Do you write for your fans/followers, or yourself?

[8letters]

I'm envious of those that have gotten story requests from readers or commissions. I've never had that. I've had a lot of requests for sequels, but that's it for me.

I write to publish here. I somewhat enjoy writing, but if it wasn't for the readers, I'd never finish a story. I have a tough enough time as it is finishing stories.

 

[windar]

Like a lot of other posters, I write for myself first, making the kinds of stories that I'd want to read. I wouldn't post a story unless I thought it met my own standards.

I'm still a rank amateur though! After my 5th story, an author I admire approached me and asked to commission a story. This really knocked me for a loop and gave me impostor syndrome in a big way (why would they want to commission me? Don't they know I have no idea what I'm doing?) and prompted some introspection (I'm writing for fun. Would I ruin this for myself if I accepted money for a hobby?).

I did write the story and I spent so long editing it that, given the commission paid, I ended up far below a living wage. That's the way of a writer, I guess

I'm very fortunate to have a day job that I enjoy, so I'm not sure if I would accept another commission. I do still want to improve as a writer though, so I hope to keep writing silly lesbian fantasy.

Congratulations on getting a commission so early in your career!

I don't find that I write commission stories any differently than ones I write on my own ideas. I will only accept a commission when it lays out a very general framework; if they want to tell me how to write it, then I will invite them to cut out the middleman and write it themselves. But a couple have taken me into interesting nooks and crannies that I wouldn't have known even existed but were fun to dabble in.

Certainly quitting your day job to try to make a living writing erotica seems a non-starter. On Reddit, people will sometimes post "data porn", where they claim how much they are making. Mostly, it's a few months worth of numbers, likely selected, and even then the numbers are a bare living, not yachts and champagne kind of money. And that comes from cranking out a short piece at the rate of a few/week, a prospect that makes flipping burgers seem like a good career by comparison (especially with what those jobs are offering in today's labor short markets).

 

[Djmac1031]

I have a continuing series that features a lot of CFNM / Exhibitionist/ Voyeur themes.

It wasn't so much a REQUEST as it was a discussion with another writer who enjoys my series but writes his CFNM stories with a more humiliation/ embarrassment element to them that led me to creating a secondary character in one chapter specifically for the opportunity for my female lead to publicly humiliate him for being an asshole.

So yeah if you get a good idea from someone else, and it fits what you're already doing, why not use it?

But as someone pointed out, most reader "requests" are nothing more than demands for something THEY want for THEIR fantasy but have nothing to do with what you have planned for your stories or characters.

 

[Comshaw]

Or maybe a little of both?

So assume you had an idea or theme for a next chapter or your next story, would you entertain a fan/follower request?

What if the requested suggestion hijacks your planned story thread, or perhaps you intended to shelve a series and write a completely different story?

I don't necessarily think there is a right or wrong, I am just curious how each of you weigh the decision to potentially alter your stories.

Would I entertain a story idea or request from a reader? If it sounded like a good idea, if it felt attractive to me, of course I would. I pick up good story ideas from where ever they happen to come from, even if it changed the direction of a story I already had in progress. Inspiration is inspiration, no matter where it comes from.

That said, a demand to do this or that in a story, or a request that doesn't pique my interest isn't going to happen, ever. I can be a contrary old bastard when I wanna' be.

Comshaw

 

[Blind_Justice]

My readers seem to be fine with the strange outgrowths of my imagination. So far, there were few requests and I've actually fulfilled most of them, like a story centered around a half-dragon crime boss. I'm very proud of '"Nikym's Predicament".

 

[KeithD]

Is it OK if you just don't give questions like that much thought--if you just go ahead and write what you write?

 

[Winter_Fare]

Never written on demand outside an academic environment. Writing is my leisure/pleasure. Nevertheless, I am grateful for my small number of readers and followers, and I force myself to complete what I started sometimes even when I've lost interest. And sometimes it shows.

 

[Hotswimmer]

Thank you all very much for your thoughts and replies

 

[SimonDoom]

Is it OK if you just don't give questions like that much thought--if you just go ahead and write what you write?

Of course, it is. And it's also OK to ask questions like these, because some people want to ask them, and they want to know how others would answer them.

Different strokes.

 

[KeithD]

Of course, it is. And it's also OK to ask questions like these, because some people want to ask them, and they want to know how others would answer them.

Different strokes.

I haven't posted otherwise. I think I have stood solidly on the "different strokes" principle in, like, forever here. Indeed, in fact, I think it was another "different strokes" possibility my post was injecting. There was nothing in there rejecting any other approach, though--at least none was meant to be there.

 

[Comshaw]

Originally Posted by KeithD View Post
Is it OK if you just don't give questions like that much thought--if you just go ahead and write what you write?

Of course, it is. And it's also OK to ask questions like these, because some people want to ask them, and they want to know how others would answer them.

Different strokes.

I never see KD's post unless someone quotes him. Unfortunately, once seen, it can't be unseen. Sooooo....

"If you have never changed your mind about some fundamental tenet of your belief, if you have never questioned the basics, and if you have no wish to do so, then you are likely ignorant."
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

It's absolutely okay not to question things, if you are fine with being ignorant.

Comshaw

 

[KeithD]

I'm envious of those that have gotten story requests from readers or commissions. I've never had that. I've had a lot of requests for sequels, but that's it for me.

I've only had a few such requests--none for a fee. But my first entry in the Valentine's Day contest will be one written by request.

 

[LAHomedog]

I write for myself, but I try to write a compelling story that readers will enjoy and sometimes get off to.

We are writing written entertainment. I view my stories no differently than if I was writing a book or a television show. The length of the story is irrelevant, my approach is the same. It's public art.

 

[WritingwhatIlike]

My Lit name speaks directly to my methods. I read all comments and feedback but nothing has really influenced me because only I know what I like.

Oddly enough I got my first (and maybe last?) request for a commission right after I saw this thread. I have no idea what to do with it, but responded for more information.

 

[lovecraft68]

In the beginning for myself and my wife who my stories were for.

Then for myself and for here to see how my work would be received. Great if people like it, fine of they don't, a positive or negative opinion has never changed how or what I write.

Then to make some money, I still write for what I want, but do pay more attention to the reaction as in what sells and what doesn't. If a fetish doesn't get many sales, I won't spend any time on it because my writing time is limited.

This will probably be the only time I'd answer this question as I've told a few people I chat with behind the scenes I have a couple of categories I want to post in for a final time as goodbye, because after that I'll no longer be posting stories here.

 

[jaykaythree]

I, like the rest of you, write mostly for myself. However, by putting it on here, I'm looking to connect with those who will like it; like the rest of you, I'm just running things up a flagpole and glad when someone salutes.

 

[jsmiam]

For me, by proxy, through readers.

In other words, since I’ll likely never publish the stuff I write for money, why am I here? Because I want to know somebody enjoyed something I wrote and (this is the important part) thinks or says I wrote something well. So it’s really for me, even if by proxy, readers got something out of it. That’s as close to my own truth as I can come.

 

[windar]

My Lit name speaks directly to my methods. I read all comments and feedback but nothing has really influenced me because only I know what I like.

Oddly enough I got my first (and maybe last?) request for a commission right after I saw this thread. I have no idea what to do with it, but responded for more information.

One could make the case that a commission or a request (which is sort of a commission without payment) is not materially different from the various story contests here-write something on a set theme. I've had good experiences with them and have learned little bits of history that I probably wouldn't have delved into on my own.

 

[thatsbogus]

I’m grateful I even have fans and followers! I only ever wrote for myself, and the fact that other people really like my work will never stop being flattering to me.

 

[OlympusMons90]

I just started writing for myself, so not for others yet. I have been reading stories on here for at least 10 years as an anon, and have read some great stories, but ultimately what got me off my ass to write was to do something for me.
I am doing a few different short stories at the moment, and would consider writing something from a plot line from a reader, but have not been asked yet, so I don't know.

 

[Dingo_Triplesix]

For me, the motivation to write erotica has changed several times.

Originally I wrote just for me (starting at the age of 12 ;-). The main purpose of writing was to prolong the joy of masturbation. Thoughts and fantasies are fast, and so is the pleasure with them. With writing, the same process takes a few hours, which I always found very exciting...

Around 2010, I pubished some of my storys at LIT and other open platforms and received positive feedback. As a result, professional erotica publishers contacted me and invited me to write books. Which I did, so I was writing 100% for others. This didn´t really satisfy me, neither intrinsically nor financially (if you calculate income per hour).

The latter changed when I started to publish own erotica on Amazon KDP in 2013. This was quite successful at the time, because direct publishing was new and the supply of erotica scarce compared to today. Here I was writing my own stuff, not directed by a publishers program, but with a target group in mind. So it may be called a mixed model.

I stopped after two years, partly because of job reasons, partly because I wasn´t really motivated to continue. I tend to get bored with established systems and prefer to move on to other projects. Over tthe next few years, I wrote for my own enjoyment only, like when I was young.

A year ago I restarted publishing at LIT Germany and some other platforms, just for fun. I have no financial interests anymore, my income is absolutely sufficient. So my goal ist to contribute to the world, and since I happen to be good at writing wank stories, that´s what I am able to add to the global knowledge base of this planet. Uplifting, isn´t it?

The motivational structure has changed again for this move. Right now I am not writing primarily for my own pleasure (that may be triggered at times), but rather strategically driven to reach as many readers as possible. The content of the stories follows the ways and kinks I am comfortable with, so the output can be seen as an intersection of what "sells" (--> mom/son-incest rulez!!), and what I find interesting to write about. This doesn´t necessarily have to be about the sex action itself.

Knowing myself, I expect the pattern to change again some time into the future. So it will stay suspenseful. I like it!!

 

[stickygirl]

I write for myself as a therapy of sorts, so if readers enjoy my words that's a bonus. In my first story series I felt obliged to include more sex than I felt the story needed. These days I include the sex only if it's a natural progression to the storyline.

Since I'm writing for myself, I can't imagine writing for a commission, though I've worked cooperatively with another writer and really enjoyed the experience. I'm not sure I have fans as such, never been asked for my autograph but I've had some very generous feedback and comments.

 

[Chaste_Down]

One great part of sharing, for me, is that you get affirmation that other people are excited by the same things that excite you, and feel more 'normal' for being turned on by them.

 

[kparc1212]

I write for myself

I write for myself and if I get someone off it's a clear bonus. I write porn for the fun of it. It gets me stiff as I write. I read porn here to get off and to get ideas from. I don't write to get graded on spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. I even say so in my comment section. I say, if my literary education is lacking and bothers you, don't read my stuff.

I just wish LITEROTICA let us 'respond' to posters, both positive and negative in the comment section without having to give out our email address.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I just wish LITEROTICA let us 'respond' to posters, both positive and negative in the comment section without having to give out our email address.

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