Very disappointed

[Heathen Hemmingway]

I've been on Lit for years now and have never had an issue like this before - and i'm very disappointed. I submitted a work recently, and after checking it later I saw it had 28 views before being published. The next day it was rejected, and the reason put was that they suggest I break my paragraphs down to make them smaller. So I checked the new submissions section and I found several stories on the first page with paragraphs that were longer than the ones in my work. Ok, I don't mind walking the walk so I re-edited the work and broke the paragraphs down insto smaller groups of text and then re-submitted the work. It sat there for days untouched with no more views and without being published.

I deleted it, re-submitted it and now it has over 30 views but has yet to be published. What gives? It has been sitting there for over a week now. Does it take a week and over 60 views to decide if a piece is ready for publication?

Anyone willing to give me a straight answer?

 

[TxRad]

I've been on Lit for years now and have never had an issue like this before - and i'm very disappointed. I submitted a work recently, and after checking it later I saw it had 28 views before being published. The next day it was rejected, and the reason put was that they suggest I break my paragraphs down to make them smaller. So I checked the new submissions section and I found several stories on the first page with paragraphs that were longer than the ones in my work. Ok, I don't mind walking the walk so I re-edited the work and broke the paragraphs down insto smaller groups of text and then re-submitted the work. It sat there for days untouched with no more views and without being published.

I deleted it, re-submitted it and now it has over 30 views but has yet to be published. What gives? It has been sitting there for over a week now. Does it take a week and over 60 views to decide if a piece is ready for publication?

Anyone willing to give me a straight answer?

Ok, to start, Laurel was trying to help you. Large blocks of print might be well and good for books but they are hard to read on a back lit screen. Six to eight lines is about it for good reading on a computer.

Normal time for waiting is 3-4 days and with the contest on at the present it could be longer, up to a week.

Editing or resubmitting puts everything to the back of the line. How did you delete the first submission? If you sent it through with "Delete" in the notes then that is going to confuse things even more.

The views while it is pending are either a glitch in the system or bots. The only one who reviews/reads a submission is Laurel the site owner.

I hope this helps.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

That is helpful, thank you - this is the first time in well over ten years this happened, but I am still baffled why it takes over 60 views to determine if a piece can be published. And as for the other works with larger blocks of text that were published - well that's a double standard.

 

[TxRad]

That is helpful, thank you - this is the first time in well over ten years this happened, but I am still baffled why it takes over 60 views to determine if a piece can be published. And as for the other works with larger blocks of text that were published - well that's a double standard.

The 60 views are not views. As I said, they are either a glitch in the system or Bots. No one has clarified which they might be. Laurel is the only one who views submissions and her views are not recorded.

She also reads a hundred stories a day so she has to hurry. Since you have posted stories before she may have remembered your name and thought to tell you about the large blocks being hard to read. Newer readers she might not have taken the time with.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That is helpful, thank you - this is the first time in well over ten years this happened, but I am still baffled why it takes over 60 views to determine if a piece can be published. And as for the other works with larger blocks of text that were published - well that's a double standard.

Like Tx said, those '60 views' aren't meaningful. There's a known glitch that generates spurious views while the story's in the queue.

I've moderated a forum or two in my time, and I can tell you it's impossible for a human mod to be 100% consistent in how they apply rules. The only way to get consistency is a bot, and that has much bigger problems.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

Thank you for the replies - I was under the assumption that there were volunteer editors who checked the submissions. I've been blacklisted on sites before by editors who didn't like my content.

Although it is very frustrating when I have a piece of lit sitting there for a week while other authors have two or three chapters of work published back to back in a day or two. Why sandbag on certain authors and publish several pieces from another?

Oh well, it is what it is. There are other Lit sites out there.

Thanks again,
Chef

 

[PennLady]

Thank you for the replies - I was under the assumption that there were volunteer editors who checked the submissions. I've been blacklisted on sites before by editors who didn't like my content.

Although it is very frustrating when I have a piece of lit sitting there for a week while other authors have two or three chapters of work published back to back in a day or two. Why sandbag on certain authors and publish several pieces from another?

Oh well, it is what it is. There are other Lit sites out there.

Thanks again,
Chef

Hold on. No one gets preferential treatment here, at least not that we know of, although those accusations get tossed around from time to time. If you see an author have stories published on consecutive days, then either they submitted them on sequential days or they submitted a few parts on one day and Laurel is doling them out one per day. If an author gets more than one story published on a day, it could be that one (or more) was delayed a day or two and Laurel is trying to catch up. You as the reader have no idea when things were submitted.

Sometimes, yes, it may take up to a week to get a story published. It happened to me earlier this year, IIRC. You can either wait, or you can send Laurel a PM (private message) to ask her about it. Also, if you are checking your story and hitting "pending" and then "resubmit," you are sending your story to the back of the queue, which means starting over and hence waiting longer.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Nonsense. All those views are gay pets reading your story for homo worship, if the tale fails to reach the quota it gets rejected.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

"No one gets preferential treatment." As a member of over ten years, that is categorically WRONG. Many authors have their works published with glaring flaws while others have their work rejected over minor technicalities. I have sent messages and have not received any responses. And the most frustrating part of all of this - this work I have submitted is the most significant thing I have ever submitted to Literotica.

Don't get the wrong impression, I am grateful for the service Laurel and Manu provide, but don't try to convince me that what I am seeing is not what I am seeing here. I have yet to get a single response in roughly a week. I am really losing my desrie to contribute to Literotica, and I have completed alot of work lately that I (had) intended to submit here.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

Wow, James, did you come up with that all by yourself or do you have someone who writes your material for you? You're a rude asshole with nothing positive to contribute. That's original, very fresh.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Thank you for the replies - I was under the assumption that there were volunteer editors who checked the submissions. I've been blacklisted on sites before by editors who didn't like my content.

Although it is very frustrating when I have a piece of lit sitting there for a week while other authors have two or three chapters of work published back to back in a day or two. Why sandbag on certain authors and publish several pieces from another?

Oh well, it is what it is. There are other Lit sites out there.

Thanks again,
Chef

Hang on, Heathen,

I think you are being a tad hard and also a bit confused about editors.

If you stick to the rules - no under age sex, bestiality or necrophilia, you won't have a content problem.

Again, just like when posted, every click on your submission registers as a 'read', even if a mistake.

Just a point; did you submit directly or by sending an MS doc? MS docs usually take longer to clear.

Yes, as TX said, paragraphs longer than 10 lines are a pain on a rolling, back-lit screen and you will get more readers by avoiding them.

Editors are available thru' the editors' feedback forum, but all the site is doing is just checking your story meets the criteria.

If you want to post quickly, cut and paste, post contest entries and check your paragraph length and punctuation.

Despite your bravado, this is the premier erotic story site by miles and if you are looking for loads of readers - stay here.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

Incorrect - I know the rules and I go by them. I submit in the proper format and I don't click a pending story unless there's a problem. The only time I clicked this pending story was after it was rejected the first time. Go to the new submissions page and click the new submission at the very top. It has several sizeable paragraphs on the first page, and two enormous paragraphs on the second page, yet my work was rejected for having large paragraphs, although they are markedly smaller than the paragraphs of submitted work. That is my entire point. Don't reject one work for something that is allowed on others.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Incorrect - I know the rules and I go by them. I submit in the proper format and I don't click a pending story unless there's a problem. The only time I clicked this pending story was after it was rejected the first time. Go to the new submissions page and click the new submission at the very top. It has several sizeable paragraphs on the first page, and two enormous paragraphs on the second page, yet my work was rejected for having large paragraphs, although they are markedly smaller than the paragraphs of submitted work. That is my entire point. Don't reject one work for something that is allowed on others.

Despite the myth that Laurel reads every submission - impossible as there are now more than 110 per day - you can get variable reviewers. I think, but don't know, that if one person wants to reject a story, for whatever reason, then someone else reviews it. That might explain your problem.

Most people sort it out and Lit must boast the highest number or writers who went on to publishing success.

 

[PennLady]

Despite the myth that Laurel reads every submission - impossible as there are now more than 110 per day - you can get variable reviewers. I think, but don't know, that if one person wants to reject a story, for whatever reason, then someone else reviews it. That might explain your problem.

Most people sort it out and Lit must boast the highest number or writers who went on to publishing success.

How do you know this?

 

[TxRad]

EO, You might want to read this. I've highlighted the part that applies.

Hi writers!

For clarification and future reference: we do allow characters under the age of 18 in stories. What we don't allow are stories in which characters under the age of 18 are involved in sexual situations. This includes as voyeurs, as the object of a voyeur, masturbation, having sexual thoughts, and so on.

We do allow references to past activity in stories so long as it is not explicit. For example, an adult character referencing his or her history - "I lost my virginity when I was 15" - is fine. Explicit and/or salacious details are not.

These are not new rules nor have our content rules changed in many years.

As far as things slipping through: one thing to realize is that the stories are not approved by a robot or script. They are approved by human eyes, which tire easily as I age. Every story must be formatted; tags, title, and description checked; and skimmed for content issues. The daily update takes hours. If I could find a way to do all this properly with a script, I would. But in the last 12+ years, the only way to do things right is to do it by hand, so to speak.

Mistakes happen. The site has been on a huge growth streak in the past year, with readership & unique visitors up nearly 20%. This means a corresponding growth in submissions. We want to post stories to the site as quickly as possible for you authors. We also want to make sure that the updates are as top-quality as they can be - with a minimum of formatting errors and no forbidden content inadvertently posted. Thorough checking of stories and timely posting is a balance we will continue to work to get right.

I'd like to be able to read every story through, but I can't. Reading 100+ stories/novels a night - much less formatting, tagging, etc. - is just not possible. So, if while skimming I see something that sends up a red flag and further reading doesn't clarify things, I often send it back to the author. If I stopped and read through each novel we receive to check on whether an underage character is sexually active at any point, I would be even further behind than I already am.

When a story is sent back to you for any reason, this is not a final rejection and it is not meant to be taken personally. This just means we have issues or questions. You are free to resubmit either with corrections - or, if you think we're wrong, an explanation of why we're wrong in the NOTES field.

If you believe your story was rejected in error, please open the submission, respond to the rejection in the NOTES field of the submission, and hit SUBMIT. Please do not add the word EDITED to the title, as that denotes someone editing an already approved story. Since we process all edits after the new stories are posted, adding the word EDITED to a title will cause a delay in the posting of your new story. If you are submitting an edit of a rejected story, simply open the rejected form, make the changes in that form, and hit SUBMIT. Do not start a new submission.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me anytime. PMs are faster than emails.

Thanks everybody, especially those who let me know about this thread - and have a great weekend!

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

I do not doubt you one bit, but it is certainly interesting that you have two newly published works and an entry to a recent contest. How do other authors get on that fast track?

 

[TxRad]

I do not doubt you one bit, but it is certainly interesting that you have three newly published works and an entry to a recent contest. How do other authors get on that fast track?

The three stories were posted before the contest and posted in 3-4 days after submission. The contest story was posted the next day as contests stories go to the head of the line.

There is no fast track except for contest stories.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Wow, James, did you come up with that all by yourself or do you have someone who writes your material for you? You're a rude asshole with nothing positive to contribute. That's original, very fresh.

I may be rude but my claim is essentially correct. Do this, add a character who struggles with his sexuality and is recruited to THE ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE by a Fairy Godmother. I guarantee it'll float to the top of the stack quicker than a big brown piece of shit floats to the top of a New Orleans flood.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

How do you know this?

As I said, I don't know this but basic logic says that one person cannot read/review 100+ stories per day 7/7.

There must be a team and each person may have slightly different criteria.

PL, be real, no one person could cope with the flood of daily submissions.

 

[Stella_Omega]

As I said, I don't know this but basic logic says that one person cannot read/review 100+ stories per day 7/7.

There must be a team and each person may have slightly different criteria.

PL, be real, no one person could cope with the flood of daily submissions.

Basic logic has no place on literotica.

 

[Heathen Hemmingway]

I may be rude but my claim is essentially correct. Do this, add a character who struggles with his sexuality and is recruited to THE ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE by a Fairy Godmother. I guarantee it'll float to the top of the stack quicker than a big brown piece of shit floats to the top of a New Orleans flood.

Apparently I missed your point - then again when you spout off rude ignorance that is not very cohesive, one should expect that - but I believe your point is that gay lit gets preferential treatment, pretty much every time. I haven't observed that myself, but that doesn't mean that it's not so. You seem to have a vested interest in it, so You Go Girl.

As far as N'awleans is concerned, it can sink for all I care. I remember when those jackals and vultures who lived there went on a looting rampage before Katrina even made landfall. Every news media outlet in the country had been announcing for days that a major hurricane was heading their way. Did they prepare, make plans? Hell no. They waited until the golden moment and went on a looting binge (right alongside the police who participated in the looting). They weren't taking medical supplies and food, no instead it was flat screen tv's and video game consoles, guns and booze - and all this started before the power went out. Does that excuse the countless stupid and avoidable mistakes the government made? Of course not. But on the same token does it make their behavior acceptable? Not at all. So I say we call it even and let Mother Nature wipe that outdoor toilet of a city flat and let the gators and crocs reclaim N'awleans.

 

[PennLady]

Basic logic has no place on literotica.

Or many other places, in my experience.

I have to admit, if they have a team approving stories, I don't see why they keep it secret, or how they could.0

LushStories works that way. They have a number of people approved as moderators who can approve stories and I know this because when my stories are posted there, I get a note with a person's username about it. I have corresponded with them as well. I also know they bounce questionable stories off each other if they aren't sure. It doesn't seem to hurt the site.

So until I have evidence otherwise, not just "you know it must be," then I'll take what Laurel has said at face value.

 

[lovecraft68]

Hold on. No one gets preferential treatment here, at least not that we know of, although those accusations get tossed around from time to time.

Really? Beg to differ there.

The one word that really fits here is inconsistent.

Stories rejected for a certain reason when hundreds just like it can be found, content okay sometimes, but not another time, dialogue tags and issues sometimes are booted back but most of the time allowed.

That, and not the actual reason is what ticks people off. If my story was rejected for say, a certain sex act and I found a shitload of them with the same content I would be pissed too.

But of course no one can ever be upset here can they? This site is never wrong! Ever!

If you don't like it just leave.

Poor Laurel has to read hundreds of stories a night? Boo freakin hoo that is her choice because she does not want to pay anyone to help.

People have a right to gripe when they see what they were "called out for" all over the place.

People balme trolls for people leaving here, personally I think the defenders of the faith are just as much to blame.

heaven forbid someone complains of unfair treatment.

 

[lovecraft68]

As I said, I don't know this but basic logic says that one person cannot read/review 100+ stories per day 7/7.

There must be a team and each person may have slightly different criteria.

PL, be real, no one person could cope with the flood of daily submissions.

Then basic logic dictates you get another pair of eyes involved be it a friend volunteering to help or "gulp" paying someone.

Basic logic dictates you try to appease the authors who write the stories that draw the people to the site

Basic logic dictates that the above statements are basic logic, actually screw basic logic, my MBA would dictate that keeping bread winners happy and spending some money to make more is good business practice.

So yes, basic logic as Stella-one of the more logical members of the site as long as it is agreeable to her mood at the time- says has no room here

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Really? Beg to differ there.

The one word that really fits here is inconsistent.

Stories rejected for a certain reason when hundreds just like it can be found, content okay sometimes, but not another time, dialogue tags and issues sometimes are booted back but most of the time allowed.

That, and not the actual reason is what ticks people off. If my story was rejected for say, a certain sex act and I found a shitload of them with the same content I would be pissed too.

But of course no one can ever be upset here can they? This site is never wrong! Ever!

If you don't like it just leave.

Poor Laurel has to read hundreds of stories a night? Boo freakin hoo that is her choice because she does not want to pay anyone to help.

People have a right to gripe when they see what they were "called out for" all over the place.

People balme trolls for people leaving here, personally I think the defenders of the faith are just as much to blame.

heaven forbid someone complains of unfair treatment.

People come here for entertainment, they dont come here for Stella to stick her finger down their diaper and frown.