Advice on rejected story (scifi vr celeb related)

[xelahiren]

Hi, I like some advice about a story that got rejected. The following is the main part of the message:

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We do not publish humiliation/hypnosis/blackmail/non-consent/mind control stories involving real-life people or copyrighted characters.
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I think I'm sort of stuck, because the entire premise of the story and the rest of series is related to a virtual world with celebs and known people. It's all set in a free use environment.

In the rejected story, it starts with the protagonist asking a celeb to have sex and she agrees. She sounds like she's bored and somewhat humiliates the protagonist (unnamed), as they engage in sexual activities. She acts in a non-chalant manner.

I can't see it as a humiliation thing on the celeb, though it can appear that way. It's not blackmail. There's no hypnosis or mind control, as the whole setting is in a virtual world.

Later on, I do have plans for more stories with celebs and I'm trying to figure out what constitutes as humiliation in regards to my story world.

It sounds obvious, but do I make it absolutely clear somewhere before the activity that the virtual celeb agrees to the act? Or do I remove any semblance of free use sex?

Thank you

 

[ElectricBlue]

Remove the reference to the celebrity might work better.

You're assuming your potential readers know your celebrity, but they might not. Fictionalise the character, and drop the story into another category, problem solved.

 

[xelahiren]

I've removed the celebrity references and tags and changed the name, but have kept it in scifi realm. I hope it works out. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[xelahiren]

Looks like my first story part got pulled after an issue raised from a member. I've since gone back to update it and waiting for approval. it's an odd (and mixed) feeling seeing that people actually liked it for a few days and then it being rejected. I'm still waiting on approval for the second one.

I'm wondering if I should try to find an editor for the other stories just to check if it doesn't violate any rules. I hadn't realise how strict or specific things are.

 

[Todger65]

Looks like my first story part got pulled after an issue raised from a member. I've since gone back to update it and waiting for approval. it's an odd (and mixed) feeling seeing that people actually liked it for a few days and then it being rejected. I'm still waiting on approval for the second one.

I'm wondering if I should try to find an editor for the other stories just to check if it doesn't violate any rules. I hadn't realise how strict or specific things are.

Put a separate post here, giving the genre, word count, and a short outline of the contents for each story. You may get a response.

The official Editor Programme doesn’t function as planned due to editors not updating their profile if they stop volunteering.

 

[_Lynn_]

xelahiren, it might help if you enable your PM's.


* To switch on your Private Messages, go to User CP (top left of this page), click on Edit Options (in the left hand column), and then tick Enable Private Messaging in the second box down. Make sure that the box titled Receive Private Messages only from Buddies and Moderators is NOT ticked. Finally, click Save Changes at the bottom of that page.

 

[xelahiren]

Thanks for the info and instructions. I've enabled my PM. I might also do that - create a new thread for an editor to check my work.

Maybe the admins are trying to decide if I've crossed some kind of line with my stories.

I'm starting to worry if I've broken the rules with the stuff I'm writing. I don't want to end up constantly worrying about that. It feels like it's sucking the enjoyment out of the thing. However, I understand that there are obvious stuff I shouldn't post and I want to respect that.

I'll wait and see in a few days time. Cheers.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thanks for the info and instructions. I've enabled my PM. I might also do that - create a new thread for an editor to check my work.

Maybe the admins are trying to decide if I've crossed some kind of line with my stories.

I'm starting to worry if I've broken the rules with the stuff I'm writing. I don't want to end up constantly worrying about that. It feels like it's sucking the enjoyment out of the thing. However, I understand that there are obvious stuff I shouldn't post and I want to respect that.

I'll wait and see in a few days time. Cheers.

It would appear you're combining celebs or copyrighted characters with non-con in some form.

Why don't you just change the characters to your own? It's still the same story, but better in a way, because you wouldn't be relying on someone else to do your characters for you. "Look mum, it's all my own work!"

But then, I don't get fan or celeb fiction because they're not my characters - and who turns you on might be a complete blah for me. It seems to be a limitation, in my mind.

 

[xelahiren]

I understand that celebs are not everyone's taste and I don't aim to please everyone or even a group of people. I write to entertainment myself and some that might enjoy similar things.

Nevertheless, I've modified the names on all uploaded stories, including the 2nd story that was rejected on the 4 Sept.

The 1st story was pulled on the 7 Sept, because I wasn't clear on the ages of the character that are not in the scene. I've updated that too.

I've sent a message to Laurel, requesting for some sort of update, as the stories are still on pending state.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I understand that celebs are not everyone's taste and I don't aim to please everyone or even a group of people. I write to entertainment myself and some that might enjoy similar things.

Nevertheless, I've modified the names on all uploaded stories, including the 2nd story that was rejected on the 4 Sept.

The 1st story was pulled on the 7 Sept, because I wasn't clear on the ages of the character that are not in the scene. I've updated that too.

I've sent a message to Laurel, requesting for some sort of update, as the stories are still on pending state.

Don't bother PMing Laurel for updates coz I doubt you'll get one. She processes about a hundred stories a day so it's a conveyor belt. You just need to be patient: four or five days if you're new, two or three once you've been around a while. Each time a story goes in, it's at the end of the queue.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Don't bother PMing Laurel for updates coz I doubt you'll get one. She processes about a hundred stories a day so it's a conveyor belt. You just need to be patient: four or five days if you're new, two or three once you've been around a while. Each time a story goes in, it's at the end of the queue.

I posted to the Mickey Spillane tribute event, and since the story is set in the 1940s I worried some of the words used (like ginchiest girl, meaning sexiest) will cause a reject. I didn't put the slang information in the notes because of something else I had to include. At 25,000+ words I may not make the deadline if it gets rejected for any reason at all.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I posted to the Mickey Spillane tribute event, and since the story is set in the 1940s I worried some of the words used (like ginchiest girl, meaning sexiest) will cause a reject. I didn't put the slang information in the notes because of something else I had to include. At 25,000+ words I may not make the deadline if it gets rejected for any reason at all.

I doubt slang from the forties will cause a rejection, and putting in a glossary would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. If readers don't see the slang for what it is, they don't understand noir, and the story would be wasted on them. I wouldn't worry.

He said, looking at the deadline looming. I think I can make it...

 

[xelahiren]

Does anyone know if there are stories that get stuck in limbo (pending state)?

I saw a comment a while back from an author saying their stories were stuck (unpublished) for a year, but I'm not sure if they got an update or it was rejected and they didn't bother correcting it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Does anyone know if there are stories that get stuck in limbo (pending state)?

I saw a comment a while back from an author saying their stories were stuck (unpublished) for a year, but I'm not sure if they got an update or it was rejected and they didn't bother correcting it.

If it was that long, my guess would be the author couldn't be bothered fixing and resubmitting their story. If the site rejects something, it doesn't do any follow up.

 

[RoperTrace]

If it was that long, my guess would be the author couldn't be bothered fixing and resubmitting their story. If the site rejects something, it doesn't do any follow up.

So 8 days later, are "we" still stuck on having to re-submit? I had a rejection a short time ago and fixed the problem. It was approved in a day or less.

 

[xelahiren]

If it was that long, my guess would be the author couldn't be bothered fixing and resubmitting their story. If the site rejects something, it doesn't do any follow up.

Thanks. It sort of helps give me some idea on the situation.

So 8 days later, are "we" still stuck on having to re-submit? I had a rejection a short time ago and fixed the problem. It was approved in a day or less.

I just checked, the 2 stories are still in pending state.

I've got a 3rd story uploaded on the 8th Sept and it too is in a pending state.

I haven't received any messages that I know of regarding why they're stuck like that.

I'm wondering if my stories are in some kind of "do not touch" pile or flagged or something. I'm worry that if I spend more time writing they might not be published for some reason.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Thanks. It sort of helps give me some idea on the situation.



I just checked, the 2 stories are still in pending state.

I've got a 3rd story uploaded on the 8th Sept and it too is in a pending state.

I haven't received any messages that I know of regarding why they're stuck like that.

I'm wondering if my stories are in some kind of "do not touch" pile or flagged or something. I'm worry that if I spend more time writing they might not be published for some reason.

No, your not in a do not touch pile. I think resubmitted work takes a back seat. I had one stay in pending on a resubmission for over two weeks. It was small, numeric reversal, because my dyslexia glass were broken and I didn't have my replacement yet, where the second listing of the age of the character as 21 was typed as 12. Once the glasses came in I made the change, and it took over two weeks to go up after that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm wondering if my stories are in some kind of "do not touch" pile or flagged or something. I'm worry that if I spend more time writing they might not be published for some reason.

Your resubmitted story is in a long queue. Don't touch it, because every time you do, it goes back to the end of the line.

Be patient, not paranoid. Unless you are writing content that blatantly contravenes Lit's content policies, you're suffering teething pains like every new writer does, learning the subtleties of the rules.