The now fully official Author’s Hangout Halloween 2025 competition support thread

[EmilyMiller]

My beta reader’s top told me to be ready for people to ask about whether I top or bottom and what my FetLife ID is. I’m vanilla, I don’t, but he thought it was good so that gives me hope.

Welcome to my world

 

[iwatchus]

I submitted mine this morning at 6:30 am just before I had to get ready for work. I don’t know how well it will do. It comes in at a healthy 27k words, which is long for a contest piece, but I think it will have legs beyond that.

All three of the prize winners for the nude day contest were in that range.

 

[EmilyMiller]

All three of the prize winners for the nude day contest were in that range.

It’s actually a cool defense against the dark arts move. I won’t go into how, but it makes sweeps more effective.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

Stealing from Emily’s ideas…

 

[TarnishedPenny]

'Submit' punched. We shall see.

 

[EmilyMiller]

'Submit' punched. We shall see.

Cool - good luck in the lottery

 

[MelissaBaby]

Finally submitted. Later than intended, but still a lot earlier than usual for me. (That's just because it was half finished last year)

 

[EmilyMiller]

View attachment 2570154

Finally submitted. Later than intended, but still a lot earlier than usual for me. (That's just because it was half finished last year)

Cool

 

[TheDok]

At the risk of being labelled blind, I can find no reference to the Halloween competition where a "normal reader" will find it. They are unlikely to be reading this thread after all! If I am not mistaken and have missed a thread somewhere, then I find the silence deafening. Do authors not care? What is the point of a competition that nobody knows exists, particularly if people should be asked to vote for the winner? I entered this competition not to win but to increase the number of people reading this work, and this has not happened and frankly, I am very disappointed.

 

[TheDok]

Am I wrong? Do others have an opinion?

 

[StillStunned]

Front page of Literotica.com:

 

[EmilyMiller]

At the risk of being labelled blind, I can find no reference to the Halloween competition where a "normal reader" will find it. They are unlikely to be reading this thread after all! If I am not mistaken and have missed a thread somewhere, then I find the silence deafening. Do authors not care? What is the point of a competition that nobody knows exists, particularly if people should be asked to vote for the winner? I entered this competition not to win but to increase the number of people reading this work, and this has not happened and frankly, I am very disappointed.

 

[dream_yahoozie]

Y'all too fast. I was doing the same thing

View attachment 2570216

Front page of Literotica.com:

View attachment 2570215

 

[EmilyMiller]

I’ve PMed @Laurel and @Manu to update:

https://www.literotica.com/stories

 

[TheDok]

When I open lierotica

View attachment 2570216

When I open Literotica, I reach the public beta page, where I can see no mention of this or the competitors' list. How do I find it please?

 

[StillStunned]

When I open lierotica

When I open Literotica, I reach the public beta page, where I can see no mention of this or the competitors' list. How do I find it please?

It seems that you're looking at the Classic version. That hasn't been updated since the Nude Day contest.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Welcome to Day 9 of The Halloween 2025 Competition

https://www.literotica.com/stories/contest.php/halloween-2025

 

[TheDok]

It seems that you're looking at the Classic version. That hasn't been updated since the Nude Day contest.

No when I go from my home page to explore and then categories I reach the public beta page, where again there is no mention except of summer loving competition

 

[StillStunned]

No when I go from my home page to explore and then categories I reach the public beta page, where again there is no mention except of summer loving competition

You'd have to click on [literotica] at the top of the page:

 

[TheDok]

Ok Kind of sorted. My tab, on my toolbar, which I use to open the site, bypasses the opening page, and after that, there is no way back to the opening page and the link to the competition.. The competition is not mentioned on the Public beta page although Sommer Lovein is. I would suggest this is a weakness since the competition is being poorly publicised by not being more prominently displayed. Just saying

 

[EmilyMiller]

Ok Kind of sorted. My tab, on my toolbar, which I use to open the site, bypasses the opening page, and after that, there is no way back to the opening page and the link to the competition.. The competition is not mentioned on the Public beta page although Sommer Lovein is. I would suggest this is a weakness since the competition is being poorly publicised by not being more prominently displayed. Just saying

I just mentioned asking the site to fix that above. It often lags the main page.

 

[TheDok]

You'd have to click on [literotica] at the top of the page:

View attachment 2570222

Thanks. I didn't think to do this. If, after 77 stories, I have missed the opening page, how many readers are doing the same? It has not been very well thought out

 

[TheDok]

I just mentioned asking the site to fix that above. It often lags the main page.

Thanks

 

[EmilyMiller]

Thanks. I didn't think to do this. If, after 77 stories, I have missed the opening page, how many readers are doing the same? It has not been very well thought out

More generally, my personal perspective had been that the comp effect has somewhat deteriorated over time. But I think this is a part of the general issue that writers face here. Readers have gone up by X%, numbers of stories published have gone up by Y%, Y > X, and so views per story have gone down.

It used to be possible to at least get mid-level views outside of the honeypot categories, but things like SF&F are now graveyards with respect to views. What seems to be holding up is categories like E&V, Group, Lesbian, and Anal (maybe Mature as well, but I don’t write Mature very often).

Erotic Horror - pertinent to this thread - seems quieter than SF&F.

 

[TheDok]

Mine is in Romance and I have 3600 views and 97 votes after 8 days, which is more miserly than is usual, particularly since I estimate a good ten or so of these votes are "shenanigarly" LOL