Idea for new Forum: individual author forums

[Bamagan]

How? How do they use Discord to connect when what you write is erotica, let alone come from Literotica? That's like being a PornHub creator and using Roblox to connect with your followers. The amount of shit that goes on Discord involving minors makes it one of the most dangerous platforms to engage.

They must really have some strict moderation, small amount of users, and have the server not discovereable, but even that's not 100% safe. I'd tread carefully on Discord. You don't want your server to end up in an NTTS +20-min video.



Has Patreon stopped deplatforming NSFW artists? If not, I'd advice being alert. Erotica authors could be next. Ko-fi seems like a better alternative. However, what the OP's looking for matches the functions that Substack has.

I don't know what happens on Discord, really, just that some authors here advertise having them on their profiles. I had a private server or whatever there for a while, at the same time I had a Patreon. I quit Patreon when they demanded a selfie of me holding my ID to 'prove' I was over 18. I think I had already abandoned Discord by then, because there were only two kinds of readers who ever engaged with me there: obsessive ones (some disturbingly so) and other writers looking for some kind of quid pro quo with their own stories. I never saw any evidence of underage activity on the handful of servers I visited, for whatever that's worth. As for Ko-fi, I technically still have one of those, but their TOS regarding erotica are basically the same as Patreon's, so I have nothing there that points back to Lit or anywhere else.

Ultimately, I think it makes little difference to point readers toward a forum or a subforum or a discord or anything else. History suggests that very few readers are interested in further engagement. Threaded comments might work, but presumably only for the readers who log in to comment, since I doubt the anonymous ones will get any alerts that the author has replied to them.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It can also be a way of assuaging a sense of inadequacy by assuming the worst in others and criticizing them for it. It's like a little dopamine hit to call out others, regardless if it makes any sense or is called for.

Precisely.

I hate this about me, but they are even worse.

 

[RejectReality]

Yeah, Laurel and Manu's to-do list somehow remains the same year, after year, after year.

Everybody says that, and then when something goes up addressing the issues they've been crying about, it's crickets and yeah,but that! *Gestures wildly at something else*

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Tried that as well. It doesn’t drive much conversation in my experience. I get quite a lot of comments - possibly as I tend to reply to them - and I’ve not seen massively greater interaction via any of blogs, other social media, or the OP’s suggestion.

I'm not expecting much from it, at least along the lines of conversing with people. It's more a; here's my website and story info.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Everybody says that, and then when something goes up addressing the issues they've been crying about, it's crickets and yeah,but that! *Gestures wildly at something else*

My notification feed has been much snappier

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Everybody says that, and then when something goes up addressing the issues they've been crying about,

Really? And when did that last happen? When were the issues we have been crying about last addressed? I fail to remember.

 

[RejectReality]

Really? And when did that last happen? When were the issues we have been crying about last addressed? I fail to remember.

For a recent example, how about the front page and all the cries about "ask fern"? Heard any of the half dozen people who constantly brought that up acknowledge it?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

For a recent example, how about the front page and all the cries about "ask fern"? Heard any of the half dozen people who constantly brought that up acknowledge it?

To be honest, I've never seen anyone moan about the front page. I rarely even go to the front page. And I've no idea what "ask fern" means.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

And of course you're right that calling people out is sometimes necessary. But there are constructive ways to do it—the post I responded to did not meet that standard, obviously. It only deserved snark.

Talk about projecting.

 

[Voboy]

Often, writers complain about getting very little feedback. They think that adding another avenue or channel for that feedback would guarantee more engagement.

I think it's likely that a lot of readers simply don't care to engage with us.

They've already got numerous avenues for doing so here on the site, and there are more offsite that other posters have already brought up. If readers wish to engage, they can, and quite easily. Source: I've had many, many, many readers reach out to me in various ways. So maybe, just maybe, if we're not getting much feedback about our stories, then our stories are not as engaging as we think they are.

My gut feeling is that there is increasing impatience for the old-fashioned internet technique of building a following, that the more recent instant-gratification nature of modern social media has created an intolerance for delayed gratification. I think we're seeing that on several of these threads. It's unfortunate, in my opinion.

Aside from that, the other thing we're seeing on many of these threads is a MASSIVE degree of thin-skinned defensiveness that, I think, tends to discourage discourse. It's a shame.

 

[MythicMind]

Often, writers complain about getting very little feedback. They think that adding another avenue or channel for that feedback would guarantee more engagement.

I think it's likely that a lot of readers simply don't care to engage with us.

They've already got numerous avenues for doing so here on the site, and there are more offsite that other posters have already brought up. If readers wish to engage, they can, and quite easily. Source: I've had many, many, many readers reach out to me in various ways. So maybe, just maybe, if we're not getting much feedback about our stories, then our stories are not as engaging as we think they are.

My gut feeling is that there is increasing impatience for the old-fashioned internet technique of building a following, that the more recent instant-gratification nature of modern social media has created an intolerance for delayed gratification. I think we're seeing that on several of these threads. It's unfortunate, in my opinion.

Aside from that, the other thing we're seeing on many of these threads is a MASSIVE degree of thin-skinned defensiveness that, I think, tends to discourage discourse. It's a shame.

I appreciate your thoughts, and I can understand how this could apply to many writers. It doesn't line up with me or my motivations in this thread, however. My goal isn't to shortcut the process of building a readership, but rather to create a space where real-time conversations can occur with the readership that exists, whatever size. My frustration isn't with the quantity of communication, it's the quality of it.

That said, I've been given to understand that, however valid my point, technical change happens at a glacial pace on this site. So, I simply need to be satisfied with a lot of artificial barriers to communication and put my focus elsewhere. I'm not happy with that, but it's pointless to pout about things we can't change.

 

[Britva415]

I've never had a real fruitcake. What's it taste like?

Not fruit, and not cake

 

[Britva415]

an overwhelming number of users favor story side and are uninterested in navigating the forum. Many don't want to go through the hassle of creating an account altogether, nor do they want to set up an email to use just for communicating with authors of smut.

It's almost like hardly any of them want to engage in any way at all other than reading the story and moving on.

THIS is the hurdle for OP to overcome.

 

[Britva415]

And here’s a story where I linked to the above:

https://www.literotica.com/s/cocksuckers

How did you manage to post the FIRST EVER Lit story with that title!?

 

[Britva415]

this is something along the lines of what I'm talking about, including the link in your story. But I agree with StillStunned regarding (a) it being a first attempt and (b) it getting derailed by forum naysayers. This is why if we had a specific forum for this, where it is entirely the point, and had multiple writers trying it, maybe it could take off.

Or not, what do I know? All I know is that I find the current comment system frustrating and the email/feedback system useless. I would just like to have more real-time conversations with people who have something to say about my work. Alas, it was but a dream

I'm convinced that the readers just wouldn't uptake this more than about 50% greater than everything we have already seen, no matter how easy were any new site features to make it.

 

[Voboy]

I appreciate your thoughts, and I can understand how this could apply to many writers. It doesn't line up with me or my motivations in this thread, however. My goal isn't to shortcut the process of building a readership, but rather to create a space where real-time conversations can occur with the readership that exists, whatever size. My frustration isn't with the quantity of communication, it's the quality of it.

You're impatient with the level of engagement you have. You've said as much. You've also posted just a dozen stories in something less than three months. I'd argue that, by definition, posting a demand for more response is, indeed, an attempt to shortcut the process of building a readership. You've not tried that; you've been unable to, by virtue of your short time here. So I'd suggest trying that first. I, and MANY others, have noted that the keys to building a following here are high-quality stories, posted with relative speed. You seem to be well on your way. I'd recommend letting that process play out.

Others have suggested other possible avenues. You can always try those. But they've also suggested you temper your expectations while traveling down those other avenues, which I imagine is excellent advice.

That said, I've been given to understand that, however valid my point, technical change happens at a glacial pace on this site. So, I simply need to be satisfied with a lot of artificial barriers to communication and put my focus elsewhere. I'm not happy with that, but it's pointless to pout about things we can't change.

Blaming the site for "artificial barriers" is the path of least resistance; it might even be valid. But don't close your mind to the other possibility: that your stories simply don't engender enough interest to make readers reach out. I don't know that that's the case, but you don't either.

I've seen no real "barriers" to readers who want to communicate with writers they're intrigued by, and I've been here long enough to have noticed trends through experience. Remember, always, the controlling logic of this site: it is intended not for writers, but for readers. If readers complained because they wanted more avenues for contact, the site might be more likely to agree with you that there's a problem.

 

[AwkwardMD]

You're impatient with the level of engagement you have. You've said as much. You've also posted just a dozen stories in something less than three months. I'd argue that, by definition, posting a demand for more response is, indeed, an attempt to shortcut the process of building a readership. You've not tried that; you've been unable to, by virtue of your short time here. So I'd suggest trying that first. I, and MANY others, have noted that the keys to building a following here are high-quality stories, posted with relative speed. You seem to be well on your way. I'd recommend letting that process play out.

Others have suggested other possible avenues. You can always try those. But they've also suggested you temper your expectations while traveling down those other avenues, which I imagine is excellent advice.



Blaming the site for "artificial barriers" is the path of least resistance; it might even be valid. But don't close your mind to the other possibility: that your stories simply don't engender enough interest to make readers reach out. I don't know that that's the case, but you don't either.

I've seen no real "barriers" to readers who want to communicate with writers they're intrigued by, and I've been here long enough to have noticed trends through experience. Remember, always, the controlling logic of this site: it is intended not for writers, but for readers. If readers complained because they wanted more avenues for contact, the site might be more likely to agree with you that there's a problem.

This is the way.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I've seen no real "barriers" to readers who want to communicate with writers they're intrigued by

I get comments, I get engagement here, I have readers I talk to on BlueSky, I get feedback emails.

I think the reason for all of that is not that I have a blog and a BlueSky account, it’s that people want to talk about stuff I’ve written.

I do wish it was easier to have comment convos, but @Voboy is right, the sine qua non is writing engaging stories.

Nothing else I have tried has helped as much as trying to write compelling stories.

 

[MythicMind]

Clearly there is nothing right I can say here. Probably including this comment. I unconditionally surrender. I completely withdraw my suggestion and my participation in this thread.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Clearly there is nothing right I can say here. Probably including this comment. I unconditionally surrender. I completely withdraw my suggestion and my participation in this thread.

Please don't do that. Keep in mind that many of us here in the AH have been here a long time, and comment with that long knowledge in mind. I think we have all expressed the same sentiment over the years, wishing there was more engagement from readers.

But no matter what blogs and comment threads and possibilities the site could do, the reality is that one person per hundred Views drops us a Vote, and the consensus is, if you're lucky, one comment per thousand views (the LW category excepted). Lit is Feedback Lite, that's the reality.

It's sad, even frustrating, that readers here consume without comment, without much reward to us writers, which leaves us to seek something else.

If you approach your writing with a calibrated set of expectations, you can still get enjoyment out of this hobby. For most of us here, that's all it is, a bit of self-indulgence, a way of passing the time. For some folk it's therapy; for others the AH is a strange sort of community: one gets out of it what one puts in.

The readers on the whole are a vast silent nothing - the feedback ranges between 1% and 0.1%, which is noise.

Readers comment if you write really well and catch their attention, and they comment if you write really badly - but for most of us on the big bell curve, it's silence. If you want readers to comment, write something astonishing, write something different.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

It's sad, even frustrating, that readers here consume without comment, without much reward to us writers, which leaves us to seek something else.

We write for free. We put it out there for free. The readers owe us nothing. Many writers here claim that readers should be respectful and write positive feedback since we give them free stories it's the least that they could do, yadayada blahblah.

Let's put the shoe on the other foot.

We could pay pro editors for beta reads but we don't, so any feedback that we get at all we get for free. I'm grateful for free feedback. The readers don't have to do that. Even if they tell me I suck. Fair is fair. Zero in, zero out and I am grateful for that.

So the readers owe us fuck all. They do not owe us a single thing. Single things include politeness, fairness, respect. They owe us none of that. They owe us big fat ZERO, bupkiss, nada, fuck all. Get it straight. Anything, - anything - that they give us is a bonus. If you can understand this, you become a better writer. If you don't, you do you. (shrug)

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I've never had a real fruitcake. What's it taste like?

Like a fruity treacle turned into superglue for the mouth.

Not fruit, and not cake

When done right, they're great.

A heavy, honey brown bread/cake loaded with dried fruits (apples, dates, cherries, cranberries, apricots and whatever else you can find at the time). Once cooked, wrap in cheesecloth and slather liberally with Frangelico, Amaretto, Peach or Apricot Brandy or similar. Store in a closed container and let sit for 30 days or more before indulging.

Nobody passes them along. They don't last long enough to get passed on. The liqueurs soak into the body and fruit and the whole thing becomes one with itself.



The doorstops full of candied 'fruit' and nuts sold at dollar stores give the delightful delicacy a bad name.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

If you carefully go through the posts, you'll notice that there isn't common wisdom here beyond some bare basics. You'll also find that veteran authors rarely try to discuss their standpoints and find common ground. Most of us are set in our beliefs.
This is the AH, @MythicMind, and the same as with Literotica, my advice is to try to focus on its positive sides rather than get frustrated by its downsides.

What I'd like to add to the discussion, such as it is, is that I both agree and disagree with some claims that have been made in the thread.

Good writing will help with garnering a following and getting more feedback, but its contribution is minor, I'm afraid. Here, as with any other kind of writing, it's the content that brings readership and engagement. Being able to tell a story matters a bit more than writing well, but it's ultimately the content and the frequency of output that have the most impact on readership.

I'd like to point out that Literotica is currently in the process of making some "improvements" on the website. For some, maybe many of us here, this statement is tinged with irony, due to the incredible sloppiness of implementation.
So, if we are to agree with some claims here, why would Lit, or any other website, improve the interface? Surely if readers want to be here, they'll be here regardless of whether the loading of the screen takes two seconds or five seconds?
Once again, the logic doesn't hold.

We, authors, are the ones who are hungry for feedback and engagement. We aren't some celebrity writers who need to defend from an army of fans, and who provide engagement only occasionally, in a strictly controlled environment.

The truth is, readers aren't that motivated to engage with us. There are simply too many of us here, too many stories available for free for any of us to individually really matter. So it's primarily OUR interest to make the channels of feedback as easy, convenient, and interactive as possible. As it is, those channels are mediocre at best.
And no matter what anyone here says, there's no doubt that improving the channels of feedback would result in more feedback for us, authors. It's basic human nature, after all. Much depends on convenience.

And this is where the problem truly sits. WE need it, not Literotica. And only Literotica has the power to improve those channels. As you may have noticed, Literotica doesn't care what we, authors, need or want. Literotica does what Literotica wants, and that's 99% of the time focused on improving traffic or clicks, sometimes even to the detriment of the reader experience.

This place here isn't a quid pro quo between us, authors, and the website, even if we are the ones who provide all the content. That's the truth of it. And Literotica isn't going to implement something that would make us happier, but what isn't likely to bring more traffic or clicks.

 

[SimonDoom]

Clearly there is nothing right I can say here. Probably including this comment. I unconditionally surrender. I completely withdraw my suggestion and my participation in this thread.

You started a thread that's had over 170 posts, and you want to pack it in just because some people disagree with you? What kind of attitude is that? Disagreement isn't rancor. People have opinions. They don't have to agree with you. It's not personal. You've stated a worthwhile case. Stick up for it. The site may listen and something may happen in the next decade or so.

 

[Off_base]

I'm not aware of any websites or social media where one can comment without logging in, so even if you were given instant messaging on your stories or profile, readers would have to sign up and login to engage.
They can already do that on lit, if they desire.
I'm new also, but I think you're missing the biggest point from the veterans in this thread.
Lit is not an entity that YOU have any negotiating power with. You can float your idea, start a petition and get a thousand authors to sign it, and the response will still be crickets.
No one is saying it's a bad concept, they're advising you on workarounds and trying to save you from wasting your time and effort. The fact that you felt pushed back on isn't surprising, given your defensive tone throughout the thread.
Assuming "no one here seems to care about communicating" is argumentative and wrong. Everyone you encounter in AH is here to communicate. Deliberately.