Anyone else feel like they're going to vom when submiting a new story?

[HeyYoureThatGuy]

It doesn't matter where it is or what I'm writing. It doesn't matter if it's been proofread and edited by a dozen people who've all said it's good.

Every time my anxiety spikes and I feel nauseous.

Anyways, hopefully, my first story here will be approved soon. Keep an eye out for Lockdown and Dirty in the Exhibitionist & Voyeur category, assuming it isn't rejected.

———

How do you feel when you hit that button?

 

[KeithD]

Keep writing and submitting. The butterflies will settle down.

 

[Acktion]

"Well, thank fuck that's over! Wait... maybe I should have... No! Nope. No changing diddly squat now. Submit and be damned. What's next?"


I may not have the quote exactly right thanks to a once eidetic brain turning to tapioca in my skull due to Parkinson's, but there was a writer, Lee Killough, who had a character writer within one of her stories say:

"Doctors try to fix their mistakes. Barristers argue them. But, a writer's transgressions are as immutable as stone and haunt them for all time." (Blood Games, I think.)

Or something similar.

 

[Jada59]

Nope. Can't say that I have!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

A bit. Remarkably similar to firing off a job application or a report for work, or paying for a large piece of work on the house.

Then there's the wait.


I submitted the first chapter of my new one on Tuesday. It got approved Thursday night so is now listed solely as Pending... and is still Pending...

I just want it to go live (in a category I've never used before) before tweaking and submitting the next chapters. Once I know what sort of feedback to expect, I'll be fine (I predict three insults about British English and a couple about politics, but hopefully also a few silent favourites - I've shamelessly asked for comments so that may help or just mean more insults. Mostly, I find the insults funny.)

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ready to start writing something else usually. I look forward to the reception but I can't say I agonize about anything. It is what it is.

 

[sirhugs]

I am usually tired of it by the time the editing is done. The anxiety comes when I first look at the scores.

 

[Voboy]

Nerves? No, never.

A little tiny thrill, like a doctor seeing a patient leave healed, or a teacher watching a student graduate? Often, though not always.

I don't dwell. Once a story is posted, I'm on to the next.

 

[lovecraft68]

My first couple of stories here I had that mix of nervous/excited to see how people would react to them, but not what I would call anxiety. I have a let it fly then ride or die mentality with everything and this was no different.

After the first few as soon as I submitted my only thought was "Next!"

 

[davion2308]

This

I am usually tired of it by the time the editing is done. The anxiety comes when I first look at the scores.

100% this.

I have been focusing on writing better and really working the editing and story-telling elements. I feel like I wrote well for my last five stories but I was tired of each one by the end. I read them over and over, examining them, cutting words, changing bits and pieces so much I was just "meh" by the end.

I was tired of them. I was like, "Just post it and be done."

Then I sat there and checked every hour to see if they posted and what my scores and views were. That's the worst part. "Do they love me? Do they really love me?"

 

[SimonDoom]

When I started submitting stories, I was more nervous, although not so nervous I ever experienced physical symptoms of any kind. After a while the anxiety fades.

To the extent I experience any anxiety, it's because of difficulty finishing a story rather than about publishing it.

It will get easier. Hang in there!

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

It doesn't matter where it is or what I'm writing. It doesn't matter if it's been proofread and edited by a dozen people who've all said it's good.

Every time my anxiety spikes and I feel nauseous.

Anyways, hopefully, my first story here will be approved soon. Keep an eye out for Lockdown and Dirty in the Exhibitionist & Voyeur category, assuming it isn't rejected.

———

How do you feel when you hit that button?

Look at it this way: you did it. You took the plunge and put yourself out there. I'm sure there are many folks who want to submit but are too nervous to do it but you moved past that, so you're already doing good.

And no matter what happens, it won't kill you. You'll endure. Whatever happens with that first story, learn from any mistakes and keep moving forward.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Look at it this way: you did it. You took the plunge and put yourself out there. I'm sure there are many folks who want to submit but are too nervous to do it but you moved past that, so you're already doing good.

And no matter what happens, it won't kill you. You'll endure. Whatever happens with that first story, learn from any mistakes and keep moving forward.

HeyYoureThatGuy: It looks like your story must still be pending, correct? But, yes you will get more comfortable as you go along. Don't get fixated on the scores. Even if I get a 3.8 or 3.9, I feel like I'm doing okay. There was one guy who got a 4.07 on his first story and he just gave up. We all told him that he had a very good start and that he should keep going.

A lot of times there will be no comments at all. It's a huge site and readers have plenty to distract them. Some people are lucky and get great scores almost all of the time. For example, there is a weird appreciation for mother-son incest stories.

Having done it sixty times on this site and eighteen on another site, I wouldn't say that I feel like vomiting. Sometimes there is a very favorable reception, sometimes it's indifference, sometimes it's active dislike. You will learn how to deal with all of that.

 

[dontcallme82]

I am usually tired of it by the time the editing is done. The anxiety comes when I first look at the scores.

I was wondering how much authors here cared about the ratings they receive.

I am currently writing my first story and have broken it down into parts. Not sure if it was really necessary to do it like this but have enjoyed writing it and it's nice to know when I get a bit of time I can start on the next part.

My chapters have received ratings of around a 4 and I have 3 followers so have done reasonable but not among the best stories.

Have to say so far I haven't had any anxiety but I did feel a pang of disappointment when one part got a lower rating but after a few more ratings it did better.

I guess as I am primarily writing for myself and am comfortable that I am not the best or worst writer here I am not feeling any anxiety when I submit my work.

 

[StrattonChambers]

Ignore the critics. Just remember what a crappy job they do reviewing movies, and those guys are paid, no less. All they’re doing is giving their opinion, and opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and most of ‘em stink.

Some people like my stories, some don’t. I guess everyone is looking for something different.

 

[carrteun]

I get a bit nervous. Mostly because I know I will inevitably find a missing or extra word, a homonym chosen mistakenly or some other error despite how many times I proof it. I fidget a bit about how a new story will be received though I'm usually confident I don't have a faulty story line or a continuity issue anywhere.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Nerves? No, never.

A little tiny thrill, like a doctor seeing a patient leave healed, or a teacher watching a student graduate? Often, though not always.

I don't dwell. Once a story is posted, I'm on to the next.

Took the words right out of my mouth.. I’m right into the next one by then and it’s almost a relief to be done the old one, because now I can focus on the new one...

 

[SamScribble]

Once it has gone, it has gone. It's out of my hands.

 

[Willasue]

I got a really malicious review on my first story and felt like that when I posted my second. I was waiting for more hate with every comment posted. Luckily, I didn’t get any hate on my second story... That first one though really messed with my head.

 

[HeyYoureThatGuy]

HeyYoureThatGuy: It looks like your story must still be pending, correct?

If I understand the way the works page is arranged, it looks like it'll be up Monday.

___

I've also submitted "legitimate" work and had my writing accepted in other places. I wish I could link to it without that blowing up in my face. (Damn puritanical societal norms.)

And I've been told I'm a good writer. Still, my brain screams every time. Might have something to do with having generalized anxiety disorder... among a few other things.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not me. I save my anxiety for while I'm writing it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

If I understand the way the works page is arranged, it looks like it'll be up Monday.

___

I've also submitted "legitimate" work and had my writing accepted in other places. I wish I could link to it without that blowing up in my face. (Damn puritanical societal norms.)

And I've been told I'm a good writer. Still, my brain screams every time. Might have something to do with having generalized anxiety disorder... among a few other things.

Yeah, I don't think they do much over weekends.

I don't think you can link to another address that is considered "commercial," which would include other sites. It probably has to do with spam rather than puritanism. You might get away with mentioning the site by name on this forum plus your username. Not sure how many readers will actually go over there.

I've had issues with anxiety too but writing helps over time.

 

[lovecraft68]

Not me. I save my anxiety for while I'm writing it.

I have no anxiety while writing it

That comes after the first draft when I'm reading through and wondering what the fuck I was thinking.

 

[Emirus]

Never nauseous just hope

I don’t feel nauseous at any stage from writing the first few words to the story being submitted.

I know the beginning and I know the end, even if I haven’t written it yet, so I just have to fill in the bits in between. I don’t feel any pressure because I don’t set myself a timetable. If it takes a couple of weeks that’s okay and if it takes a couple of months that’s okay. I’ve got some that have sat there for a couple of years.

When a story is finished it’s finished. It’s submitted and, like everyone else, I want it to go live straight away.

I do feel apprehension/anticipation when it does appear because I want it to get to ten votes quickly with no bombs. If it is bombed, which they usually are, I do feel annoyed but choke it back because it’s out of your hands.

With it not happening to me I obviously can’t understand anyone who does feel nauseous when submitting and hope one day that changes for them.

 

[Abbafan]

Yes, I feel that way about submitting my first story, which is why I haven't done it yet!