Do's & Don'ts For Literotica Newbies

[MyBareTorso]

Hi! Thought this might be a helpful thread for authors new to Literotica. I was hoping some gurus might weigh in with some advice for newbies. Perhaps some stuff not covered in the FAQs, particularly with regards to how not to get your stories rejected, what will get you red-flagged, how to get read more widely, what's expected of categories... anything you think would be of help to new authors, and also that would help Literotica running smoothly. Thanks!

 

[astuffedshirt_perv]

Get through your first paragraph without any typos, grammar errors or misspellings.

 

[Athalia]

Don't write what you don't want to read. Seriously. If it doesn't turn you on, don't bother writing or submitting it.

Don't take the ratings too seriously. That red "H" is a welcome sight, but it largely depends on an established base of readers who seek out your stories. You don't have that base yet, but keep writing, and eventually people will come to know you. When you post your latest story, readers might investigate the other stuff you've written, and they're more likely to rate it highly since they've already established a personal link with you.

If you think you're skirting the limits of the criteria imposed by the moderators, ask first in the Author's Hangout section. People there will tell you what their results have been.

 

[AruziaMelnik]

Don't take the ratings too seriously. That red "H" is a welcome sight, but it largely depends on an established base of readers who seek out your stories.

THIS. I didn't get an H until my 4th story. So don't be disheartened!

 

[NotWise]

DON'T mention the numerical age of a character under eighteen, even if the character isn't involved in anything you think of as a sexual act or relationship -- just don't.

DO enter stories into themed contests and author-sponsored events. Even if you're nowhere near winning, your story will get more exposure over a longer period of time than you can get from the category hub or the new list alone.

 

[dmallord]

Helpful pointers for new authors

Hi! Thought this might be a helpful thread for authors new to Literotica. I was hoping some gurus might weigh in with some advice for newbies. Perhaps some stuff not covered in the FAQs, particularly with regards to how not to get your stories rejected, what will get you red-flagged, how to get read more widely, what's expected of categories... anything you think would be of help to new authors, and also that would help Literotica running smoothly. Thanks!

++++++

Not a guru - however!

First tip:

Please avail yourself of the free offering of volunteer editors! I was 'that person' who didn't want to let go of my 'child' for review. I finally made it one of my bucket lists of things to do. It turned out to be a great experience - Kenjisato, one such editor, found errors that I missed, polished my work, and taught me about the finer points of grammar. I am glad that I took the opportunity afforded through Lit.

Second tip:

The section on Writing Resources has some good advice. It is cumbersome to navigate, but worth the effort. I wrote a recent article on "How to Write a Good Story" that just posted. IMHO it is 'sufficiently adequate' as a starting point for newbies. At least one guru also thought the same.

Note: Lipstick Red HOT labels can come without any following. Your story must standout in the minds of at least ten readers and be rated at 4.5 or better! That's all. No one followed me, and my first story was tagged HOT! But I do get a big smile on all those tags on my stories, anyway. Yes, it is nice and flattering to have people following your work.

Third tip:

When your story is posted - head for the forum and let everyone know! Shout it to the heavens. And don't forget that you can RATE your own story - just like an election vote for yourself!

 

[jasperspen]

A good tip.

Before you submit, or offer your story to a Volunteer Editor, read your story, one sentence at a time, from the end to the beginning in that order. You will surprised how you easily you pick up those overlooked typos/punctuation errors when you are not distracted by the storyline itself.

 

[HeyAll]

grammarly.com is a great free tool and I wish I had used it 10 years ago.

When you edit a story, go through it carefully and take out the unecessary stuff.

When you submit a story, check the spacing carefully in the preview section.

 

[Lifestyle66]

... Note: Lipstick Red HOT labels can come without any following. Your story must standout in the minds of at least ten readers and be rated at 4.5 or better! That's all. No one followed me, and my first story was tagged HOT! But I do get a big smile on all those tags on my stories, anyway. Yes, it is nice and flattering to have people following your work.

Thanks for that tip on adding HTML color. I knew about the Bold, italics, and underline. But this implies most or all HTML codes might work.

As for the 4.5 rating, a word of warning: If your story posts and you don't vote on it yourself or have friends/followers immediately vote, there are some hot-button issues which set off the 1-bomb haters (ie. hotwife who doesn't get burned for playing with other guys). Within the first day, a relatively good story can receive two or three 1's, which makes getting any rating above a 4.2 impossible.

 

[dmallord]

Thanks for that tip on adding HTML color. I knew about the Bold, italics, and underline. But this implies most or all HTML codes might work.

As for the 4.5 rating, a word of warning: If your story posts and you don't vote on it yourself or have friends/followers immediately vote, there are some hot-button issues which set off the 1-bomb haters (ie. hotwife who doesn't get burned for playing with other guys). Within the first day, a relatively good story can receive two or three 1's, which makes getting any rating above a 4.2 impossible.

++++

I ran back to my home-built spreadsheet after reading your warning! I plugged in some numbers and was really surprised to find out how bad those '1' ratings are in your overall scores, even if you get perfect scores, the climb back to 4.5 is heart tearing. It is not impossible to reach a 4.5 again, just very tough to achieve. See example:

• 
  Count/Score 4/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 Total of 8 votes avg is 2.25
  Count/Score 4/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 35/5 Total of 38 votes avg is 4.51

To arrive back at an average of 4.51 in this example, you need 35 votes of '5' after the 4 votes of '1' knock the scores down to an average 2.25. That's a long climb! Once readers see that low 2.25 they are likely to skip the story or worse think it is as bad at the initial hate votes and - vote just that way also!

I am really, really glad my spreadsheet only seems to show two votes of '1' in two of my stories!

 

[Lifestyle66]

++++

I ran back to my home-built spreadsheet after reading your warning! I plugged in some numbers and was really surprised to find out how bad those '1' ratings are in your overall scores, even if you get perfect scores, the climb back to 4.5 is heart tearing. It is not impossible to reach a 4.5 again, just very tough to achieve. See example:

• 
  Count/Score 4/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 Total of 8 votes avg is 2.25
  Count/Score 4/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 35/5 Total of 38 votes avg is 4.51

To arrive back at an average of 4.51 in this example, you need 35 votes of '5' after the 4 votes of '1' knock the scores down to an average 2.25. That's a long climb! Once readers see that low 2.25 they are likely to skip the story or worse think it is as bad at the initial hate votes and - vote just that way also!

I am really, really glad my spreadsheet only seems to show two votes of '1' in two of my stories!

This is why I think some authors would influence their own ratings by voting for themselves, and getting friends and family to vote for them. Without the initial surge of 4's and 5's, you're doomed by the haters.

My last Loving Wives story got over thirty 1's within the first week! And it's only due to the site moderators over several subsequent weeks removing those 1's which raised the score to just above a 3. Now granted, that particular story was not one of my best efforts. But, it was the shared wife stuff which brought out the haters.

 

[_Lynn_]

This is why I think some authors would influence their own ratings by voting for themselves, and getting friends and family to vote for them. Without the initial surge of 4's and 5's, you're doomed by the haters.

My last Loving Wives story got over thirty 1's within the first week! And it's only due to the site moderators over several subsequent weeks removing those 1's which raised the score to just above a 3. Now granted, that particular story was not one of my best efforts. But, it was the shared wife stuff which brought out the haters.

Just as an FYI: site mods can't do anything about votes. Laurel and Manu do that.