Editing expertise requested

[solvemymystery]

ahjskas

 

[sr71plt]

Best of luck with that (especially in a holiday season). I think it will be very rough finding someone, though.

This isn't really projected as a "story." It's a hefty novel. And if I were asked to give an estimate for doing the work cited, I'd estimate between 80 and 120 hours of work, depending on how much development work I had to do. That's right much to be asking for from a stranger volunteer editor.

Beyond that, you really seem to be asking for a coauthor, not an editor--if at the halfway point you're asking someone to help you develop the story for you. An editor would normally ask that fiction be completed before they worked with it.

Your categories are all over the lot. (Not a criticism in and of itself--I have a novel posted to Lit. that covers all of those categories too). But I might note that a scattered-category, novel-length work, where the sex doesn't show up for several chapters is better suited to e-booking than posting to Lit. You probably wouldn't enjoy the reaction to it here.

I suggest you try drumming up enthusiasm for the plotline--by giving us some of it here. It's going to take someone with a lot of time on their hands and a real love for the storyline/characters to have anyone step up to this one, I think.

 

[PennLady]

sr71 may have a point on how such a wide-ranging story would be accepted on Lit. I suggest StoriesOnline.net as another place to post. My experience with feedback there has been positive. Instead of categories like Lit or other sites, SOL provides a list of tags to check off to let readers know what is in your stories.

As for the rest of your story; if you aren't sure how to progress, an editor might be able to help you jump-start it. However, it would likely be easier to edit if you at least had an outline for the rest of the book. Without knowing what you want to happen in the second half, it will be difficult to say if the first half is "right."

The sex starting later is not necessarily a problem. I've done that myself, and many people enjoy the build up and anticipation.


Best of luck with it.

 

[solvemymystery]

ashkdjhaskjd

 

[Laurel]

Hi there! Saw your post, and had a couple of suggestions that may be of interest to you and other writers submitting longer-length works to Lit. I'm not a writer (at least, not a good one ), but I know some stuff about how readers read on Lit that may be helpful (or not ).

When you submit the story, because it is long and wide-ranging, I would suggest placing it in the Novels & Novellas category. You can use the Story Tags section to help readers find your story. Over the last 6 years or so, readers have been increasingly using both our search (search.literotica.com) and our tags portal (tags.literotica.com) to navigate the story archive. This means that choosing appropriate, targeted tags for your story can really help your long-term readership. Here's a (hopefully) helpful article on choosing story tags:
http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=240594

With long works, you have two options on Literotica. You can submit it as one piece, or you can submit it as individual parts or chapters. Different authors - and readers - prefer one over the other, and we accommodate both. Because people are busy and reading on a computer screen is sometimes tiring, I usually suggest splitting a long work into chapters or parts. Separating into chapters or parts also allows you to use story tags that are pertinent to each particular part or chapter. That said, if your story works better as one piece, that's okay, too. It's all up to you.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Happy writing!

Hello,

I am about half-way (47000 words) into writing a longish erotic story. As a whole, it would fit in the First Time category, though there are elements of Masturbation, Anal, Lesbian, Group and Incest as well as a little Gay Male. It is written as a fictional memoir of a life changing sexual experience and has quite a lot of build-up before the sex actually kicks off.

What I would ideally like is an editor I can work with to develop all aspects of the piece, from plot and pacing to character development. Although I am male, it is written from a female perspective (something I often do in both erotic and non-erotic work) and I'd particularly like feedback on whether this narrative feels genuine or not so a female editor would be fantastic.

However, any input from anyone would be warmly welcomed.

I am seeking editing assistance at this stage as the second half of the work is a pretty concerted series of sexual escapades which will only work if the characterisation and pacing has managed to build up reader involvement already. I'd therefore like to make necessary changes now rather than have to re-write the entire second half at a later date.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing from anyone interested.

 

[sr71plt]

Having read the various guides to finding a volunteer editor it seemed to be encouraging authors to be as open to editor involvement as possible.

Don't know what you've been reading on this, but the goal of professional editing is to have the editor's hand in an author's work as little as necessary. It's not the editor who is supposed to be creative, it's the author. A great edit is one where the work comes out polished and reflective of the author and no one can tell that the editor has even been there.

P.S., in case you don't know who Laurel is (the posting above this one), she's the Web site's editor.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Don't know what you've been reading on this, but the goal of professional editing is to have the editor's hand in an author's work as little as necessary. It's not the editor who is supposed to be creative, it's the author. A great edit is one where the work comes out polished and reflective of the author and no one can tell that the editor has even been there.

P.S., in case you don't know who Laurel is (the posting above this one), she's the Web site's editor.

Yes, she is the "Emperor". In War and Peace Petya is pressed within a crowd intent on enlisting in the army and is carried away by emotion at having seen the Emperor.

You too should feel blessed.

Or not.

 

[solvemymystery]

Thank you all for your feedback. Apologies it has taken so long for me to reply - Christmas hols and all. Anyway, Laurel, I'm honoured and grateful to you for taking the time to post here - I've now found a couple of volunteer editors and when Babes in the Wood is ready I'lll take your advice and post it as multiple chapters in the novels and novellas section.

 

[solvemymystery]

Yes, she is the "Emperor". In War and Peace Petya is pressed within a crowd intent on enlisting in the army and is carried away by emotion at having seen the Emperor.

You too should feel blessed.

Or not.

Love the War and Peace metaphor, Asylum Seeker.

 

[robboj]

help please!

hey,

its my first time doing this so not exactly sure how it works! However Iv had some trouble getting the grammar etc up to scratch in my first story and am looking for an editor, I would be very grateful if you could help!
Again this is my first time, and hence am not sure on the process, do you give me your email and I then send it to you?
The story is a panty fetish with elements of domination, its only a short story!

Thank you!!

 

[_Lynn_]

hey,

its my first time doing this so not exactly sure how it works! However Iv had some trouble getting the grammar etc up to scratch in my first story and am looking for an editor, I would be very grateful if you could help!
Again this is my first time, and hence am not sure on the process, do you give me your email and I then send it to you?
The story is a panty fetish with elements of domination, its only a short story!

Thank you!!

Check the Available Editors for the month thread in the Editor's Forum here. Send a PM to someone you think matches what you need. Give them details such as word count, genre, and what you're looking for from an editor. If English isn't your first language, let the know that as well. Then give them a chance to reply to your PM.

You can also begin your own thread here in the Editor's Forum asking for help. Give the details in your post on word count, genre, etc. Available editors can then contact you through PM or via the thread.

Good luck.