PsyberRose based on wulin jianghu info, harem is when sultan, emperor or king have a "certain place" where his women are surrounding him and he could go round and around just for his own happy time. No wonder there are also lots of eunuch at that time. It is so they could not NTR their boss. 
Well, at least not physically.
At that time, there are no mentioning of alpha beta and the like of it. But then come our time of when readers just like to brand the MC are beta or not just because they fit or not with their taste.
Just imagine an emperor/king, with their harem, and they are beta. 
What do women think of harem stories?
GegeSadewa Yeah, I know that is what harem is i.e. Sultan's harem. That's why I can't understand why they want to label a guy having tons of girls after him to be a 'harem' when it's not. Unless he gets with all of them.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
when did topic go to male leads and your choices... Damn. this subject should be anwered by women. stand by guys! Behold! I wonder what momen think about harem novels as well. dont spoil their thoughts
nyype uh, yeah. Um, sorry.
All right ladies, please give us insight of your opinion. 
Whats that? No, we cannot read minds, so please tell us directly.
And yes, lots of us are dense, sorry about that.
CacackleLasson Truthfully it digusts me especially if the novel plot is interesting. Most harem stories changes the story turning a smart interesting mc to one whose dick leads him making the story boring. The women don't have substance, they might have different personalities but after being saved, they turn to the ideal mc filled bimbo fc. I also see the writers as closed in otakus longing for what they can't have in reality.
CacackleLasson Truthfully it digusts me especially if the novel plot is interesting. Most harem stories changes the story turning a smart interesting mc to one whose dick leads him making the story boring. The women don't have substance, they might have different personalities but after being saved, they turn to the ideal mc filled bimbo fc. I also see the writers as closed in otakus longing for what they can't have in reality.
As I sit here reading all the replies to this topic it is sad that many do not know all the different Dynamics to their own answers. I myself love harem and reverse harem stories. I am a natural alpha female in the human world. In human world there is also Alphas, betas, gamas, and omegas. It Is Not Just With Werewolves HaHa! Even in our prison system, houses are broken up into these people classifications to avoid more problems than normal and conflicting personality types. A male that seems to not use his advantage of having the harem around him is considered more of a beta, Because of the alpha, their strength and desires can be insatiable and would more enjoy the use and affection of multiple partners. I have also met other human alphas that are monogamous and do not have a problem and desire being with one partner and loyal. I on the other hand am very sexually insatiable, therefore harem stories excite me due to the fact that I would have enough partners to keep me happy and more satisfied when I've already worn out one or two for the day. ;) But yes in harem stories the MC usually prefers one and sticks more to them. Just like a real royalty situation where a king would have one main queen and a selection of concubines to use when she wouldn't be putting out or he was bored. Which is still true to real life. Even if I was allowed my own harem which would actually consist of males and females I would still have my favorites of each that I would dote on more.
The people who seem to not prefer harem stories are the more monogamous people, and that's completely great and fine for them. It does seem the more sexually intrigued a person is the more they would fancy harem stories over not. It's really just the type of person.
Not a female, but I find I enjoy romance novels with harem themes. As in: The MC has many people wanting for them, but has always had/keeps their sights set on one romantic interest. The others are pretty much there for comedic support, when it comes to romantic situations. It's the kind of vibe I go for with my story. My MC is male, and all the women want him, except the one he wants. He constantly shoos the others off while pursuing her and her alone, showing his devotion towards that one person.
But, that's just my opinion as an avid male reader.
I find males who actively want a harem to be offensive(this is what most call thinking with their dick)and often times disregard the girls feelings and some treat females as collectibles which is offensive and sometimes unreasonable in the story plot if it becomes the main focus, and the mq who treat them as nothing more then sex objects are offensive, the mc should have reasonably sized harem because harem end up having like 10 women or more, which i find unreasonable large and unrealistic, mc sometimes come across as children if their actively searching for harems, p.s (im bias to harem novels so don't take it seriously but if you want my general opinion and conclusions about harem its that most are offensive and unrealistic and unreasonable)
I find males who actively want a harem to be offensive(this is what most call thinking with their dick)and often times disregard the girls feelings and some treat females as collectibles which is offensive and sometimes unreasonable in the story plot if it becomes the main focus, and the mq who treat them as nothing more then sex objects are offensive, the mc should have reasonably sized harem because harem end up having like 10 women or more, which i find unreasonable large and unrealistic, mc sometimes come across as children if their actively searching for harems, p.s (im bias to harem novels so don't take it seriously but if you want my general opinion and conclusions about harem its that most are offensive and unrealistic and unreasonable)
None_None_1744
As an author who can see this err in my writing, I would like to ask: How to fix it?
What I think is: Tell that MC is attracted to something in their personality too and show him caring for the girls own worries.
Anything else?
CacackleLasson i avoid them. whether it's harem or reverse harem. it's still okay if a lot of people likes a single person but i don't like it when mc goes oh-no-i-like-them-all-who-do-i-choose. like dude or sis, you ain't shopping.
Im not a woman but honestly I hate harems because they have a few options.
- The mc never chooses a girl, and lives his life with all of them falling over him yet never actually goes with any of them.
- The mc becomes a player who goes with all of them, either leading them all on or getting them to all just accept the fact that he has multiple- which is completely unacceptable by my own standards.
- The mc ends up struggling and eventually picking one to go with, which is in my opinion the only acceptable harem route. Even at this, the harem either ends at this point or the girls continue trying. Even so, this usually leads to a scenario where there is much disappointment among the people who wanted a certain one to win out.
If it's not among these three options, then it's pretty rare as a story. They should cover almost everything, and none of them are great imo.
In China, harem palace dramas and CEO harem stories are always top among women.
I stay away because I'm a guy. Don't know why they love harems so much lol. But that is China. The women there are more liberal and open minded without any of the hypocrisy found elsewhere.
Personally I love harem, rather reverse harem..sadly on we novel most reverse harems have zero plots at least the ones in my features though I have found two that I like so far.
What I hate about harmed so far are the love interests, the secondary lead is either cannon fodder which is ok, or as the male secondary character he loves the fl so much he loses out on his own happiness forced to watch her be happy and doing his best to keep her happy, so..anothered I decided to write my own because who does not want a happy ending for their favourite character? Or think ah why is it that men can have a harem and women can not?
Anyway as a woman I love reverse harmed for instance there are decent reads on Amazon either romance or light novels with really good plots
filthy rich boys by C.M stunch
all the pretty monsters by Kristy Cunning
Are a prime examples and to be shameless mines are not bad either the plots are there as well.
No_No_1337 well im inexperienced in writing novels about harems or romance but I think the mc should like their personality so its not just looks they like and give some info of why they like them and how they are.
None_None_1744
All perspectives are welcome. Just because you are inexperienced doesn't mean you can't say your opinion. As noted, I had rather forgotten this big, major fact too well.
So thank you. Now I need to fix my novel
lynerparel Huh? Didn't he say he was a male in that very post you are replying to?
GegeSadewa But still, if the story is good enough, I dont mind reading them eventhough Im a male.
I'm not sure how that turned into him saying he's a girl.
HotRedFlaming I'll complain my complaint is the name Chad lol (just paying lol)
Avidfan I have been in a relationship with same girl and have two kids and I work online I have no social circle and pretty much talk to no one but on webnovel lol (I got your point though lol)