Been a while. How ya been?

[RandomMcHill]

MacHill here.

I was active at literotica about 15-20 years ago, back when we used to write using pencil. Those were the days. Anyway, signed up again, looking for erotica. Been a while. Not sure what has changed, but it seems more subdued than back in the day. Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

How ya been?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

There are multiples more authors, so views may be spread out more among them

 

[Djmac1031]

Welcome back.

The views factor has been a cause for debate around here for ages, but the general consensus is that it really depends on what category you publish in.

Incest rules the roost and will generate the biggest audience the fastest.

I wrote a Mom / Son incest story a couple years ago that amassed 50k views in 24 hours, meanwhile all my others average far, far less.

for details (if you care) see ...

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-great-todd-everman-experiment

 

[lovecraft68]

MacHill here.

I was active at literotica about 15-20 years ago, back when we used to write using pencil. Those were the days. Anyway, signed up again, looking for erotica. Been a while. Not sure what has changed, but it seems more subdued than back in the day. Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

How ya been?

Welcome back. The lack of views now compared to then is a result of how much bigger the site is. 20 years ago, there weren't a couple of hundred thousand stories here and far less new ones coming out every day. Any story now is a pebble in the ocean until you build yourself a base.

As for less people here, I agree, there were a lot more folks around in 2010 when I started and up through the 20 'teens'.

There's less now because a lot of members have drifted off and some have passed on. That and the last three years the forum has become more about begging people to read their stories, whining about stats, middle school level humor. drama and forum divide based on who you get along with and who you don't.

There are good people and still some good threads, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're really serious about you're writing.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I wouldn't recommend it if you're really serious about you're writing.

I disagree respectfully with @lovecraft68 on this point. There aren't many substitutes for Literotica and none that approach its size, reach, and usefulness. Perhaps it's not what it once was, but as someone who hasn't seen those days and can't make the comparison, it's still the best game in town.

 

[Rob_Royale]

middle school level humor.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Welcome back! Your query is likely to get as many opinions as there are tastes in erotica, so I encourage you to just take things as they are and draw your own conclusions. It is still worthwhile to post stories here as there is no better alternative for free erotica. There are a lot of very good readers here and they appreciate good work.

 

[TheLobster]

I disagree respectfully with @lovecraft68 on this point. There aren't many substitutes for Literotica and none that approach its size, reach, and usefulness. Perhaps it's not what it once was, but as someone who hasn't seen those days and can't make the comparison, it's still the best game in town.

I read that as referring to AH specifically, which, uh, I can’t say I disagree with.

Sincerely,
Avowed Purveyor of Middle School Humor

 

[caleb35]

MacHill here.

I was active at literotica about 15-20 years ago, back when we used to write using pencil. Those were the days. Anyway, signed up again, looking for erotica. Been a while. Not sure what has changed, but it seems more subdued than back in the day. Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

How ya been?

Welcome back. Hard to say precisely if readership is down across the board or not but it definitely seems that way. My own anecdotal experience, I only have one story posted prior to 2020, but that has triple the views of any my other stories posted in 2021 or later. As @Djmac1031 pointed out, views also vary widely depending on category. Still, there’s some nice stuff being posted, and it’s always good to have the input of an older reader who remembers the website back in the day.

 

[lovecraft68]

I disagree respectfully with @lovecraft68 on this point. There aren't many substitutes for Literotica and none that approach its size, reach, and usefulness. Perhaps it's not what it once was, but as someone who hasn't seen those days and can't make the comparison, it's still the best game in town.

I'm not talking about the site itself as a platform to showcase your stories.

I'm talking more about the forum.

The site has writing resources in the sense of a great How To category, but the forum itself is more about fellating each other and drama than anything that's going to make you a better writer.

IMO the only way to really improve is to keep writing, get better with practice. Listening to others changes your natural voice. Go with what you have, you're better off.

Keep in mind writing has long been known as the hobby of the introvert. Its better off that way.

 

[iwatchus]

It predates my involvement beyond as a reader, but I have seen multiple people describe a spike in 2020, during the lockdown. More stories publishing, more readership. Which all makes sense when we had nothing else to do.

 

[caleb35]

It predates my involvement beyond as a reader, but I have seen multiple people describe a spike in 2020, during the lockdown. More stories publishing, more readership. Which all makes sense when we had nothing else to do.

Possibly. My story was published in 2018. However, I don’t know when the bulk of the views of the story came in, so it’s possible a lot of it was in 2020.

 

[ronde]

Welcome back. The lack of views now compared to then is a result of how much bigger the site is. 20 years ago, there weren't a couple of hundred thousand stories here and far less new ones coming out every day. Any story now is a pebble in the ocean until you build yourself a base.

As for less people here, I agree, there were a lot more folks around in 2010 when I started and up through the 20 'teens'.

There's less now because a lot of members have drifted off and some have passed on. That and the last three years the forum has become more about begging people to read their stories, whining about stats, middle school level humor. drama and forum divide based on who you get along with and who you don't.

There are good people and still some good threads, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're really serious about you're writing.

I have to agree that the site has changed since I joined in 2000. I was just a reader for a year and while there were a lot of stories on the site compared to other similar sites, I don't remember so many being published per day. The number of stories were low enough that stories Laurel thought were particularly good got a little green "E" denoting editor's choice. Those seem to have disappeared.

The other change I have seen is in the forums and particularly the Author's Hangout. The Author's Hangout used to have the same threads about which category has the most readers, which category gets the most votes, etc., but a huge part of the threads were about writing techniques. Although I took a couple writing courses in college, they were designed to teach what I'll call "business writing". It was on this forum that I learned most of what I know about writing fiction, and I learned it from several really great writers. The game threads seemed to be more on the General Board and while there was some self-promotion, most of the threads were fairly technical in nature and most threads didn't degenerate into a poster trying to impress me with his/her witty additions.

I believe it was Killer_Muffin who started a thread in the Author's Hangout for writers to submit their stories for a formal review and comments by other authors. That was where most of the "Please read my story" threads went.

There were also some really good "How To" stories about writing in general and writing in specific genre. What I see in the "How To" genre now seems to be more along the line of "How to (fill in your favorite fetish or sex act here)."

 

[JimmyFlagstaff1964]

MacHill here.

I was active at literotica about 15-20 years ago, back when we used to write using pencil. Those were the days. Anyway, signed up again, looking for erotica. Been a while. Not sure what has changed, but it seems more subdued than back in the day. Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

How ya been?

Dave Mason??

 

[RandomMcHill]

My, what an active forum. I have one story pending, with lots in the pipeline, looking to see if my style is well-met. My work shall be well-polished, and rather conservative in comparison to the current rage. We shall see. Thanks for the warm welcome. Please review my stories and help me become an improved writer. HUGS
PS Might add I am dyslexic, with a life-long struggle to improve my writing skill sets, which is why I try. Done well with fiction, now erotica, with my pinnacle topic soon to be realized: comedy. It's the irony in erotica and comedy that make it the most difficult medium, especially with a brain that is more apt to process music instead of language. hhehe

 

[AwkwardMD]

The site has writing resources in the sense of a great How To category, but the forum itself is more about fellating each other and drama than anything that's going to make you a better writer.

Some of us are basically war criminals (by which I mean they put pinapple on pizza)

 

[lovecraft68]

Some of us are basically war criminals (by which I mean they put pinapple on pizza)

You-and Om's-review thread is about the only place here that is honest about feedback and explaining the feedback. Like this, here's why. This fell flat, here's why.

There is none of that in the AH forum proper, its mostly ass kissing, everyone is the bestest ever.

Now because you're willing to shoot straight, how many times have people who asked you to look at something, then gotten defensive and pissed off, one person running to start a thread whining about it in an attempt to get others to dismiss you.

That's not everyone here, but its not exactly an anomaly either.

I've commented before that what many here would like is for lit to create a "only accept glowing praise that tells me I'm the best ever" feedback option.

No one learns anything by being constantly propped up and handed participation trophies. If you're serious, you should welcome and handle well constructed "This is what doesn't work for me" and take something from it. Its been proven many here can't even handle a less than fawning comment, never mind someone giving them some unbiased detailed feedback on their work.

I'm not advocating trashing people's work and trolling their efforts in a rude way, but its not wrong to be honest. However, what's really wanted here is back slapping.

 

[Voboy]

MacHill here.

I was active at literotica about 15-20 years ago, back when we used to write using pencil. Those were the days. Anyway, signed up again, looking for erotica. Been a while. Not sure what has changed, but it seems more subdued than back in the day. Not sure, but it looks like fewer writers here, too, not sure yet-- I got 30K hits in three days on one story back then, not sure if there is enough activity here to interest me further. We shall see.

How ya been?

Almost nobody who posts here regularly was doing the same thing 20 years ago, so I suspect few of us can give you any more observational guidance than you can give yourself.

I've been here nearly ten years as a writer/forum contributor and I can damn sure tell you the place has changed a LOT in that time. My sense was that I came aboard just after a period of instability caused by several interpersonal conflicts. In some ways, we're undergoing another period of instability right now on many different levels.

So? Jump in and see how well you swim. Welcome back.

 

[DEFCOM5]

There are more stories published than ever but I think that the quality is lower than it used to be.
I started writing in July of this year because I could not find stories I enjoyed reading.
Then I found AH by accidents and finally got access to great writers.
I am still not sure how do you define a great stories. I have seen crappy stories getting the H and 100000 of views and seen stories who made me cry or made my heart sing with less that 1000 views.
Ratings are junk as we know it.

 

[RandomMcHill]

I'll have to familiarize myself with the rules and guidelines. Not sure how many stories I can send into the publishing pipeline at any given time; I imagine the moderators must get overwhelmed. Please fill me in on some publishing tips, since I am sure things have changed since my last visit, seemingly so long ago.

 

[Voboy]

I'll have to familiarize myself with the rules and guidelines. Not sure how many stories I can send into the publishing pipeline at any given time; I imagine the moderators must get overwhelmed. Please fill me in on some publishing tips, since I am sure things have changed since my last visit, seemingly so long ago.

Your guess is as good as ours.

The conventional wisdom says that Laurel still does all moderation virtually singlehanded, which is clearly impossible if she's reading every submission. But as far as any of us "knows," that's the way it happens.

She does appear to run some sort of AI detector, which seems to either work poorly or not at all, but it's been the source of SIGNIFICANT wailing and gnashing of teeth in the AH. On top of that, many writers have been reporting very significant delays in pending submissions. A search of the AH will yield several threads on both those issues.

Other than that, the guidelines are about the same as they ever were.

 

[caleb35]

I am still not sure how do you define a great stories. I have seen crappy stories getting the H and 100000 of views and seen stories who made me cry or made my heart sing with less that 1000 views.

This.

 

[iwatchus]

The number of views is overwhelmingly determined by the category. And some of the heavy view categories are particularly rife with poorly written stories. Because those categories mostly want their kink and to hell with any of the writing bullshit.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I am still not sure how do you define a great stories. I have seen crappy stories getting the H and 100000 of views and seen stories who made me cry or made my heart sing with less that 1000 views.
Ratings are junk as we know it.

I did a 750 that some people said was almost too emotional in some ways. It did OK, but not great.

 

[iwatchus]

I did a 750 that some people said was almost too emotional in some ways. It did OK, but not great.

Note that doing great, as measured by any reaction metric on the site, its notably different from being great or even good. As @DEFCOM5 pointed out.