Finally bit the bullet and submitted the first chapter of my first story

Welcome to the hobby and to the forums!

As to your question: apparently there is. Slow burn isn't my thing, but by all accounts those kinds of stories do very well here on Lit.
 
Yay! Good luck and please let us know when it goes up.

Be aware that first-time stories generally take longer to be approved. Patience is indeed a virtue.
 
Welcome to the hobby and to the forums!

As to your question: apparently there is. Slow burn isn't my thing, but by all accounts those kinds of stories do very well here on Lit.
Thank you.
I think it's just that I'm sad when a story finishes too, so being more in depth let's it last longer. Pretty rare for me to read something which isn't multiple chapters on Lit tbh
 
Yay! Good luck and please let us know when it goes up.

Be aware that first-time stories generally take longer to be approved. Patience is indeed a virtue.
Any idea on the usual time frame? Hours? Days? Over a week? (as if I won't be refreshing regularly regardless)
 
Congratulations and welcome! What category did you submit to?

PS: If you like slow burn (and lesbians!) check the list in my signature. x
 
Welcome to the fray.
As to your question, from my experience, your characters being relatable and your story engaging are much more important that slow vs quick burn.
I've also found it help i your FMC is a feisty red head with green eyes, but that may be me... :)
 
Welcome to the fray.
As to your question, from my experience, your characters being relatable and your story engaging are much more important that slow vs quick burn.
I've also found it help i your FMC is a feisty red head with green eyes, but that may be me... :)
Thank you! One of my FMC is a feisty red head with green eyes haha
 
First Time definitely has a market for slow burn stories. Some people will complain your story is slow and boring, no matter how good it is. Others appreciate getting to know characters and a situation.

I read and write both slow and quick stories, though oddly I don't think I've ever written a redhead. Must rectify that...
 
As a red-head myself, I'm not sure I understand all the attraction to gingers. All I think of when I see another red-head is kindred sole, wonder what crap they endured for their red hair.
 
Is there much appreciation for slow burn stories? I prefer to read stories which have a long build up of tension and slow escalation.
Some of my stories here have no "burn" at all, just a few teases about the possibility, and they do fine. There are thousands more by other writers here too, so fear not.

As a reader, I do not start reading incomplete stories. I look forward to checking yours out once I can tell that it is finished. Good luck.
 
Some of my stories here have no "burn" at all, just a few teases about the possibility, and they do fine. There are thousands more by other writers here too, so fear not.

As a reader, I do not start reading incomplete stories. I look forward to checking yours out once I can tell that it is finished. Good luck.
I'll be sure to post here when I post the finale
 
Is there much appreciation for slow burn stories? I prefer to read stories which have a long build up of tension and slow escalation.

Welcome aboard.

I'm a relative newcomer, as well. My first submission wasn't quite three months ago.

There are others who've answered your other questions.

The first submission usually takes longer (I think mine was about a week after a couple of formatting-related rejections) and you're already past that hurdle.

In my limited experience, follow-on submissions usually show up on the second day after submission. It's a bit much to expect it the next day, so you add a day there. The estimate already given for ~36-hours seems to be the sweet spot, although one or two of mine were approved, but scheduled for release a day or two later, not the day immediately after approval.

As for slow burn, everyone's tastes vary, but I prefer a slower build up. So long as the build up is relevant and reasonable in length, most people shouldn't mind at all. Be sure the build up isn't so slow that you lose readers along the way.

My first chapter had one of its two comments say that it was 'A bit slow but very nice.' It was 14K words (four Lit pages) and the MCs got busy before the end of it. That didn't strike me as being slow enough, actually

Of course, that was at the start of the story and I'd expect (prefer) more set up at that stage.

One of my FMC is a feisty red head with green eyes haha

That describes my personal Kryptonite... I'll have to check it it.
 
Welcome aboard.

I'm a relative newcomer, as well. My first submission wasn't quite three months ago.

There are others who've answered your other questions.

The first submission usually takes longer (I think mine was about a week after a couple of formatting-related rejections) and you're already past that hurdle.

In my limited experience, follow-on submissions usually show up on the second day after submission. It's a bit much to expect it the next day, so you add a day there. The estimate already given for ~36-hours seems to be the sweet spot, although one or two of mine were approved, but scheduled for release a day or two later, not the day immediately after approval.

As for slow burn, everyone's tastes vary, but I prefer a slower build up. So long as the build up is relevant and reasonable in length, most people shouldn't mind at all. Be sure the build up isn't so slow that you lose readers along the way.

My first chapter had one of its two comments say that it was 'A bit slow but very nice.' It was 14K words (four Lit pages) and the MCs got busy before the end of it. That didn't strike me as being slow enough, actually

Of course, that was at the start of the story and I'd expect (prefer) more set up at that stage.



That describes my personal Kryptonite... I'll have to check it it.
Thank you for answering some of my questions. I'm now worried my first chapter might be too short, it's only 1400 words
 
Thank you for answering some of my questions. I'm now worried my first chapter might be too short, it's only 1400 words
Don't worry about it. A good story determines its own length. I have a story that's 1.5k words but it has 165k views and a Hot rating from 2.8k votes.
 
The definition of slow burn differs greatly. If you plan to have a number of very short (2 or 3k word) chapters that do not advance the plot, then you will find your story sink. You need to write enough and advance the plot to generate some appeal for the reader to continue. If you are asking about jumping into a sex scene, responses here are mixed. I personally skip over a gratuitous sex scene. Some read stories simply for the sex scenes (wank fodder).
I personally enjoy reading a story that has enough of a plot to move along smoothly. I try to write that type of story.
 
Welcome to the world of writing. It can be very rewarding to create a nice story and see it published.

Expect anywhere from 3-7 days for it to get reviewed.

You asked about slow burn stories. Most of mine are just that. Mine were well received but I got a few comments over time that were like, ‘I normally scan through the story to get to the sex but after enjoying yours so much, I went back and reread it all.’

That pretty much tells me readers want the meat and potatoes. Yeah, they may go back and reread but I do see a trend of incredibly short, ‘wam bam’ type stories where the comments are ‘OMG! Best story ever!’

I suppose we live in a world where everyone is busy, overloaded with information, and just wants to get right down to the point without all the trimmings. Sad but that’s been my observation.
 
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