Do you ever revise your stories based on feedback?

[HopelessDreams]

I’m referring both to stories revised after publication and those revised beforehand (based on external feedback), but please answer about them separately.

I’m guessing that revising stories based on feedback is pretty rare, considering that if a story that we already felt was ready to be seen by others falls short in some ways, that was most likely because we cared little about those aspects to begin with. So, feedback complaining about them is unlikely to convince us to change anything. I also suspect that we can generally anticipate the types of reactions a story will tend to receive. Personally, no one has noticeably reacted to any of my stories (via comments, messages, ratings, favorites, etc.) in a way that I hadn’t already anticipated that some people would.

I also suspect that many Literotica authors are unaware that they’re able to edit the stories they post here, because it’s not obvious how to do it. (For those of you who are wondering, they’d have to submit the edit as a new story while stating in the title or the note to admin that it’s an edit.)

Before submitting my stories here, I sought feedback by sending them to a trusted friend of mine. He gave his impressions, but nothing that he said was useful enough to lead me to edit anything in response (not even in my notes/warnings at the top).

I also decided against seeking feedback via Literotica’s volunteer editors program or the feedback forum, because I didn’t feel comfortable pushing my erotica onto strangers who wouldn’t have otherwise been motivated to read them. And even if I did seek their input, I guessed that it would have taken too long for them to get back to me. I also figured that I would get more relevant feedback from my target demographic (the people who choose to read my stories of their own accord).

I posted revisions of my first five stories several months after I first posted them, but to this day they have not been edited by anyone other than myself (though I tried to do a very thorough job). I did take feedback from a couple comments/messages into account, though I was already at least somewhat aware of those particular issues so there's a good chance I would have made the same changes regardless.

My ratings have stayed about the same since my revisions were all posted several months ago. The only clear impact I’ve noticed is that after shortening The Breeding Experiment enough to move it from the Novels/Novellas category to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, its daily views increased substantially.

 

[Emotional]

Actually yes.

My first story I couldnt find an editor. When I am finished with my current story, I am going to reedit it and republish.

Another story has a little detail that I and my editor missed. I am going to replace one word and resubmit as an edit.

 

[SimonDoom]

No, except in one case. In one of my first stories, I used the name of a character from another story rather than the story character's name, and a reader called me on it. I asked Laurel to make the change and she did.

But that's the only time and that was almost six years ago.

My general advice is to use whatever you've learned from the feedback you get to make the NEXT story better, and let the old stories lie.

 

[Voboy]

No no no. A thousand times, no.

You post your story when it's done. In other words, you've deemed it complete, ready for the world to see. In my view, that's an irrevocable decision. It's your work, not anyone else's, and you deserve to determine what it looks like. But once you've done so? Let it go out into the world. It's done. Move on.

If you're going to make changes based on anyone else's suggestions, then ethically you'd better be giving them a co-writing credit. Because now, it's their work too. If they're going to be cheeky enough to suggest changes to my work, I'll just tell them they're welcome to fire up a word-processing program and write whatever they wish. Because they are.

 

[PennameWombat]

I’m referring both to stories revised after publication and those revised beforehand (based on external feedback), but please answer about them separately.

I'll address this in a separate posting, because I don't want the below to get lost.

My ratings have stayed about the same since my revisions were all posted several months ago. The only clear impact I’ve noticed is that after shortening The Breeding Experiment enough to move it from the Novels/Novellas category to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, its daily views increased substantially.

I just looked, The Breeding Experiment is just over 13,000 words, yet you say you shortened it to move it from Novels & Novellas to SF&F. But, I (and others) have plenty of stories in SF&F that are well over 13,000 words. I have a number in that category that are 20,000-40,000 words, and even one, single story that's 70,000 (twenty Lit pages here (Adrift in Space)). You're correct that SF&F will drive more views than N&N, but just because a story is a certain length, that's not the driver to put it into N&N.

Rather, N&N is a location to choose where you have no dominant sexual theme in the story (but do have erotic content, so Non-Erotic isn't an option). So long as it's speculative fiction or involves fantastic creatures, SF&F and NonHuman readers often don't mind long, single stories. Other categories are less welcoming of really long stories, but (and this forum has held plenty of debates on the subject) stories that are four to six Lit pages (about 13,000-20,000 words, 3750 words/page) are usually quite welcome in almost all Categories, but definitely SF&F.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Once, with Rope and Veil, which is about a woman with a broken spine and no use of her legs. A reader who was paraplegic herself suggested a few minor changes; subtle and nuanced, but the story is much better for it.

 

[HopelessDreams]

I just looked, The Breeding Experiment is just over 13,000 words, yet you say you shortened it to move it from Novels & Novellas to SF&F. But, I (and others) have plenty of stories in SF&F that are well over 13,000 words. I have a number in that category that are 20,000-40,000 words, and even one, single story that's 70,000 (twenty Lit pages here (Adrift in Space)). You're correct that SF&F will drive more views than N&N, but just because a story is a certain length, that's not the driver to put it into N&N.

Rather, N&N is a location to choose where you have no dominant sexual theme in the story (but do have erotic content, so Non-Erotic isn't an option). So long as it's speculative fiction or involves fantastic creatures, SF&F and NonHuman readers often don't mind long, single stories. Other categories are less welcoming of really long stories, but (and this forum has held plenty of debates on the subject) stories that are four to six Lit pages (about 13,000-20,000 words, 3750 words/page) are usually quite welcome in almost all Categories, but definitely SF&F.

I was aware that plenty of longer stories weren't in the Novels/Novellas category, but one other consideration I had was that my story progression seemed relatively slow to me (even compared to other stories of its length), so I wanted the Novels/Novellas category listing to deter people who wanted a fast-paced story, and also to (hopefully) indicate that the tone of the story was, for the most part, more serious than its tagline might imply.

I also didn't realize at the time how important the category was for many readers in terms of locating stories in the first place. To me, tags seem much more useful, though I do glance at the category of any story that intrigues me before I click on it.

 

[XerXesXu]

I've amended an original manuscript by deleting what someone described as an infodump. I read it and agreed it could be done better. I've not changed anything that's been published. If, or when, I issue another edition, I'll do things differently, but I've no plans to do so.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I’m referring both to stories revised after publication and those revised beforehand (based on external feedback), but please answer about them separately.

After publication: not often. The main changes I can think of that came from feedback are one where I had a minor continuity error, and one where reader feedback got me realising I'd been heavy-handed with a scene that didn't really need to be there.

Before publication: often minor tweaks when one of my beta readers tells me something isn't clear or isn't working. Once a major rewrite when one of them told me, kindly but firmly, that a legal scene in the story came off as cheesy. She was right, and while it took a lot of work, the story was much better for it; it forced me to find a different resolution that was much more in tune with the broader story.

 

[PennameWombat]

I’m referring both to stories revised after publication and those revised beforehand (based on external feedback), but please answer about them separately.

I’m guessing that revising stories based on feedback is pretty rare, considering that if a story that we already felt was ready to be seen by others falls short in some ways, that was most likely because we cared little about those aspects to begin with. So, feedback complaining about them is unlikely to convince us to change anything. I also suspect that we can generally anticipate the types of reactions a story will tend to receive. Personally, no one has noticeably reacted to any of my stories (via comments, messages, ratings, favorites, etc.) in a way that I hadn’t already anticipated that some people would.

I've only ever made one change specifically due to reader feedback. I had used 'prostrate' in a story where I'd meant 'prostate.' The story had been up for about two years before that came in. I made that changed and resubmitted.

I have made minor edits on other stories, for two reasons. One, I later found formatting errors[1] my not-entirely-quiescent OCD refused to let pass, and two, where I'm writing in a shared universe (much of my work), subtle continuity errors crept in and again, the OCD... I only bother with the first kind if they seem especially egregious to my brain, or if I need to fix the second kind in the same story. These latter sort are mainly because I know there have been a few readers here on Lit who HAVE recognized the interconnectedness and let me know through (the rare ones I get) comments or direct feedback (which for me is even rarer.)

If a story 'doesn't land quite right', so to speak, I just try to analyze why and take that into account for future work.

I don't generally use beta readers or editors for LitE stories. None of my close acquaintances give a flying fcuk about my stories so I don't bother any of them.

<snip>

My ratings have stayed about the same since my revisions were all posted several months ago. The only clear impact I’ve noticed is that after shortening The Breeding Experiment enough to move it from the Novels/Novellas category to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, its daily views increased substantially.

Pretty wall all of my catalog (44 stories over not quite four years) gets steady views (I track them, because one of my roles IRL is as a data analyst, and databases and spreadsheets and such appeal to me.) So they get views, but after the first couple of weeks, the pace of views and voting drops significantly. I cannot state how I compare to others, but across my stories I get one vote for about every 350 views (some do better, some worse). So, as views slow down, so does the voting.

So doing an edit does not reset the 'New' flag and it won't go onto the new stories lists. The text (and tags if you modify them) will simply be updated in place. That's one key reason here why it's better to simply move on and write a new story, using what you've learned, rather than tweaking old ones.

[1] Spelling, grammar etc., such as a case where I'd put in an author's note to list the characters I had involved in that section, since it was an ensemble scene. My method is to insert such notes in square brackets ([...]) and normally I do a search for brackets and clean these as a last step prior to submission. Missed one.

 

[Wifetheif]

I've done it once A (his alias) had a very good way to improve my story Second Honeymoon and I acknowledge him right off the bat. Nothing too dramatic but it gave the story just the right extra bit of oompf. I'm opening to it happening again but so far ... https://www.literotica.com/s/second-honeymoon-4

 

[KeithD]

..No.

 

[Rustyoznail]

No, and I'm unlikely to do it unless it's a fuck up of epic proportions.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've not edited a published story. By the time I did, most of the readers will have already read it.

Half a dozen people from this forum have kindly read drafts of mine, and I've explained that I can do grammar and will refine wordiness, but I'd like comments on the structure and any bits they find plain confusing (and point out phrases that are incomprehensible to non-Brits). That has always led to improved stories as I flesh out reasoning or certain scenes, and make the plot and timelines clearer, and can add in explanation for overseas readers, which can also add character.

Eg "...we're likely to go out on the pull when we're on holiday."
Reader: I know a holiday is a vacation, but I don't know what "on the pull" means. I think we'd say "on the prowl"? (cue discussion of how both phrases are used)

Result was I added this:
"'On the prowl', my American colleague calls it, which sounds a bit like big cats. Dan could be a lion; I'd be more like a leopard, anti-social."

 

[oggbashan]

Revise? Not really.

Correcting errors and typos? Yes.

Examples - DVD in the 1960s. A name change towards the end of a story. Canned Australian beer in WW2 when Australia didn't start canning beer until the 1950s but canned Amercian beer was freely available throughout the Pacific theatre.

 

[Klqka]

Yep, don't George Lucas your stuff. As pointed out here, the moment you feel it is finished, it is finished, mistakes and all. Learn from it, instead of going down a spiral of doubt and agony. And learning from it usually means actually taking the time to understand why it crashed, why it is bothering you and face those uncomfortable feelings truthfully. Hiding from those feelings will just build fear and who knows what else but it will be negative.

Also, never take it too seriously or personally. Most people, when criticising, are concentrating on the work, rarely on the person behind it. The ones who do attack the person are not worth the time anyway.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I've been caught a couple of times with silly typographical errors and changed those. Beyond that, no.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I've edited to fix typos since it bothers me when I find them or a reader points them out to me. I did fix a couple of tense mistakes pointed out to me in one of my stories. I treat my stories like computer programs and when I (or someone else) finds a bug (typo, tense change, etc.) I have to fix it, otherwise it is broken and can't be used.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

No to both.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I've recently started to work with a beta reader group and published one story with their feedback. Changes were relatively minor but useful - adding a sentence to a paragraph that explained at length about how the MC had left her umbrella at home, but which didn't quite say she was now soaked, splitting a paragraph that had the MC doing things in two different rooms, clarifying for American/international readers that British terraced houses are really close together and you can see everything going on in a neightbours garden etc. Nothing story related, but I'd listen if they said an aspect really wasn't working.

Regarding making alterations to stories after publication, I haven't yet, except to correct one howling error in one story, but I'm not as down on the idea as a lot of other people seem to be. While having different versions of a published (fiction) book floating around is annoying for readers, there are plenty of other art forms where revisions are a part of life. Madame Butterfly was apparently revised three times before reaching it's final form (it's previous forms presumably being Madame Catapillar and Madame Cocoon) and lots of opera and classical music got messed around with once the composer at actually heard them performed and had time to do revisions after the contractually-fixed premier. For electronically published media, and given that we're all (for the most part) amateurs on the site, I don't see anything too bad behind going back and tweaking stories.

That said, it probably is better to go on and write more stories. Messing around with stuff that has mostly already been consumed by most of the people who are going to consume it is an indulgence. I'm considering pausing once I reached twenty published stories and revising one or two that I feel could really benefit with what I've learnt in the mean-time, but it'll be mostly about writing the same story only better rather than changing anything drastic.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

No. Never.

 

[other2other1]

Kind of...

I've only revised one of my stories so far, but that was more to the point that I picked up a few too many issues, so I tweaked and republished that story. Of course I got a lot of feedback about those same errors...

On the other hand, I do take feedback from my editors, a couple of them help me work through plot points, so their feedback is invaluable before I post a story.

Overall, I write what I am going to write, like or hate it. I know my style of writing is different that a lot of the authors in my category, but at the same time I like the encouragement when I get feedback telling me to keep writing because I got their emotions going.

 

[SamScribble]

No.

 

[dmallord]

Often. I have revised them based on feedback from comments. If they leave a contact, I alert them to the changes when they post as an FYI with acknowledgment. Generally, I find more corrections in that process and make 'improvements' to the story as well. Any new reader gets the benefits of those - perhaps the original commenter will circle back - I have not been alerted to that happening, yet.

Revision Note Oct 21: I am in the process of editing one I posted previously. It had a small readership but a good score. I perused the storyline and came to the personal conclusion that it seemed a bit unfinished. I've just about finished a rewrite of most of it and almost doubled the storyline pages. A couple of more self-edits and I'll send it off for reposting.

So, yeah, I even go back more than once to edit.

 

[mirafrida]

I am happy to receive suggestions. I rarely act on them in a direct "edit the posted story" way, but am certainly not averse to it.

One reader had a good suggestion for handling a plot element that I'd never been entirely happy with. The revised version was much better.

I also fixed one "so bad it takes you out of the flow" typo that another reader pointed out.