Tags in a Novel

NiQuinn

ฅ/ᐠ ̳ .ᆺ. ̳ ᐟ\ฅ ~~ᴺʸᵃᵃ
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
395
Points
133
I get that the reader doesn't have the power to add tags to novels but is it too much to ask for the author to add pertinent tags to their stories? Never read The Great Game but I've been randomly going around the site to see reviews and saw a review in the said novel that romance and harem are a big part of the first 100 chapters and the reviewer called them out for not having the tags for it.

As an author, would you leave out tags/genres to attract more readers? Or, are you the kind to have all necessary tags just so that your audience at least knows what they can expect?
 

taesijr123

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
46
Points
58
:unsure: My story tags are pretty messed up.
Tagging romance was my biggest mistake as the story has a romance that doesn't particularly focus between Male and Female.

:whistle: So.... yeah it's better to add less tags than too much. cuz you draw the wrong crowd somehow.
 

Kotohood

Noob Author
Joined
May 17, 2019
Messages
263
Points
103
My problem stems more from the fact that I do not understand some of tags. Like I don't have a dictionary to explain what tag is what.

Like some tags are just vague and some tags just doesn't fit if you get what I mean. Sometimes, the tag I'm looking for would not be in the list and I would have to take the closest tag that I can think off and truth to be told it doesn't really correspond to the story when you do it that way.

Another problem is that as an author, we(sometimes) know the story from start to finish so we might put in some tags that we think might be relevant, but to the readers who has to read thousands of words. It's... Not at all what they are looking for.

At the end of the day I prefer the NU system where the reader decides the tags. Maybe a system where we choose what we tag in the end, but I prefer to let other people decide.
 

Kotohood

Noob Author
Joined
May 17, 2019
Messages
263
Points
103
Would a separate section labeled as Reader Tags make sense then? Like in NU were readers slap in what they think the author didn't mention? @flucket @taesijr123 @Kotohood
It might work. I'm not really an expert in this, but it will help against those who just tag whatever tags they like I guess. But I can imagine it being too cluttery if not implemented well.
 

tak

Active member
Joined
Feb 4, 2019
Messages
130
Points
43
readers being able to nominate tags and then have the author either approve the tag or decline the tag would be the best middle ground
agree. Cause in NU there are trollers who like adding unrelated tags...
 

GDLiZy

Tale Admirer
Joined
Dec 23, 2018
Messages
598
Points
133
25 tags are definitely not enough for me if I wanted to include everything. Just right now I have 22 tags and my first volume isn't even finished.
 

yansusustories

Matchmaker of Handsome Men
Joined
Mar 13, 2019
Messages
622
Points
133
It's sometimes hard to decide which tags to use considering the limit. If a series is rather long and complicated, then which tag is more important? A tag describing the protagonist? Something that concerns the first volume? Something that will be important in volume 10?
I've used up all 25 slots for my main series but I could still add a bunch of others and I'd need to if I want them to accurately describe the series. I mean just starting off with the example of the protagonist: It could be a non-human protagonist, then you might want to add the specific race if that's important, then maybe you want to specify whether it's a cold-hearted and cruel MC or whatever. If the story is romance, then maybe you'd do well to establish what kind of love interest there'll be. That alone would make up a bunch of tags that only tell you basic things about the series.
 

tak

Active member
Joined
Feb 4, 2019
Messages
130
Points
43
I'd prioritize "trigger tags", tags that people avoid. One of the reasons is i'm scared of being under the spotlight, so less reader is better for me
abusive/abuse, brain washing, depictions of cruelty, death, disfigurement, drugs, forced _, gore, incest, mind break, misandy, mpreg, psychopaths, racism, rape, slaves, and so on i'm too lazy to check all the tags
And some porn-related tags.
edit: misclick, posted before i finished writing
There's some that doubles as "fetish tags", tags that people look for. Idk what to do with those.

Right now my novel only has 2 tags & 2 chapters, so that's a problem for future me
 
Last edited:

tiaf

ゞ(シㅇ3ㅇ)っ•♥•Speak fishy, read BL.•♥•
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
2,256
Points
153
The idea of a readers tags section is actually not so bad. Maybe a function of banning tags would be good too. This could prevent the abuse of power by trolls and the author has the control over totally unrelated tags.
 

Ninetailed_Furball

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
137
Points
83
I personally view tags as a combination advertisement and promise.
Tags advertise by helping readers have an idea about what the story is about beyond what your description can do.
They're a promise in that they literally promise that your story will feature this thing that you've listed.

Both are important aspects, but I've started to think that less is also more. A promise that a certain thing will be important in the future is good, as it helps readers understand that this thing is a major part of the story, but at the same time it can spoil certain aspects of the story. Things that you might not have originally considered as making a surprise might turn and bite you as people predict major plot points dozens of chapters in advance because you hinted at it in a tag.

On the other hand, tagging something that isn't an important part of your story can frustrate readers, as they came in looking forward to something only to not get it. The biggest offenders of this are when you tag something that's important in the premise, but become pretty irrelevant after a handful of chapters, or tagging something which the main story will be about, but you have to go through 20+ chapters where it doesn't appear in the slightest before it becomes relevant.

For that last bit, being able to split a story into volumes and the tags attached to them would be nice, but this site doesn't have such a feature unfortunately.
 

awake1122

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2019
Messages
19
Points
43
Can you edit the tags on a story? I haven't posted a story here so I don't know yet.
 

tiaf

ゞ(シㅇ3ㅇ)っ•♥•Speak fishy, read BL.•♥•
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
2,256
Points
153
@awake1122 Only the author can change the tags of his/her story
 

awake1122

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2019
Messages
19
Points
43
@awake1122 Only the author can change the tags of his/her story
just making sure that was an option. I've been thinking of a new story to post here, and was thinking of adding tags as the story developed more. I was afraid I was setting my story in stone with what tags I give it.
 

NiQuinn

ฅ/ᐠ ̳ .ᆺ. ̳ ᐟ\ฅ ~~ᴺʸᵃᵃ
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
395
Points
133
For that last bit, being able to split a story into volumes and the tags attached to them would be nice, but this site doesn't have such a feature unfortunately.

Why not request for the feature in the forum?

On the other hand, tagging something that isn't an important part of your story can frustrate readers, as they came in looking forward to something only to not get it
This is why I believe less is more. Using tags that are the core of your story should be enough. However, I do believe jarring subjects like rape and violence should always be tagged. It's a much-needed heads up for any story. At least I think so.
 

TLCsDestiny

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
249
Points
83
Tags becoming a problem: let's just think of this for a moment. In a bookstore there aren't so called 'tags' so it's a synopsis that is used to sell the book. Why are people getting upset so much? Probably because 'it's not what they thought'...well, our books are free mate and ur still not satisfied? So what if a tag is wrong, I've happily fixed one up myself. To me...this is immature. They are upset that they 'wasted' ten (give or take) minutes of their time...instead, why don't they give the book a good go first before stopping and complaining??
 

Sabruness

Cultured Yuri Connoisseur
Joined
Dec 23, 2018
Messages
824
Points
133
Some element of readers being able to tag is interesting but the NU process, as some have suggested to be used, is too prone to abuse and trolling. Perhaps something like a small section under the tags part that might be "reader suggested tags" or something. That way readers could suggest tags that they think fit the story but arent listed by the author. As a counter-balance, authors could have the ability to remove tags from that section that they dont agree with (ie troll tags, divisive tags (like NTR, cheating etc) and such).

Sure, authors could just empty the field altogether themselves but it'd easier to manage overall. Making it clear that they are reader suggested and thus not necessarily representative of the story as it progresses and subject to change would avoid any real misunderstanding of a story due to tags. Again, still potential for screwing around but easier to manage.
 

bananapink

The Sickly Banana
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Messages
214
Points
83
Tags are like a mini spoiler that tells readers what to expect. I have a habit of tagging everything my story features, the problem is there isn't enough space. For online reading, as a reader, I rely on tags to guide me to find a specific story with a certain feature I want.
 

Ninetailed_Furball

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
137
Points
83
Why not request for the feature in the forum?

This is why I believe less is more. Using tags that are the core of your story should be enough. However, I do believe jarring subjects like rape and violence should always be tagged. It's a much-needed heads up for any story. At least I think so.
You know what, I should use the forum for more than just dicking around in between writing chapters. I haven't even thought about suggesting things like that. Shame on me.
Well, I do agree on tagging jarring content like that, though I do kinda wish that they could be put into a separate category if it's only for a one-time thing or something. [Rape - Two occurrences] or something. Well, at the very least, authors can easily warn people at the top of a chapter that contains such content. I've done it for death once myself (though quite a lot of people had predicted it would happen like 10 chapters in advance).
I'm a bit against reader tags to be honest. It's easy for them to contain spoilers and being abused. Even if an author can easily remove tags, they can be put on again. Or if adding tags that's been removed is blocked, then other irrelevant tags can be added if the author's being trolled. And one really bad tag that the author fails to notice can really hurt the story's popularity until they notice. If it takes too long, then it could become bad enough that the author's forced to abandon the story.
If abuse like that can't be prevented, then I'm not sure that it should ever be implemented.
 
Top