Gauging Interest In Another Review Thread

[anthrodisiac]

I know that, sadly, @AwkwardMD and @Omenainen's Review Thread recently closed out their impressive run (some truly amazing feedback in that thread; very insightful comments from the pair). I've had a couple people ask me if I'd be willing to do one. I figured I'm already pretty much banging around on all the first-time authors' threads with my feedback, because God forbid I work on any of my own stuff when I can do the fun work of rummaging through other people's stories to provide my thoughts, so I'd poke the anthro bear (one of the cute ones, like a sun bear) and see if there's an actual appetite for ol' Anthy to nudge into the space and take requests.

To be clear, this is not a review thread. This is the poll (but not an actual poll, since apparently those are gone) to see if anyone actually has any interest in listening to this weirdo archaeopteryx mutter about implicit structures. In upcoming WIP How To I'll probably publish at some point, I go into excruciating detail about how to build tension through word use, structure, rhythm, and a whole slew of other things, based on a few paragraphs from my lovely friend @NuclearFairy. Check out her stuff!

Now... qualifications? *Pats feathers* I have them around here somewhere... Ah! Ahem.

I've been writing for almost 25 years. I've mentored several writers over them, including a couple on Lit, and spent over a decade giving feedback, critiques, and analyses to writers on a weekly basis, from broad strokes to painstaking line edits. If you're curious about my writing style, feel free to check out a couple of my works (shameless plug quota met for the day). You might notice I'm not a wildly popular author. Well, it's the hazards of nichedom, but I like my cozy little corner of Lit, and the Non-Human community is fantastic. I only bring it up in case you were wondering why anybody should listen to a writer with only 83 followers, because surely an actually good writer would have a lot more than that, no?

Uh... Soooooo... then let's not even worry about the quality of my writing! If you want to see some of my feedback to get a sense of what to (roughly) expect, you can check out my feedback on the following Story Feedback threads:

Second story ever, first try at anthro (by @Jaunty_Menace)
Suited for Love - My first literotica story (by @easyglow)
First Story - A Change of Perspective (by @Annabelle1990)
I did a short superhero story. (by @AmbrosioMonk)
Hoping for Comments on my "Vintage" Pony-Play Romance (by @benfan)

I also recommend that you check out all these stories by these fine new authors. They all deserve further exposure.

There is a wide range of topics addressed in those stories (geeky anthro, sci-fi futa, loving wives married threesome, enemies-to-lovers superhero), so I don't really discriminate based on subject, style, or anything like that. My only concern is providing feedback to help those looking to improve their craft, doing my best to avoid stepping on their style. I don't pull punches. I was raised in a community of brutal, radical feedback, where people had no problem telling you to your face that it absolutely sucked. Don't worry! I'm nice about it here, because I know that this is an incredibly personal thing, and most people don't want to hear, "That was awful. You're usually better than that." I'll let you know what's working, what isn't, and give suggestions if I have any or feel it's warranted. But all of my feedback is always coming from a place of wanting to help people improve (as did the cutthroat feedback community I was a part of for so many years), not to be cruel, spiteful, or just dunk on newbies for shits 'n giggles. I've been accused of being feedbackily (totally a word) overwhelming atimes, and that's probably true. Especially for new authors, it's a lot, but I'm not going to skip the important things if I feel the person has the capacity to improve upon it. I'm not giving out participation awards, either. You come to me, I expect you to be open to the feedback. You have to want it. If you just want someone to pat you on the back, go show your mom your T/I erotica. I'm sure she'll bake you cookies and everything! I, on the other hand, will not bake cookies, but provide critique and feedback to help you become a better writer, help bring out the best in your story, and provide you tools and insights to use moving forward.

So, yeah, there you go. Guess that just leaves it up to see who all is interested.

Lemme know!

 

[anthrodisiac]

Probably should qualify this by putting in my restrictions and expectations, since I have my own writing to do and don't want this to monopolize all of my free time.

• I'm not doing whole series. I'll look at the first chapter, maybe two if they're short.
• If it's over 20k, it's probably a pass. The longer the story is, the more time required. Not just because it's more words, but because the complexity increases, so it's not a purely linear amount of effort on my part.
• I'll only take on one project at a time.
• I reserve the right to determine priority and need. I may do first come, first serve, but I may change my mind and decide that someone else needs it more. I'm fickle like that.
• Turnaround time will vary based on how much free time I actually have. If you're looking for feedback ASAP, your story better be under 3k, otherwise, I'll plan to keep it within a week unless it's on the longer side.
• You want legitimate feedback. Like I mentioned in the OP, I'm really not interested in giving out pats on the back, I'm interested in helping people hone their craft.
• I will not be giving full line edits. There might be some sentences I pull out to give extra attention to, but I'm not going to be doing the hard work of editing for you. It will primarily be higher-level, with occasional deeper dives as warranted.
• If I do leave a comment on your work, rest assured, it will not contain critiques. I'm not a big believer in leaving a lot of critiques as comments on people's stories unless they specifically ask for them in the story's author note. Asking for feedback here isn't the same as asking for people to leave comments with critiques on their actual story page.
• All feedback will be provided in public on any thread that materializes.
• Only stories that are already published will be up for consideration. I will not beta read as part of this thread.
• It will be a one-time pass. No multi-round revisions, edits, whatsamahoosits. Single review per story.
• I'm not a squeamish person, but I'm really not interested in reading: scat, water sports, foot fetishes.
  • A) Not intending to kink shame anyone, this is purely a me thing. I'm clearly into some kinks and fetishes that squick out most people, and I have the utmost respect for people's kinks as long as they aren't harming anyone. You do you, none of my business.
  • B) First two are probably pretty self-explanatory, but human feet are weird and unsettling to me. I'd rather read a cannibalism scene than a toe-sucking scene. This is not hyperbole. I have written highly detailed cannibalism scenes, and read them, and am not the slightest bit grossed out. Feet? Squicked. Have I read foot fetish stories? Yes. Am I willing to go super in-depth and actually read every word without skimming and peeking through my talons? No. Sorry if that's you No offense meant. I'm a weird and strange creature.
• I reserve the right to add to this list at any time, and submitting a story to any thread I might start is not a guarantee that I will review it.

 

[AG31]

I vote yes. I'd submit stories. Happy to wait in line. Not looking for positive feedback. I'd be looking for ways to improve the language. And, of course, the pleasure of having someone read my stories.