Author's notes

Hello, I just posted a question in How To, as I thought it belonged better there, dealing with site policy and not the mechanics of writing. I was directed to this subforum instead, however. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the same thing twice lest it be seen as Spam. :/ My question was regarding whether author's notes are allowed on Literotica, and if so, if there's a length limit...my original post is here:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1058731

My apologies if this is out of place or if I shouldn't be posting it here.

tehuti88 said:

Hello, I just posted a question in How To, as I thought it belonged better there, dealing with site policy and not the mechanics of writing. I was directed to this subforum instead, however. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the same thing twice lest it be seen as Spam. :/ My question was regarding whether author's notes are allowed on Literotica, and if so, if there's a length limit...my original post is here:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1058731

My apologies if this is out of place or if I shouldn't be posting it here.

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I saw that your author's note was of 2400 words

That's huge.

But enough talk about my penis. You should be short and precise in such cases.

Your stories are connected, so a single line does the work. If you start explaining things, and feel that it's pivotal to the story,

then you need to add that part into the story itself.

2400 words sound like an essay to me.

My personal opinion is, that authors notes is a disease that should be avoided at all cost, except for thanking your editor and dedications.


There are numerous reasons for this. Like for instance....


- A story should be able to stand on it's own, without the author making a flurry of excuses and explanations. An authors note is basically the "duct-tape of stories that are falling apart." Forget all the bad excuses and fix the story instead.

- An authors note breaks the fourth wall and can sometimes almost ruin the style and atmosphere of a story. Nothing sours the immersiveness of a story like being told right from the start that "This is pure fantasy and nothing is real". Even if people already know that, there is no reason to drill it into their skulls. Leave the readers a little space to fantasize.

- Authors notes often contain spoilers. Like for instance: "if you don't like stories where cheaters reconcile in the end, don't read this tale". And that's it - story spoiled because the author is scared of getting bad comments from the btb crowd. Grow a pair and trust in your product. Even the worst comments wont harm you physically.

- Disclaimers are useless. Your story wont be approved in the first place if it violates the Literotica submission guidelines, so stating that "all characters are consenting adults of 18 or older" is redundant. The story wouldn't be here in the first place if they weren't.

- One thing I find especially odd is when the authors breaks the fourth wall in order to chit-chat and drone on about "why" or "how" he wrote this story. Like: "I was stuck in a hotel in Biloxi because of bad weather and I saw this dude in a black wetsuit with a purple bowtie and a stuffed parrot on his head. This inspired me to write the following story. Hope you like it.... blah... blah blah... blah... " I mean, seriously??? Write a separate essay or something. Don't pollute the story with irrelevant blabber.

I agree that a note should never be an excuse and never be a story in and of itself.

I use them to thank people or to simply say "Hello" to the readers. I have a standard disclaimer that my stories are on the longer side and not stroke oriented so if you are looking for a quick read I'm not for you.

If there is something off category that tends to be squickish I will mention it as both a warning to not offend the reader and to save myself from being flamed, but most of my stuff falls into whatever category its in. I save the more complicated works for sale at this point.

If you feel that you have to explain that much, there's probably something missing in your story. As a reader, I would shy away from such a long introduction/explanayion/apology.

patientlee said:

If you feel that you have to explain that much, there's probably something missing in your story. As a reader, I would shy away from such a long introduction/explanayion/apology.

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For a multi-part story, I've taken to giving a tiny summary of recent action. Then I echo the tags. I'm coming to think that's enough.

tehuti88 said:

Hello, I just posted a question in How To, as I thought it belonged better there, dealing with site policy and not the mechanics of writing. I was directed to this subforum instead, however. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the same thing twice lest it be seen as Spam. :/ My question was regarding whether author's notes are allowed on Literotica, and if so, if there's a length limit...my original post is here:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1058731

My apologies if this is out of place or if I shouldn't be posting it here.

Click to expand...

Authors' notes are allowed. I'll often have a short note at the beginning of a story to give readers some idea what they're getting into, similar to what LC describes. I'll also use a pre-note for things that might confuse/bother readers. For example, I don't think many non-Australian readers would understand the nuances of "wogs" and "Skips" in Australian English, and people might be confused by why the Greek family is celebrating Easter a week after everybody else.

At the end of the story I'll usually include a short note, something like this:

Thank you for reading! I welcome feedback. I don't post often, so if you want me to let you know when I have a new story out, you can use the Contact tab to give me your email address.

The copperhead incident happened to somebody I knew.

For a series, I might give some information about posting schedule. I usually leave long notes about the writing process for my blog.

I happen to like the idea of Author's Notes. It's most of the time your only chance to let the reader know anything about the tale before it is read. When you are at Barnes and Noble, do you buy a book based upon the title or do you flip it over and read the book jacket to find out maybe a snippet about the story and something about the writer? (Damn - did I just date myself by talking about going to a book store to shop for a hardcover?!?!)

The truth is, yes, a short less than 10 sentence sort of note or some sort is just fine. Anything longer than that is unnecessary.

-V

I found a good place for notes

As others have stated, I like a story to stand on its own so author's notes embedded at the beginning or end of the story seems to me like the author should have spent a bit more effort writing.

However, almost every one of my stories has been in some way misinterpreted by the readers. I find this misinterpretation issue by reading the comments. So what I have started doing is adding my author's notes in a comment to the story titled "Notes From the Author". Surprisingly a fair number of people that have left a comment come back and leave another comment after I have posted my notes. Also, I have noticed that the story's voting score goes up after I add my notes to the comments.

FantasyXY said:

... almost every one of my stories has been in some way misinterpreted by the readers. I find this misinterpretation issue by reading the comments. So what I have started doing is adding my author's notes in a comment to the story titled "Notes From the Author". Surprisingly a fair number of people that have left a comment come back and leave another comment after I have posted my notes. Also, I have noticed that the story's voting score goes up after I add my notes to the comments.

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An interesting idea that I'll definitely try. But I still feel a need for at least warnings and disclaimers up front. My very first series here was rejected till I added "no under-18 sex" disclaimers. And yes, I *do* try to fend-off the unwilling with spoiler warnings, at least to the extent of "this story contains elements of paralyzing empathy, lizard sex, and dwarf incest" or whatever. I would rather surprise readers, but most readers here don't seem to like surprises. Bother.

StrangeLife said:

- Disclaimers are useless. Your story wont be approved in the first place if it violates the Literotica submission guidelines, so stating that "all characters are consenting adults of 18 or older" is redundant. The story wouldn't be here in the first place if they weren't.

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I agree with most of your points, except this one. An author's note stating that all characters are over the age of 18 can help get your story through the screening process in questionable situations. Some years ago one of my stories involved high school students, all aged 18 or older. It was rejected. I added the disclaimer but otherwise left the text untouched, and it passed through. Now, I only use that disclaimer if there is a mention of an underage character or a mention of some childhood event or some other detail that at a glance may appear questionable.

Serafina1210 said:

For a multi-part story, I've taken to giving a tiny summary of recent action. Then I echo the tags. I'm coming to think that's enough.

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As in...

"In the previous instalment we followed Burt to the family mink farm where he bumped into Jack's wife Prudence. They had sex under a baobab tree and in the throes of passion she revealed to him that Sue was actually Dave's sister from the time when his dad was married to Gertrude von Gallernberry. After having banged Pru unconscious, Dave went to the kitchen to get a beer, and that's where the story continues...."

Well, I must conceded that this could be the one way a foreword might actually be a positive addition to a story from a readers point of view. Although I would still argue that a reader who jumps into the middle of a series (clearly noticeable from the "ch xx" in the title) should be expected to be smart enough to go read from chapter 01 instead. Which he probably wont do after reading your intro, since the summary effectively spoils all the earlier chapters for him.

FantasyXY said:

However, almost every one of my stories has been in some way misinterpreted by the readers. I find this misinterpretation issue by reading the comments. So what I have started doing is adding my author's notes in a comment to the story titled "Notes From the Author". Surprisingly a fair number of people that have left a comment come back and leave another comment after I have posted my notes. Also, I have noticed that the story's voting score goes up after I add my notes to the comments.

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But if the story is consistently misinterpreted, wouldn't it be preferable to figure out what is really wrong rather than explaining around the problem or provide excuses?




Regarding the very interesting and somewhat unsettling arguments from soflabbwlvr & Hypoxia...

...to my knowledge - which is limited since I never put authors notes in my own stories - Laurel does not cut anybody any slack because of disclaimers in the authors notes. And I sure hope it is so, because she shouldn't. I mean, it would kinda be like putting a sign on your car informing the police that...

"Any measured speed above the legal speed limit is purely unintentional and not a deliberate act of the driver."

Trust me - you'd get a speeding ticket anyway.

What I'm getting at is, that if a character in your story is perceived by some readers to be under age, isn't that a problem with the story itself that should be fixed in the writing rather than through bad excuses (aka disclaimers) in an authors note?

soflabbwlvr said:

I agree with most of your points, except this one. An author's note stating that all characters are over the age of 18 can help get your story through the screening process in questionable situations. Some years ago one of my stories involved high school students, all aged 18 or older. It was rejected. I added the disclaimer but otherwise left the text untouched, and it passed through. Now, I only use that disclaimer if there is a mention of an underage character or a mention of some childhood event or some other detail that at a glance may appear questionable.

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Couldn't that same information be added as a note to Laurel on the submission form instead of as an author's note?

_Lynn_ said:

Couldn't that same information be added as a note to Laurel on the submission form instead of as an author's note?

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Or a simple change in the story. Like from...

"The following Friday she fucked Jim's brains out on the couch."

... to....

"The Friday following her eighteenth birthday party she fucked Jim's brains out on the couch."

StrangeLife said:

What I'm getting at is, that if a character in your story is perceived by some readers to be under age, isn't that a problem with the story itself that should be fixed in the writing rather than through bad excuses (aka disclaimers) in an authors note?

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Again, some of us have the experience of a non-disclaimed piece being rejected, and the VERY SAME piece accepted once disclaimed. There are also times when the disclaimer is absolutely necessary, as in my tale where underage humans are transformed into ADULT banana slugs before they mate. My writing 'weakness' here is probably in making 18-yr-olds sound and act too mature, not too immature, as if fig-leafing minors.

Another approach to disclaimers: make them LURID. Like, WARNING: Laurie gets reamed and rootered in this chapter! Steal a page from old EC and EERIE comix, where the Crypt-Keeper or whomever gives a little italicized introduction to warn you of the upcoming mayhem. Whetting the readers' appetites, eh? Don't forget the horrible puns.

StrangeLife said:

But if the story is consistently misinterpreted, wouldn't it be preferable to figure out what is really wrong rather than explaining around the problem or provide excuses?

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I wasn't trying to say that the story is consistently being misinterpreted. That is not the case. There are usually just a few readers that don't get it. The section where I have found this to be true most often is in LW. Nuff said about misinterpretation... right?

Sections aside, what I have discovered by writing my notes in a comment is that a fair number of readers seem to be reading the comments as well as the story. Many readers are leaving comments either based on the comments they have read, or are commenting on someone else's comment, instead of the actual story. (Call it group think, herding menatality, piling on... whatever)

By leaving my notes in the comments section the readers seem to get the feeling that the author is speaking directly to them, and caring at least a little bit about their opinions. I feel like my writing in the comments is another valuable way to interact with the readers.

_Lynn_ said:

Couldn't that same information be added as a note to Laurel on the submission form instead of as an author's note?

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I do it both ways, just to be safe.

StrangeLife said:

Or a simple change in the story. Like from...

"The following Friday she fucked Jim's brains out on the couch."

... to....

"The Friday following her eighteenth birthday party she fucked Jim's brains out on the couch."

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That's almost exactly what was flagged the first time. I add the note when circumstances warrant because the screening process is so perfunctory. I'm giving Laurel two opportunities to see the explanation in case she misses one.

StrangeLife said:

My personal opinion is, that authors notes is a disease that should be avoided at all cost, except for thanking your editor and dedications.

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I agree with this post and the reasons given, except that I would subtract thanking your editor (the author is the last one to have the file and is wholly responsible for it--if an editor is named and the author hasn't accepted a whole bunch of good editing suggestions, the editor gets the blame from readers unfairly) and I would add giving the number of chapters to be expected and the estimated time of completion for chaptered stories. I for one won't read a series that I even suspect is ongoing and not finished off.

On additional thought, I wouldn't include a dedication, either. This isn't a vanity site and few are posting in or about named folks. A dedication is downright pretentious for this type of story site.

I've used an author's note to alert the reader that there are earlier parts of the story. This was especially important in my Bill and Kate series, because the conclusion wasn't picked up as a chapter as is usually done, but rather as a separate story.

Even so, I try to add enough in to each part that it could be read without going back to the first chapters, or at least I did in that series.

soflabbwlvr said:

I agree with most of your points, except this one. An author's note stating that all characters are over the age of 18 can help get your story through the screening process in questionable situations. Some years ago one of my stories involved high school students, all aged 18 or older. It was rejected. I added the disclaimer but otherwise left the text untouched, and it passed through. Now, I only use that disclaimer if there is a mention of an underage character or a mention of some childhood event or some other detail that at a glance may appear questionable.

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I really, really don't like seeing that "everyone is over 18" disclaimer. My observation is that in most cases I see it, it's there because the text itself leaves that ambiguous (maybe on purpose--in actuality purposely trying to play the underage card and still get published). It's just another one of those "leading with the chin" disclaimer notes I frequently see. Make it clear in the text that everyone is over 18 and, as Lynn posts, if what you want to do is to clearly get it through the submissions process, put that in the Notes box for the editor instead. It's the disclaimer I expect from someone who is just trying to sneak it in under the wire.

Hypoxia said:

Again, some of us have the experience of a non-disclaimed piece being rejected, and the VERY SAME piece accepted once disclaimed. There are also times when the disclaimer is absolutely necessary, as in my tale where underage humans are transformed into banana slugs before they mate. My writing 'weakness' here is probably in making 18-yr-olds sound and act too mature, not too immature, as if fig-leafing minors.

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I cannot dispute this since I never include an authors note myself. It shouldn't be like that, but then again in an ideal world I would have a friends-with-benefits relationship with Scarlett Johansson and Kate Beckinsale, so...

Hypoxia said:

Another approach to disclaimers: make them LURID. Like, WARNING: Laurie gets reamed and rootered in this chapter! Steal a page from old EC and EERIE comix, where the Crypt-Keeper or whomever gives a little italicized introduction to warn you of the upcoming mayhem. Whetting the readers' appetites, eh? Don't forget the horrible puns.

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I agree, but in that case it's no longer an authors note in the usual sense of the word. If you insert yourself in the story on purpose - be it for comic relief or presentation or both - you become part of it, and it can be a very powerful tool like the Crypt-Keeper and Elvira Mistress of thew Dark have demonstrated many times.

So yeah - I would definitely consider including a "spoof authors note" in a comedy piece for that purpose

soflabbwlvr said:

That's almost exactly what was flagged the first time. I add the note when circumstances warrant because the screening process is so perfunctory. I'm giving Laurel two opportunities to see the explanation in case she misses one.

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I get the logic in your argument. "Since adding a note is no big deal, why not just do it and thus reduce the odds of getting rejected..."

However in my opinion adding a note is a big deal, because you are breaking the infamous fourth wall - something you should only do if absolutely necessary. It can be tempting to clear things up that way if you feel misunderstood or misinterpreted, but it invariably diminishes the impact of your story and degrades it. If you fear that Laurel will reject your story based on a misunderstanding, there are ways to include a note that only she can see. That way you wont need have it on public display for as long as the story is up if it's only purpose is facilitating a speedy approval.

My notes run a little long. I have the usual disclaimer about any resemblance to real characters etc. Plus I do put in the obvious about all characters over 18 hoping that it will shorten the time it takes to clear. I put in a sentence about graphic sex and how underage people shouldn't read my filth.

Lately I've been putting a short line about how many lit pages to expect. I screwed the pooch when I got it wrong on my last story. I've also been showing the tags used in the story.

Most of my stories have a short list of the characters, but I have been thinking of dropping that bit.

Basically I try to give a reader a few pointers to help them decide if it's their thing. I put in tags and story length because I like to know that before I start.

Edited 'there thing' to 'their thing' Arrrgggghhh I hate that.

49greg said:

Basically I try to give a reader a few pointers to help them decide if it's there thing. I put in tags and story length because I like to know that before I start.

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While I still consider it a bad idea to attach a permanent disclaimer to a story in order to solve a temporary problem, I cannot deny that some of the information you include probably serve a useful purpose for your readers.

Ultimately I guess the debate about "authors note or no authors note" is similar to the "shaved or natural" discussion. A matter of preference.

If it's a long series then the only note you need is one telling the reader to start at the beginning.

TamLin01 said:

If it's a long series then the only note you need is one telling the reader to start at the beginning.

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Agreed. I haven't been that cryptic in the past, but I think that's the way to go. In the past I've always put too much in, including a short synopsis.