Delay in story submission

[MelissaJewels]

Hey,
Hope all of you are having a great day.
I am having a problem with my story submission. They are taking way too long to be published. It is really affecting my release schedule. I want to be consistent with my output. Like some time it takes weeks. Sometime longer than that. I am worried if it takes this long some people might lose interest in the story itself. Also I edit and make changes based on feed back, it is vital for my writing process. So this thing is really taking a toll on me.

My latest story has been in pending list for more than a week. Is there way to get published faster. Please help me.

Thank u much.

 

[TheLobster]

Are you editing a story that you have already pressed Submit on? Don't do that; it will send it back to the end of the queue.

Otherwise, you can try messaging Laurel if your story is stuck for more than a week. But longer processing time just happens sometimes, especially if you are a new author.

 

[baffling8929]

Maybe there's a problem. Maybe there isn't.

https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ies-getting-reviewed-for-publication.1615080/

 

[MelissaJewels]

Are you editing a story that you have already pressed Submit on? Don't do that; it will send it back to the end of the queue.

Otherwise, you can try messaging Laurel if your story is stuck for more than a week. But longer processing time just happens sometimes, especially if you are a new author.

I have not. Did not even touch after pressing submit.
I did. But there has been no reply. I tried multiple times.

 

[MelissaJewels]

Maybe there's a problem. Maybe there isn't.

https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ies-getting-reviewed-for-publication.1615080/

But why such long delay. Other sites just post it as soon as you hit publish right?
Why on lit it takes such a long time.

 

[baffling8929]

But why such long delay. Other sites just post it as soon as you hit publish right?
Why on lit it takes such a long time.

Content review, which is totally fine in and of itself. The big thing they're looking to avoid is depictions of under-18 individuals engaging in sexual activity.

BUT, I just had one story take nearly a month to publish, and the next one went up in a little over a day. It's just all over the place and there's no firm information about anything.

 

[MelissaJewels]

Content review, which is totally fine in and of itself. The big thing they're looking to avoid is depictions of under-18 individuals engaging in sexual activity.

BUT, I just had one story take nearly a month to publish, and the next one went up in a little over a day. It's just all over the place and there's no firm information about anything.

But letting community point out which stories have under 18 content is much better right? Then they can take it out.

 

[baffling8929]

But letting community point out which stories have under 18 content is much better right? Then they can take it out.

No? Not if your goal is to not publish it in the first place.

I mean, from the outside it looks like having more people to do the review would be helpful, but I don't think relying on ruser eports is the way to go.

 

[NotWise]

But letting community point out which stories have under 18 content is much better right? Then they can take it out.

The site's approach is to keep the problem from happening in the first place rather than waiting 'til it happens and depending on someone else to fix it for them.

Under-age content is not the only content rule, and the same approach applies to all content rules. The content editor will also sometimes return stories for things like non-standard punctuation, but that isn't a regular occurrence.

Something may be awry with your account. I looked at your public catalog, and it shows six stories. The first five are all in a series and the last story (Blurred Boundaries...) was published on 7/27 and still shows the "new" tag, which normally goes away after the first week.

You said you tried to contact admin and got no response. If you tried contacting them through a "contact us" link or any other way through email then it would not work. You need to use direct messaging (envelope icon in the top right part of the forum page) or resubmit your story with a note to the editor. Normally the note to the editor is the most sure-fire way to get something done, but your account might have a problem, so try the direct messaging first.

Address your note to "Laurel" and keep it respectful. She has a lot on her plate.

 

[MelissaJewels]

The site's approach is to keep the problem from happening in the first place rather than waiting 'til it happens and depending on someone else to fix it for them.

Under-age content is not the only content rule, and the same approach applies to all content rules. The content editor will also sometimes return stories for things like non-standard punctuation, but that isn't a regular occurrence.

Something may be awry with your account. I looked at your public catalog, and it shows six stories. The first five are all in a series and the last story (Blurred Boundaries...) was published on 7/27 and still shows the "new" tag, which normally goes away after the first week.

You said you tried to contact admin and got no response. If you tried contacting them through a "contact us" link or any other way through email then it would not work. You need to use direct messaging (envelope icon in the top right part of the forum page) or resubmit your story with a note to the editor. Normally the note to the editor is the most sure-fire way to get something done, but your account might have a problem, so try the direct messaging first.

Address your note to "Laurel" and keep it respectful. She has a lot on her plate.

Makes sense.
I already messaged Laurel and explained my predicament. I just hope there is some way to get the stories out at least on a designated date. My main problem I look at feedback and make changes and stuff. And then re-edit and re-write. So this thing is kind of affecting my writing a bit. I will wait and see.
Thank u for replying.

 

[RejectReality]

Edits get published whenever Laurel has time. New submissions usually go through for established writers in 2-3 days, but weeks is nothing out of the ordinary for edits. They are simply not a priority when there are 100+ new stories being vetted every day. The editing timetable will probably get better once they introduce versions ( point-n-click editing ) because it will likely come with backend tools making the process quicker and easier for Laurel.

I suspect from what you've posted that all your delay issues are coming from the edits. If editing each posted chapter after the fact is part of your writing process, you're stuck with the long delays for the foreseeable future, and I doubt it's going to be a 2-3 day turnaround even once versions goes live. I'd guess that the average might go down to a week, but I wouldn't bet on any better than that.

Lit is simply not designed to be a live-writing site.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Edits get published whenever Laurel has time. New submissions usually go through for established writers in 2-3 days, but weeks is nothing out of the ordinary for edits.

Umm, correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like Melissa is using a full-on submission to get random beta reads.

"Here, read my story."

"It was so-so."

"Well that was just a draft. It's actually not finished. I'm gonna change it."

"Oh, well if I'd have known that I would have waited for the finished story and not wasted my time."

Yea, sorta-kinda disrespectful to treat your readers like guinea pigs that way. Not something that I would do anyway.

 

[MelissaJewels]

Umm, correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like Melissa is using a full-on submission to get random beta reads.

"Here, read my story."

"It was so-so."

"Well that was just a draft. It's actually not finished. I'm gonna change it."

"Oh, well if I'd have known that I would have waited for the finished story and not wasted my time."

Yea, sorta-kinda disrespectful to treat your readers like guinea pigs that way. Not something that I would do anyway.

Oh I assure you nothing like that. What I mean is if something happens in chapter 1. I look at comments and see what they think about characters and stuff. Then I make changes in coming chapters. I never re-submit any of the story already published. Once its out there....its done.
It's just it is my first time posting stories out and I am kind of new to this whole thing. I am trying to learn. thats it.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Oh I assure you nothing like that. What I mean is if something happens in chapter 1. I look at comments and see what they think about characters and stuff. Then I make changes in coming chapters. I never re-submit any of the story already published. Once its out there....its done.
It's just it is my first time posting stories out and I am kind of new to this whole thing. I am trying to learn. thats it.

Ahh, gotcha. Sorry about that.

 

[RejectReality]

Ah, okay. Edit points are not relevant.

I'm not seeing super long delays between submissions in your list — especially if you're editing upcoming chapters based on feedback before publishing. Most of the gaps look like a day or two to retool the chapter and the standard 2-3 days of pending time. That's assuming that each new chapter is already more or less done by the time the preceding one posts.

First things first, make absolutely sure the latest one that's a week in pending is actually in pending. It's easier than you think to accidentally put it in the drafts folder instead. Changes to the text on the buttons makes it less likely than it used to be ( the button used to only say Preview, but now says Preview & Publish ) but it still happens.

There is a glitch in the queue that sometimes causes submissions to fall into the cracks where they don't appear in Laurel's dashboard. Something new that's been in the queue for a week is certainly pushing that, though still not outside the realm of standard deviation. Laurel seems to try to balance the categories a little each day, so if there are a glut of stories submitted in your category at the same time you're publishing, it can stretch your approval time out a little. If you've already messaged Laurel, she can check by other means to find submissions that don't appear normally in her dashboard, and that could solve the problem with the new long-pending one.

It looks to me as if your series is out of order. I'm assuming the publishing dates are the order they're supposed to be read in. You can go to your dashboard, click on Series beta, then the gear icon next to your series, then the series works button, then the reorder series button to correct that if that's the case. You can also use the add work button that's on the same page as the reorder button to put that lonely submission into the series if it's supposed to be part of it.

 

[MelissaJewels]

Ah, okay. Edit points are not relevant.

I'm not seeing super long delays between submissions in your list — especially if you're editing upcoming chapters based on feedback before publishing. Most of the gaps look like a day or two to retool the chapter and the standard 2-3 days of pending time. That's assuming that each new chapter is already more or less done by the time the preceding one posts.

First things first, make absolutely sure the latest one that's a week in pending is actually in pending. It's easier than you think to accidentally put it in the drafts folder instead. Changes to the text on the buttons makes it less likely than it used to be ( the button used to only say Preview, but now says Preview & Publish ) but it still happens.

There is a glitch in the queue that sometimes causes submissions to fall into the cracks where they don't appear in Laurel's dashboard. Something new that's been in the queue for a week is certainly pushing that, though still not outside the realm of standard deviation. Laurel seems to try to balance the categories a little each day, so if there are a glut of stories submitted in your category at the same time you're publishing, it can stretch your approval time out a little. If you've already messaged Laurel, she can check by other means to find submissions that don't appear normally in her dashboard, and that could solve the problem with the new long-pending one.

It looks to me as if your series is out of order. I'm assuming the publishing dates are the order they're supposed to be read in. You can go to your dashboard, click on Series beta, then the gear icon next to your series, then the series works button, then the reorder series button to correct that if that's the case. You can also use the add work button that's on the same page as the reorder button to put that lonely submission into the series if it's supposed to be part of it.

Got it. Made the changes u have mentioned. The stories are in pending section only. I checked it many times after going through forums.

Also thank u so much.

 

[MelissaJewels]

Ahh, gotcha. Sorry about that.

No problem...

 

[RejectReality]

Got it. Made the changes u have mentioned. The stories are in pending section only. I checked it many times after going through forums.

Also thank u so much.

Don't be worried if the changes you make in your dashboard don't appear immediately on the public page. The public pages are all cached and only update once a day ( with the exception of new submissions posting, which automatically forces an update ) So if you made changes to the series, they should appear on the public page within 24 hours. Could be way sooner if you got in under the bar before today's cache update hit your submissions page.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Hey,
Hope all of you are having a great day.
I am having a problem with my story submission. They are taking way too long to be published. It is really affecting my release schedule. I want to be consistent with my output. Like some time it takes weeks. Sometime longer than that. I am worried if it takes this long some people might lose interest in the story itself. Also I edit and make changes based on feed back, it is vital for my writing process. So this thing is really taking a toll on me.

My latest story has been in pending list for more than a week. Is there way to get published faster. Please help me.

Thank u much.

Melissa, I am no expert when it comes to writing. With that in mind, I'm going to offer you some advice which was given to me by a very experience and accomplished writer....
"Write for yourself, and not for an assumed audience."
What I've learned after posting a couple of stories is....
You simply cannot please everyone...
Scenario:
You post a story, and somebody comments that they think there's a problem with a character or plot.
In chapter 2, ypou change it based on the feedback, and then you get a raft of complaints because you changed it...

Don't try to pander to some random reader...

Second bit of advice, and I think this is important. (Personal perspective here).

Don't post anything until the story is complete. In the past I have posted chapter 1 early because I was excited to see what readers thought. Then I was trapped into hurriedly trying to write to finish and not have long delays between postings.
What happens is. In your haste to finish, you rush and lose quality in writing...

Write your story. Tell it the way you see it. Forget about the readers. Some will love and others not so much.
That is life...
Cagivagurl

 

[MelissaJewels]

Melissa, I am no expert when it comes to writing. With that in mind, I'm going to offer you some advice which was given to me by a very experience and accomplished writer....
"Write for yourself, and not for an assumed audience."
What I've learned after posting a couple of stories is....
You simply cannot please everyone...
Scenario:
You post a story, and somebody comments that they think there's a problem with a character or plot.
In chapter 2, ypou change it based on the feedback, and then you get a raft of complaints because you changed it...

Don't try to pander to some random reader...

Second bit of advice, and I think this is important. (Personal perspective here).

Don't post anything until the story is complete. In the past I have posted chapter 1 early because I was excited to see what readers thought. Then I was trapped into hurriedly trying to write to finish and not have long delays between postings.
What happens is. In your haste to finish, you rush and lose quality in writing...

Write your story. Tell it the way you see it. Forget about the readers. Some will love and others not so much.
That is life...
Cagivagurl

Thank u for replying. As you said I can see how that might happen. Even now I see certain people going in opposite directions what my characters should do. I will take ur advice into heart going forward. Thanks for that..

I never post anything till I complete it. I assure u I never hasten and post it in a hurry. I guess my thing is not knowing when the story gets posted kind of affects my editing of next chapter. Not even taking in feedback or anything like that. Like if chapter gets posted in a day. And another in month when to submit the next becomes bit of headache. Or atleast for me it is. I am slowly getting used it to though....

Again thank u so much for replying.

 

[Trionyx]

A common topic of discussion here is how to handle chapters. Some very good writers do a chapter at a time, publish it and then write the next chapter. One of the IMHO best writers here does it that way. However, I believe the general belief among most writers is to write and edit the entire story before releasing the chapters one after another. As soon as a chapter is released, the next is submitted. Good luck.

 

[grenefire]

Submissions do seem to be taking longer to get approved. I submitting something on 7/30 and it is still pending. It helps to just be patient

 

[MillieDynamite]

Do not get ahead on your publications. Don't submit Chapter 1 a day later, Chapter 2, and after that, Chapter 3. If you do, invariably, one will get rejected for some minor change, and 3 will publish before 4.

 

[KachinaDoll]

Have you ever had a story rejected? That may put a flag on your account leading to a closer look. I'm not a prolific writer - ten stories - but I've never had a rejection and my last two stories (submitted in July and August) went through in a couple of days.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Have you ever had a story rejected? That may put a flag on your account leading to a closer look. I'm not a prolific writer - ten stories - but I've never had a rejection and my last two stories (submitted in July and August) went through in a couple of days.

I've had one story rejected, but accepted when resubmitted with a two-word change and an explanation. My stories still get approved the day after submission, then published the following day. (I'm a newb, so "my stories" are not very many.)

-Annie