How to post incremental stories

[AmandaServe]

Hi all,

New author here.

I am overwhelmed and confused a bit by the story submission process.

What I currently do:
I write in a MS works and save as a .doc file. This gives me a rudimentary spell check and the ability to format chapter title etc.

I write about 11-15 pages and save the file as a 'chapter' at a logical stopping point. This makes my story in more bite-sized chunks for a person to consume. I have found longer stories to be daunting for some people, but the same amount of text in smaller files seems to make it easier.

On Literotica:
Apparently, I am supposed to paste the entire story into a single submission form. Given some of my stories are easily 20 chapters in length, this would require me to open each one and paste them. Something I am willing to do (although I'd prefer to post the story broken up).

However, let's say it is not finished yet. How do I add new chapters to an existing story?

 

[SweetErika]

You certainly don't have to paste the entire story into the submission form if you want it to have chapters. Just paste in the chapter you want posted at the time, and title it correctly, like:
My Hot Story Ch. 01

Then submit the next chapter, whether you want it queued up for submission immediately or you'd like to simply add to an existing story, title it the same, with the next chapter number in the sequence, like:
My Hot Story Ch. 02

And so on, until you've submitted all of the chapters to the story. If you use this format, they should appear in order on the category lists and such.

If you haven't done so already, you may want to make sure your chapters are really enjoyable (and make a fair amount of sense) on their own, just in case your readers don't want to read a bunch of chapters/the entire series, or simply take longer breaks between the chapters. Chapters that can at least serve as good stroke stories when read individually typically get better ratings and feedback.

Does that cover your questions?

 

[AmandaServe]

Thank you so much!!

I am coming from another site that has a submission form. (I am not sure if I am even allowed to mention other sites, but suffice to say it works differently).

The concern I have is let's say I have two stories.

I write three chapters to add to one story.

Then I write a chapter to add to another story.

Then I want to go back to add to the first one, will it post them all in the order submitted?

As to whether they are interesting or not, I hope that my stories are interesting. So far I get mixed feedback. They are definitely not typical 'stroke stories'.

I tend to focus on details, because I enjoy details. The sounds, the smells, the background.

Not only this, but the reasons people do what they are doing. The motivations are important to me.

This makes my stories not for the 'masses', but more for an audience who may have an acquired taste for such things.

I've posted up the first story the long way. Attaching all the files together.

I'd like to post the others, but as they are incomplete I am still not sure if I will be hamstringing myself which is why I asked.

 

[SweetErika]

Yes, as long as you use the correct title format, it'll post the chapters in the correct order whenever you get around to submitting them. Everything is posted in the order it's submitted (think of submitting as getting in line; the only people who get to cut in line are those who have current contest submissions), but if you want your chapters grouped together, you need to make sure it follows the Title Ch. XX format.

 

[AmandaServe]

Thank you for your patience. It is a bit like getting used to doing something left-handed, when one is used to right handed.

I've posted a completed story (all twelve chapters)

I've also posted the first chapter of the sequel. There are 19 more chapters though.

Should I add a description and all the tags to every incremental submission?

Since I've already written these chapters, should I add 19 times, or try to group them together a few at a time?

 

[SweetErika]

Thank you for your patience. It is a bit like getting used to doing something left-handed, when one is used to right handed.

I've posted a completed story (all twelve chapters)

I've also posted the first chapter of the sequel. There are 19 more chapters though.

Should I add a description and all the tags to every incremental submission?

Since I've already written these chapters, should I add 19 times, or try to group them together a few at a time?

I would add an individual description of each chapter. That way, when readers stop at a certain point without bookmarking or whatever, hopefully the descriptions will jog their memories enough to help them figure out what they've already read and where they should pick the series back up. I appreciate authors who take the time to give each chapter its own description for this reason, and also because I often like to scan the descriptions to get an idea of whether or not the series is going to be up my alley.

I'm guessing you'd want to keep some tags the same, then add/change any that refer to specialties in each chapter. It's up to you, but as a reader, I don't feel the tags are as important as good, succinct descriptions, especially for subsequent chapters. If I like a series, I'll keep reading it or save it and come back to it as time allows.

How you submit them is up to you and your schedule. It's probably safest to submit what you have as quickly as possible so you don't lose readers who don't want to wait for the next installments.

 

[AmandaServe]

I am still confused.

I finally got my story Family Feud 02 Ch. 01 posted.

I have 29 more chapters though to get posted.

Is Literotica more suited for short stories/vignettes with very discrete endings?

I'm not able to see the story from my profile page. I can see "My submissions" which gives me some options about turning off and on voting, but no way to click to "Add another chapter".

I am hesitant to add 29 chapters one at a time, waiting for each to post after several days.

Thoughts on a better way to get my story out there? I'd just like to get feedback on it. I've just now wrapped up the "Family Feud II" story and am starting work on FFIII

http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Amanda_Serve/

This is where I've put all my files, one folder per story.

What is the easiest way to move them to Literotica?

 

[SweetErika]

Judging by the first chapter of your FF02 story, I'd say you're breaking your stories up WAY too much, and totally in the wrong places. Why not make each chapter about 3 Lit pages, or whatever truly makes sense? Then you'll have more like 10 chapters, rather than a whopping 29.

Also, you need to customize your stuff for the Lit audience. A long notice warning readers about such things as grammar and copyrights might fly on Asstr or wherever, but I think you're likely to turn off many and get a ton of negative feedback about it here.

With all due respect, I think you're still finding this so confusing because you're more worried about getting your stuff up ASAP vs. taking some time to really get to know the site and its readers. I'm not sure why that is, but I'd strongly suggest taking a step (or ten) back, looking around and seeing how you can navigate more smoothly and cater to your audience here. Lit readers in general, and BDSM readers especially, are often more discerning and concerned with quality over quantity. If you want your writing to stand out in a positive way, get a good editor (ask in the Editor's Forum) to take a look and help you tailor it to this particular site. I'm not saying your writing is poor or needs a lot of work, just that it's important to speak to your audience and you probably need to make at least a few minor changes to do that.

ETA: It'd also help to put links to your stories in relevant posts and potentially your signature.

 

[AmandaServe]

Thanks for the suggestion, but you judged my writing by the very first chapter.

There are 30 chapters, some longer than others. I stop them at logical stopping points. Mostly because I've actually received negative feedback that they were "Too long".

I made them bite sized for that reason. I gave up a long time ago though on trying to please everyone. I start with myself and hope for the best now. So rather than try to learn the entire audience of literotica, which could be thousands of people, I was just hoping to host my story.

You gave me a response, but didn't really answer my question.

 

[SweetErika]

I gave you constructive feedback and suggestions for easing your transition to this particular site.

The is NO easy way to submit 30 chapters. You have to do them one by one, make them longer (trust me, most of the readers here would be happier with ten 3 Lit-page chapters vs. thirty 1-2 page chapters), or consolidate and put it in Novels and Novellas.

I'd suggest posting your writing questions in the Author's Hangout, but I'll give you fair warning that you'll probably get constructive feedback there, too.

 

[AmandaServe]

Just FYI, most of the chapters are closer to 12-15 pages typed with a normal sized font.

Thanks for the help.

 

[SweetErika]

Just FYI, most of the chapters are closer to 12-15 pages typed with a normal sized font.

Thanks for the help.

Ask in Story Feedback or the Author's Hangout, but based on this info, my suggestion would be to go the Novels and Novellas route with your long stuff after you post some really good shorter pieces in order to gain a steady following.