If you are having a lengthy delay in publishing, please add the name of your story and when submitted here.

[SoCalAshley]

I submitted my story and watched it for about 3 hours, and the pending clock kept ticking. Then at the 3-hour mark, it reset back to zero. Does that mean my story now has to be checked manually, or is this the glitch everyone is talking about?

 

[DonaldBelle]

I’ve been revisiting Lit after an 8 year break (where does the time go) and I am baffled by the current situation. Surely this is not sustainable? It’s just going to drive people away.

 

[iwatchus]

I submitted my story and watched it for about 3 hours, and the pending clock kept ticking. Then at the 3-hour mark, it reset back to zero. Does that mean my story now has to be checked manually, or is this the glitch everyone is talking about?

This has happened to every story since I have been here. Lots of speculation, but it has gone through some automated step. This is normal. Don't worry (yet).

Congratulations on a submission. Every submission is fun. And nerve wracking.

 

[MythicMind]

I have had stories get published within hours, with most at 1-3 days, and others that sat for weeks and never moved out of pending. I cannot ascertain any pattern—it honestly feels random.

 

[iwatchus]

I have had stories get published within hours, with most at 1-3 days, and others that sat for weeks and never moved out of pending. I cannot ascertain any pattern—it honestly feels random.

It is certainly not completely deterministic, which is why the delete and resubmit works for many stories which have been stuck. It's also not completely random, because too many stories that get stuck, do again and again. We have little idea why some stories get stuck and why others don't, which sure feels random or the will of the gods or personal against us or any other explanation that has been thrown out here.

Truth is we don't know and that's damned frustrating.

 

[defuxusay]

I am having a lengthy delay in getting a story published here. Is the site still working? I have been attempting to publish a story since October 20th. It is still pending. Is there a secret to getting this expedited, is the site broken or offline in certain regards, or has it grown too big for its original intent? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I am having a lengthy delay in getting a story published here. Is the site still working? I have been attempting to publish a story since October 20th. It is still pending. Is there a secret to getting this expedited, is the site broken or offline in certain regards, or has it grown too big for its original intent? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Delete it and resubmit

 

[The_Unicorn]

I am skeptical of this delete and resubmit. I did it and nothing. So, it just seems to shuffle me down to the bottom. I assume it worked for some people for some reason... but not for me.

 

[iwatchus]

I am skeptical of this delete and resubmit. I did it and nothing. So, it just seems to shuffle me down to the bottom. I assume it worked for some people for some reason... but not for me.

It seems to work for a substantial number of stories, but not every one (mine included). Patience and hope is all we have right now.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I am skeptical of this delete and resubmit. I did it and nothing. So, it just seems to shuffle me down to the bottom. I assume it worked for some people for some reason... but not for me.

You are allowed to be skeptical. It’s not a universal panacea, and some people have got caught a second time. But it worked for many people who had been waiting for multiple weeks.

It’s something worth trying, not a sure fire thing. Doing nothing after - say - four weeks is not a winning strategy.

 

[cw5523729]

Doing nothing after - say - four weeks is not a winning strategy.

That's quitter talk

 

[nvsibl3]

My issue is that I don’t want to submit chapter five while chapter four is in this lengthy delay

 

[EmilyMiller]

My issue is that I don’t want to submit chapter five while chapter four is in this lengthy delay

I hear you. I submitted six chapters forming a novel en masse recently. Parts I - III got approved almost immediately and Parts IV - VI languished. I politely made myself a thorn in Laurel’s side via PMs for a couple of days and Parts IV - VI then got approved. But my next step would have been to delete and resubmit.

 

[cw5523729]

My issue is that I don’t want to submit chapter five while chapter four is in this lengthy delay

One of my parts got rejected after others were submitted. I fixed the rejected one and all still posted in the correct order

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Day ten of pending, in total. After the initial submission, my story spent six days pending, then I resubmitted when people kept reporting that their stories were being approved within hours of submission. Now, day four of pending after resubmitting my story.

It seems that I'm definitely on Laurel's shit-list, which is somewhat surprising, as I'm no new author and I've never been rejected before. Then again, maybe she does read the forum, as some veterans speculated in the past.
It will be amusing to see how long I spend in pending hell, and whether my story gets rejected after a very long wait on account of some BS.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Day ten of pending, in total. After the initial submission, my story spent six days pending, then I resubmitted when people kept reporting that their stories were being approved within hours of submission. Now, day four of pending after resubmitting my story.

It seems that I'm definitely on Laurel's shit-list, which is somewhat surprising, as I'm no new author and I've never been rejected before. Then again, maybe she does read the forum, as some veterans speculated in the past.
It will be amusing to see how long I spend in pending hell, and whether my story gets rejected after a very long wait on account of some BS.

It’s really, really not personal. Again, each of @ChloeTzang @MelissaBaby @silkstockingslover @Actingup and me had stories fall into the black hole. Other authors who have never had a problem got caught as well.

As it is you are extrapolating from one data point. There is no conspiracy here, just a [wo]manpower issue (for whatever reason) and creaking technology, whose flaws can no longer be papered over.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It’s really, really not personal. Again, each of @ChloeTzang @MelissaBaby @silkstockingslover @Actingup and me had stories fall into the black hole. Other authors who have never had a problem got caught as well.

As it is you are extrapolating from one data point. There is no conspiracy here, just a [wo]manpower issue (for whatever reason) and creaking technology, whose flaws can no longer be papered over.

I never mentioned any conspiracy. I merely amused myself with musings on what might be the reason why I seem to belong to the "bad" group. Yes, others had the same problem, but almost everyone among the not-new authors reported getting through after resubmission, and within hours. So it's not one data point.

Anyway, of course that I don't know why, because no one knows why, because silence. But my speculation that it might be personal towards an author who is a self-appointed and by far the loudest critic of Lit is just as plausible as your own.

There is an obvious, extreme inconsistency in the processing time of different authors. I would understand needing, say, 4-5 days before being approved or rejected, vs the almost instantaneous approval some of you experience - your chaptered story, for example. But these insane waiting times can't be rationally explained, not when they are so extremely contrasted against what many other authors report.

Anyway, we'll see where this goes, I guess. I won't resubmit again, no matter how long it takes.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Just to remind everyone, this is the last notification we had from Laurel, one that was posted after the delays started.




My story isn't illustrated or an edit, nor does it belong to any category that might need additional vetting. So the only reason why it would be delayed is suspected AI. And damn, will I laugh heartily if that happens.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I never mentioned any conspiracy. I merely amused myself with musings on what might be the reason why I seem to belong to the "bad" group. Yes, others had the same problem, but almost everyone among the not-new authors reported getting through after resubmission, and within hours. So it's not one data point.

Anyway, of course that I don't know why, because no one knows why, because silence. But my speculation that it might be personal towards an author who is a self-appointed and by far the loudest critic of Lit is just as plausible as your own.

There is an obvious, extreme inconsistency in the processing time of different authors. I would understand needing, say, 4-5 days before being approved or rejected, vs the almost instantaneous approval some of you experience - your chaptered story, for example. But these insane waiting times can't be rationally explained, not when they are so extremely contrasted against what many other authors report.

Anyway, we'll see where this goes, I guess. I won't resubmit again, no matter how long it takes.

 

[Actingup]

It’s really, really not personal. Again, each of @ChloeTzang @MelissaBaby @silkstockingslover @Actingup and me had stories fall into the black hole. Other authors who have never had a problem got caught as well.

As it is you are extrapolating from one data point. There is no conspiracy here, just a [wo]manpower issue (for whatever reason) and creaking technology, whose flaws can no longer be papered over.

 

[EmilyMiller]

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Exactly

 

[AwkwardlySet]

View attachment 2575301

I fail to see how you countered my speculation that it might be some personal pettiness from Laurel by calling her stupid instead?

 

[Actingup]

I fail to see how you countered my speculation that it might be some personal pettiness from Laurel by calling her stupid instead?

That's the flaw with Hanlon's Razor Neither Laurel nor Manu are stupid, clearly, but they are obviously overwhelmed, and some of that might considered to be poor planning / site management / author relations. I have great admiration for them and affection for the site, even if it is held together by strings and wire, so I hope these issues get resolved.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

That's the flaw with Hanlon's Razor Neither Laurel nor Manu are stupid, clearly, but they are obviously overwhelmed, and some of that might considered to be poor planning / site management / author relations. I have great admiration for them and affection for the site, even if it is held together by strings and wire, so I hope these issues get resolved.

Fair enough.

I like the website in general. There are many good aspects of Lit. I've zero admiration for them two, though. I struggle to see why any of you do. The way they function certainly shouldn't earn them any admiration from us.

But once again, if you go through this and many similar threads we had in the past, you'll notice the same pattern repeating.
Almost without exception, it's authors for whom Literotica is functioning borderline flawlessly, convincing authors who have the most fundamental of problems with Lit - their stories not getting published, that everything is fine, that they should just be patient, that Laurel is wonderful, etc. It's amusing as hell.

But when one from the first group experiences some issue, they often create a separate thread to complain about it, and when the problem gets resolved eventually, they go back to convincing everyone from the second group that Lit is working just fine.

Seriously, there's a plot bunny for Humor and Satire here - the most difficult of the categories! Seize it!

 

[Actingup]

Fair enough.

I like the website in general. There are many good aspects of Lit. I've zero admiration for them two, though. I struggle to see why any of you do. The way they function certainly shouldn't earn them any admiration from us.

But once again, if you go through this and many similar threads we had in the past, you'll notice the same pattern repeating.
Almost without exception, it's authors for whom Literotica is functioning borderline flawlessly, convincing authors who have the most fundamental of problems with Lit - their stories not getting published, that everything is fine, that they should just be patient, that Laurel is wonderful, etc. It's amusing as hell.

But when one from the first group experiences some issue, they often create a separate thread to complain about it, and when the problem gets resolved eventually, they go back to convincing everyone from the second group that Lit is working just fine.

Seriously, there's a plot bunny for Humor and Satire here - the most difficult of the categories! Seize it!

Well, I did plot out a story where the huge pipes in the Literotica equivalent of Willy Wonka's chocolate room all burst under the stress, and the stories from different categories all start mixing together, but that's as far as I'll go with it. I do know that if I was trying to run a site like this for all those years, I would be a stark-raving lunatic by now.