New author, looking for advice and stuff!

[VeronicaGables]

Hey guys! My name is Veronica, I'm a relatively new author in the erotica arena. I've thrown up a couple short stories on Kindle, but nothing besides that. I looked for an "introduce yourself" type forum, but I didn't see one, so I figured I'd just say hi in the author hangout!

Also, I'd really love any advice you all could throw my way. I'm just starting out, so anything you can offer would be great!

Thanks!

 

[emap]

Write how you want to write. No seriously, unless you need to write stuff that sells to have a house and food, write whatever the hell you want. Damn the torpedoes and all that.

If you listen to what people say then you will end up writing what they want and you will be unhappy. Now if you are lucky enough to actually get constructive criticisms, listen to that. If you get the crap I get where it's 'your grammar sucks' then ignore it since they have no idea what is wrong where they just don't like it.

Another thingy, yes thingy and not that thingy this thingy, be varied. No seriously, if you write the same thing over and over with different names the only ones who will read it are after stroke material. Change the voice of the story from story to story. Different stories should be different, not even professional authors always get this one. Unless all you write are short stroke stories you need to show a person changing, evolving, growing up if you want to use that phrase. People are not the same from birth to death, stories should show that.

Dangit I got wordy, sorry I'll slink away now hanging my head in shame.

 

[MSTarot]

Hey guys! My name is Veronica, I'm a relatively new author in the erotica arena. I've thrown up a couple short stories on Kindle, but nothing besides that. I looked for an "introduce yourself" type forum, but I didn't see one, so I figured I'd just say hi in the author hangout!

Also, I'd really love any advice you all could throw my way. I'm just starting out, so anything you can offer would be great!

Thanks!

Welcome to the site. Advice... well to begin with write what you love. Post it (Expect it to take about a week to come up) with the knowledge that the scores on the site can vary by the amount of 'trolls' you attract.

Yes there are people on the site that will vote you a one just to get some disturbing pleasure out of it.

I don't know what your particular favorite story type would be but stories with a happy ending tend to do better in most categories here.

Except loving wives. Might want to avoid that one till you grow armored skin.

Other writers have been here a whole lot longer than me and can give more advice about the site but welcome to the floor show and have fun. If you do nothing else here do that.

Have fun and write.

MSTarot

 

[TxRad]

Welcome to the madhouse of Lit and the AH. If you were not crazy when ya got here just wait a while, it'll catch up with you.

Yeah, 7 days more or less for a story to post these days. Laurel is the only person vetting them and she does get behind occasionally. Loving wives is a good place to avoid as you were told. A writer needs a thick skin in that shark pit. I do have shark protection suits for rent if you really need to take the plunge early.

Other than that, my best advice is write, write, write. The only way to get better is to just do it.

 

[VeronicaGables]

Thanks, folks! Support and advice is always appreciated. =D Tx, no worries, I'm quite at home in the madhouse ;-)

 

[TxRad]

Thanks, folks! Support and advice is always appreciated. =D Tx, no worries, I'm quite at home in the madhouse ;-)

Just be careful of your virgin statues or it'll be gone and you won't even notice until it's too late.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Hey guys! My name is Veronica, I'm a relatively new author in the erotica arena. I've thrown up a couple short stories on Kindle, but nothing besides that. I looked for an "introduce yourself" type forum, but I didn't see one, so I figured I'd just say hi in the author hangout!

Also, I'd really love any advice you all could throw my way. I'm just starting out, so anything you can offer would be great!

Thanks!

Hi, Veronica, and welcome to Literotica and to the Authors' Hangout. One thing that helps is to post nude pictures of yourself, front and back views, here. For the most part, this is a nice bunch of people, but some of us are dirty old men.

Otherwise, like others have said, write what you like. You may want to expand on that later but, for now, write what you are comfortable with.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LOVING WIVES is hostile for sure. But youll get more reads than in other categories. 1000s more.

I agree, write what you want and cultivate a fan base you want. Its impossible to please everyone. So please yourself and your special readers.

That said, there are writing conventions that help, and plenty of them aren't in how to write books or writing courses. Example: Trailer Trash is my thing, but the best Trailer Trash stories often have no trailer parks at all. So I find material written by famous authors of the 30s when the Depression was raging and plenty lived desperate lives.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Hullo Veronica
just in case you were wondering, there is no need to publish nude pix of yourself to play in here. Oh there are some fun people knocking about in here, LOL Boxlicker.

The trolls in here are much more intelligent than other trolls so I should take TX up on his offer of the sharkproof suit. (He is a total gennelman and you may rely on him but it is a secret, he likes to be thought of as a Dirty Old Man.) You can get really good advice on writerly questions and if you want a flirt then check out some of the party threads.

(Even in Naked Party you don't have to post nude pix, unfortunately.)

I have a blogpost on different online erotica publishing sites, if that would be helpful to you: here.

Enjoy yourself!

 

[Laurel]

Looks like everyone's got the advice part taken are of, so here's some stuff:

 

[Weird Harold]

Also, I'd really love any advice you all could throw my way. I'm just starting out, so anything you can offer would be great!

The main thing to remember is that an erotic story is first and foremost a Story -- there is very little writing advice that is specific to writing erotica only.

If you can tell a good story, you'll get good scores, even if your spelling and grammar are less than perfect; if you cannot tell a story well, it won't make any difference if spelling and grammar are perfect.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The main thing to remember is that an erotic story is first and foremost a Story -- there is very little writing advice that is specific to writing erotica only.

If you can tell a good story, you'll get good scores, even if your spelling and grammar are less than perfect; if you cannot tell a story well, it won't make any difference if spelling and grammar are perfect.

Bull shit bird beek. My lowest score is on a story with a green E.

 

[jodiross]

Hey guys! My name is Veronica, I'm a relatively new author in the erotica arena. I've thrown up a couple short stories on Kindle, but nothing besides that. I looked for an "introduce yourself" type forum, but I didn't see one, so I figured I'd just say hi in the author hangout!

Also, I'd really love any advice you all could throw my way. I'm just starting out, so anything you can offer would be great!

Thanks!

Hi Veronica,

There are tons of places where you can sell your erotica. Here's a link to a list of some of the publishers who do erotica. http://marketingforromancewriters.com/erotic-romance-e-book-publishers/

If you Google erotica publishers or erotica publishing you should come up with others. You could also Google erotica e-book publishers.

Amazon has all kinds of books that are offered for free. If you type Kindle Best Sellers into Google and click on the link you will be taken to a page on Amazon that shows best sellers. On the left hand side you should see a list of categories. Click on the Literature & Fiction tab. Then click on Erotica. You should see a list of the top 100 paid and to the right of that it says Top 100 Free. Click on the free tab and you will find 100 books you can download for free and read to get an idea of what others are writing about.

Study the paid best sellers in the erotica genre and see what types of erotica is selling well. That way you will have some idea of whether or not your topics are particularly popular or not. For example, right now BDSM is really big because of the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey. But there are other sub-categories that are popular also...for example ménage, for one.

As to other advice, my first bit of advice is not to 'throw' a story up on any site. I know it is probably just a turn of phrase but if we want to sell our stories then we need to approach them with a professional attitude. I don't mean to be critical, just wanted to help you get on the right path.

Good luck with your books and please let us know how they do. Also, let me know if you find the info. I've provided of any use to you. Hope it is!

Jodi

 

[slyc_willie]

Hi, Veronica. Welcome to the AH.

A lot of good stuff said above. Read through it like the Bible: pick and choose what you like.

If you're in the market to sell your stories, Lit is a great place for beta reading. Some of the criticism you'll get -- not all of it, but you'll be able to tell the difference -- will be very helpful. You can also ask for direct critiques in the Story Feedback forum. The criticism there will be much more detailed.

 

[glynndah]

A welcome for the little newbie from the good little witch.

 

[lovecraft68]

Welcome to the AH!

Your stories are your babies, write them as you see fit and don't worry about what others think.

The good thing here is that there is a huge audience with a wide variety of taste. The people who like your work will find you.

 

[HeyAll]

I always give the same advice; write stories as if they're a short tv show on HBO or Showtime.

That means, break it down in scenes, and some sort of story progression. Imagine how they would talk to each other. Imagine how they react (facial expressions, movements, gestures) and write that down so that the reader can see what you're thinking.

 

[8letters]

Some advice from a newbie writer:
* Read articles from the Adult How To section. There are lots of places where you can find advice about writing, but few places where you can find advice about writing erotica
* Use the volunteer editor program here. I suggest you look through the latest postings to find someone who is interested in the type of story you want to write. Another possibility is to look at the editors who have said they are available for editing in the current "Available editors" sticky here
* With comments, try to read between the lines. There is something of substance to them, but their meaning might not be obvious to you
* When you have a story up, create a thread for it in the Story Feedback forum. You are more likely to get thoughtful feedback there

 

[PennLady]

Some advice from a newbie writer:
* Read articles from the Adult How To section. There are lots of places where you can find advice about writing, but few places where you can find advice about writing erotica
* Use the volunteer editor program here. I suggest you look through the latest postings to find someone who is interested in the type of story you want to write. Another possibility is to look at the editors who have said they are available for editing in the current "Available editors" sticky here
* With comments, try to read between the lines. There is something of substance to them, but their meaning might not be obvious to you
* When you have a story up, create a thread for it in the Story Feedback forum. You are more likely to get thoughtful feedback there

For the bolded section -- most people would advise not using the Volunteer Editors list. It's hugely long and many profiles are defunct and inactive. You are better off with the other suggestion of looking at the "Available Editors" sticky, and you can always post that you are looking for an editor. If you do that, help yourself out by specifying how long your story is, what category (Romance, BDSM, etc.) it is in, what kind of editing you want (copy editing for mechanics or help with plot, etc.), and when you want it back.

However you look for/find an editor, it will probably be a process of trial-and-error.

As for comments, I think most here would agree that you take them with a grain of salt. Also, do not expect that you will be showered with them. Few people vote and even fewer leave comments. Ignore the trolls. My general guide (for me) is that if several people comment on the same thing in a story, it's worth looking at, whether or not you eventually agree.

 

[VeronicaGables]

Wow, awesome, I leave for a day and come back to tons more great posts =D Thanks, y'all, the support is great! I must be honest, I'm a little embarrassed to talk about my "hobby" with most day-to-day people, so it's nice to have a place to come where I'm not worried about being judged for it.

 

[slyc_willie]

You'll find that just about anything is free game here. We talk about subjects that would make most of our close friends and family members blush and cringe. That's the beauty of an essentially anonymous forum.

 

[sr71plt]

You'll find that just about anything is free game here. We talk about subjects that would make most of our close friends and family members blush and cringe. That's the beauty of an essentially anonymous forum.

Well, apparently other than self-promotion of works if you have no works on Lit.

 

[bashfullyshameless]

Down to Specific Advice

Hi Veronica,

So in general, the advice already given is solid: write what you enjoy, write for YOURSELF FIRST and accept that every story will have its fans and its detractors, etc. Check out the "how to" stuff; some of it is quite worthwhile. Also, please forgive me if any of this seems pedantic or unnecessary; I've no idea of how much research and experience you already have under your belt.

But to get down to brass tacks--and understand that this is by no means an exhaustive list:

1. Pay lots of attention to your grammar and mechanics. Many perfectly good stories are ruined by run-on sentences, lack of paragraph breaks, etc. You seem fairly capable just from the posts you've made, but keep this stuff in mind. Mechanical skills alone account for much of the separation of wheat from chaff on this site.

2. Click through some of the categories before delving too deeply in any of them. Category choice can really make a difference as to how a story is received.

3. Do NOT let the Author's Hangout forum traffic get you down if you see people sniping at one another. Usually such sniping is a matter of longstanding friction between a handful of writers. It may look like everyone is at one another's throats, but when you pay attention to the actual names, you'll realize it's a distinct minority of (very active) voices. Most of the writers are pleasant enough on their own, and even the ones who snipe at one another are generally nice to people when their grudges aren't touched upon.

4. When you get grouchy anonymous comments on your stories, understand that this is the Internet, where anonymity breeds shittiness. If you get multiple grouchy anonymous comments, remember that there's no reason to believe it isn't the same jerk posting over and over again. Do not let this get you down.

5. Understand that even when you are up front about your story's content from the very beginning, people will still read it and will still complain when your story does exactly what it said it would on the label. Ignore those folks; you weren't writing for them, anyway.

6. Stories usually take at least three days to post after you've submitted them. Sometimes that delay can stretch. Fear not.

7. Individual authors have their own preferences, but as far as the site goes, there is seemingly no rhyme or reason as to story length and when a story should be broken up into separate posts. I've done well with serial posts in the past; other authors hate it, and some readers do, too. The benefit of posting a series is that it stretches out the story's visibility, but... well, again, some folks find it annoying. Mileage varies.


As far as categories go:

*Incest obviously has the highest traffic here, but you can do just fine for yourself without going there if it's not your thing.

*Sci-fi/Fantasy readers expect an internally consistent plot and setting, just like they do for non-erotic sf/f. If you provide that and pay attention to mechanics, you're likely to find very supportive readers. (The same can be said for other categories, but this habit is pretty pronounced here.)

*From what I've gathered, the Romance and "NonHuman" categories are also places where the readership tends to be supportive rather than harsh.

*Loving Wives attracts trolls. Wow, does it attract trolls. Angry, self-hating, frothy-mouthed trolls who read stories they KNOW will make them angry, and then they unleash their rage. If you want to write stories about infidelity or open marriages or whatever, I say GO FOR IT, but just understand that you'll have to ignore a good chunk of your "feedback."


And as far as writing, y'know, the actual erotica, a couple things I have learned:

*Physical descriptions are great; actual measurements are often unnecessary. It is clear that many Literotica authors have never looked at a ruler and have no understanding of bra sizes. I have seen it argued that readers of gay male stories tend to prefer measurements, and I've little reason to doubt the source there... but by and large, measurements just get dumb fast. You'll be fine if you make use of noncommittal adjectives.

*Mixing up emotional reactions with nitty-gritty choreography always helps. Sex is an emotional experience. Make use of that.

*Society's bullshit double-standards regarding gender (and race, and... yeah) are often alive and well here. A male character who sleeps with many women is generally cheered on; a female character who sleeps with more than one man over the course of the story may well get you angry comments and down-votes. Again, write YOUR story the way YOU want it, and ignore the complainers, but understand it will happen.

*YOU WILL GET POSITIVE COMMENTS! You will get fans, and people writing to you privately asking if you'll continue a story, and you'll get votes. I realize I listed a lot of "ignore this/that" in this post, but it's something that comes with the territory, and the negative stuff is always harder to deal with than the positives.

Literotica is probably the best free exposure an erotica author can hope for. You pay nothing to post here. The sites rules are very few. Have a ball.

Good luck to you!

 

[Boxlicker101]

There is a whole library of advice on writing, etc. and you can access it through the index page. It will help even more than posting nude pics on this thread.

ETA: In the Loving Wives category, you will piss some people off WHATEVER you write about. If the woman is punished, one group will complain and if she doesn't get punished, a different group will complain. If the wife really is a loving wife and the story is all sweetness and light, some people will even complain about that.

 

[Bramblethorn]

3. Do NOT let the Author's Hangout forum traffic get you down if you see people sniping at one another. Usually such sniping is a matter of longstanding friction between a handful of writers. It may look like everyone is at one another's throats, but when you pay attention to the actual names, you'll realize it's a distinct minority of (very active) voices. Most of the writers are pleasant enough on their own, and even the ones who snipe at one another are generally nice to people when their grudges aren't touched upon.

On a related note, the 'Ignore' function is your friend.