Question on editing my stories

[Hugme]

Hi there,
I don't have a bunch of experience with Literotica and also don't have a whole lot of submissions.
I am trying to find out how to change things in an already published story or how to add to it or something.
I looked through my profile and it seems I can't find a way to actually go back into my stories and make changes.
Thank you for your help!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Simply submit the edited version as you would a new story, explaining in the Notes box why.

 

[Hugme]

Okay, I was hoping there is a way to go into the story and edit it and just update the already published version, but I guess not.
Thanks though

 

[ElectricBlue]

Okay, I was hoping there is a way to go into the story and edit it and just update the already published version, but I guess not.
Thanks though

The whole premise of the site is that you load up a finished story or chapter - readers want to read something that's finished, not something constantly changing. You need to "get it right" on the first go, really. That's part of the discipline of writing.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The whole premise of the site is that you load up a finished story or chapter - readers want to read something that's finished, not something constantly changing. You need to "get it right" on the first go, really. That's part of the discipline of writing.

I did edit one story last year that had an unusual number of typos and errors of that sort. I must have been having brain farts that week.

Changes in "content" however are probably rarely if ever needed. For one thing the number of readers drops off rapidly in most cases and it just becomes moot.

 

[KeithD]

The whole premise of the site is that you load up a finished story or chapter - readers want to read something that's finished, not something constantly changing. You need to "get it right" on the first go, really. That's part of the discipline of writing.

This. Is it that hard to realize that it isn't just you (the nitpick redoer, not electricblue66) being affected when you nitpick edit? You're causing Laurel to do it all all over again and you are slowing down the process for everyone else submitting. Take your best shot and then go on to the next one. This isn't the New Yorker.

(And, no, after over 1,100 Lit. stories across accounts, I have never filed an edit.)

 

[ElectricBlue]

I did edit one story last year that had an unusual number of typos and errors of that sort. I must have been having brain farts that week.

Changes in "content" however are probably rarely if ever needed. For one thing the number of readers drops off rapidly in most cases and it just becomes moot.

Yeah, I've done two resubmits to fix diabolically bad html coding errors which sent italics completely haywire, including disappearing text - and as a consequence don't bother with italics at all any more.

And one story revision on my woman in a wheelchair story, following feedback from a woman in a wheelchair, to tweak some sentences here and there. "We'd never do that," she said, and was politely insistent about it. That was a fair call, which I felt wise to follow, given the delicate subject matter.

It's actually the same story where SimonDoom pointed out my tense shifts - they're still in the published version, though, as his comments arrived a couple of years later - by then it was what it was, and best left alone (as a lesson to myself).

 

[LexxRuthless]

Like you, I put a few stories out without having them as polished as I would like. I just assumed it would be easy to edit them. As everyone else has pointed out, it is a major undertaking for Laurel to edit an existing story. I submitted two edits, and both of them took weeks to get processed. By then, it really only made a difference for one of those stories.

Now, I just make sure I do a better job of editing my work before I submit it. Once a story is on the site and readers point out flaws, the only reason to make an edit would be if it was the sort of mistake that causes the story to be pulled from the site entirely. (Like miscalculating and making a character underage, for example)

 

[oggbashan]

Question about successful edit...

I submitted an edited story, a minor edit because I had got a name wrong at a critical point, one of my most frequent errors.

On the New Control Board I had the notification that "Story Name EDITED" had been successfully submitted and it showed as Pending for several days.

Then I got this:

You have successfully submitted a story
Submission is removed

I panicked. Had one of my stories been reported for inappropriate content? Then I looked at the date. It was against the edited story message. I checked. The edited story was there with the name corrected. But having removed the original statement of "Story Name EDITED" I had no idea what submission had been erased.

Anyone else had this problem?

 

[LexxRuthless]

I did not get a message like that on either of my edits. Both of them were within the past year. Was this a recent occurrence, Ogg?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Anyone else had this problem?

Yes - my cocked up html story. I submitted a correction several weeks ago and got that strange message. I thought, "oh, it's gone through" but didn't check at the time. I pulled up the story two nights ago to discover the edit hadn't in fact gone through. It was just after the major system tweak, so I figure something fell through a crack. The edit is in the system again.

 

[Lydra]

Here: I've re-edited my story and want to replace the posted version with my new edited one. How do I do this? you can find more info.

But I would strongly suggest to avoid doing so, unless it's a very relevant change. It adds an extra burden on Laurel, who, I suspect, is busy enough already.

The FAQ quoted above suggested to me (knowing none of the background) that editing an existing story is easy. Reading "No problem!" and "48 hours" painted a picture in my mind of an easy lift and switch, especially when compared to the 3-7 days quoted for a new submission.

Now I feel bad!

 

[oggbashan]

I did not get a message like that on either of my edits. Both of them were within the past year. Was this a recent occurrence, Ogg?

Yesterday. Edited story submitted on 15th April.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

The FAQ quoted above suggested to me (knowing none of the background) that editing an existing story is easy. Reading "No problem!" and "48 hours" painted a picture in my mind of an easy lift and switch, especially when compared to the 3-7 days quoted for a new submission.

Sidebar issue. Once a writer gets established (when Laurel learns they can be trusted to not submit something glaringly wrong?), that generally drops to 2-3 days.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The FAQ quoted above suggested to me (knowing none of the background) that editing an existing story is easy. Reading "No problem!" and "48 hours" painted a picture in my mind of an easy lift and switch, especially when compared to the 3-7 days quoted for a new submission.

Now I feel bad!

Don't feel bad about it. The FAQ does say "No Problem!" It doesn't mention any details about how often this can be done or the reasons for editing a story.

I respect Laurel and think she is doing an incredible job, but she could change the policy - to discourage or even end editing - but she hasn't.

It is true that edits can take a while to get posted. I once had to wait ten days.

 

[Emirus]

Sidebar issue. Once a writer gets established (when Laurel learns they can be trusted to not submit something glaringly wrong?), that generally drops to 2-3 days.

After a year and ten stories mine take 7-8 days to post from submission so I guess I’m not established yet.

I’ve requested an edit on two stories to change the story description. One of these was because Laurel looked at the title and promptly put it in Erotic Couplings instead of Romance. I sent it back with a request to put it in Romance and took the opportunity to change the story description and prologue to hopefully save any confusion for the reader.

As regards whether or not to submit an edit it’s up to the individual and why they think the edit is required. The facility for an edit is there so I don’t think any suggestion of increasing Laurel’s workload is valid. If she finds it too much of a problem I’m sure she would find a solution. Does it really matter whether an edit takes one week or two?

I would gladly accept two weeks or more for an edit if it meant a new story appearing in 2/3 days.

 

[KeithD]

Does it really matter whether an edit takes one week or two?

It matters to you, if you give it some thought. Each edit is a new, complete transaction for Laurel, taking probably a bit more time for Laurel to process than an original submission because she has to take the extra step of checking what's being changed. At some point you might make the connection between it taking 7 or 8 days for your initial story submissions to post and that authors are tossing in edit submissions too. The more nitpicky the edits being submitted are, the more days it takes for your initial submission to post.

I get that there are authors who only think of the effect on such things on themselves and not on Laurel and other authors.

 

[Emirus]

I suspect it also depends on the category your story is submitted to.

Ten stories in six categories. Perhaps if it had been ten stories in one category? . I see your point that some categories have more submissions than others but I’ve always assumed that the submissions are dealt with in chronological order rather than by category.

Once you’ve submitted a story I think that every writer, experienced or not, wants their story to pop up as soon as possible.