Getting Friends and/or Family to Read Your Stories

[trigudis]

One of the best things we like about this site is the instant feedback we receive from readers, almost all of them strangers. But what about people we know? In my case, most of my friends and family members show little or no interest in reading my stories. One friend in particular, who I've known for 60 years, asked me how to get into Lit. But after taking him step by step, he never bothered to follow through.

Are there other writers here with similar issues?

 

[HeyAll]

I looked up your Lit profile. You write incest stories and you're brave enough to show your friends and family? That's really brave.

Personally, I don't tell anyone.

 

[Carnevil9]

Yeah, I don't tell anyone I know, either. And if they happen to have figured it out, they have the good taste to pretend they don't know anything about it.

 

[JKendallDane]

Stand up and be brave. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors. Tell the world. Let God sort out the upright, uptight ones.

I have a link to my Facebook author page on my personal page and have quite a number of friends that have been to that page and clicked the "Like" button.

Most of my friends know I write gay romances. My family knows also. My doctor knows since I've asked him some pretty specific, research-type, med school questions for my one trilogy. My pastor knows...and has even helped broadcast it at church because I occasionally blend erotica and spirituality in my stories.

And since I'm doing a book signing in June, anyone that is still in the dark, won't be after that.

.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I had the reverse issue. I asked one family member for publishing advice and next thing I know, my stepmother and my very respectable auntie are "Hey B, I hear you wrote a novel, can we see it?"

Followed some weeks later by: "I always wondered what lesbians did in bed!"

They were very nice about it, but just a wee bit embarrassing...

 

[sr71plt]

My wife reads my mainstream manuscripts. No one else does before they go to the publisher, though. She doesn't comment much, and I mainly have her read them so that she thinks that's what's occupying all of my time and doesn't know about the line of erotica I'm also writing and no one else reads in draft before they go to the editor.

 

[Hypoxia]

I would not dare.

 

[49greg]

Nope, no way.

 

[beachbum1958]

.....

 

[TxRad]

Most everyone I know knows that i write and most know what i write.

A few of my friends have ended up in a story or two.

 

[lovecraft68]

My wife reads all my stuff except mom/son dad/daughter, she likes sibling incest, but not the other two. She reads everything else I write.

My sister is the only other person who knows everything I write and a few people know about my amazon stuff which is BDSM, group, lesbian, the 'basic' porn stuff, I never direct them to SW or anywhere all the taboo stuff is.

I don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks of me, but IMO incest and non con for those who write it are two kinks you don't share with just anyone or they start looking at you with that'have they done it, would they do it?" Look I don't do non con, but have written a few dad/daughter stories and have daughters so why I don't advertise it should be obvious.

On lit if I posted on my bio I had sex with my daughters my readership in the category would triple but in r/l it would be frowned upon.

And even with that, I'm not sure I care so much about me as my wife whose career involves working with teen girls and shit like that could be a bad look for her as well.

As it is one of her uncles found out what I wrote, bought a copy of one of my bdsm books(because we would never give him one) and took my wife aside and asked her-totally serious- 'are you okay, he doesn't hurt you like that does he?'

So unfortunately real life has to get in the way of 'be brave and be proud' can't always work as much as we would like it to.

 

[JKendallDane]

Most everyone I know knows that i write and most know what i write.

A few of my friends have ended up in a story or two.

This is my favorite shirt to wear when I want to make friends and family nervous.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CVcW6g93L._UX385_.jpg

Works pretty well too.

.

 

[SamScribble]

This is my favorite shirt to wear when I want to make friends and family nervous.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CVcW6g93L._UX385_.jpg

Works pretty well too. .

My sister calls me 'my brother, the pornographer'. She says that she reads my stuff with her eyes closed.

 

[TxRad]

This is my favorite shirt to wear when I want to make friends and family nervous.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CVcW6g93L._UX385_.jpg

Works pretty well too.

.

I'll take one of those in Large please.

 

[trigudis]

Some of my stories are incest. It's the non-incest stories I steer them to.

 

[Ewobbit]

This is my favorite shirt to wear when I want to make friends and family nervous.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CVcW6g93L._UX385_.jpg

Works pretty well too.

.

Make mine an XXL

Many blue moons ago, my mother ran across some tapes I was dictating my first attempt at erotica (although even Larry Flint thought it was too porny) and listened to them all . Egad. I'm not sure which of us that was more traumatic for.

Other than that, my wife sort of generally knows I write pornotica. But, we've generally agreed that we are both happier if she doesn't read it. (Although she did get a kick out of Mighty Aphrodite's Hidey Hole and Large Marge when I twisted her arm to look it over.)

Not sure what it says that she will read Evanovich but not my stuff.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

One of the best things we like about this site is the instant feedback we receive from readers, almost all of them strangers. But what about people we know? In my case, most of my friends and family members show little or no interest in reading my stories. One friend in particular, who I've known for 60 years, asked me how to get into Lit. But after taking him step by step, he never bothered to follow through.

Are there other writers here with similar issues?

Family, no way. They think we are angels. Same with most friends. We lead a double life. That's why we camp and travel to play around. That changed now that we live in the boonies. Still many friends around here have no idea my wife runs around naked. The slut!

As for other friends, same deal. They do read stories I send them. In fact that's how and why I have our stories and decided to join Lit. I've walked many through to join and showed them the forum. I even use different names but many would know who they are in stories.
As far as I know no friends joined Lit.

 

[trigudis]

Lovecraft68 - I know what you mean about readers who might associate your actions with that of your characters. My wife, who will read my stories upon my request, became alarmed after reading "People Who Live In Glass Houses..." because it involved brother-sister incest, and I have a sister.

What she doesn't understand is that most people who write this stuff, including me, find incest with their own relatives repulsive. Incest between strangers or fictional characters, however, might turn them on. It's a weird juxtaposition of human sexuality.

 

[trigudis]

To Lovecraft68

Lovecraft68 - I know what you mean about readers who might associate your actions with that of your characters. My wife, who will read my stories upon my request, became alarmed after reading "People Who Live In Glass Houses..." because it involved brother-sister incest, and I have a sister.

What she doesn't understand is that most people who write this stuff, including me, find incest with their own relatives repulsive. Incest between strangers or fictional characters, however, might turn them on. It's a weird juxtaposition of human sexuality.

 

[J_R_Ashunwhy]

I would never ask family to read any of my smut stories, and as far as I know, none of them have stumbled across any of my stories and put two and two together.
My friends from college all know. There was a small group of us that would toss out a random plot point or character trope, and challenge the group to write stories utilizing their specific detail. The story didn't have to be smut, but mine usually were.
Hubby knew about the stories before actually meeting me; he was a friend of one of those writing group members. He does not ask to read any of my smut, but he likes the idea that I keep writing it on occasion, and will tease me about it sometimes. Nothing like having a really fun evening, only to be asked after the fact if his performance was 'story worthy'.

 

[autoplot]

I have a small handful of trusted friends I've shared my stories with, but most people I know aren't aware. Years ago I had a falling-out with someone once and they blabbed my "secret" around in an unsuccessful effort to make me look bad, and that was enough to make me cautious.

 

[Handley_Page]

I would not trust my lot with anything, particularly the writing.

 

[CountessClara]

Well, I actually just signed on here (among other reasons) because I've been too ashamed of showing my "normal" writings to my writing pal or my sister, whom I actually trust as to their judgement. But the more I've been finding my voice, the more I realize that it involves a sort of racy style, which is something with which - I keep telling myself - I'm fine, but actually I really don't want anyone to notice and make assumptions based on my narrator's focus, if that makes sense.
So I'm looking forward to see how I will feel about strangers reading my stuff.

It's interesting to me, however, how many of you write particularily about your family's reaction. For some reason I've been assuming that people, who show their writings to their family, are rare. Anyways, maybe I just really don't need to show them.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Most people know I write, many of my friends write. They wouldn't be surprised by anything I'm sure, I would proabably hear by one, or two of them;"is this what you're gonna do when you get your black non-descript van?" I don't think I could get any of them to read what's here, or my blogs, if I made the url, the homepage on their phones, and computers.

My family probably don't need to know, they don'y need anymore of me decisions to question. Maybe if i had more "normal" erotica, where a human man and woman just have sex, that are unrelated to each other, are mere mortals lacking any kinda super power, fetish, or mental issue, then as long as that's all they could find, sure.

 

[_Lynn_]

I don't keep my writing a secret from anyone but only a few of them have taken the time to read anything.