Questions from someone new

[JackFabulous]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for reading. I have not posted on Lit simply because some of the stuff I've read is just so good, that I don't want to embarrass myself in from of such amazing talent.

Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of free time to write very long multi chapter stories. I'm wondering if there is a minimum length for a story to be considered worthy of reading?

Are there people who are willing to help edit and refine stories or should I expect to do that myself? Along the same lines, where could I post about finding a writing partner?

Are there any kinks/fetishes that should be avoided?

Any other helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

If this is not the forum for these questions, I apologize.

 

[JackFabulous]

Thanks! Yes, I'd need to post before I make a request for a partner.

Hi,

For Lit, there's a word-minimum of 750.

You can put your requests for Editing in the Editor's Forum

About avoiding kinks and fetishes, just stay within the rules of Literotica; age 18+, no snuff, no bestiality, no rape (unless the victim likes it. It's lame, but that's what it is)

Some will tell you to be careful with cuckoldery, and to stay away from Loving Wives, but no guts, no glory. Write what you like.

Without any stories published, you might find it difficult to find a writing-partner.

 

[litfan10]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for reading. I have not posted on Lit simply because some of the stuff I've read is just so good, that I don't want to embarrass myself in from of such amazing talent.

Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of free time to write very long multi chapter stories. I'm wondering if there is a minimum length for a story to be considered worthy of reading?

Are there people who are willing to help edit and refine stories or should I expect to do that myself? Along the same lines, where could I post about finding a writing partner?

Are there any kinks/fetishes that should be avoided?

Any other helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

If this is not the forum for these questions, I apologize.

Welcome to the fun house!
Write what you want and be proud!
Length is less important to a solid beginning, middle and end. That said, I find 750 words is as short as I would go.
There is an editing thread but that can be hit or miss. As you go hopefully friendships will form and you might find writing buddies.
Kinks to avoid: underage, bestiality, and rape are not allowed so don't go down those roads
The category Loving Wives is very dangerous as there are two polarized groups of readers - please one and you will definitely piss off the other and they love to trash talk the stories they hate.
Otherwise relax, enjoy yourself and have fun

 

[SimonDoom]

Hello, back, and welcome!

Everything RubenR told you is true.

Just publish a story. Do it. Write a story that's 7,000 to 10,000 words, and submit it.

 

[Archieosullivan]

Hi everyone - I’m super new as well. Like, my account is a couple days old kind of new.
Sorry to jump on your thread Jack, but the title jumped at me and I don’t know the etiquette here, hope that’s ok.

So I just wrote my first story the other day and literotica were kind enough to publish it which was exciting, and I noticed half the stories have a little red H next to them and half don’t. I couldn’t figure it out. Sorry, I’m so green - can anyone tell me what that is?

 

[litfan10]

Hi everyone - I’m super new as well. Like, my account is a couple days old kind of new.
Sorry to jump on your thread Jack, but the title jumped at me and I don’t know the etiquette here, hope that’s ok.

So I just wrote my first story the other day and literotica were kind enough to publish it which was exciting, and I noticed half the stories have a little red H next to them and half don’t. I couldn’t figure it out. Sorry, I’m so green - can anyone tell me what that is?

Hey Archie! Stories get a red 'h' when the voting score is at least an average of 4.5
I think stories need to have at least fifty votes to count.

Welcome and congrats on your story

 

[PennameWombat]

Hi everyone - I’m super new as well. Like, my account is a couple days old kind of new.
Sorry to jump on your thread Jack, but the title jumped at me and I don’t know the etiquette here, hope that’s ok.

So I just wrote my first story the other day and literotica were kind enough to publish it which was exciting, and I noticed half the stories have a little red H next to them and half don’t. I couldn’t figure it out. Sorry, I’m so green - can anyone tell me what that is?

Welcome to the club!

There is a long thread going into all of the details: How is the Hot badge earned?

But in short, readers can 'vote' (rate) your stories from one to five stars. If a story gets at least ten (10) votes and has an average rating of 4.5 or higher, it gets the H. Aka, the "hot" badge.

A story can lose the H if additional votes come in to drop the average below 4.5. And, gain it back. Once the story gets lots of votes, the rigid laws or arithmetic mean subsequent votes have less effect, but at the borderline, you can see wide swings in the average.

Ratings drive wins in contests and getting onto various "Top" lists, although for these the minimum numbers of votes are higher than ten.

All of this comes with much controversy . The linked thread covers all kinds of related points.

BTW, if you set up your signature here to link to your author profile, it helps us to check out your stories.

 

[Archieosullivan]

Welcome to the club!

There is a long thread going into all of the details: How is the Hot badge earned?

But in short, readers can 'vote' (rate) your stories from one to five stars. If a story gets at least ten (10) votes and has an average rating of 4.5 or higher, it gets the H. Aka, the "hot" badge.

A story can lose the H if additional votes come in to drop the average below 4.5. And, gain it back. Once the story gets lots of votes, the rigid laws or arithmetic mean subsequent votes have less effect, but at the borderline, you can see wide swings in the average.

Ratings drive wins in contests and getting onto various "Top" lists, although for these the minimum numbers of votes are higher than ten.

All of this comes with much controversy . The linked thread covers all kinds of related points.

BTW, if you set up your signature here to link to your author profile, it helps us to check out your stories.

Thanks so much for that. The thread was helpful. I suppose i wasn’t presumptuous enough to imagine too many people wanted to read it, but I’ll add it to my signature as per your suggestion.

Here it is if you’re brave enough to read from a novice:

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-game-137

Thank again. Archie

 

[Rustyoznail]

Thanks so much for that. The thread was helpful. I suppose i wasn’t presumptuous enough to imagine too many people wanted to read it, but I’ll add it to my signature as per your suggestion.

Here it is if you’re brave enough to read from a novice:

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-game-137

Thank again. Archie

Most of us felt nervous with our first time. Looks like you've done alright. Three comments and a decent score.

Great job.

 

[Archieosullivan]

Yeah thanks Rusty. Tbh it was written for an audience of one on the weekend, but I was curious what people thought so I put it up. It’s nice, people are kind it seems.

So I think I can see page views (2.9k?? Seems high for a new story from a new writer, is this normal?) likes, comments, and rating. Is there a way to know how many people have voted? I’m assuming at least 10 at this point.

 

[NotWise]

Yeah thanks Rusty. Tbh it was written for an audience of one on the weekend, but I was curious what people thought so I put it up. It’s nice, people are kind it seems.

So I think I can see page views (2.9k?? Seems high for a new story from a new writer, is this normal?) likes, comments, and rating. Is there a way to know how many people have voted? I’m assuming at least 10 at this point.

You need to discover your home page, if you haven't already. Open your story and find the circle at the top right with a down-arrow next to it. If you have an avatar, it will be in the circle. Otherwise I think it's probably blue.

Clicking on the circle produces a drop down menu. Select "My Home" from the top of the menu. That should take a few seconds to load, but it will open a new page that shows the latest activity on your story (other things, too).

On the left side of your home page select "Works." That will give you a list of your published stories (a short list at the moment). The information on your story will show you the favorites, views, rating/votes, and # of comments. Icons to the right show you the comments, the settings on your story, and let you add your own story to a reading list.

The numbers on your "Works" list might be different than the numbers on your story. The numbers on the "Works" list are probably the most up-to-date.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Yeah thanks Rusty. Tbh it was written for an audience of one on the weekend, but I was curious what people thought so I put it up. It’s nice, people are kind it seems.

So I think I can see page views (2.9k?? Seems high for a new story from a new writer, is this normal?) likes, comments, and rating. Is there a way to know how many people have voted? I’m assuming at least 10 at this point.

2900 people have looked at your story - not necessarily all have read the lot, but it's still amazing, isn't it?

NotWise has the details to see your votes.

 

[Archieosullivan]

Thanks so much for that. The thread was helpful. I suppose i wasn’t presumptuous enough to imagine too many people wanted to read it, but I’ll add it to my signature as per your suggestion.

Here it is if you’re brave enough to read from a novice:

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-game-137

Thank again. Archie

You need to discover your home page, if you haven't already. Open your story and find the circle at the top right with a down-arrow next to it. If you have an avatar, it will be in the circle. Otherwise I think it's probably blue.

Clicking on the circle produces a drop down menu. Select "My Home" from the top of the menu. That should take a few seconds to load, but it will open a new page that shows the latest activity on your story (other things, too).

On the left side of your home page select "Works." That will give you a list of your published stories (a short list at the moment). The information on your story will show you the favorites, views, rating/votes, and # of comments. Icons to the right show you the comments, the settings on your story, and let you add your own story to a reading list.

The numbers on your "Works" list might be different than the numbers on your story. The numbers on the "Works" list are probably the most up-to-date.

Yep. Got it, thanks for that. Your pen name betrays you, you are wise
I’m assuming my 4.54/33 means 33 voters?

 

[Archieosullivan]

True Rusty. This is by far the most surprising thing, granted, not all will have read it as you say. I imagined it would be more like creating a new Twitter account with no followers and months or even years later you can have a handful of likes or views on something you’ve thrown up online. Certainly seems to be a fairly active reading membership on the site. I had no idea.

Anyway, that’s me done for the day, my main curiosities have been answered by all the generous members on here. Really nice to help a new bloke out. And much appreciated.

 

[NotWise]

Yep. Got it, thanks for that. Your pen name betrays you, you are wise
I’m assuming my 4.54/33 means 33 voters?

Yes, it does.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hey Archie! Stories get a red 'h' when the voting score is at least an average of 4.5
I think stories need to have at least fifty votes to count.

Welcome and congrats on your story

No, ten votes minimum for the Red H, average 4.5.

The fifty votes is (was - it might have changed) for contest eligibility, which is a different thing.

 

[PennameWombat]

No, ten votes minimum for the Red H, average 4.5.

The fifty votes is (was - it might have changed) for contest eligibility, which is a different thing.

To qualify for the H a story needs ten (10) votes and the 4.5 rating.

Different contests have different criteria. The Monthly contest needs fifty (50) votes minimum (although there are special provisos if no stories have that many votes, see the info at the link). It's simply all stories published in each calendar month. No theme or anything, just the date of publication. So everything published in the month is eligible. Then it's just the top three highest-rated stories.

The 'themed' contests, such as the recently-completed Winter Holidays contest, require twenty-five (25) votes minimum. Again, it's just the top three highest-rated stories.

I've heard, but haven't found confirmation, that for "Top" lists a story needs one hundred (100) votes.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I've heard, but haven't found confirmation, that for "Top" lists a story needs one hundred (100) votes.

This seems to be the mark for the all time list. One of my stories fell over the 100 mark and appeared midway in the all time romance list. Then it got rapidly bombed out.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I've heard, but haven't found confirmation, that for "Top" lists a story needs one hundred (100) votes.

This is correct, but with an exception for low-traffic categories where a requirement of 100 votes wouldn't provide enough to fill the toplist. For those, the cutoff is lowered.

(I read this on the site documentation years ago, but don't recall exactly where.)

 

[PennameWombat]

Thankee both of ya!

This seems to be the mark for the all time list. One of my stories fell over the 100 mark and appeared midway in the all time romance list. Then it got rapidly bombed out.

No Top list for you :caning:. Those Romance writers can be... uh, brutal. I know the members of the Romance Writers of America have been embroiled in a few dust-ups (more like brass knuckle bar fights) in the last couple of years.

This is correct, but with an exception for low-traffic categories where a requirement of 100 votes wouldn't provide enough to fill the toplist. For those, the cutoff is lowered.

(I read this on the site documentation years ago, but don't recall exactly where.)

It's not in the current FAQ nor on the Top Lists pages but I've no doubt it used to be somewhere.

I have one story that's in the top 100 of an all-time Top List. Dear Romance authors. It's not Romance. Please don't beat me up!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Welcome! Such a great feeling to see one's first story published. And yours is being well received, too.

You've been warned about Loving Wives and properly so. Another pothole is anything involving gay male sex. Many readers will go ballistic if such creeps into a story in a different category; comments can be nasty and scores get cinderblocks wired around their ankles. (Lesbian or bi female sex can be used in other categories, but boy-boy brings down napalm.) Similarly, while incest is a very popular category, putting incestuous sexuality in any other category is just asking for a nasty reaction.

Another common error is trying to get around the 18-year-old age limit. Be aware that that includes just about anything relating to sex - things like a 14-year-old watching through ha bedroom window as his female neighbour changes her clothes or a kid hearing her parents making love or a teen getting an erection.

Good luck with your next tale!

 

[jehoram]

Hi,

For Lit, there's a word-minimum of 750.

And that's really the only criterion, except that when I write longer stories, I try to keep the chapters to around two or three Lit pages (about four to five thousand words). But that's just me.

Consider Roger Ebert's famous quote about the length of movies. "No good movie is too long. No bad movie is short enough."

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

Hello everyone!

Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of free time to write very long multi chapter stories. I'm wondering if there is a minimum length for a story to be considered worthy of reading?

Are there people who are willing to help edit and refine stories or should I expect to do that myself? Along the same lines, where could I post about finding a writing partner?

Are there any kinks/fetishes that should be avoided?

First, congratulations on the courage to hit the "publish" button!

You have gotten a lot of excellent advice, which is a great reason to check in on AH. I thought I would try to address some nuts and bolts.

Story length:

For me, the story is as long as it needs to be, Some authors, such as Thors_Fist or Melissa Baby have written 250-500k or more in a single multipart story. I have also read powerful 750 word stories. As for installment size, I personally think that 3-4 Lit pages (12-16k) words is kind of a sweet spot. People will differ and I have noticed a trend towards an average of 2 pages. I shoot for 4 , but the key for me is a good installment that leaves the reader anxious for the next chapter.

Editing:

God's honest, I wouldn't bet the farm waiting for a volunteer editor. Not to say editing and attention to detail isn't critical. Even so, no matter how careful you are, you will miss stuff. For example changing the name of a character mid story. The comments will let you know in a hurry.
(Ask me how I know this. ) I would strongly recommend editing software. There's lot of good ones out there free or cheap. Find what works for you. Also, after a while you will get a following that you can reach out to for beta readers.

Writing partners are tough. For one thing, Literotica doesn't allow multiple bylines. Second, finding someone who meshes with your style is a challenge all its own. Again, it's a personal decision.

One last thing. Whilst I agree generally about the dangers of portraying gay sex outside of its category, don't let it hobble your storytelling. I write in noncon which is something of a trump category, but I have successfully had scenes of m/m sex and incest. It related to the story and I did warn readers ahead of time. Not to say that it's not petting the rattlesnake, but it can be done.

Good luck!

 

[Archieosullivan]

Oh no! I lost my HOT rating

Guess it was only a matter of time… fun while it lasted

 

[litfan10]

No, ten votes minimum for the Red H, average 4.5.

The fifty votes is (was - it might have changed) for contest eligibility, which is a different thing.

Hey electric. Oops, Thanks for keeping me honest. I believe the last time I was talking about h and votes was in a contest thread - hence my confusion.
Thanks again.