New, couple of questions

[redzer]

Hi, I hope this is the right place for a new member to ask some questions about posting.

1) A submitted a story a few days ago by upload and it's still not approved. How long does this normally take?

2) If I use the submission text box is any formatting supported? I uploaded in case my italics were lost.

3) If you have a story that fits two or more categories, which do you submit it in?

 

[NotWise]

Hi, I hope this is the right place for a new member to ask some questions about posting.

The Author's Hangout is a better place for this, and it may end up there.

1) A submitted a story a few days ago by upload and it's still not approved. How long does this normally take?

Two or three days, but longer if you try to upload a DOC or RTF file.

2) If I use the submission text box is any formatting supported? I uploaded in case my italics were lost.

In order to preserve formatting in a text document you need to include html tags. Only a few are allowed. There is a HowTo on using the html tags. Aside from that, when you upload text you also need to make sure that the text encoding is right. If you upload from a Windows system then the default probably works. If you use Mac or Linux then you may need to change the encoding. There is a convenient means of doing that in the submission form.

3) If you have a story that fits two or more categories, which do you submit it in?

That's a difficult question. Again, there is a HowTo on picking categories. Most stories are going to overlap between categories. A general guideline is that the story goes into the potential category that is most polarizing for the readers. So, for instance, if there's any incest in the story (regardless of what else is going on) then it should go to Incest/Taboo.

Fortunately, if you give Laurel (our chief editor) enough information with your submission then she might correct errors in where you tried to post it.

 

[redzer]

Thanks NotWise that answers all my questions! If I can use basic HTML I won't have to upload documents

 

[Hypoxia]

Thanks NotWise that answers all my questions! If I can use basic HTML I won't have to upload documents

A major benefit if cut-and-paste into the text window, whether or not you use HTML tags, is to preview your piece -- it'll be formatted pretty much as it will in the final LIT display. (Some line spacings may be off.)

Approval time: Be patient, especially as you're a new author here. Initial submissions are scrutinized just a tad closer than from us fossils er I mean veterans.

Categorization is tricky and fraught with negative comments and low votes if readers' expectations in a given cat aren't met. Some cats are more tolerant -- I've put male-male and various incestuous encounters in Group Sex with no repercussions but those weren't dominant themes. But I've put Sci-Fi-ish stuff in Incest and been reamed. Expect that anything posted in Loving Wives will be hated by many. But Incest and Loving Wives are the most-read cats, so if your goal is to be READ by many, those are where to post.

 

[HeyAll]

Hi, I hope this is the right place for a new member to ask some questions about posting.

1) A submitted a story a few days ago by upload and it's still not approved. How long does this normally take?

2) If I use the submission text box is any formatting supported? I uploaded in case my italics were lost.

3) If you have a story that fits two or more categories, which do you submit it in?

1. Does it say pending on the side? You have to click once to see the review, and then click again to fully submit it.

2. If you paste into the text, you have to do special things for italics and bold. For instance, if you want italics, put <i>hello</i>, if you want bold, put <b>hello</b>.

Make sure you check the preview to make sure all your italics and bold letters are done right. If it's done right, you'll see the results. If you see the tags, that means it's done wrong.

3. If the story fits in multiple categories, pick the category which has the most readers. But some things don't mix. For instance, if there's a heavy bdsm theme, it'll probably get a low score if you put it in group sex or anal. That said, if you put it in bdsm, it'll have much less readers overall, since that's not a popular category.

best of luck!

heyall

 

[BreakTheBar]

3. If the story fits in multiple categories, pick the category which has the most readers. But some things don't mix. For instance, if there's a heavy bdsm theme, it'll probably get a low score if you put it in group sex or anal. That said, if you put it in bdsm, it'll have much less readers overall, since that's not a popular category.

Dear lordie, please don't follow this advice verbatim. Tx Tall Tales put out a wonderful article (three, actually) in the How To category, including one called "Love your Readers: Categories." Read it, follow it. Check out the other two as well.

https://www.literotica.com/s/love-your-readers-categories

 

[redzer]

Huh. They rejected it for underage? My characters' ages were never mentioned, except that they were both still living at home. Should I have made a point of saying they were both over 18?

 

[NotWise]

I've seen people do that a lot and I've always wondered if it did any good at all.

It's possible that Laurel was reacting to a description, characterization or events that made the characters seem underage.

 

[oggbashan]

Huh. They rejected it for underage? My characters' ages were never mentioned, except that they were both still living at home. Should I have made a point of saying they were both over 18?

Yes. But it isn't just whether they were still living at home. Were the descriptions of the characters typical of teenagers? Were they at school?

Look again, make necessary changes and resubmit with "EDITED" after the title, with a note in the NOTES box that you have altered the story to ensure that the characters are over 18.

 

[sr71plt]

Just stating an age shouldn't be all you need do. You could state any age. The character and situation need to be looked at in the aggregate. If anything, I don't think enough of that has been done here in the past--at least to support the stated rule.

 

[redzer]

Were the descriptions of the characters typical of teenagers?

Maybe? It was incest but I was trying to keep a sibling dynamic as well, so there was some bickering and brattiness. I guess they seemed too immature. Sigh. I liked that story.

 

[NotWise]

It may not be necessary to abandon the story. It would help if the sibling dynamic were not bratty, but maybe that isn't necessary. Make clear through other facets of their lives that they are mature; they're out of highschool, they own cars, they have jobs, etc.

 

[sr71plt]

It may not be necessary to abandon the story. It would help if the sibling dynamic were not bratty, but maybe that isn't necessary. Make clear through other facets of their lives that they are mature; they're out of highschool, they own cars, they have jobs, etc.

I agree. Giving them older context rather than just stating an age would be the most effective.