canadianspankee:
I fully agree, those who "read" to the end reap a reward however I still wonder how many of our readers follow through on a series. It would be interesting to look back and see how well serials have done in the Library.
Maybe I need to learn some tricks. For example I noticed "Southern Exposure" is running around 30+ episodes but has switched between F/tm to tm/F, and now starting to switch back.
I also think genre written about is a strong factor, some genre's do not have the followers like others, like F/M which I write is 3rd behind M/F and F/F in number of stories available. Also I have as yet to include stories about pre-adults and there seems to be strong following in those stories.
Well, readers may lose interest in a serial, and it does require more focus than a quick, relatively short story with all-new, 'one-shot-deal' characters--it's harder to keep track of everything and everyone in a serial, when you may be reading part thirteen while trying to think back RE its reference to something that took place in part five.
As for "Southern Exposure," I can't speak for its author (tfs) but I've assumed that he's writing it as he perceives the characters and plot line developing, so spanking gender orientation changing would be part of the serial's character and plot development.
If you aren't especially interested in non-adult stories, then IMHO you wouldn't feel very fullfilled in writing them even if they did turn out to be fairly popular. If you truly feel like experimenting with producing stories featuring teenagers and/or even preteen children, that's obviously a different situation.
But AFAIC it's not a good idea to try "tricks" within a series merely in an attempt to improve its readership--although sometimes the characters and storyline may play unexpected "tricks" on an author that he/she didn't plan on.
Sometimes a writer has to 'go with the flow,' especially when one's 'muse' abruptly changes from a beguiling young nymph into a whip-cracking dominatrix... --C.K.