How to tell if a story I submitted was well received

[Mello_SixtyNine]

Hi,

Quick question. I had my first story approved on January 17th:

Link ===> (Baxter's Plan)

I noticed that my submissions page keeps track of stats on my story:

Rating = 4.46
Votes = 714
Views = 56,201
Comments = 33
Favorites = 108 (Edit* forgot to add this one)

Since this is my first story, I don't have a yardstick to compare against. What constitutes if your story is a hit or not on this site? Also, as I was reading the comments, I noticed that some of the harshest criticisms I received were by people that have not posted any stories. I don't know if it's just me but that pissed me off more than the a-hole comments from anonymous posters.

PS. I submitted my 2nd story (Mariella's Secret) a week ago & it's still pending. I thought stories took a couple days to get approved or not. Any idea why there would be an extra delay?

 

[lovecraft68]

Hey

I've got 60 incest stories here so have a good feel for the numbers and looking at yours I think they are excellent for any incest story, let alone a fist submission.

The score is just below the 4.5 for a red H so every good

the vote total is good as is the views and the comment total is not bad.

the 102 favorites it has received is very impressive.

As for getting upset at comments by "just readers" as well as anon? Don;t let them bother you. Some people just may not care for it and they have a right to express that and the out right nasty ones, just ignore.

The majority is positive and as I said your numbers are more than solid.

Pretty good debut if you ask me

 

[lovecraft68]

On your second question. It has been taking 6+ days for stories to be approved and right now the site is running a contest so that may take an extra day or so. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[patientlee]

I have noticed that most harsh comments come from people who don't write. Either authors are nicer, are aware of potential retaliation, or can just word their comments so they sound nicer.

Good luck!

Hi,

Quick question. I had my first story approved on January 17th:

Link ===> (Baxter's Plan)

I noticed that my submissions page keeps track of stats on my story:

Rating = 4.46
Votes = 714
Views = 55,061
Comments = 33

Since this is my first story, I don't have a yardstick to compare against. What constitutes if your story is a hit or not on this site? Also, as I was reading the comments, I noticed that some of the harshest criticisms I received were by people that have not posted any stories. I don't know if it's just me but that pissed me off more than the a-hole comments from anonymous posters.

PS. I submitted my 2nd story (Mariella's Secret) a week ago & it's still pending. I thought stories took a couple days to get approved or not. Any idea why there would be an extra delay?

 

[A_Little_Show]

[deleted]

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

Is there a way to search for stories with the, "Red H"?

 

[A_Little_Show]

[deleted]

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

Under advanced search, check the "Hot" check box. I use it all the time. Then, only stories scored 4.5 or higher show up in results.

Thanks!

 

[RejectReality]

The primary number there is the favorites. That's a damn good showing - especially in relation to the number of views.

You obviously hit the right buttons. With the POV switch you had in the middle of it, the score is also impressive. Editing to fix that POV issue will probably see the score climb as more readers find it.

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

The primary number there is the favorites. That's a damn good showing - especially in relation to the number of views.

You obviously hit the right buttons. With the POV switch you had in the middle of it, the score is also impressive. Editing to fix that POV issue will probably see the score climb as more readers find it.

You can make changes to a story that's already approved?

 

[RejectReality]

You can make changes to a story that's already approved?

Yep!

Here's the editing method for Lit.

• Take note of the url of your story/chapter. That's the address appearing in the address bar of your browser when you view the first page of your story. You really only need the last part after the /s/ that represents your title.
• Start a new submission.
• Use the same title as the original ( or as much as will fit ) plus something such as *EDIT*
• Fill in the same category, then fill description and keywords with placeholders, as they don't matter. ( Unless one of these things are what you're editing )
• If editing the story text, paste/upload the new text in the "story text" section. You need to upload the whole story, not just the edited sections. If editing anything else, copy the "notes" section detailed below in order to fill this section.
• In the "notes" section, say what you are editing. If story text, then put that. If title, then put the requested NEW title here. You can fill in edited descriptions/keywords/category above, but you'll still want to list any such changes here. It's a good idea to list the url that I mentioned in step 1. This is unique to every story/chapter, and can help eliminate the potential for human error. As mentioned above, if you are editing something other than the story text, copy what you put in the notes section to the "story text" as well. This is simply because there must be something in that section for you to submit.
• Click "Review", then "Submit"

Edits are subject to the same wait time as a new story. Laurel has said that edit requests have low priority, but I have also seen edits go up in bulk in far less time than a story usually requires to post, though. So, it could be shorter, or it could be longer than the normal wait for a story to post.

Edits will not appear on the public side immediately. Wait at least 24 hours after the "edited" submission vanishes from your private author list before worrying that your changes haven't been applied. Changes may not all appear at the same time, either. Page 1 may change, while page 2 will remain the same until an hour or so later. Be patient as the system catches up.

If you edit the story in this manner ( as opposed to deleting and re-submitting ) you'll retain your votes, views, comments, etc. The only thing that will be changed is what you say that you want changed. It will not appear on the New List again.

If you wish to delete a story, use much the same method, except put something such as *DELETE* in the title, and say that you want to delete the story in question in the "notes" section.

If you wish to delete all of your stories, an entire series, etc., then use the normal delete process, but explain in the "notes" section that you want to do a mass delete, and what type.

Convoluted, but it does work. It gets a little easier as you get used to it.

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

This maybe a stupid question but bare with me. Here is the url from my first story:

http://www.literotica.com/s/baxters-plan

Now when I originally submitted my story, I named it, "Baxter's Plan".

Now should I name my new submission:

baxters-plan*EDIT

Or should I name my new submission:

Baxter's Plan - Edit

 

[RejectReality]

The latter. You don't want to replace spaces with any character in the "title" line of the submission or eliminate the punctuation.

The URL is formed from your title, but doesn't completely replicate it. Certain changes are made to be friendly to search engines.

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

Thanks for the help.

 

[Setanta84]

I find a good metric for how well-received the story is found in how many hateful anonymous emails you get compared to how many positive comments you get.

This may be just the culture of the incest category, but readers there have very concrete ideas of how a story "should" go--even how it should be formatted (I seriously got a hateful email, a negative comment, and a down vote from a person because they disapproved of the formatting and title). Sure, a reasonable person might think this is a sign the person should take a break from being strictly a reader and be a writer--but that requires more than 30 second bursts of effort and that's a drag.

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

I only had two kinds of negative comments:

First) There were those that hated the story because I switched from 1st-person perspective to 3rd & back again.

My excuse was that it was my first story ever & I was not an english major in college so I didn't know that was a major no-no.

Second) There were those that couldn't stand that the protagonist had a very large penis (12 1/2 inches) & that the twins were unnaturally hot.

I have no excuse for that one. Why write a fantasy sex story about a guy with an average sized dick that fucks his average looking twin sisters? That may be more realistic but I don't think that's hot. If I had to choose between reading a story where Kate Beckinsale gets fucked or Sandra Bernhard, I would literally choose Kate Beckinsale a million times for the simple reason that SHE IS FUCKING HOT! Technically I could visualize Sandra Bernhard getting plowed, but why would I or anyone else want to?

 

[patientlee]

Here's my advice. Take feedback into account when you write future stories. I don't mean every scrap of personal preference. But technical things, like POV. Readers here have a lot to say. Many don't have a clue what they're talking about, but eventually you'll get a feel for whose advice you should heed.

I have learned more about writing in the last 6 months than I learned in any classroom. There's a lot to be learned here if you listen. And it's way more fun than grad school.

I only had two kinds of negative comments:

First) There were those that hated the story because I switched from 1st-person perspective to 3rd & back again.

My excuse was that it was my first story ever & I was not an english major in college so I didn't know that was a major no-no.

Second) There were those that couldn't stand that the protagonist had a very large penis (12 1/2 inches) & that the twins were unnaturally hot.

I have no excuse for that one. Why write a fantasy sex story about a guy with an average sized dick that fucks his average looking twin sisters? That may be more realistic but I don't think that's hot. If I had to choose between reading a story where Kate Beckinsale gets fucked or Sandra Bernhard, I would literally choose Kate Beckinsale a million times for the simple reason that SHE IS FUCKING HOT! Technically I could visualize Sandra Bernhard getting plowed, but why would I or anyone else want to?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The real test, here in Fairy Land is: How many offers did a story get from real publishers?

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

My second story that is still pending approval is all in the 3rd person. I do have a character with a 10 1/2 inch dick in this one but I made him 6'5" to make it slightly more plausible.

 

[Euphony]

I only had two kinds of negative comments:

First) There were those that hated the story because I switched from 1st-person perspective to 3rd & back again.

My excuse was that it was my first story ever & I was not an english major in college so I didn't know that was a major no-no.

Meh. Use it as a learning experience. Your feedback certainly didn't show many people had a problem with it. But do strive to be better next time. Self improvement and all that.

Second) There were those that couldn't stand that the protagonist had a very large penis (12 1/2 inches) & that the twins were unnaturally hot.

I have no excuse for that one. Why write a fantasy sex story about a guy with an average sized dick that fucks his average looking twin sisters? That may be more realistic but I don't think that's hot. If I had to choose between reading a story where Kate Beckinsale gets fucked or Sandra Bernhard, I would literally choose Kate Beckinsale a million times for the simple reason that SHE IS FUCKING HOT! Technically I could visualize Sandra Bernhard getting plowed, but why would I or anyone else want to?

Fair point on not wanting to write "average people having average sex" but 12 1/2 inches is so far beyond average I think its probably DOUBLE. (and IIRC the medical recorded record was like 13. So he's 1/2 inch shorter)

Shoot for more of a middle ground and you'd still have fantasy sex without people dropping out due to absurdity. Would an 8 inch dick really have killed all hotness? Could the twins not have been carbon copies of the best parts of two ULTRA starlets? Fantasy is fun but if you ground it just a tad, the work itself gets exponentially better because readers aren't distracted by impossibilities and stay completely in your story.

Also, another tip. Maybe less pop culture references to look alikes, people, etc. If I don't know a femme or she doesn't float my boat, it makes it much harder to get into her look alike in the story. And the "google her" bit was so odd to me. It felt odd being told to leave the story to do research so I could better understand the story presented me. It was jarring.

Many authors keep their girls as highly attractive (mention their desirable features) but still mostly generic. That way the reader can imagine who they want to be fucking, not who you want to be fucking.

Anyway. just thoughts. Good start. A few sanding down of the rough parts and I think you'd see some major success here.

Good luck.

 

[Euphony]

My second story that is still pending approval is all in the 3rd person. I do have a character with a 10 1/2 inch dick in this one but I made him 6'5" to make it slightly more plausible.

Here's a "food for thought."

Why do we need to know the exact measurements of the guys dick? If he's got a baseball bat and they have to work together to make the sex work, ok I get that. Or if she's a size queen and thats the only redeeming thing about him to her, ok then too.

But measurements in general aren't needed unless they are vital to some part of the plot/story.

And again, they can be jarring. Can most women eyeball a cock to the half inch during all that should be going on right before sex?

If they are into the guy, do they even care?

 

[sr71plt]

Here's another thought. Why do folks here feel compelled to tell other writers what to write in this regard? There's a broad spectrum of what writers and readers find personally arousing. Why do they have to write only to your measurements? You keeping the Holy Grail of erotica in a closet in your house somewhere?

 

[Mello_SixtyNine]

I saw a guy on Howard Stern a couple years back that had a documented 13 1/2 inch wiener (9 inches when flaccid.)

Since I found this website, I noticed that the stories I enjoyed the most had a lot of specific details. Realism didn't bug me but the lack of details & when the characters got to the fucking stage with a flimsy excuse or extremely implausible trick did. I'm a visual guy (I use photoshop all day for my job) and I liked how those details helped me visualize characters in my mind's eye. Here's an example from my story:

"I want all of it Baxter. Don't pull back anymore. Just keep pushing in until you're balls deep!"

She wants all of my cock, I will give her all of my cock. I continued pushing deeper into Alexa's asshole in a slow, but constant motion. Eight 1/2 inches. Nine inches. Alexa is hugging Talia for dear life, their breasts mashed tightly together. Alexa is kissing her deeply but she keeps coming up for air to moan or yelp the deeper I go. Ten inches, ten 1/2 inches now! Alexa is reeling!!!

How much deeper can he go?!? How much more can I take?!? She thought to herself. "I can feel it pulsing deep inside my body like a white-hot steel beam!"

I'm amazed that I have eleven inches of my cock stuffed into my beautiful sister's ass! I am more amazed that I can still push even further inside! It feels so hot and tight! Eleven 1/2 inches now...

Twelve inches...

Twelve and 1/2 inches!!! We freeze in this moment for a good 30 seconds. She is laying against Talia as I lay on top of Alexa's back. We are all breathing heavily. I lean and whisper in Alexa's ear:

"It's all in Alexa. All twelve and 1/2 inches of my fat cock is impaled completely in your perfect ass right now."

In unison, Alexa and Talia, still blindfolded, respond with:

"Twelve and 1/2 inches?!?"

 

[Euphony]

If you have a reason to use measurements, then do.

It's when people throw huge numbers out there for no other reason then them being out there it seems to fall flat.

When you back them up with a purpose, you actually enhance the story (as you've shown)

But as you've seen in your comments, some people get taken out of the story by extremes. You don't have to cater to them, or me, or anybody.

But if your story wouldn't suffer by dialing it back some, you may end up including more readers than you might otherwise... but only if that's something you wanted to do.

Again, it's all about knowing the landscape and allowing you to make the choice you wanted for the reasons you wished.

 

[sr71plt]

If you have a reason to use measurements, then do.

Again, you have the Holy Grail on what one must write in writing erotica at home in a bedroom closet?