Please Read This First - Useful Information

The Poets

Really Really Experienced
Joined
Jul 2, 2002
Posts
456
Posting Poems

There are a few ways to share your poems at Literotica. You can submit them to the site and with some exceptions, your poems will be accepted and posted on the New Poem page the next day. Poems may be non-erotic as well as erotic and you may also submit audio and/or illustrated poems (which take somewhat longer to be approved). You may also receive free editorial help if you want it. All this is explained on this page and in the Submission Guidelines.

You can share your poem(s) by starting an appropriately titled thread (e.g., "My Poem(s)" or the actual title). Make sure to specify prominently whether or not you want comments about the poem(s) you're posting. If you just want others to read your poem then state in the thread that you don't want feedback. If you also submit a poem to Literotica, putting it in a thread here too, just to be read, is unneeded.

If you want others to review and critique your poem to help you improve it, state in the thread or thread title that you want feedback.

We look forward to reading your poetry!
 
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Recommendations and Feedback

You can get responses to your posted poems via feedback and/or public comments. In addition, your posted poem may be mentioned in the New Poems thread, but please note that reviews are really just one person's opinion.

Getting Feedback
What can you expect when you've started a thread called:
"Here's My Poem" Feedback, please!

Most poets here take reviewing seriously--we want to help one another and realize that everyone can improve, so it's pretty unlikely that you'll just hear "Great job" or "Loved it," even if the reviewer does love your poem. You'll probably get an opinion and suggestions for improvement. You do not have to change your poem of course, but you probably should consider the advice seriously. The commentator took the time to respond to your request after all.

Remember too that sometimes you have to take some bad with the good. If you are flamed, if a reviewer is personally nasty--and it occasionally happens here like anywhere else--please don't take it personally; use what helps you and move on.

Giving Feedback
You can return the favor by giving feedback. You may think you don't know how, but it's not difficult at all. If you're not sure what to do, try using the following as guidelines:

1. Say whether or not you liked the poem overall and why.
2. Name at least one specific thing you liked about--
subject
language use
format
3. Is there anything you just don't understand in the poem? What?
4. Can you think of a better way to say anything in the poem. If you can, suggest it!
5. Do you know of another poem or link that you think would help? If so, include it.

Always try to make specific suggestions for improvement. Ranting that a poem doesn't work or raving about it without saying why doesn't help the writer. Above all, be truthful but kind. Write the kind of review you'd like to get.
 
Challenges and Games

These are simply exercises to keep us all practicing our craft. Everyone is always welcome to participate. Try to follow the rules as they're set forth for each game or challenge. Some challenges are ongoing like the All of a Sudden Passion Suddenly thread or Pic-A-Thon, while others are of shorter duration. If you have questions, ask. If you have an idea for a challenge, post it. And have fun; it's supposed to be fun.


Other threads of interest:
30 Poems in 30 Days
Poetry in Progress ~ construction zone
writing live
lit blog
Challenge: The Perfect Ten (v2.0)
not sure how many words
Poetry and Lyrics
 
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Poetry Links

References for Poets

The following links lead to resources for aspiring (and experienced) poets. Look up a word, find a rhyme, learn a new poetic form, read a new poet, or just explore. These sites are great for helping to polish your craft.

Please report any broken (or otherwise funky) links to The Poets. And feel free (encouraged, even) to recommend other sites you think would benefit this forum.

These sites were selected by The Poets; they represent personal recomendations, and not an official "opinion" of this site as to what is the best anything. :)

Literotica Resources
Start here with a general FAQ (frequently asked questions), which includes Literotica submissions guidelines (a separate link takes you to guidelines for illustrated and audio submissions), and onsite links to volunteer editors and general reference information, including articles by Literotica authors.

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Other Writing References

Dictionary.com

Merriam-Webster
(two of many online dictionaries that offer online look-ups and thesauri)

Thesaurus.com


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Poetry Writing

The Glossary of Poetic Terms
(extensive poetry dictionary including descriptions of many poetic forms)

The Handbook of Rhetorical Devices
(more literary terms defined)

Sacred Text Archive
(links to the Bible, mythology sites, and other significant ancient texts )


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Poetry Collections

Poetry Foundation
(from the editors of Poetry Magazine: poems, biographies, and learning tools)

Poets.org
(from Academy of American Poets: poems, biographies, teacher resources, and ways to find poetry readings, etc, near you)


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Audio/Video Poetry on the Web

Favorite Poem Project
(Americans from all walks of life read their favorite poem--audio and video files available)


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Scams

Poetry Scams
(Article about fraudulent publishing practices and how how to avoid the scammers who claim to love your poem but really just want your money)

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300 Links
(collection of links from annaswirls from 2005, some may no longer be active or direct to the correct page)
 
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When submitting your work to Literotica.com, you may sometimes have the need to include some additional formatting. You can use the following codes in the Poem Text box of the submission form:

<b>bold</b> will produce bold
<i>italics</i> will produce italics
<u>underlined<u> will produce underlined
<a href="http://www.literotica.com">literotica</a> will produce literotica
<sup>1</sup> will produce ¹​

Please note that no links to outside websites are allowed. If you're linking to other pages on Literotica, including the forums, it should be OK.
 
Removing Submissions

This is what I got back from Laurel when I asked about deleting poems some time ago. I assume it hasn't changed:
For security purposes and to make sure you (as the author) are the one making the removal request, you must follow this procedure: log into your account and create a submission titled "REMOVE". In the body of the submission, put the names of the submissions you wish removed along with (optionally) the reason for their removal.​
If you want all of your work removed, you can write "DELETE ALL" in one form rather than listing every submission.​
If you want all of one series removed, you can write "DELETE [SERIESNAME]" in one form rather than listing every submission.​
Submission removals are usually done within 2-5 days.​
 
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Thank you for this posting. I am a (super) novice poetry writer. I have a question and was unsure where to ask this, but I saw mention of this in the posting.

Question - what is the difference between posting a poem here vs via the submittal thing? Is this area just for getting feedback prior to posting on the Literotica Poem site?

(And if this is an inappropriate location for this question please let me know and I can remove it from here and place in the appropriate place.)
 
Thank you for this posting. I am a (super) novice poetry writer. I have a question and was unsure where to ask this, but I saw mention of this in the posting.

Question - what is the difference between posting a poem here vs via the submittal thing? Is this area just for getting feedback prior to posting on the Literotica Poem site?

(And if this is an inappropriate location for this question please let me know and I can remove it from here and place in the appropriate place.)
Welcome to the Forum.

It's the best place to ask such a question. The Forum and the main site are rather two different worlds, submitting your poem to the latter will present it to a bigger audience, you can receive ratings and comments from the readers, your hat is thrown into the ring for the monthly and if succeeding there also for the annual readers' choice award, but returning feedback or having a discussion is rather tricky.

The Forum on the other hand, is more like a playground where you test your work, ask for feedback and get in touch with like-minded people. There are challenges, discussion rounds and themed poetry threads, unlike on the main site.

So, hopefully, this was the answer you were looking for.
 
Welcome to the Forum.

It's the best place to ask such a question. The Forum and the main site are rather two different worlds, submitting your poem to the latter will present it to a bigger audience, you can receive ratings and comments from the readers, your hat is thrown into the ring for the monthly and if succeeding there also for the annual readers' choice award, but returning feedback or having a discussion is rather tricky.

The Forum on the other hand, is more like a playground where you test your work, ask for feedback and get in touch with like-minded people. There are challenges, discussion rounds and themed poetry threads, unlike on the main site.

So, hopefully, this was the answer you were looking for.
Thank you 29Words. That is indeed the information I was wondering about.

It makes more sense then to post it here if its more a discussion/help I was seeking. (As well as just meeting others who can help me get better at poetry writing :) )

So based on what you said, I am now debating what to do. I guess really my poems are not really poems? I mean they are, but the few I have were ones I wrote for myself...as I was trying to work things out in life ... or just because it was something I was feeling at the time.

If I post here, would I wish the input? Not because I think they're bad (though they might be horrid!) ... but I dunno, maybe because those were my words and thoughts at the time. Is changing them changing how I felt? Hmmmm.

Ok, now I am rambling.

Thank you again.
 
Like the bumbling idiot I am, I didn’t read the READ THIS FIRST THREAD, and posted a couple of poems in the Poems for Lost Lovers thread.

Should I go back and delete and put them up in the new poems thread? Is it OK to leave them as is?

Sorry for not following protocol and thanks in advance for any guidance.
 
Like the bumbling idiot I am, I didn’t read the READ THIS FIRST THREAD, and posted a couple of poems in the Poems for Lost Lovers thread.

Should I go back and delete and put them up in the new poems thread? Is it OK to leave them as is?

Sorry for not following protocol and thanks in advance for any guidance.

Anyone is welcome to post in any pre-existing thread where their poem matches the theme. And, we have some long-running threads that don't really have a theme, as well. The "new poem" submissions mentioned above aren't in regard to forum postings, but site submissions, the ones that go in the story and poetry area of Lit, which is completely separate from the forums. You may certainly post your writing in both forums and submissions, if you choose.

You haven't made any missteps in protocol. That post is pretty old, and could certainly be rewritten to more clearly reflect the way the forum is used today. :)

Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have, and thanks for reading this thread!
 
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