How to Link Multiple Stories

[HelenofTroy25]

Hello lovely people. At the risk of sounding like a complete novice (which I am!) could anyone tell me how I link multiple stories when I publish them.

I’ve recently had my first story published and I want to add follow on chapters/stories. Is this possible, or do I have to submit them as completely separate entities?

 

[TheWritingGroup]

https://www.literotica.com/faq/series

--Annie

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hello lovely people. At the risk of sounding like a complete novice (which I am!) could anyone tell me how I link multiple stories when I publish them.

I’ve recently had my first story published and I want to add follow on chapters/stories. Is this possible, or do I have to submit them as completely separate entities?

Submit the second chapter, don't touch the first one, like this:

Title of Story
Title of Story Ch.02
Title of Story Ch.03

The site runs an algorithm which will join them together automatically.

 

[HelenofTroy25]

That’s great! Thank you for the reply. I didn’t think it would be that simple!

 

[ElectricBlue]

That’s great! Thank you for the reply. I didn’t think it would be that simple!

If you plan ahead you can also do this:

Story Title - Annie
Story Title - Belinda
Story Title - Charlie

It's an alphanumeric sort, working from the common words at the start of the title.

Don't do what I did, ages ago, where I wrote: Story Title Ch.01 but never wrote a second chapter. I had the best intentions, and really liked my characters, and I'm not quite sure why I didn't progress the story. On the other hand, it's my 8th highest rated story, and no has complained, so I'm not sure it matters.

 

[HelenofTroy25]

Ok, thank you. That’s really useful to know. Is it possible to add a sub heading (for example):

Title of Story
Tile of Story Ch.02 (sub heading)

Additionally, the various chapters of my stories have a different theme. So chapter one fit nicely in the erotic couplings category. Chapter two would fit in the lesbian category and chapter three perhaps in the group sex category.

Will they all appear in the erotic couplings category, given that this is where chapter one sits?

Hope this all make sense and sorry for all the question lol x

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ok, thank you. That’s really useful to know. Is it possible to add a sub heading (for example):

Title of Story
Tile of Story Ch.02 (sub heading)

The Title field length is 35 characters (the site editor will adjust if the Ch.xx exceeds this), and the subtitle field is (I think) 65 characters, for a short description of the content.

Additionally, the various chapters of my stories have a different theme. So chapter one fit nicely in the erotic couplings category. Chapter two would fit in the lesbian category and chapter three perhaps in the group sex category.

There are plenty of AH threads about shifting categories, read up on them.

There are pros and cons. I personally think if you have too many themes in a long, chaptered story you can end up with a smorgasbord, trying to satisfy everyone, but ending up with snacks, not a main meal. Sometimes it's better to restrain yourself and target a category kink a bit more.

Will they all appear in the erotic couplings category, given that this is where chapter one sits?

No. You can choose separate categories for each chapter - but again, check the multiple threads on this, coz you'll get much advice. There is no right answer.

Hope this all make sense and sorry for all the question lol x

That's why it's the Authors' Hangout. Lots of good advice!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

The only advice that I will add is to determine if you are writing a story with multiple chapters where the sequence matters to the plot or if you are writing a series of stories that share components (characters, themes, settings, etc.)

I no longer publish individual chapters of stories, but I do have a couple of series. You can see how I titled them if that helps you.

 

[SkyBubble]

Hello lovely people. At the risk of sounding like a complete novice (which I am!) could anyone tell me how I link multiple stories when I publish them.

I’ve recently had my first story published and I want to add follow on chapters/stories. Is this possible, or do I have to submit them as completely separate entities?

1. You can create a series. I believe a poster posted the link to the instruction on that.

2. The system might do it if you tie them together by title. Such as "My Story", "My Story, Ch. 02: The Story Continues", etc.

 

[SkyBubble]

Submit the second chapter, don't touch the first one, like this:

Title of Story
Title of Story Ch.02
Title of Story Ch.03

The site runs an algorithm which will join them together automatically.

The algorithm isn't flawless, however. It missed a story each in two of my series. I'm going to have to go in and do it manually.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Teh algorithm isn't flawless, however. It missed a story each in two of my series. I'm going to have to go in and do it manually.

True. It cocked up two of my series, duplicated them, both incorrectly, for years. I tried to get them fixed, but it wasn't until the Manual Series feature was introduced three years or so ago, that I was able to repair the sequence.

 

[KikiKisses]

I'm struggling with this as well. I have a story series, but there wasn't much room for chapter names. I got confused. So all the chapters are posted individually and don't appear to link back to each other. When I go to the series on my dashboard, it's there. Do I need to go retitle the stories?

 

[Writer61]

I'm struggling with this as well. I have a story series, but there wasn't much room for chapter names. I got confused. So all the chapters are posted individually and don't appear to link back to each other. When I go to the series on my dashboard, it's there. Do I need to go retitle the stories?

Go to the series, click the cog wheel
Click manual sort order
Click Series Works
Add the ones you want

ish, I add mine when I post which is a different process.

Good luck.

 

[HelenL]

I'm struggling with this as well. I have a story series, but there wasn't much room for chapter names. I got confused. So all the chapters are posted individually and don't appear to link back to each other. When I go to the series on my dashboard, it's there. Do I need to go retitle the stories?

Also, be absolutely certain you've clicked the Publish page on the series overview. Several times I've thought I was doing everything right, but the series didn't appear, because I'd forgotten that last step.

My most recent series was in "Pending moderation" (i.e. I had pressed the Submit button, but updates aren't visible until moderated) for a month. I deleted and recreated it, I don't know if it had gotten stuck in a moderation queue. The series is complete, but none of the chapters have ever shown up as part of a series.

 

[KikiKisses]

Mine has been pending moderation for about a week...if I delete the series, I won't have to resubmit the work, right?

 

[iwatchus]

I would not suggest deleting the series. I do not think it will delete the stories. But I also do not think it will do any good. Series moderation seems to be about the lowest priority. Even in better times earlier this summer, it was taking up to a month to get approved (no idea why this moderation is needed, but they apparently want it).

Mine has been pending moderation for about a week...if I delete the series, I won't have to resubmit the work, right?

I have a series pending much longer than this, almost a month. It's frustrating, but it is what it is.

 

[KikiKisses]

I went ahead and did it anyway because the titles aren't right. The stories are still there, but not in the series. I guess you can't edit already published stories, either?

I actually had a commenter complain that I didn't link to chapter 2 (I'm trying!). There are three chapters up and I guess they didn't want to just click on my name? Aaah!

I wanted the chapters to have different titles from the series. Hmmm.

Wondering if I should just republish the stories with different titles for the series and see what happens.

 

[HelenL]

I would not suggest deleting the series. I do not think it will delete the stories. But I also do not think it will do any good. Series moderation seems to be about the lowest priority. Even in better times earlier this summer, it was taking up to a month to get approved (no idea why this moderation is needed, but they apparently want it).

I have a series pending much longer than this, almost a month. It's frustrating, but it is what it is.

I figured I'd do it one time to check, the series is already complete and out there, either it gets fixed more quickly or it's delayed further. At least I'll know. I've always found that series moderation takes a while, just never a month. (And each chapter of this series was approved much faster than any other submission of mine.)

I removed the stories from the series before deleting, just in case, but I'm sure you're right that they wouldn't be deleted.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I went ahead and did it anyway because the titles aren't right. The stories are still there, but not in the series. I guess you can't edit already published stories, either?

I actually had a commenter complain that I didn't link to chapter 2 (I'm trying!). There are three chapters up and I guess they didn't want to just click on my name? Aaah!

I wanted the chapters to have different titles from the series. Hmmm.

Wondering if I should just republish the stories with different titles for the series and see what happens.

You absolutely can edit published stories.

It's slow. The two times I did it, if I remember, it took 4 and 5 weeks.

https://www.literotica.com/faq/publishing/editing-published-work

I had a series that was published and the stories were in it, but they didn't look like it from the story interface. Part 1 had no link to the series, or to part 2.

After a month of begging @Manu for help, I finally just deleted the series entirely and created it again. The new series with the same name and same stories worked and still works.

--Annie

 

[Writer61]

I wanted the chapters to have different titles from the series. Hmmm.

That is possible if you choose manual ordering.

Do not delete anything. Once the series is approved, you can move the stories into it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm struggling with this as well. I have a story series, but there wasn't much room for chapter names. I got confused. So all the chapters are posted individually and don't appear to link back to each other. When I go to the series on my dashboard, it's there. Do I need to go retitle the stories?

Those chapters will join up eventually, but your story title is Chapter, which isn't super clever.

You can't retitle stories without resubmitting each one as an Edit, which takes a long time - edits are low priority for the site.

If it's only going to be those three chapters, I'd leave it be, to be honest.

But next time, submit chapters as follows:

Story Title
Story Title Ch.01
Story Title Ch.02 etc

Or
Story Title - Annie
Story Title - Bobbie
Story Title - Charlie

The site runs an alphanumeric algorithm which joins things up automatically. Or you can do a Manual Series if you can be bothered.

There's a 35 character limit in the Title field (Laurel will extend by a few characters if necessary), 65 characters (I think) in the Sub Title field.

 

[KikiKisses]

That one is an accident and I couldn’t even figure out how to delete it. My original series has deleted. I didn’t even know that one was there.

 

[Chase_Storm]

I come to these threads and I suppose am relieved others are having the same issues. It's not just me! I'm not alone!

Outside of story publication, things take a very, very, very long time. From what I gather, it's a small number of people (one or two?) who are responsible for publishing everything, making edits, series stuff, etc. That's a lot of work for them, and it can be incredibly frustrating for us, especially when you publish a work and later discover you missed one little typo. My edit to one word has been pending for 31 days now.

Series seem to take exceedingly long to create and link together, which is frustrating. I'm now at two months pending moderation. I'm a long-time reader and always appreciated the ease with which I could find the next chapter in a series. There it was! Right under the chapter I'd just finished reading. If nothing was there, my assumption as a reader was another chapter did not exist. Now, as a writer, I see that's not at all the case.

 

[Writer61]

Series seem to take exceedingly long to create and link together,

Not if you use manual sequencing. Once a series is approved (it's always been quick for me), you can add new stories instantly. Once each story is approved (which can be slow), it will appear correctly on your list of works..

 

[Chase_Storm]

Not if you use manual sequencing. Once a series is approved (it's always been quick for me), you can add new stories instantly. Once each story is approved (which can be slow), it will appear correctly on your list of works..

I appreciate your thoughts. I just checked before replying and, yes, I'm on manual sequencing. I think things are largely hit and miss for us all. Some, like you, say your series is approved quickly. Others, like me, wait two months or more. There seems to be no rhyme or reason.