Does anyone get turned down?

[Madame Pandora]

Okay, I am not asking this to be a witch...but I am curious. A friend who I "turned on" to the site asked if it was just a matter of sending a story in and it gets posted, or is there a decission process involved.

I know that each story is supposed to be read to be certain it conforms with the guidelines, but I would be very interested in knowing the percentage of submissions that don't make "the final cut." Be kinda cool to know.

Granted, this site has a great variety of well-written to...well, rather hasily written content. I'm not asking for any reason that good, old-fashioned curiosity. On the whole do say 90% of the submissions get posted? 95%? 50%? I wouldn't even know how to wager a guess.

Anyone else got a clue or care to guess?

And, if stories ARE turned down, are there any reasons for this other than unacceptable content (according to guidelines) or poor quality?

MP

 

[WriterDom]

more than you would think was the answer last time this was asked.

And, if stories ARE turned down, are there any reasons for this other than unacceptable content (according to guidelines) or poor quality?

All celebrity stories about John Ashcroft are rejected.

 

[Weird Harold]

And, if stories ARE turned down, are there any reasons for this other than unacceptable content (according to guidelines) or poor quality?

From things Laurel has said and hinted at over the past year or so, I get the impression that more stories are rejected for being "one continuous paragraph" and other qualitative reasons than for violations of the rules.

Many of those rejected for this site get banished to AllExtreme because of bestiality, or violence. Underaged stuff just gets rejected (or pulled if Laurel didn't catch the character's age when she posted it.

Partly that's because people know they won't get posted if the stated rules are broken, but the qualitative problems are a subjective judgement on Laurel's part. I don't know exactly where she draws the line, -- I don't think I've even come close to rejection, although I thought one story was certain to be banished to the extreme stories site.

Laurel has said that her goal is to give exposure to the greatest number of authors possible. I think a story's quality has to be pretty low for her to reject it. On the other hand, one reason that I post here is because she promotes such high standards of literacy that I'm proud to be included in her definition of "good enough."

 

[Laurel]

Yes, I do turn down stories. Not 50% - more like 10-20%. Common reasons include: underage sexual situations, story less than a page long and/or inadequately developed (I've published short-shorts when they've been of a certain quality), work submitted in all capital letters, work that's so grammar/spelling mangled that I would need to practically rewrite the thing to make it presentable.

I don't expect stories to be perfect. This is an amateur story site, after all. I do expect the author to put in a certain amount of time and effort into his/her work, do the obvious stuff: write a STORY, not just a sex scene. Use the damn spellcheck. If he/she dashes off a crappy three-paragraph vignette and submits it sans any kind of editing whatsoever, and it's obvious that no effort went into the piece, I'm more likely to reject it. However, if I get a piece in which the author has put a lot of effort in, but the grammar's still a bit shady, I'm more likely to take the time to fix it than to delete it - especially if the author's first language isn't English.

For those who are interested, here's the letter that I send out when I reject a submission. WordMage helped to create it:

Dear Writer,

Thank you for your submission to Literotica. We appreciate the time and effort you've taken to write a story and submit it to our site. However, your manuscript does not meet with our current editorial needs. Please understand we receive many submissions and do not have time to personally discuss each one. If the reason for not accepting this manuscript were an easy one, we're sure you would have found it and fixed it before submitting it. Still, the checklist below may help you in re-examining your manuscript.

___ Did I follow the Writer's Guidelines for submission?

___ Is the story a fully developed story, or just a one-page snippet of a story?

___ Did I check to make sure everything was spelled correctly? Were there any serious errors in punctuation or formatting (i.e. submitted in all capital letters, etc.)?

___ Was there an underage (under 18 years old) sexual relationship in my story?

___ Did I include a valid name and email address?

Please consult our Writer's Resources section:
http://www.literotica.com/storyxs/writ_stor.shtml
and make sure you read our submission guidelines:
http://www.literotica.com/subguide.shtml
If you have any questions on these, please let us know.

If you are still having trouble, we certainly encourage you to use our Volunteer Editor's Program to contact someone who might be able to help get your manuscript in shape for acceptance. Feel free to re-submit the story after a Volunteer Editor has examined it. Please include the name of the Volunteer Editor with your re-submission. You can find a list of Volunteer Editors in the "Submission Guidelines" section.

Laurel
Literotica.Com

 

[Madame Pandora]

Thanks ;-)

Thanks for the answers ;-)

Like I said, I wasn't trying to pick or poke at anything. Partly, I was very curious...just to know how much doesn't make the cut (okay, I have morbid curiosity...sorry)

I haven't been comfortable even considering posting my work at a site until this one. I don't think I'm Willie Shakes, or anything, but I didn't feel comfortable posting my personal smut on some...palm slapping site ;-) I think WH hit the nail on the head with: On the other hand, one reason that I post here is because she promotes such high standards of literacy that I'm proud to be included in her definition of "good enough."

(Yes…I know it’s a PORN site…I don’t need any more mail reminding me of that, but I think it’s a GOOD porn site…if not the best out there)

That said, I will be sure to delete my Ashcroft submission so I don't get one of those letters ;-)

MP

 

[Laurel]

Blecch!

All celebrity stories about John Ashcroft are rejected.

Hell, I'd post em, though I'm sure Mr. "Pro-Freedom" Ashcroft would do what he could to have them removed, along with the site. The thought of Ashcroft erotica does sicken me more than a little, though. Not exactly my definition of sexy.

 

[Laurel]

On the other hand, one reason that I post here is because she promotes such high standards of literacy that I'm proud to be included in her definition of "good enough."

Wow. *blush* Now that's something to brighten my day!

It's a tug of war...I want to post high-quality, well-written stories, yet at the same time I want to encourage new writers by publishing their work - and new writers, like anyone new to anything, are not always as polished and perfect as those who've been writing a while.

The cool thing about erotic writing is that it gets people who haven't put two sentences together since high school to sit down and put a story down on paper (or on the screen, in this case). It's so fun, it 'tricks' people into writing. And grammatical perfection is not the end all be all of writing...there are many people out there with a natural gift for storytelling (an innate understanding of pacing and characterization, things that are difficult to teach but make the difference between a compelling story and a unmemorable one) who don't know a metaphor from a simile and can't spell to save their lives.

Grammar and structure can be taught - the ability to tell a compelling tale isn't so easily learned. Many people who would NEVER consider themselves writers are actually amazing storytellers. I'd rather bring to light a less-than-perfect but promising writer so they get the feedback they need to continue writing, than reject an interesting story because the commas are outside of the quotations. If you go back and read the early works of many of our more popular writers, you'll be amazed to see how much they've grown. Practice makes perfect. You can only learn to write by writing.

I get complaints that I allow too much 'trash' through the mill. I also get complaints because I reject people's 'perfectly good' stories. No matter what you do, there will always be criticism. Our goal with the site is to make it fun for the readers AND for the writers - to encourage writing, while at the same time making available quality erotic fiction. It's a tough line to walk, and we kinda zig-zag over it. It's input from you folks that keeps us from zagging when we could be zigging, so if you ever see anything on the site that puzzles, bothers, or irks you, feel free to drop me an email.

 

[Shintani]

Hey, Madam Pandora!

How about an AG on AG story? You know, Janet Reno and John Ashcroft? Or is that too sick to even contemplate?

 

[WriterDom]

much too sick