale, and I just completed my first story on this platform.

The story has fourteen chapters and one bonus chapter for those who are interested.

Chapters are short but packed with love, emotions, questions, and methodology.

This is my first story on this platform. So let me know what you're thinking.

https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1446738/ashes-and-atonement/

Also, here are my questions:

1. Which online platform(s) do you use to publish your stories and why?

2. If you have any experience with LGBT+ representative stories, which platform gives you the most readers/viewers?

 

[John_Owl]

I only use SH here on my primary. I do have an AO3 for stories I don't want connected to me (either due to content, quality, rambling thoughts, etc. basically just getting the trash out of my head so I can write here more effectively). I've used Wattpad, which was better for LGBT than some others, but that's been known so you still get drowned out by other stories. When I say mine did "better" I mean 2 views as opposed to 1.

Belletristica I did fairly well on and my LGBT chapters did fairly well, but that site closed down end of 2024.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

1. Which online platform(s) do you use to publish your stories and why?

So far I have one on HoneyFeed and two on Royal Road - both of the latter sort of published here (Diamond in the Rough was here first, True Blue just started here). Plan to put some up on SubStack but have not yet.
Everything else is here. So far.

2. If you have any experience with LGBT+ representative stories, which platform gives you the most readers/viewers?

As far as I can tell, unless you do it as a webcomic and buy a paid membership at Tapas, this is the only site that openly welcomes such stories, but many tolerate them. Though maybe one of the furry-focused or adult-themed sites (AO3 I keep hearing about, for example) is even better.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

I use my personal website, Bolander Books, Scribble Hub, Honeyfeed, SoFurry, and Furaffinity. I used to use Royal Road, but I was kicked off back in September. I'm probably going to see if I can sneak back on there once my litrpg is ready to go live, but for now I'm fine with just these ones.

 

[EverenVale]

I only use SH here on my primary. I do have an AO3 for stories I don't want connected to me (either due to content, quality, rambling thoughts, etc. basically just getting the trash out of my head so I can write here more effectively). I've used Wattpad, which was better for LGBT than some others, but that's been known so you still get drowned out by other stories. When I say mine did "better" I mean 2 views as opposed to 1.

Belletristica I did fairly well on and my LGBT chapters did fairly well, but that site closed down end of 2024.

Thank you for your reply.

I still have to research SH or AO3 to see what they are. But don't worry. That's my job. ?

So far I have one on HoneyFeed and two on Royal Road - both of the latter sort of published here (Diamond in the Rough was here first, True Blue just started here). Plan to put some up on SubStack but have not yet.
Everything else is here. So far.

As far as I can tell, unless you do it as a webcomic and buy a paid membership at Tapas, this is the only site that openly welcomes such stories, but many tolerate them. Though maybe one of the furry-focused or adult-themed sites (AO3 I keep hearing about, for example) is even better.

Oh wow. That was super helpful. I'll search for them.
I have dozens of short LGBT+ stories and smuts that I wrote just to clear my head, and I thought maybe I could publish them somewhere.
Thanks for the advice.

I use my personal website, Bolander Books, Scribble Hub, Honeyfeed, SoFurry, and Furaffinity. I used to use Royal Road, but I was kicked off back in September. I'm probably going to see if I can sneak back on there once my litrpg is ready to go live, but for now I'm fine with just these ones.

Okay... Okay... There were some new platforms I had never heard of before. I will definitely search for them.

Do you know why they kicked you out? Did they give you any reason?

 

[beast_regards]

I post on the Scribble Hub, AO3, Sufficient Velocity and Questionable Questing. Discontinued posting on SoFurry due to lack of interest.

I am no longer welcomed on the Royal Road either. I have issues with them (and they with me)

Otherwise I didn't find any other site which would be convenient to use ...

Any of those sites would allow LGBT content as well.

I would be careful with LGBT (or anything else for what matter) on Sufficient Velocity. Not only the smut is not allowed, they and their Spacebattles sister site are very peculiar...

If you want LGBT dedicated site, however, you should go with Tapas.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Only SH

1. I’m too lazy to post anywhere else
2. Scribble hub is the only site with good discoverability for new or small authors
3. No one on RR is going to read a gender bender novel anyways, all the readers already use SH

 

[John_Owl]

Thank you for your reply.

I still have to research SH or AO3 to see what they are. But don't worry. That's my job. ?

well, SH is growing and as such has better discoverability. It also has looser restrictions on what is and isn't allowed over WP.

AO3 is open to nearly anything. The only real restrictions are that submissions must be of "fannish" origin (yes, it's as ill-defined as you might expect. generally, either part of a fandom OR somehow loosely based on an existing work/fandom), and they don't allow photographs or photorealistic depictions of underage people. Pretty much anything else is allowed according to their Content Policy.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

Do you know why they kicked you out? Did they give you any reason?

The only reason they would give me was that I was "argumentative." Which basically means I didn't break any rules, but I somehow offended the mods enough to ban me anyway. Since this happened almost immediately after I took the position that authors shouldn't be allowed to market porn to underage audiences, I have to assume it was because of that.

 

[Clo]

No one on RR is going to read a gender bender novel anyways, all the readers already use SH

I have more readers and views on Royal Road for my genderbender than I do ScribbleHub, actually. Not by much, it's around a 40:60 split?

I do have LitRPG elements on top of Genderfeels, though, which might explain that.

 

[naosu]

I use my personal website, Bolander Books, Scribble Hub, Honeyfeed, SoFurry, and Furaffinity. I used to use Royal Road, but I was kicked off back in September. I'm probably going to see if I can sneak back on there once my litrpg is ready to go live, but for now I'm fine with just these ones.

You know I have to comment about this. I'm grateful you came forward and said this openly. MANY people have experienced hurt from Royal Road. They seem to go after good writers and chase them off consistently. There's actually probably... dozens of accounts of this happening. And the accounts are almost always very good stories that were highly popular, with unnatural enmity for no reason. When you talk to readers, they can tell you, 'my favorite story was purged on RR'.

So... I'm not saying don't use it. Use everything you have. But I don't trust that source. I also had problems there for no reason, and false claims that appear to have been artificially engineered.

People also seem to have had trouble with that Webnovel site too.

 

[vieveda]

1. Which online platform(s) do you use to publish your stories and why?

2. If you have any experience with LGBT+ representative stories, which platform gives you the most readers/viewers?

Hi there! I have published my BL novel on Scribble Hub, Tapas and Wattpad. It's a long read but I've had the most readers, views, likes etc. over on Tapas. The second best performing (and by quite a huge difference) has been Scribble Hub, and nothing much in the way of views on Wattpad (I just personally find it easiest to write drafts there)

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

So... I'm not saying don't use it. Use everything you have. But I don't trust that source.

Trust me, the only reason I'm even considering making a new account is because they're the biggest webserial site on the internet. And I'm only going to upload my litrpg there. None of my other books are going up. If I'm lucky, it'll get popular and I'll develop a following so that even if the mods figure out who I am, they won't want to delete my account because of the ad revenue it's bringing them. Eventually the hope is that I can stub the series and go to Kindle Unlimited full time. None of my other series have come even close to that level of popularity, but I also haven't been writing for market until now either, so who knows?

...what do you wanna bet that the litrpg craze finally dies right as I start uploading mine?

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Pros, cons, & audiences of every writing/webnovel site[a continual discussion]

I want to produce a helpful comprehensive list of all the writing/webnovel/publishing sites and what each provide so I come asking for your knowledge. What are some of the pros, cons, audiences, popular genres, unpopular genres, communities, and scandals or unethical business practices that each...

forum.scribblehub.com

Try this for a list of all of them. I use the ones that are filled in for the most part.

 

[Macha]

1. Ao3 and Tapas for now because Scribble Hub has issues with bots and translations burying your story. Royal Road and Webnovel will scam you out of your money. Don't use them.

2. Tapas has been a very welcoming platform with friendly readers base so far. The only thing it's against is AI. Create your own cover and you will be fine.

 

[Deleted member 120990]

1. Ao3 and Tapas for now because Scribble Hub has issues with bots and translations burying your story. Royal Road and Webnovel will scam you out of your money. Don't use them.

2. Tapas has been a very welcoming platform with friendly readers base so far. The only thing it's against is AI. Create your own cover and you will be fine.

If you find a translation, you need to report it. We found a bunch of translations and reported them, so they'd be hidden.

To answer OP:
1. Ive used Scribble Hub, Webnovel, Royal Road, Honeyfeed, and AO3. Out of all them Scibble Hub has the best discoverability and maybe Webnovel if you get contracted. Honeyfeed I never got even a comment.

2. Scribble Hub, AO3, and Webnovel are all fine for LGBT stories. Royal Road is like the worst for them. It doesn't even have tags to allow people to find them very well.

 

[Keene]

SH/RR and recently signed a non-exclusive contract for Tapas.

For my sapphic romance fantasy/isekai, SH was stronger initially, but now RR is much better in terms of continuing to grow. I've gained 500+ readers on RR in the time it took to gain another 50 on SH. I suspect this is simply because RR readerbase is ~5x what SH is.

 

[naosu]

Hi there! I have published my BL novel on Scribble Hub, Tapas and Wattpad. It's a long read but I've had the most readers, views, likes etc. over on Tapas. The second best performing (and by quite a huge difference) has been Scribble Hub, and nothing much in the way of views on Wattpad (I just personally find it easiest to write drafts there)

Thanks for mentioning Tapas. I'd not heard of that one. I'm excited to check it out. Hope writing works out for you too.

If you find a translation, you need to report it. We found a bunch of translations and reported them, so they'd be hidden.

To answer OP:
1. Ive used Scribble Hub, Webnovel, Royal Road, Honeyfeed, and AO3. Out of all them Scibble Hub has the best discoverability and maybe Webnovel if you get contracted. Honeyfeed I never got even a comment.

2. Scribble Hub, AO3, and Webnovel are all fine for LGBT stories. Royal Road is like the worst for them. It doesn't even have tags to allow people to find them very well.

I believe RR gets more sabotage from rivals than any other site also based on what I saw there.

 

[Macha]

I believe RR gets more sabotage from rivals than any other site also based on what I saw there.

Sounds lik skill issue. Why waste your time sabotaging your rival if you can just git gud?

 

[beast_regards]

Can't say it aloud. Can't say it aloud. Can't say it aloud. Can't say it aloud.