Seeking an editor for a sloooooow burn

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

I'm talkin' slow as in it's likely going to be 300,000 words by the time I finish!

I'm writing an entire season of Hell's Kitchen from the perspective of a contestant within the show. The book is called "Hell's Smitten" and it's available on Wattpad and Archive of our Own currently. I'll post it to literotica as soon as I get word back that I wouldn't be conflicting with any copyrights if I were to turn my story into an original piece rather than a fanfiction and try to have it published.

Obviously, as this is literotica, it's a reader x Gordon Ramsay story. I understand that's not everyone's cuppa tea, but if you think you might be interested in helping me edit my giant hoss of a story, I'd very much appreciate it.

If you don't have time for the whole shebang, even just help editing the smut chapters would be insanely useful.

Oh yes, and this is just a question about literotica in general. Should I post my chapters serially or can I just post everything I have all at once? Which way is best to get more readers?

Thank you so much to anyone who considers assisting!

 

[ElectricBlue]

A big thing like this (approx 80 Lit pages) I'd publish in chapters - twenty or thirty chapters between 3 - 4 Lit pages each - just for ease of navigation. Write it all first, put a note up front that it's a finished series.

Sounds like a true labour of love. Five minutes of Ramsey is enough for me, how you can envisage 300,000 words as erotica beggars belief!

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

A big thing like this (approx 80 Lit pages) I'd publish in chapters - twenty or thirty chapters between 3 - 4 Lit pages each - just for ease of navigation. Write it all first, put a note up front that it's a finished series.

Sounds like a true labour of love. Five minutes of Ramsey is enough for me, how you can envisage 300,000 words as erotica beggars belief!

How many words per lit page? I haven't ever visited this site before. In fact, I haven't read anything but the forums just yet! Someone suggested this as a place to get insight into how to write my smut chapters better since my two regular editors won't touch the smut hah.

It isn't finished though, it's about 60% there at 123k published words. There are 61 chapters thus far.

I like his personality and attitude- I know some people don't, but plenty of people must because I have 30,100 reads on wattpad and 3900 hits on Ao3 ;P

 

[SynSlave]

How many words per lit page? I haven't ever visited this site before. In fact, I haven't read anything but the forums just yet! Someone suggested this as a place to get insight into how to write my smut chapters better since my two regular editors won't touch the smut hah.

It isn't finished though, it's about 60% there at 123k published words. There are 61 chapters thus far.

I like his personality and attitude- I know some people don't, but plenty of people must because I have 30,100 reads on wattpad and 3900 hits on Ao3 ;P

I've been told 3,750 but after publishing I realize now that isn't a hard number. Spacing and word length obviously play a part. Think 3,500 to 4,000 is a good approximation (think I broke 4k from a copy/paste test on another story once).

So 3-4 pages may be approx. 12-15k words, give or take.

Edit: I wouldn't take the 3-4 pages as a hard number for your chapters either - just as a helpful suggestion. Since you've already completed a good amount you'll probably want to rebreak it so it flows to your liking. Chapter X might be 6 pages and Chapter Y might wind up being 2. Quite common from what I've read. Also authors tend to put diaclaimers on chapters of longer works that dont contain any sex.

Still, one of the first stories I ever read on the site was like 30 or 50 pages. It was in the illustrated category even though it contained maybe 5 MS paint diagrams (sci-fi space ark journey is a better description). So it all depends on the audience you're trying to attract.

Shorter chapters work for the mass appeal. A longer read will keep the A.D.D. reader looking for a quickie away. Ask yourself if those people would get bored anyway if you're posting 4 chapters without sex. If every chapter hits that audience though than yeah, break it up into shorter segments.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've been told 3,750 but after publishing I realize now that isn't a hard number. Spacing and word length obviously play a part. Think 3,500 to 4,000 is a good approximation (think I broke 4k from a copy/paste test on another story once).

It's not a hard number, no.

The page size, someone worked out quite authoritatively, is around 10,000 characters. 3,750 words plus or minus 50 - 100 is always a pretty safe rule of thumb (and makes multiples easy - two pages = 7,500 words, four pages = 15,000 words). If you have lots of dialogue and many paragraphs (ie, lots of white space), the typical word count per page drops some.

 

[JLCC]

Regarding chapters, a problem that arises is declining readership. A 7 chapter story I did in Mature leveled off at about 2/3 the readers after the first chapter. One 3 chapter incest story cut in half on chapter 2, half again on chapter 3 despite increasing ratings. Finally, another 2 chapter incest story saw 1/3 the readership on chapter 2.

80 pages all at once? Hmmmm. That might cut your readership anyway.

All I'm saying is, be aware.

Another thing, though. Please let it be a finished story, no matter which way you go. There was one very good story on here, very long, single entry. It wasn't finished, with another chapter to come and it never did. Was worth the read but cursed the author!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Regarding chapters, a problem that arises is declining readership. A 7 chapter story I did in Mature leveled off at about 2/3 the readers after the first chapter. One 3 chapter incest story cut in half on chapter 2, half again on chapter 3 despite increasing ratings. Finally, another 2 chapter incest story saw 1/3 the readership on chapter 2.

80 pages all at once? Hmmmm. That might cut your readership anyway.

All I'm saying is, be aware.

Another thing, though. Please let it be a finished story, no matter which way you go. There was one very good story on here, very long, single entry. It wasn't finished, with another chapter to come and it never did. Was worth the read but cursed the author!

It's not a problem - it's just that chaptered stories allow you to see what your actual Reads vs Views are. Yes, the Views decline from the first chapter to the third (and generally go steady state from then on, through to the end). The same drop most likely happens with stand-alone stories too. Views do NOT equal Reads, and anyone who thinks they do is kidding themselves). Chaptered stories give you better insight into the number of people who actually finish a story. With stand-alone stories, you have no idea.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

Shorter chapters work for the mass appeal. A longer read will keep the A.D.D. reader looking for a quickie away. Ask yourself if those people would get bored anyway if you're posting 4 chapters without sex. If every chapter hits that audience though than yeah, break it up into shorter segments.

There are anywhere from 10-15 chapters between sex happening and currently 61 written chapters. should I break always after the sex so there's at least one happening before a new page?

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

Regarding chapters, a problem that arises is declining readership. A 7 chapter story I did in Mature leveled off at about 2/3 the readers after the first chapter. One 3 chapter incest story cut in half on chapter 2, half again on chapter 3 despite increasing ratings. Finally, another 2 chapter incest story saw 1/3 the readership on chapter 2.

80 pages all at once? Hmmmm. That might cut your readership anyway.

All I'm saying is, be aware.

Another thing, though. Please let it be a finished story, no matter which way you go. There was one very good story on here, very long, single entry. It wasn't finished, with another chapter to come and it never did. Was worth the read but cursed the author!

My story isn't yet finished, but I will finish it. I'd be too upset with myself if I stopped now, lol

So are serialized postings better or all at once? I can post every 2 or 3 days but I wouldn't mind posting the whole thing at once if that's preferable. I just know on wattpad and AO3 that posting serially means I stay at the top of 'new' for longer.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

It's not a problem - it's just that chaptered stories allow you to see what your actual Reads vs Views are. Yes, the Views decline from the first chapter to the third (and generally go steady state from then on, through to the end). The same drop most likely happens with stand-alone stories too. Views do NOT equal Reads, and anyone who thinks they do is kidding themselves). Chaptered stories give you better insight into the number of people who actually finish a story. With stand-alone stories, you have no idea.

I do like seeing my actual read count, stats are wonderful things.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My story isn't yet finished, but I will finish it. I'd be too upset with myself if I stopped now, lol

So are serialized postings better or all at once? I can post every 2 or 3 days but I wouldn't mind posting the whole thing at once if that's preferable. I just know on wattpad and AO3 that posting serially means I stay at the top of 'new' for longer.

If you lodge the whole set together, you can add a note to the editor on the first chapter that you have a monstrous thing of xx chapters, and here they are, all together. Laurel will still need to vett the whole beast, but will have it all from the start. She can then set an automatic release clock running, and they'll come out every 24 hours on the midnight server run. I did that with 103k words over thirteen chapters, and each one was published at exactly the same time each day.

Alternatively, you can run your own release rate, but it won't be as predictable, as Laurel will be vetting each chapter as if it was a stand-alone, and each chapter will be subject to the vagaries of the queue.

As a newbie, be aware that your first up will take longer than the 2-4 days we usually see, so you will need to be patient and DON'T touch anything once it is submitted. Every time you call a chapter back to change that stupid typo you spotted, it goes to the back of the queue, and you'll cock up your chapter sequencing. Be aware also, that once it's published, you cannot edit any content yourself - an edit has to go through the whole process, through Laurel.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There are anywhere from 10-15 chapters between sex happening and currently 61 written chapters. should I break always after the sex so there's at least one happening before a new page?

If your gaps between sex are that long, it's not going to make any difference where you break the chapters. Those readers who want regular sex in their story will have quit long before - they're not going to hang about waiting for action.

Your story telling will need to be of the absolutely first order to keep readers on board that long. Expect high reader drops per chapter, I'd say.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

If you lodge the whole set together, you can add a note to the editor on the first chapter that you have a monstrous thing of xx chapters, and here they are, all together. Laurel will still need to vett the whole beast, but will have it all from the start. She can then set an automatic release clock running, and they'll come out every 24 hours on the midnight server run. I did that with 103k words over thirteen chapters, and each one was published at exactly the same time each day.

Alternatively, you can run your own release rate, but it won't be as predictable, as Laurel will be vetting each chapter as if it was a stand-alone, and each chapter will be subject to the vagaries of the queue.

As a newbie, be aware that your first up will take longer than the 2-4 days we usually see, so you will need to be patient and DON'T touch anything once it is submitted. Every time you call a chapter back to change that stupid typo you spotted, it goes to the back of the queue, and you'll cock up your chapter sequencing. Be aware also, that once it's published, you cannot edit any content yourself - an edit has to go through the whole process, through Laurel.

Cool- thank you so much for the info. I had no idea about any of this. Anything else I should know? I'll try to finish my third round of edits before publishing here, then.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

If your gaps between sex are that long, it's not going to make any difference where you break the chapters. Those readers who want regular sex in their story will have quit long before - they're not going to hang about waiting for action.

Your story telling will need to be of the absolutely first order to keep readers on board that long. Expect high reader drops per chapter, I'd say.

Oh yeah, I don't doubt my storytelling, it's just a slow burn so we have to be ready to strap in for a while. Everyone that has stuck with it is loving where it's at right now. I can't wait to get to the end!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Oh yeah, I don't doubt my storytelling, it's just a slow burn so we have to be ready to strap in for a while. Everyone that has stuck with it is loving where it's at right now. I can't wait to get to the end!

Mind you, it is Gordon Ramsey fan-fic, which is just about the tightest niche I've heard of. How you get 300,000 words out of that is beyond comprehension .

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

Mind you, it is Gordon Ramsey fan-fic, which is just about the tightest niche I've heard of. How you get 300,000 words out of that is beyond comprehension .

Yeah, I know- there are plenty of women who like him though. Enough to have 100 people read my latest chapter within 24 hours of me posting one!

Edit to add: I'm writing an entire television season, so there's quite a bit to write there.

 

[Lit_Zombie]

i like Ramsey. And I'd like to help you.

I really like him. He makes its very clear. If you can't work in my kitchen get out. And I run my apprentices the same way. I even give them names based on first impressions. The one that comes to mind might actually make it to be the president of our Union in twenty years.

I'd be interested in helping to edit this work if you still needed someone.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

I really like him. He makes its very clear. If you can't work in my kitchen get out. And I run my apprentices the same way. I even give them names based on first impressions. The one that comes to mind might actually make it to be the president of our Union in twenty years.

I'd be interested in helping to edit this work if you still needed someone.

That's awesome you like Ramsay! I'll send you a message in a bit, that's awesome you have similar experiences with apprentices. Hopefully you can help me get this down pat.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

Still need an editor, no response back from anyone just yet ^^

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

bumpin

 

[SynSlave]

I've poor availability right now... can't even write right now, just an occasional short read and the forums.. Literally on top of a mountain. Harriman state park, night two. But keep at it and if no one gets to you I'll probably be available to tackle something that large after the weekend.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

I've poor availability right now... can't even write right now, just an occasional short read and the forums.. Literally on top of a mountain. Harriman state park, night two. But keep at it and if no one gets to you I'll probably be available to tackle something that large after the weekend.

That would be amazing! Do you want me to email you just the smut parts or do you wanna read the whole shebang? I can link you to it if you like!

 

[SynSlave]

I'll pm you my email but I'll take the link as well. Get surprisingly good reception at this shelter (lol) but battery is an issue. But might as well send now in case I get a chance sooner than later.

Anyway, like I said I'm rather in a funny position so I'll do what I can when I can, and wouldn't be vexed if you found others to help you in the meantime.

 

[WhatItShouldveBeen]

I'll pm you my email but I'll take the link as well. Get surprisingly good reception at this shelter (lol) but battery is an issue. But might as well send now in case I get a chance sooner than later.

Anyway, like I said I'm rather in a funny position so I'll do what I can when I can, and wouldn't be vexed if you found others to help you in the meantime.

Awesome, thank you so much- I emailed the links to you as well as a doc with the smut in it ^^