New author (Hopefully)

Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Posts
7
Hey everyone, been reading all the F.A.Q and guide lines for new authors, but didn't quite find a place on the forum to ask this question, or maybe i just missed the subject.

I wanna try out being an author, i have an amazing imagination, my english writing, could use a little work, but i think this could help that alot as well, i have read a lot on this site, because i love a good story, and a erotic aspect that usually is missing from normal books can "bug" me a little hehe.

So as a new author my question is this:

I have made a new account, with a name i thought could be a good author name, not to simple minded, and it could make me try out different stories, feedback on my name would be lovely, before i start posting stories (and hoping they get added), so i can find out if that is clear.

Second:

My first story i have pictured as a long one, haven't gotten an end to it yet, but it will start out under Sci-fi section, and stay in that realm, since it leaves the story open to alot of aspects, is it wise to start out with a long story though?
Should i just do it, upload a chapter every few days, and take into account the feedback i get, or start out small i see how i stand with my grammar, spelling and the ability to capture people with my stories?

Third:

100% honesty feedback is the best hehe, makes it easier to adjust myself as an author.
 
Speaking only for myself, my suggestion is that your first submission be a completely finished work. Chapter stories get views, but there are lots of people (myself included) who will not read a multi-part story until every part is uploaded. By posting a completed story first, you show your readers that you are capable of delivering a finished product, and that's the easiest way to build a following.

If you want to go the chapter route (because you want to keep your name on the 'New' list for the category longer, for instance), make sure you tell your readers how many chapters there will be, and whether or not you've finished the story, and if you haven't, when you believe it will be finished. You'll have a better chance of picking up followers (and thus voters) if they know in advance the story's been submitted in 10 parts, it's complete, and a new part will go up every 3-4 days or whatever. :)
 
Welcome. I've been on here for about a year, and it's interesting.

Re your name: I don't think most will have a strong feeling about this. Pick something that you like.

Re one story or chapters: how long is long? 1 Literotica page is about 3750 words, on average. If your story is under 10 Literotica pages and it's done I would agree with Areala-chan: submit it as a single story. If it's a lot longer than that AND if it can be broken easily into chapters, each of which will satisfy the reading crowd you're seeking, then maybe submit it in chapters. Chapter stories get fewer views than complete stories.

Good luck!
 
1. Your name seems fine to me. I don't have a high standard.

2. Everybody does it differently. Myself, I think it's a good idea to know the end before you start writing. If you can produce a good chapter every few days, then congratulations.

3. Honest feedback. I think that this might be more difficult than you seem to anticipate, but have fun.
 
Speaking only for myself, my suggestion is that your first submission be a completely finished work. Chapter stories get views, but there are lots of people (myself included) who will not read a multi-part story until every part is uploaded. By posting a completed story first, you show your readers that you are capable of delivering a finished product, and that's the easiest way to build a following.

If you want to go the chapter route (because you want to keep your name on the 'New' list for the category longer, for instance), make sure you tell your readers how many chapters there will be, and whether or not you've finished the story, and if you haven't, when you believe it will be finished. You'll have a better chance of picking up followers (and thus voters) if they know in advance the story's been submitted in 10 parts, it's complete, and a new part will go up every 3-4 days or whatever. :)

Oh extremly good advice, that's very true, i can follow that logic.
 
Welcome. I've been on here for about a year, and it's interesting.

Re your name: I don't think most will have a strong feeling about this. Pick something that you like.

Re one story or chapters: how long is long? 1 Literotica page is about 3750 words, on average. If your story is under 10 Literotica pages and it's done I would agree with Areala-chan: submit it as a single story. If it's a lot longer than that AND if it can be broken easily into chapters, each of which will satisfy the reading crowd you're seeking, then maybe submit it in chapters. Chapter stories get fewer views than complete stories.

Good luck!

I did pick the name because i fits me, and how i wanna do stories, but i also have the personality of wanting to grant people something they ask for, so by chance i do get a following, i can read their respond and try to work with some of their ideas.

A long story for me is well above 50.000 words, when i think about a long story, i like to put in a lot of detail, and try to make every character facinating, if possible atleast, and somehow make most have some kind of part in the main story, not meaning there will be tons of fillers with side stories though, just simply make a picture in a persons mind of how this character is gonna be.

Yeah the chapter thing is something i wanna do at some point, as i said in my post, have read alot of stories on here, and those i find most interesting are those that last over 5 chapters, so you get a feel for the characters.
 
1. Your name seems fine to me. I don't have a high standard.

2. Everybody does it differently. Myself, I think it's a good idea to know the end before you start writing. If you can produce a good chapter every few days, then congratulations.

3. Honest feedback. I think that this might be more difficult than you seem to anticipate, but have fun.

Yeah i imagined people did it different, a few pointers from a few authors, just made me think that i might get a few angles into how to do my stories, if that makes sense.

I very much imagine this to be way harder than i think it will be, no questions there, that's why i want a good start about the information that is "author". Even though i know it will never be everything, then i was simply tinking: "Everything helps".
 
I did pick the name because i fits me, and how i wanna do stories, but i also have the personality of wanting to grant people something they ask for, so by chance i do get a following, i can read their respond and try to work with some of their ideas.

A long story for me is well above 50.000 words, when i think about a long story, i like to put in a lot of detail, and try to make every character facinating, if possible atleast, and somehow make most have some kind of part in the main story, not meaning there will be tons of fillers with side stories though, just simply make a picture in a persons mind of how this character is gonna be.

Yeah the chapter thing is something i wanna do at some point, as i said in my post, have read alot of stories on here, and those i find most interesting are those that last over 5 chapters, so you get a feel for the characters.

Long stories can be good but to get new readers hooked, you might be better off trying to condense,: being able to get a fifty word description, feeling, thought, emotion or scene in a couple of concise sentences will help hold attention.
 
My ex-sis-in-law is a NYTBS-list novelist who started with trilogies. It took her 25 years to get down to short stories and she had to marry a much-awarded short-story pro for guidance. But her shorts didn't do well so she returned to novels and prosperity. (And the pro died.)

OP: I see you want to start with an expansive saga. As urged above, FINISH it before posting any of it. While it's growing, you may find standalone episodes you could publish as shorts -- to burnish your reputation, build your readership, give you a taste of reader reactions, i.e. stroke or deflate your ego. :D

Figure out WHY you want to infect LIT with your words. To polish your writing skills? To gain a loyal readership and brownie points? To grab eyeballs and twist minds? To provide yourself with masturbatory meat, customized to your own pervo fetishes? Remember, you won't be paid here beyond votes, so you basically write for yourself. Do you like what you write? That's the payoff.
 
I did pick the name because i fits me, and how i wanna do stories, but i also have the personality of wanting to grant people something they ask for, so by chance i do get a following, i can read their respond and try to work with some of their ideas.

A long story for me is well above 50.000 words, when i think about a long story, i like to put in a lot of detail, and try to make every character facinating, if possible atleast, and somehow make most have some kind of part in the main story, not meaning there will be tons of fillers with side stories though, just simply make a picture in a persons mind of how this character is gonna be.

Yeah the chapter thing is something i wanna do at some point, as i said in my post, have read alot of stories on here, and those i find most interesting are those that last over 5 chapters, so you get a feel for the characters.

Here's the problem with dividing a story into chapters: Readers at this site -- not all of them, but a lot of them -- are picky about how stories are categorized, and they want their stories to meet the requirements they associate with that category. And a lot of them DON'T want to read things that belong to other categories.

So if you divide your 50,000 word story into five chapters, and the first two chapters are set up chapters and don't deliver the "goods" that readers expect in the category in which the story has been published, you might lose some readers. They won't stick around and read your third chapter.

Chapter stories work best, I think, when they are in a serial form, where each chapter stands on its own, at least in part, and delivers what people expect in that chapter.

Not everyone does it this way, but it's the best way to keep readers going from chapter to chapter.

If your story won't work that way, my advice is to publish it as a single, unified story.
 
Hey everyone, been reading all the F.A.Q and guide lines for new authors, but didn't quite find a place on the forum to ask this question, or maybe i just missed the subject.

Second:

My first story i have pictured as a long one, haven't gotten an end to it yet, but it will start out under Sci-fi section, and stay in that realm, since it leaves the story open to alot of aspects, is it wise to start out with a long story though?
Should i just do it, upload a chapter every few days, and take into account the feedback i get, or start out small i see how i stand with my grammar, spelling and the ability to capture people with my stories?

Third:

100% honesty feedback is the best hehe, makes it easier to adjust myself as an author.

I suggest you make your first story 20-30 000 words and enter in one go.
Give readers a chance to get used to your work before you start doing long chapters.
Good Luck
 
I suggest you make your first story 20-30 000 words and enter in one go.
Give readers a chance to get used to your work before you start doing long chapters.
Good Luck

I would go further than HP about the length of your first submission. What you have described is a long story and you say you want to improve your writing skills.

The two aims might be incompatible. If you are writing an epic, and your skills are limited, the result could be a mess. It might need major editing or even a rewrite to get it into reasonable shape.

I suggest that you should start posting with a couple of short submissions of between 750 (Literotica's minimum) and 1250 words. You might find it difficult to write a reasonable story in so few words, but that's the point. Short stories are harder to write than long ones.

BUT - if you have posted one or two short stories you might get votes and feedback that could help you to improve your writing for your longer story.

I don't recommend starting with one of my specialities - 50-word stories. They can be a useful exercise for writers who tend to go on and on but they are difficult to write and you need a set of 15 stories to reach Lit's 750 words. You could try one or two as an exercise because they can improve your use of words, but I wouldn't post them - yet.

Good luck.
 
A few thoughts:

* Don't post your first stories. They're for practice. Like a beginning guitarist should be locked in a closet for a few years.
* Re-read epic tales that inspired you and take notes. How are they structured? How is language used? What is described, and how?
* Really, use as few and as clear words as possible to say what you want. Sure, go off on wild excursions, but stay concise.
* Don't try to write like Stephen King in his cocaine phase.
 
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