Questions to consider when looking at alternative publishing platforms

[Actingup]

Some authors have been discussing moving elsewhere to publish given recent difficulties, and some have recently been approached directly to make such a move. After some offline discussion, I thought it might be useful to start a thread to talk about the due diligence questions that could be considered if you’re thinking about moving. This thread isn’t so much for debating the overall merits of publishing elsewhere, but to raise issues for authors to be considering. Please feel free to add to what might become a long list! I hope to edit the list of questions below based on feedback.

1. What are your priorities?
   What matters most to you, and does the site align with that? What is the primary focus of the site? Is it general fiction that accepts erotica? Fan fiction that also accepts original works? Or is it primarily an erotica site?
2. Who is running the site?
   What country are they in? Are they subject to any applicable laws? What is their reputation, or their track record?
3. Show us the money trail.
   Remember that if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. Is the site raising money through advertising (like Literotica), or another means? If it’s a volunteer effort, it’s unsustainable. If it’s free for now, do they plan to make you or users pay later?
4. What are the copyright rules?
   Will your work be protected? Will you find it being resold on Amazon or elsewhere and discover that you’ve given up your rights to the work?
5. What are the AI rules?
   Does the site publish AI stories? Is your work likely to be used to train AI?
6. What is the user base like?
   Will anybody actually read your stories?
7. What is the user culture like?
   Will you be abused? Do you have any protections? Are other people supportive? Is there a sense of community?
8. Can you edit your stories once published? Can you delete your stories once published?
   Even blockbusters go to print and then need corrections made.
9. What is the user interface like?
   Smooth, slick and a wonderful user experience, or the modern equivalent of punch cards? How does discoverability work? How are stories segmented or categorized? Will your stories disappear into oblivion after a few days? What tools do users have to find new stories? Is there a Series feature, and if so how does it work?
10. What is the back-end like?
    What Content Management System (CMS) is being used, how old is the CMS, how often is it updated/maintained?
11. How long does it take for stories to be published?
    It's a bit of a trigger point on Literotica, but the grass is not always greener elsewhere. And how is the site quality maintained if there isn't any gatekeeping?
12. Are you comfortable with being associated with the site?
    If the site publishes content that you’re very uncomfortable with or that is illegal, are you happy to be associated with it?
13. Does the site protect your anonymity? Are your details secure?
    “Some pretty nice stories you got there, Miss. Be a shame if somebody sent them to your boss.”
14. What information are you required to give the site in order to submit?
    Is there a verification process, and are any features gated behind verification?

 

[YmaOHyd]

I'd add: what are your priorities? What matters most to you?

In my case, #9 is a lot more important than #8. One of the most-used tags on AO3 is "Underage." I'm never going to publish on AO3 as a result, even if the alternative is a terrible no-good awful very bad CMS somewhere else.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I expect site owners to be able to monetize their efforts. It's none of my business how they make that money.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Another question: can you delete your stories once published?

 

[Voboy]

Subscribed.

 

[YmaOHyd]

What information are you required to give the site in order to submit? Is there a verification process, and are any features gated behind verification?

 

[Actingup]

I'd add: what are your priorities? What matters most to you?

Thanks - I've edited to add your questions

I expect site owners to be able to monetize their efforts. It's none of my business how they make that money.

What if the way that they do that gets in your face or compromises you in some way?

 

[SmilingLez]

I would add to your list - what cms is being used, how old is the cms, how often is it updated/maintained, submit to post time

 

[Actingup]

I would add to your list - what cms is being used, how old is the cms, how often is it updated/maintained, submit to post time

Thanks - I've worked those into the list (I'm combining into existing questions where I can, but I think the 'submit to post time' is worth a separate question, and I put the CMS into the user experience question).

 

[MillieDynamite]

I don't know how Lit makes its money other than from the advertising. I'm really not all that enamored with them sending people to chat sites to talk to girls so they can get off, but again, it isn't my business. If they are engaged in illegal activities, I wouldn't want to be on that site. But how would I know about it? And to be honest, I'm not entirely happy with Amazon's income flow or the bullying tactics regarding not being able to advertise erotic stories, nor their KDP exclusive rules on not having your stories elsewhere, but it doesn't stop me from publishing there.

Thanks - I've edited to add your questions

What if the way that they do that gets in your face or compromises you in some way?

 

[SmilingLez]

Thanks - I've worked those into the list (I'm combining into existing questions where I can, but I think the 'submit to post time' is worth a separate question, and I put the CMS into the user experience question).

Actually the CMS is most important for the author. You don't want your work to end up in pending purgatory

 

[YmaOHyd]

What is the primary focus of the site? Is it general fiction that accepts erotica? Fan fiction that also accepts original works? Or is it primarily an erotica site?

How does discoverability work? How are stories segmented or categorized? What tools do users have to find new stories? Is there a Series feature, and if so how does it work?

 

[DEFCOM5]

“Some pretty nice stories you got there, Miss. Be a shame if somebody sent them to your boss.”

I am sure this is a story that had been written more than one in R/NC

 

[MillieDynamite]

As for me, I haven't said I would move elsewhere. I'm here and on two other free sites, with no interest in publishing on any other free sites. I'm unhappy about some individual things here, and at this time, not willing to rework stories that I've been selling elsewhere to get through here. But, I'll will try again with new stories when I'm ready to and hope they go through. If not, well, there's always another story, another time down the road.

 

[Actingup]

Actually the CMS is most important for the author. You don't want your work to end up in pending purgatory

ok - I've separated out to include a separate point on the back-end - hopefully the wording is okay as that's not my area

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Timely. Thanks.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

#Can your stories be found?

I think this is an important aspect. Lit has a large readership, and it's one of the reasons why we publish here. Likely the most important.

But the high number of stories means that any new story quickly gets buried under the tide of even newer ones. So unless you have a huge following, or you publish stories weekly and thus keep the attention of readership, any story quickly fades into anonimity.

Categories and tags can help with that, but they can also have an opposite effect, especially on stories that touch on many themes.

So for me, story visibility would be one of the most important factors in choosing a website.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

One of the most-used tags on AO3 is "Underage." I'm never going to publish on AO3 as a result, even if the alternative is a terrible no-good awful very bad CMS somewhere else.

What exactly is AO3's 'underage'? That tag is used a lot on AO3 as a precautionary because of the amount of manga, cartoon and youth TV fan fiction. Here it refers to the ridiculously repressive Californian standard, but where I am (and in many other US states) sex at 16 certainly isn't underage. For my friends over the Channel in France, they're good to go at 14. At least the AO3 tagging gives you a warning if you're likely to trigger because a 17y 364d old character is sat in a van down Lovers' Lane waiting for midnight (which would get a rejection or worse here).

Edited: so that no more skim-reading trolls get triggered by taking a single word out of context.

 

[ElectricBlue]

What exactly is 'underage'? That tag is used a lot on AO3 as a precautionary because of the amount of manga, cartoon and youth TV fan fiction. Here it refers to the ridiculously repressive Californian standard, but where I am (and in many other US states) sex at 16 certainly isn't underage. For my friends over the Channel in France, they're good to go at 14. At least the AO3 tagging gives you a warning if you're likely to trigger because a 17y 364d old character is sat in a van down Lovers' Lane waiting for midnight (which would get a rejection or worse here).

On Lit, the line in the sand is eighteen years old.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

Understood, but that wasn't what my post discussed - which was why a warning tag was so common elsewhere. Take the context from YmaOHyd's post and read mine a little more thoroughly.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Understood, but that wasn't what my post discussed - which was why a warning tag was so common elsewhere. Take the context from YmaOHyd's post and read mine a little more thoroughly.

You asked "what exactly is underage?" Here on Lit, it's no sexual content under eighteen. Full stop.

What other sites do, what the law is, what reality is - they're all irrelevant if you want to publish content here.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

I asked YmaOHyd that question in the context of the original post. About AO3. About a choice not to publish there. I know exactly what Laurel's position is, thank you. Here's an egg, suck it and you might not get triggered by things you haven't read properly.

 

[Actingup]

#Can your stories be found?

I think this is an important aspect. Lit has a large readership, and it's one of the reasons why we publish here. Likely the most important.

But the high number of stories means that any new story quickly gets buried under the tide of even newer ones. So unless you have a huge following, or you publish stories weekly and thus keep the attention of readership, any story quickly fades into anonimity.

Categories and tags can help with that, but they can also have an opposite effect, especially on stories that touch on many themes.

So for me, story visibility would be one of the most important factors in choosing a website.

Thanks - I've tried to work that into 'user interface', although there's probably a better way to put it. This is definitely an issue on Literotica, although with so many writers competing for attention and so many stories, I'm not sure what the solutions are.