Should I publish to Literotica?

[ShelbyDawn57]

I suspect there are a lot more suffering in silence than you realize.

I read a lot of the threads about the Pending issue and realized I wasn't alone, so I didn't actually post anything about my own delays for over a month. Then, when I did, I got lambasted for mentioning that I'm autistic and talking about the studies showing that AI detection has more problems with stuff written by people on the spectrum. Between what happened to me and other abusive comments on the topic, I can understand why people who come here because of the Pending issue choose to remain silent once they determine it's not just them. Then you have the ones who either don't know about the forums or are not interested in them, and the ones who went the bug report route and moved on.

Also, I've had a few authors that I enjoy have multiple stories posted in a single day, despite them never posting stories close together before. I haven't seen them on the forums, but I would bet that they experienced the Pending delays. Sure, it's possible that they just suddenly changed their patterns and submitted multiple stories at once. It's simply not probable.

TL;DR -> It's pointless to speculate how widespread the issue is since we have no access to hard data.

But we'll continue to do it anyway, some claiming sone kind of savant level understanding of the goings on inside a box none of us can see into, others just wanting their frustration to be heard and a few just wanting to bitch and complain into the echo chamber because it's their nature.

The truth is probably similar to what I face everyday. Users entering issues to be fixed yesterday and not understanding that resources are limited. Their request, complaints are triaged and put in a queue based on severity and criticalness and dealt with accordingly.
To the user, or author, that issue is always critical and always priority 1. To the team dealing with the issues, it's just one of dozens that have to be mitigated based on resources available.

Expectation versus performance, Our expectations versus Laurel and Manu's performance. Their team is small, we all know that, and yet, we expect them to perform to OUR expectations while having no idea what the real demand on their time is or what their priorities are. Sure, it's easy to say we are their product and they should kowtow to our vanity, but the reality is far different, we are one of what, thousands, all screaming for the same things.

We can't manage their performance and they, from all evidence , are not going to let us see inside the box. Why should they? What we can do is mitigate our expectations, accepting that this is their business and they are very vested in its continued success(we hope). To me that says they are doing everything they can with the recourses they have to get the job done.

I can't tell anyone to stop bitching and complaining, but I would offer it could be done with a little more understanding and less spite and vitriol.

Just my two cents.

 

[iwatchus]

I was unaware.

What are you referring to?

She replied to a few people over the screw up with Shelby’s story. There was another one a few days ago. Almost like the good old days in the early summer when she only usually ignored messages

 

[TarnishedPenny]

@ShelbyDawn57 - What you say is quite correct. I think however that things would be seen in a much more understanding light if Laurel and Manu were a bit more open. People, in my experience, will put up with almost anything if they know what’s going on. The unknown is always seed for confusion, doubt, rumour and conflict.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, after all, I am so very, extraordinarily exceptional, they should take care of me first.

But we'll continue to do it anyway, some claiming sone kind of savant level understanding of the goings on inside a box none of us can see into, others just wanting their frustration to be heard and a few just wanting to bitch and complain into the echo chamber because it's their nature.

The truth is probably similar to what I face everyday. Users entering issues to be fixed yesterday and not understanding that resources are limited. Their request, complaints are triaged and put in a queue based on severity and criticalness and dealt with accordingly.
To the user, or author, that issue is always critical and always priority 1. To the team dealing with the issues, it's just one of dozens that have to be mitigated based on resources available.

Expectation versus performance, Our expectations versus Laurel and Manu's performance. Their team is small, we all know that, and yet, we expect them to perform to OUR expectations while having no idea what the real demand on their time is or what their priorities are. Sure, it's easy to say we are their product and they should kowtow to our vanity, but the reality is far different, we are one of what, thousands, all screaming for the same things.

We can't manage their performance and they, from all evidence , are not going to let us see inside the box. Why should they? What we can do is mitigate our expectations, accepting that this is their business and they are very vested in its continued success(we hope). To me that says they are doing everything they can with the recourses they have to get the job done.

I can't tell anyone to stop bitching and complaining, but I would offer it could be done with a little more understanding and less spite and vitriol.

Just my two cents.

EDIT:

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Well, after all, I am so very, extraordinarily exceptional, they should take care of me first.

EDIT:

Aren't we all?

(In your case I do tend to agree, but don't tell anyone I said that.)

 

[MillieDynamite]

Why, yes, @ShelbyDawn57, I've always maintained that view of all of us as very special writers.

Aren't we all?

(In your case I do tend to agree, but don't tell anyone I said that.)

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

@ShelbyDawn57 - What you say is quite correct. I think however that things would be seen in a much more understanding light if Laurel and Manu were a bit more open. People, in my experience, will put up with almost anything if they know what’s going on. The unknown is always seed for confusion, doubt, rumour and conflict.

You're correct, but again, resources vs requests. They get to decide, and how many times and ways can you tell someone adamant that their work wasn't AI generated that, well, you know, it kind of looks like to to me, before it's just not worth answering the question anymore?

 

[MillieDynamite]

And since they can't or won't tell you what's causing the flag, you're kinda gonna have to make guesses, I guess.

You're correct, but again, resources vs requests. They get to decide, and how many times and ways can you tell someone adamant that their work wasn't AI generated that, well, you know, it kind of looks like to to me, before it's just not worth answering the question anymore?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

And since they can't or won't tell you what's causing the flag, you're kinda gonna have to make guesses, I guess.

Like the bogus vote sweep thing, if they tell you what's broke, then you'll know how to get past the test; chicken meet egg...

EDIT: And as for the AI thing, they probably automate that and don't even know why any one story was rejected, or that a specific story was rejected until someone complains that they really didn't us an AI to write a story based on The Story of O...

 

[SimonDoom]

There's certainly no downside to trying it. Submit a story. See how it goes. You will learn far more about the answer to your question than you will ever learn in this thread.

 

[cw5523729]

And since they can't or won't tell you what's causing the flag, you're kinda gonna have to make guesses, I guess.

To play Devil's Advocate, if they are flagging stories for content they don't want (Like AI generated BS) and specifically say: "This is the exact list of criteria that our software looks for to flag stories", then you might as well just tell everyone how to skirt the system.

edit: oops, like @ShelbyDawn57 said 2 posts before me.

 

[yowser]

You've certainly got a range of opinions, which I think is fairly representative. I've been here awhile, and like all internet entities, there are various ups and downs of running a site. For many, especially newer folks, it feels like a low point, with more technical issues than usual. The question you pose is really up to you, and not knowing what your writing motivations are, most of us aren't going to be able to give you adequate advice.

I think participation in a free site like this is relatively low risk. Frustration is possible (and please someone tell me they haven't been frustrated in some other internet situation) but the opportunity to get your creative efforts out there, for your own growth, and have an audience of one sort or another, is worth it, and continues to be worth it, for a remarkably sizable number of writers.

I don't see a real downside to not going for it, but I'm sure you'll take what is offered here and make a choice. I say 'play ball,'

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Like the bogus vote sweep thing, if they tell you what's broke, then you'll know how to get past the test; chicken meet egg...

EDIT: And as for the AI thing, they probably automate that and don't even know why any one story was rejected, or that a specific story was rejected until someone complains that they really didn't us an AI to write a story based on The Story of O...

And is the vote sweep bogus, or are they just not getting the result they want...

 

[cw5523729]

And is the vote sweep bogus, or are they just not getting the result they want...

That's exactly what I'd expect a Bomb Apologist™ to say

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

And is the vote sweep bogus, or are they just not getting the result they want...

Sweep for bogus votes, not bogus sweep... bad wording on my part... should have hyphenated. bogus-vote sweep.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I pulled a random 5000 words from the third chapter of Dracula and it only came in at 92% human. So, Bram Stoker isn't a good enough writer to publish here, he uses AI.

 

[CalBishForNow]

I've published 25 stories here over the past 13 months or so. I've had no technical problems, although I realize lots of people have and I've probably just been lucky. As for other stuff about it:

1. The community here in the Author's Hangout is awesome overall. Friendly, helpful, etc.
2. The audience is big. I can't compare it to other sites from experience, but you can get a thousand views on stories without even trying, even in small categories. If you want to search for threads about the numbers, I'm pretty sure people have found that they're ten times what authors can get for the same story on some other popular sites.
3. The feedback from and engagement by the audience varies by category, but it's there if you want it, especially in certain categories. You might ignore responses, or you might see them as a more meaningful kind of readership than the number that just views and moves on, or you might view them as a way to improve your craft of writing. Again, others have put more time into quantifying this stuff than I have.

As for authors being treated poorly, the technical issues have already been discussed thoroughly. Some readers' comments are kind, some aren't. Some criticism is constructive, some isn't. A thick skin is important if you're writing in some categories (and is may be useful in all categories, now and then, and in real life). It's up to you how much that matters.

But in the end, you're getting published for free. Literotica makes its money in advertising, click-through links, and some sales, I'm not even sure. We writers provide the free content that brings in viewers for all that. We get paid in approbation (sometimes) and a slight chance to hype anything we might want to publish elsewhere. Keep expectations realistic.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The long format software, anything 2000 words or longer, doesn't break down what is or isn't suspected of being AI, they just give a percentage.

To play Devil's Advocate, if they are flagging stories for content they don't want (Like AI generated BS) and specifically say: "This is the exact list of criteria that our software looks for to flag stories", then you might as well just tell everyone how to skirt the system.

edit: oops, like @ShelbyDawn57 said 2 posts before me.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I pulled a random 5000 words from the third chapter of Dracula and it only came in at 92% human. So, Bram Stoker isn't a good enough writer to publish here, he uses AI.

Vampires, undead, only 92% human, I'll buy that.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Vampires, undead, only 92% human, I'll buy that.

Obviously....

 

[SmilingLez]

Hi all, I thought literotica might be the right place to post a dark fantasy smut of mine, but after looking at some of the things people are saying on the forums I'm not so sure anymore. Just seeing people saying stuff like they're leaving the site because it treats authors poorly, bad author/admin relations, stuff like that.

Can someone please explain to me in better detail the issues these people (or yourselves) are having with literotica as authors, anything that might lead someone like me think I'd better not publish here? Or, if what I've been hearing isn't true, I'd like to hear about that too.

Basically, I'm just looking for more info to help me make an informed decision whether publishing here is a good idea. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies

Simplest answer - publish on multiple platforms for the most eyes

 

[SimonDoom]

My basic response to this thread, as it is to so many other threads that have posted recently, is that there is WAY too much fretting over doing things and not enough just doing them.

There's too much fear and tentativeness. It's starting to become pervasive in the AH forum, and as is obvious from the original post in this thread, the attitude is affecting new contributors.

Just write and publish your stories. See what happens. Don't get needy about positive feedback. Wear your big pants. Learn from the interaction and the feedback.

185 new stories were published at Literotica today. This number is more or less consistent with the numbers I've seen since I started monitoring them a few weeks ago. That doesn't sound like a system that has broken down. By any objective measure, that's an extraordinary number of new stories.

You may have to wait. There seems to be a bottleneck. Nobody knows exactly why. The Site isn't going to go out of its way to explain it to you, either. If I could wave a wand and make these things change, I would, but I can't, so I don't fret about it.

But once you get that story published it's going to have a bigger readership than it will have anywhere else, probably.

Just do it and stop thinking about it.

 

[cw5523729]

Just write and publish your stories. See what happens. Don't get needy about positive feedback. Wear your big pants. Learn from the interaction and the feedback.

That's it, you're no longer welcome in my tent-fort safe space.

 

[crookedletter]

If you find a better place, by all means, post there, and let us know where it is. Otherwise I'd say give it a shot, and find your backup plan if it doesn't work.

Whatever its flaws, this place has a large and active community of readers. If you manage to get a story posted here, it'll get eyeballs on it. That's more than can be said for a lot of alternative avenues for fiction.

 

[cw5523729]

1. The audience is big. I can't compare it to other sites from experience, but you can get a thousand views on stories without even trying, even in small categories. If you want to search for threads about the numbers, I'm pretty sure people have found that they're ten times what authors can get for the same story on some other popular sites.

I published a story on here and on a different site -

Here the story is currently at 105k views for all parts. The other site is at 1.7k views. So, a bit over 1% of the traffic Literotica gets.