Lush Stories is a joke of a website

[RejectReality]

SOL's not bad, a bit more libersl with what's allowed, fast and easy to publish on, but nowhere near the number of viewers.

Wattpad has a great interface but 80% of the readers are teenage Filipina girls or something and its flooded with fanfic, most of it appalingly bad, and visibility is next to zero unless you get in their and network like crazy - which just isn't worth it

Or, I guess, be well-established enough to have at least 50 people who have you bookmarked and will read and vote that first day. I started there years ago, and I rarely have any trouble with visibility. As long as you can swing 50 votes, you'll almost always end up on the weekly top score list or top download list ( usually both if you make score ) and your reads jump dramatically after that.

Submit at 11pm EST and you stand a good chance of being approved before midnight and on page 1 overnight. That helps.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy performs just as well there as it does here ( Sometimes better. Lowborn has 1k votes there, and I'll never come close to that here with any Sci-Fi & Fantasy ) and stuff there's no good place for here like cuckold, bi-male, and Westerns can do very well.

 

[iwatchus]

Or, I guess, be well-established enough to have at least 50 people who have you bookmarked and will read and vote that first day. I started there years ago, and I rarely have any trouble with visibility. As long as you can swing 50 votes, you'll almost always end up on the weekly top score list or top download list ( usually both if you make score ) and your reads jump dramatically after that.

How do you get the following to attract 50 votes initially?

 

[MillieDynamite]

When I started on Lush, I gained a lot of readers. My work was accepted much better there than here, but I didn't feel very good about my writing for there. To get stories published, they had to be toned down, have happy endings, and conflict had to be kept to a minimum. It was years ago, and I gained a fanatic following. Hardly anyone ever voted anything but a five. I had a lot of attention, much of it unwanted. IMs about me, not my work. Questions about things I don't discuss with those I don't know. Here in the forums, I've been pretty open about myself, and if I get a creeper contact me, I either answer politely or not at all. There, the creeper is the most common contact I had, and it became a daily grind to go through and either answer politely, less politely, or delete the message. It wasn't long until I left the site. Too much bullshit about the type of story, too much crap from jerks, and too much false praise on the stories.

 

[RejectReality]

How do you get the following to attract 50 votes initially?

Post late so you get page 1 overnight. That will help. Beyond that, it's just the long grind, and hopefully attracting the attention of one or more of the paid members. They apparently share recommendations amongst themselves, so that can raise your profile pretty much instantly. I've been there for going on 20 years, so even with the normal attrition of time and my long droughts, I keep enough followers to ping that 50 in 24 hours for pretty much anything.

 

[GrushaVashnadze]

When I started on Lush, I gained a lot of readers. My work was accepted much better there than here, but I didn't feel very good about my writing for there. To get stories published, they had to be toned down, have happy endings, and conflict had to be kept to a minimum. It was years ago, and I gained a fanatic following. Hardly anyone ever voted anything but a five. I had a lot of attention, much of it unwanted. IMs about me, not my work. Questions about things I don't discuss with those I don't know. Here in the forums, I've been pretty open about myself, and if I get a creeper contact me, I either answer politely or not at all. There, the creeper is the most common contact I had, and it became a daily grind to go through and either answer politely, less politely, or delete the message. It wasn't long until I left the site. Too much bullshit about the type of story, too much crap from jerks, and too much false praise on the stories.

Interesting - I have had a very similar trajectory with Lush. When I first started publishing there c. 5 years ago (Alison Goes to London), I was showered with praise by many of the mods, awarded tons of RRs ("Recommended Reads"), and got masses of reads, comments (almost all positive) and scores (almost all 5s). It took me a while to realise that all the love-bombing from the mods was, like in a cult, a way of encouraging me into conforming with, and thereby becoming suitable to join, their inner circle. They saw that I could write well, but wanted me to write like them. One said to me, "If you don't tone down your style, you will start to lose friends." I declined the opportunity to become a clone, despite discovering (via leaks from some mods) that behind the scenes the powers-that-be were decrying my work as "too filthy". The only story of mine that ever made it onto the shortlist for a competition (on Lush the shortlist is drawn up entirely by one person, the site owner) was I think the most inconsequential story I had ever written. After the "regime change" in 2022, it was "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose": those mods who were prepared to admit they liked my writing (and that of other "unconventional" writers) were gradually either fired, or scared into conformity, or left the site. I stopped getting RRs, period.

I still post my stories on Lush. There are still a few mavericks there who have broad tastes and have not been browbeaten into submission. They are genuinely lovely people - but they have no power or influence. Those who wield any influence (e.g. mods, judges) only do so by completely toeing the party line - which means they actually have no influence at all.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

SOL's problem is that they paywall their search function. I suspect they would have a much bigger audience if they didn't.

When i look by just genre I get more results. It's trying to be specific that cost. Still stupid, though.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Interesting - I have had a very similar trajectory with Lush. When I first started publishing there c. 5 years ago (Alison Goes to London), I was showered with praise by many of the mods, awarded tons of RRs ("Recommended Reads"), and got masses of reads, comments (almost all positive) and scores (almost all 5s). It took me a while to realise that all the love-bombing from the mods was, like in a cult, a way of encouraging me into conforming with, and thereby becoming suitable to join, their inner circle. They saw that I could write well, but wanted me to write like them. One said to me, "If you don't tone down your style, you will start to lose friends." I declined the opportunity to become a clone, despite discovering (via leaks from some mods) that behind the scenes the powers-that-be were decrying my work as "too filthy". The only story of mine that ever made it onto the shortlist for a competition (on Lush the shortlist is drawn up entirely by one person, the site owner) was I think the most inconsequential story I had ever written. After the "regime change" in 2022, it was "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose": those mods who were prepared to admit they liked my writing (and that of other "unconventional" writers) were gradually either fired, or scared into conformity, or left the site. I stopped getting RRs, period.

I still post my stories on Lush. There are still a few mavericks there who have broad tastes and have not been browbeaten into submission. They are genuinely lovely people - but they have no power or influence. Those who wield any influence (e.g. mods, judges) only do so by completely toeing the party line - which means they actually have no influence at all.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

That's wild. Either they're not like that now, or I'm just not popular. Depending on what they reject depends on if I fix it or not. There re other places I can post, i'm not changing my style, or completely rewriting a damn thing.

 

[SkyBubble]

I've been on Lush for a while and never experienced anything like that.

BTW, they don't allow celebrity stories these days, but if you remove all last names, it will usually go through.

 

[RejectReality]

Interesting - I have had a very similar trajectory with Lush. When I first started publishing there c. 5 years ago (Alison Goes to London), I was showered with praise by many of the mods, awarded tons of RRs ("Recommended Reads"), and got masses of reads, comments (almost all positive) and scores (almost all 5s). It took me a while to realise that all the love-bombing from the mods was, like in a cult, a way of encouraging me into conforming with, and thereby becoming suitable to join, their inner circle. They saw that I could write well, but wanted me to write like them. One said to me, "If you don't tone down your style, you will start to lose friends." I declined the opportunity to become a clone, despite discovering (via leaks from some mods) that behind the scenes the powers-that-be were decrying my work as "too filthy". The only story of mine that ever made it onto the shortlist for a competition (on Lush the shortlist is drawn up entirely by one person, the site owner) was I think the most inconsequential story I had ever written. After the "regime change" in 2022, it was "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose": those mods who were prepared to admit they liked my writing (and that of other "unconventional" writers) were gradually either fired, or scared into conformity, or left the site. I stopped getting RRs, period.

I still post my stories on Lush. There are still a few mavericks there who have broad tastes and have not been browbeaten into submission. They are genuinely lovely people - but they have no power or influence. Those who wield any influence (e.g. mods, judges) only do so by completely toeing the party line - which means they actually have no influence at all.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

To be fair, nobody gets RRs anymore. There have only been 12 in the last month. It had also gotten a little out of control. There was a period there where the only way I didn't get an RR was if one of the senior mods found my story before anybody else did, and I was hardly the only one. It was rare to see the first page without an RR story on it. Mods were hunting down their favorite authors as soon as they opened the list, gushing over it, and giving it an RR pretty much without fail. The meaning had been diluted down to almost nothing. That had as much to do with the crackdown on RRs as anything.

The funny thing is that what the current ruling class likes the best is what the readership likes the least. They want long, involved stories, and Lush readers ain't about that. LOL They want quick and dirty.

I quit the contests because it was actually a negative at the time. It wasn't increasing reads, and the slightly more critical voting damaged long-term visibility when anything short of a perfect 5.0 was invisible. The switch to like-only at least eliminates the latter. There's also the favorites who are always going to win ( Not disparaging their ability at all. Most of them are top tier authors ) and enough of them that there will always be 10 or so in every contest. There's nothing left for anybody 1 step lower on the ladder. Now, I don't participate for the same reason I don't participate here very often. Having an idea that fits the theme and my ability to write happening at the same time is a long shot at best.

 

[GrushaVashnadze]

To be fair, nobody gets RRs anymore. There have only been 12 in the last month. It had also gotten a little out of control. There was a period there where the only way I didn't get an RR was if one of the senior mods found my story before anybody else did, and I was hardly the only one. It was rare to see the first page without an RR story on it. Mods were hunting down their favorite authors as soon as they opened the list, gushing over it, and giving it an RR pretty much without fail. The meaning had been diluted down to almost nothing. That had as much to do with the crackdown on RRs as anything.

The funny thing is that what the current ruling class likes the best is what the readership likes the least. They want long, involved stories, and Lush readers ain't about that. LOL They want quick and dirty.

I quit the contests because it was actually a negative at the time. It wasn't increasing reads, and the slightly more critical voting damaged long-term visibility when anything short of a perfect 5.0 was invisible. The switch to like-only at least eliminates the latter. There's also the favorites who are always going to win ( Not disparaging their ability at all. Most of them are top tier authors ) and enough of them that there will always be 10 or so in every contest. There's nothing left for anybody 1 step lower on the ladder. Now, I don't participate for the same reason I don't participate here very often. Having an idea that fits the theme and my ability to write happening at the same time is a long shot at best.

You make some important points. Before "regime change", the mods were ruled with a somewhat lighter touch, which meant that they had more discretion, both to read the stories they wanted to read, and to reward them accordingly. This meant that the more maverick writers - even those despised by the central cabal - had some chance to be recognised. Now, however, the mods are required to read submissions in strict order, but giving priority to "gold" members. They are discouraged from giving out "too many" RRs - which in practice means that they are very cautious and politically "safe" with their choices. The result is less exposure for those whose style does not fit with the preferences of the powers-that-be, and consequentially a greater narrowing of the stylistic flavour of the site.

The results of the competitions have of course always been tightly controlled, as the chief judge is the site owner, and chooses the judges, and chooses the top ten, and announces the winners (without any transparency of process, and reserving the right to amend/ignore the collective choices of the other judges), and boots off the podium anyone who dares to criticise the process. The winners are generally predictable, not just because they are excellent writers (and I agree with you on that), but because they are excellent authors who toe the party line stylistically and politically. Very often those who, as you put it, find themselves "1 step lower on the ladder", are not there because of any lack of quality, but simply because their style does not chime with the preferences of the central cabal.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

So that's how their contest works. At least here, the winners are chosen by the public. They have one going on right now called Obsession, that I thought about doing, but have no idea what to write about.

I suppose I'd be a maverick of sorts, since I don't jump into sex on chapter one/beginning. When I submitted Spare Parts, they told me as such, when they told me I had to redo some of the tags to match the chapter, which makes sense. I usually kinda do that and add whats to come, and relevent topic tags. If they can't wait a chapter or two, to beat their meats, that's their problem.

 

[GrushaVashnadze]

So that's how their contest works. At least here, the winners are chosen by the public.

The Lush powers-that-be are openly scornful of the sorts of competitions one gets on Lit, SOL, Clitorides etc. - precisely because they are based purely on a public vote, which can so easily degenerate into a mere popularity contest. They have a point, I think. However, their answer to it, for all the reasons I list above, is no better.

Having worked professionally in the creative arts all my life, and having been involved in some very well-run competitions (as, e.g., competitor, judge, teacher/trainer), I find this sad. A good competition has a panel of judges chosen for their independence, and breadth/variety of opinion/style/taste; has clear and transparent criteria/rubric/checklist for judging by; makes the judges prove their mettle by providing individual feedback to competitors; makes the competitors, if possible (and it is possible in a writing competition) anonymous to the judges; makes the judges take into account, but not be ruled by, both the public vote and the opinions of other judges; and makes the judges constantly challenge their own stylistic preferences. Judging any creative work is a subtle and nuanced process, and hence difficult to do well; it requires careful, intelligent and humble oversight.

Well, we can dream...

 

[M_K_Babalon]

The Lush powers-that-be are openly scornful of the sorts of competitions one gets on Lit, SOL, Clitorides etc. - precisely because they are based purely on a public vote, which can so easily degenerate into a mere popularity contest. They have a point, I think. However, their answer to it, for all the reasons I list above, is no better.

Having worked professionally in the creative arts all my life, and having been involved in some very well-run competitions (as, e.g., competitor, judge, teacher/trainer), I find this sad. A good competition has a panel of judges chosen for their independence, and breadth/variety of opinion/style/taste; has clear and transparent criteria/rubric/checklist for judging by; makes the judges prove their mettle by providing individual feedback to competitors; makes the competitors, if possible (and it is possible in a writing competition) anonymous to the judges; makes the judges take into account, but not be ruled by, both the public vote and the opinions of other judges; and makes the judges constantly challenge their own stylistic preferences. Judging any creative work is a subtle and nuanced process, and hence difficult to do well; it requires careful, intelligent and humble oversight.

Well, we can dream...

I ran across one sites contest recently, where the submissions are anon during the contest. I believe it was Inkitt, that's where my latest submission has went to, other than the one for Lush, that won't fly here.

 

[boytoyjoy]

I looked at SOL and wasn't impressed. Horrible UI and the stories I saw were badly written. I guess by now, Kristen's board is gone for good.

 

[Crevele]

SOL have some very good, very long, stories, which I've only found there. The community is very supportive of series and large world-building. But they have some quite tetchy submission guidelines that forbid any inkling of self-promotion, monetization, publication, etc., on any other website. If they find you doing that, they reserve the right to delete all of your submissions. They want to keep all their writers to themselves and channel them to ZBookStore.com and their Premium Membership system but they aren't successful enough to justify that kind of hard bargain.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

SOL have some very good, very long, stories, which I've only found there. The community is very supportive of series and large world-building. But they have some quite tetchy submission guidelines that forbid any inkling of self-promotion, monetization, publication, etc., on any other website. If they find you doing that, they reserve the right to delete all of your submissions. They want to keep all their writers to themselves and channel them to ZBookStore.com and their Premium Membership system but they aren't successful enough to justify that kind of hard bargain.

I had no clue about them wanting exclusive stories, but it's been years since I looked that all up. Nobody gets to be sole preprietor of my stories and not pay me for it, unless they're lucky enough to be the only one that allows it.

 

[WittyUserName]

I had no clue about them wanting exclusive stories, but it's been years since I looked that all up. Nobody gets to be sole preprietor of my stories and not pay me for it, unless they're lucky enough to be the only one that allows it.

SOL also says if you are inactive for a length of time(3 years, I think?) they have the right to allow interested authors to 'finish' your unfinished series, etc..

 

[M_K_Babalon]

SOL also says if you are inactive for a length of time(3 years, I think?) they have the right to allow interested authors to 'finish' your unfinished series, etc..

Damn.

 

[alohadave]

But they have some quite tetchy submission guidelines that forbid any inkling of self-promotion, monetization, publication, etc., on any other website. If they find you doing that, they reserve the right to delete all of your submissions. They want to keep all their writers to themselves and channel them to ZBookStore.com and their Premium Membership system but they aren't successful enough to justify that kind of hard bargain.

From the posting guidelines:

Writer support (Patreon, Subscribestar etc...): If you promote your writing on Storiesonline and ask for financial support, you must keep the progress on Storiesonline relatively close to your postings on your support site. You must keep the work on Storiesonline within two instalments of the work on the support site. If the work is completed on the support site, then it must be completed on Storiesonline within two weeks of the completion on the support site. Failure to keep up the progress will result in one of the following:

1. Your works being hidden until updated with new parts.
2. Your links being removed.
3. Your works being deleted from the site.

 

[rdodger]

SOL have some very good, very long, stories, which I've only found there. The community is very supportive of series and large world-building. But they have some quite tetchy submission guidelines that forbid any inkling of self-promotion, monetization, publication, etc., on any other website. If they find you doing that, they reserve the right to delete all of your submissions. They want to keep all their writers to themselves and channel them to ZBookStore.com and their Premium Membership system but they aren't successful enough to justify that kind of hard bargain.

I don't see anything as drastic as your description of their submission rules. I do see the following, which look quite reasonable:
You grant Storiesonline, its parent company 'World Literature Company (WLPC)' and its affiliated sites unlimited rights to publish the work in any format that it supports, on any of its sites for as long as WLPC exists or until you withdraw the work with a written request for removal.

You retain all copyrights that you may have for your stories' text.

Teasers and blackmail are absolutely prohibited. (Teasers are any story parts that compel readers to read preceding or following parts on other sites or purchase those parts or sending money for further postings.)

Promoting and linking to other sites (especially competing story sites) is prohibited. Links in stories, blog entries and forum posts must not link to other sites unless it's for a reference to something that is not a story.

- and I see just this reference to ZBookStore:
Book Sales: Any promotional links or text to sell your complete books are allowed only if they point to our book shop ZBookStore.com. Progress must be made at least bi-weekly until the work is complete on Storiesonline. You authorize WLPC to complete the posting on Storiesonline in case you are unable to do it yourself.


I've got stories here and haven't had any problems with this.

 

[Crevele]

It's true - I was relating a composite of impressions from what I remembered, and didn't have the exact text in front of me to provide an entirely fair characterization. A lot of probably more casual writers would find this complex thicket of rules maybe not so relevant and therefore not so troubling to work with. What is still true is that anything you do to advance, promote, or disseminate your story outside of their ecosystem is significantly controlled / discouraged - at least according to the 'binding contract' w/ 'World Literature Publishing Co.' that you are formally signing on to w/ each submission. People can read the submission guidelines for themselves and render their own judgment.

 

[boytoyjoy]

Progress must be made at least bi-weekly until the work is complete on Storiesonline. You authorize WLPC to complete the posting on Storiesonline in case you are unable to do it yourself.

What? Cracking the whip on deadlines when they don't even pay authors? And they complete the story for you if you don't finish it yourself? Presumably with AI slop I guess. Anyway thanks but no thanks. Literotica seems like a last civilized bastion compared to this.

 

[SkyBubble]

SOL have some very good, very long, stories, which I've only found there. The community is very supportive of series and large world-building. But they have some quite tetchy submission guidelines that forbid any inkling of self-promotion, monetization, publication, etc., on any other website. If they find you doing that, they reserve the right to delete all of your submissions. They want to keep all their writers to themselves and channel them to ZBookStore.com and their Premium Membership system but they aren't successful enough to justify that kind of hard bargain.

So if I have a story posted here, I can't post it at SOL? Because I have 5 stories there that are also here.

 

[WittyUserName]

So if I have a story posted here, I can't post it at SOL? Because I have 5 stories there that are also here.

I have stories on both sites, you're fine. SOL just doesn't want you to mention Lit at all.

 

[rdodger]

So if I have a story posted here, I can't post it at SOL? Because I have 5 stories there that are also here.

I have stories here posted elsewhere. I just don't talk about SOL on those sites and I don't advertise those sites on SOL, for similar reasons.

And I don't care about the 'we may complete your story' clause because I don't submit stories a chapter at a time.