Advice for a new user

JohnSilver77

Virgin
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Posts
18
Hey, good evening. I'm brand new to this site and was wondering if any authors had any advice for a new erotica writer?
 
Hey, good evening. I'm brand new to this site and was wondering if any authors had any advice for a new erotica writer?
Write, write some more, edit, submit. Repeat.

Ask questions, get answers, learn the forums, learn the dynamics of the site.

The basics:
A Lit page is approx 3750 words - it's the standard measure around here.
A Red H is a score > 4.50 from at least ten readers.
A View is how many folk open the first page of a story. It does not mean those folk read to the end.
Expect about one Vote for every hundred Views, one comment per thousand (depends to some extent on the category).
If you want eyeballs on stories, write Incest or Loving Wives.
If you want divided opinions on stories, write in Loving Wives.
If you specifically want critical feedback on a story, start a thread in the Feedback Forum.
If you want editorial support, start a thread in the Editor's Forum.
Do not bring politics to the Authors' Hangout - go to the General or Political Boards for that.
Figure out the personalities - there are some colourful ones.
Non-American English is acceptable, you don't need to apologise if you're from another country.
The No Sexual Activity Under Eighteen rule is absolute. Don't try to bend it.
Others will add more.

Write!
 
EB gave the most important advice: just write. Write your story and submit it and see what happens. Whatever else you might do, there's no substitute for just writing.

If you want to publish stories at Literotica, you should understand how categories work. Here's the best article I know on that subject: https://literotica.com/s/love-your-readers-categories.


Feel free to ask questions. There's a great wealth of information among the authors here. I've learned a lot in the 28 months I've been writing here, and others have been here far longer and know much more.

I suggest for your first story don't take on anything too long. Just write something you can finish and publish. Don't worry about it being perfect.
 
Don’t be afraid to ask for help in terms of an editor or beta reader.

Write for you, not anybody else.

You’re always welcome at the Authors’ Hangout. Good place to ask technical questions.

Keep writing!
 
Yes, write.

Pay attention to formatting and punctuation.

Don't panic when it takes a little while for your first submission to get accepted.

Don't put cocaine in your butt. Despite what they say about Stevie Nicks, it's not a good idea.
 
Read. Read some stories in each category that interests you. Look back at the stories you like most and figure out what makes them good. And figure out where the stories you don't like fall short. Knowing what to focus on and what to avoid will help you make choices in your own stories later.

For example, I find my favorite stories tend to have lots of dialogue. So I tell much of my stories through the dialogue. Conversely, I don't care for stories that start with a huge backstory dump right at the beginning. So I avoid writing those and weave the backstory into the narrative. That's just me and what I like though. Find your own things

Not all great writers are great readers, but I find that being a good reader improves your odds of writing a good story.
 
Not all great writers are great readers, but I find that being a good reader improves your odds of writing a good story.

Read the pros too, including past ones. Just a random one: The Day of the Locust is a great novel - and it handles some sexual themes.

What's striking about it is how West used many telling details in his scenes yet the book feels concise, compact.

Unfortunately West died in an auto accident soon after it was published. It was only his fourth book and to my mind he was just hitting his stride.
 
Could another newbie add a question to this thread?

Does anyone know what Literotica's rules are regarding self-publishing the stories you post here? When the rules say you can't post anything commercial, does that prohibit linking to your own author website on your bio page? Does it prohibit mentioning that one of your stories is now available as an e-book? (I'm only talking stories that are either posted on Literotica or are in the process of being posted.) I've tried reaching out to Literotica, but haven't gotten any response.

Similarly, does anyone know how Amazon feels about an e-book that's been posted (in chapters on a website, not in e-book form) for free elsewhere? I've seen a number of authors do this, but I don't know if it's actually allowed. I posted this question on kboards and got two responses that said it was okay, but I thought I'd check here, too.
 
Could another newbie add a question to this thread?

Does anyone know what Literotica's rules are regarding self-publishing the stories you post here? When the rules say you can't post anything commercial, does that prohibit linking to your own author website on your bio page? Does it prohibit mentioning that one of your stories is now available as an e-book? (I'm only talking stories that are either posted on Literotica or are in the process of being posted.) I've tried reaching out to Literotica, but haven't gotten any response.

Similarly, does anyone know how Amazon feels about an e-book that's been posted (in chapters on a website, not in e-book form) for free elsewhere? I've seen a number of authors do this, but I don't know if it's actually allowed. I posted this question on kboards and got two responses that said it was okay, but I thought I'd check here, too.
You can link to an author website on your bio page and your posting signature block (as I have done - see below).

There is also this thread, where the site allows off-site promotion of your books:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=569279&page=89

Re your Amazon question - their policy is to match the lowest price for a book (they want the sale, not the other outlet), but I can't seem them matching to $0 in a hurry, because they want the dollars.

However, an e-book is not the same "product" as the free Lit pages in my view (and nobody has yet proven to me that I'm wrong on this) - you can stream 30 Lit pages onto a device and read them, but you can't take a "book" away from Lit and read it offline the same way you can an e-book or a kindle mobi file. The content is the same, sure, but the saleable product is different. The Lit content can't be bought for a start, it doesn't have an ISBN, and it can't be downloaded as a single file.

I've just started to compile content I've written here on Lit and putting it into the market-place - I own the copyright so it's mine to do what I like with it. Whether people buy it in droves remains to be seen, but it's early days. I've sold one copy of something to a stranger in the UK, so there's a start. Probably a kind soul from Lit, but I don't know who :).
 
It's all great advice above me, but you also need to go out and live. Watch the people around you and see how they interact with each other. There are a lot of characters and situations you can borrow from happening in front of you every day.

Also, for our purposes, Open Office is a good free alternative to Word and other professional editing softwares ;)
 
BASIC program for authors:
10 Observe.
20 Think.
30 Write.
40 Edit.
50 Publish.
60 GOTO 10.​
Yes, that's an endless loop.
 
Avoid the General Board. It is where we put the phobs- xenophobic, homophobic, Nazis and other hate filled people. Can't stop them from being here but we can ignore them and put them in a box to eat each others faces off.
 
...

Don't put cocaine in your butt. Despite what they say about Stevie Nicks, it's not a good idea.

British doctors have been complaining recently that there has been an increase in women putting garlic bulbs in their vaginas, causing irritation and infections.

I don't like garlic in any quantity that I can taste, so they'll get no cunnilingus from me. :rolleyes:
 
Include "post a story in LW" in your bucket list. Everyone should experience the insanity at least once.
 
Include "post a story in LW" in your bucket list. Everyone should experience the insanity at least once.

But do it under another user Id. The first one anyhow. After that you’ll understand and you can make an informed decision.
 
I'm a bit jaded, but unless all the characters are explicitly married or in a work setting, expect to have to include awkward dialog like "hey, I'm Suzy and I'm 23 years old. It's nice to meet you 25 year old Gary" my first sorry got nuked for "underage" despite clear she markers ( high school senior masturbates once, post highschool people have sex) I've got some story ideas I'll eventually put out here, but anything with any first time or coming of age stuff I won't bother with.
 
I'm a bit jaded, but unless all the characters are explicitly married or in a work setting, expect to have to include awkward dialog like "hey, I'm Suzy and I'm 23 years old. It's nice to meet you 25 year old Gary" my first sorry got nuked for "underage" despite clear she markers ( high school senior masturbates once, post highschool people have sex) I've got some story ideas I'll eventually put out here, but anything with any first time or coming of age stuff I won't bother with.

It's true you have to be wary of the underage issue but there are usually ways to make it clear and still have the story flow naturally. If there is a narrator he or she can mention age, or if it's an "omniscient narrator" it can also be handled that way.

Dialogue among college students who have just met can have them mention the year they're in (which is realistic). I think even freshmen are assumed to be at least eighteen - at least that's been my experience so far.
 
I think even freshmen are assumed to be at least eighteen - at least that's been my experience so far.

That's been my experience as well. If your character is a college student, they are assumed to be old enough unless you go out if your way to say otherwise. I have seen exactly one example of underaged sex on Lit, where the narrator says she is a college freshman and will turn eighteen next month. Apparently that was subtle enough to slip through. That's how strong the College=18 bias is.
 
underage?

LIT authors may not describe underage humans (seeming or being under 18 physically) having sex -- but their underage sex can be reported. Tell, don't show. "She was a wild child, fucked too young, a mom at 15," passes. "His prime teenage prick penetrated her barely-pubescent pussy," doesn't. I've written of underagers sneaking to a back room but said nothing of what happened there. And don't have anyone THINK of boffing a teenybopper. Thinking is sexual activity here.

How to prove someone is 18+? Just say so. "She celebrated her 18th birthday at the local smut shop's gloryhole, accepting donors in all her orifices." Say or show that your highschool seniors and college froshes are of legal age. That's easy in jurisdictions with 18-year drinking age -- they hit a bar for their first legal beers. (New York, 1968, as I recall.)

I've seen high-rated LIT stories where 18-year-olds ACT like sniveling middle-schoolers. I avoid that -- unless I write of a 14-year-old waking from a coma 5 years later, so they're physically legal but mentally questionable. Cf the film BIG. But I probably won't write that. If anything, my 18ers are too mature emotionally. I'm comfortable there.

Meanwhile, write and rewrite. Have fun!
 
British doctors have been complaining recently that there has been an increase in women putting garlic bulbs in their vaginas, causing irritation and infections.

I don't like garlic in any quantity that I can taste, so they'll get no cunnilingus from me. :rolleyes:

That would be a hard no for me, and I was okay with the coke in the butt thing.
 
Don't put cocaine in your butt. Despite what they say about Stevie Nicks, it's not a good idea.

Well... there went the coffee... all over the f'n computer screen. (MB, you're gonna make me ask this, ain't cha?) Does this have anything to do with her hitting the high notes? :devil:
 
Back
Top