New Writer looking for insight and feedback

[Discretfun83]

I just spent a few days putting a story together and was wondering if was safe to have someone edit it and look through it for errors. I didn't just slap this together, well not completely that is. This has been more or less a fantasy of mine for several years and found some free time to brainstorm on it and then write about it. Just so you are aware it is a brother/sister incest story. I'm planning on making this a several part story, as long as part one is decent enough in other peoples view to continue with.

I have 2 main concerns. As a reader of stories on this site I can definately find good stories and bad ones on the site. Unfortunately i'm a little too close to this one to judge it. Since it is my fantasy it seems to do the trick for me but I want to know what others might think about it before submitting it anyhwere.

That is concern number 1. Concern number 2 is theft. I don't want to have some random person look it over and "edit" it and then never hear back from them only to find out several weeks later there is a "new" story on the site that looks vaguely familiar to me with a different authors name.

Any ideas or thoughts from people that have already done this?

Thanks for any insight!

D

 

[sr71plt]

The bad news is that once you've shared a story, there are no guarantees it won't be stolen--and a fear of showing a story to an editor, if you have it, should be swamped by how you feel about putting it on an open Internet story board, where litterly millions of people could waltz off with it and then pretend it is theirs on another site--and you can't do a damn thing about it.

The good news is that this almost never happens (and if it happens to you, there's a slim chance you'll ever know it did).

The better than good news is that, despite apparent misconceptions, story writing is a renewable source. It's not a matter of holding the world's only golden egg.

The not so good news is that getting someone to look at your story before it's posted (and sometimes even after it's posted) is like pulling hen's teeth. So it might be best to worry about what an editor is doing with it after you've gone on a big game hunt and found an editor actually willing to look at it.

Welcome to writing, though. My suggestion is to just start doing it and putting it out there. You aren't going to get any renumeration for posting it here, so I wouldn't worry all that much about having it stolen until much farther down the development track.

 

[tickledkitty]

Something else to think about...

The more you write, the better you will get at it. A few months from now, you might look back at your current gem and find it not quite so shiny, and therefore, less precious.

Good luck with it, and welcome to the AH.

 

[JackLuis]

Try the Editors Hangout. I had luck getting editors there.

Or just put it out there and take the heat. Unless it's Loving Wives, <snerk>

Welcom very few here bite and most likely you'll get a few licks.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

TK makes an excellent point. I just did a quick lookback at my short list of stories and doggone if someone isn't out there reading and commenting on my very first! I sometimes feel as if I ought to put up a warning on it "Hey, guys, I've never done this before." The later ones, I'm actually a bit proud of.

 

[kendo1]

If someone offers to help you proofread/edit your story, check their number of posts, if it is over, say 1010 ( that keeps jack out) then they have been here for a while.

Seriously, PM me and I'll see what I can do over the weekend. Normal turn around is 24 hours, but I am busy this weekend.

The usual way people pirate stories is to just copy and paste the first page!
So the best way to safeguard it is to write a paragraph before the story saying that you wrote it, the copyright belongs to you and it was posted at Literotica.

 

[bb_peaks]

I've edited one story for a fellow writer on here. He liked my stories and we started chatting and I offered my services. He has since returned the favor to edit one of mine.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Hi, Fun. Welcome to Literotica and AH and the wonderfu world of writing erotica or smut, whichever you prefer. I hope you meant to spell your name like that, because it looks like it is misspelled.

I don't know how sr can say that story theft almost never happens. I have had literally hundreds of mine stolen, in full or in part. It is true that they frequently take just the first page, including info on copyright that might happen to be there. Sometimes they plagiarize a story, changing the name and the characters' names and some other monor things, and then claim authorship. I get pissed off at either kind, but there isn' a lot we can do about it. There have been times when authors have carried out a mass vendetta against pirates.

 

[Discretfun83]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I actually went back after reading some of the posts and read my story for about the 10th time since its completion and made some changes to it. I decided after that to just take a shot and see what happens. I submitted it under the title "Horrible Night Set Right." I'm not sure how long it will take to get back to me but I will let you know what the verdict is when I get it.

Over the last year or so i've started writing more. First I started with an idea I had for a movie script. I still have that going but it hits me in moments so its a work in progress. I progressed into some of this stuff and have referred back to some of my favorite stories on here on insight for how to word my paragraphs and actually conversations between my characters. I think for my first one it came out well and I'm looking to build on it. I left it open so I can go back to add more chapters to it and play with it as I see fit.

I guess I will just wait for the acceptance or rejections from the Literotica editors. Keep the ideas coming and if your interested in reading it let me know. I wouldn't mind feedback from others besides the Lit editors.

 

[jomar]

What they said. But your story will likely get hijacked, not stolen. Bots will grab it and it will end up on AskJolene.com or another site. We advise Lit's site owners when we discover hijacking and they try, but it is sort of the nature of the beast.

Having said that, people are selling their stories that have been posted here and earning real money in spite of that.

 

[sr71plt]

I don't know how sr can say that story theft almost never happens. I have had literally hundreds of mine stolen, in full or in part.

Taking it from here and putting their name on it and posting it elsewhere as their work? No, I still don't think there's much of that going on.

BUT, if anyone is really worried about that, a free story site on the Internet is probably the worst place to be posting your stories. Why even entertain the idea?

 

[damppanties]

If someone offers to help you proofread/edit your story, check their number of posts, if it is over, say 1010 ( that keeps jack out) then they have been here for a while.

The best editors I've had have not posted much on the forums.

 

[tickledkitty]

The best editors I've had have not posted much on the forums.

Same here. Hanging around here and the Story Feedback Forum and being involved in discussions is the best way to find them without really looking, I think.

 

[YoursSINSerely]

If you write like me, you won't have a problem.

 

[Discretfun83]

Right

If you write like me, you won't have a problem.

That was insightful!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I dont volunteer to edit anyone because most writers want gold stars, and given a choice between criticism and a gold star, they jump for the gold star every time.

My personal edit list includes tangible problem areas that arent subjective opinion or taste: unnecessary auxillary (linking) verbs? unncessary adverbs and adjectives? How about intransitive verbs? Cliches?

The newbies I've edited cant be bothered to pare the obvious problems, so I dont fool with them anymore.

I mean, there are issues that are entirely personal taste, and the newbie should stand her ground with an anal editor. The necessity of an adjective is fair game, but not its nature. Editors dont get to pick colors or fabrics or judge hemlines.

 

[aleph9410]

You did the right thing. Submit the story. Don't take any critique personally. Ignore the trolls and learn from each piece.

 

[Discretfun83]

Thanks Aleph. I did submit and it seemed the only critique they had was something about the age of consent and making sure the people in the story were 18 years of age or older.

I went back through the story because I knew I clearly stated the womans age but rereading it I did not make both peoples ages clear. I edited it a bit and resubmitted it. Lets see what happens now.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I always laugh at the AGE OF CONSENT nonsense. In 2009 it would be impossible to publish ROMEO & JULIET or HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

We conveniently forget that our notion of children as innocent waifs is a modern invention.

Fifty years ago young teens could marry in this state and get a license to drive a car. A century ago preteens could legally marry and join the military.

TROLL: Anyone who doesnt give you a Gold Star for the twaddle you write or post.

 

[Discretfun83]

Yea, but I was happy that seemed to be the only thing they had to critique. I agree with you that it is a joke. I remember reading plenty of stories on Lit that the story made it seem like at least one of the people in the story were younger than 18. But.... who am I to argue.... I need them to post it, they don't need my story.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I GET the politics of it. America's witch-burners never go away. Theyre like migrant workers; after they pick my plums they come pick your peaches.

 

[JackLuis]

If someone offers to help you proofread/edit your story, check their number of posts, if it is over, say 1010 ( that keeps jack out) then they have been here for a while.

So now that I'm over 1010 am I qualified? Notice that I didn't volunteer to edit for him. I don't have the skills to do it. But I guess you read some of my writing and know that?

Discretfun83: I'd have offered to edit but alas I am unqualified, still.

Hope your story is up soon, past a link here and I'll read it and give you feedback. I am qualified to do that.

 

[driphoney]

Just wondering. Do you think there should be an age limit for minor sex in stories posted on the internet? What age?

I always laugh at the AGE OF CONSENT nonsense. In 2009 it would be impossible to publish ROMEO & JULIET or HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

We conveniently forget that our notion of children as innocent waifs is a modern invention.

Fifty years ago young teens could marry in this state and get a license to drive a car. A century ago preteens could legally marry and join the military.

TROLL: Anyone who doesnt give you a Gold Star for the twaddle you write or post.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

DRIPHONEY

I believe the whole issue is phoney.

What you write in a story isnt sex with anyone, it's words.

If you write about eating a hamburger, no hamburger is really eaten.

Ditto for men who hook up with cops on the internet. A cop isnt a minor. So we're criminalizing people for false beliefs.

Why not arrest men for rape fantasies or reading murder mysteries?

How dum is that?

 

[sr71plt]

So now that I'm over 1010 am I qualified? Notice that I didn't volunteer to edit for him. I don't have the skills to do it. But I guess you read some of my writing and know that?

Discretfun83: I'd have offered to edit but alas I am unqualified, still.

Hope your story is up soon, past a link here and I'll read it and give you feedback. I am qualified to do that.

I must admit that I'm baffled about there being any connection between posting on the forum and being able to edit (or even proofread) a story competently.