Why Do We Give It Away for Free?

[BuckyDuckman]

I'll admit it; feedback is like applause and the performer in me digs that sound.

Still, in the back of my mind, this is a free site and I'm giving away my talents for free, so why? This isn't the first place where I've done this. So, why do you do it? What do you hope to gain from doing it? And what are your limits to what you post? In no particular order, below are my reasons for doing it. What are yours?

Why I do it:

• It feels like good practice for my writing muscle. Writers write, so if I'm not writing, how can I call myself a writer?
• This gives me a place to share the things I'm pretty sure would never sell.
• Feedback and voting feel like applause.
• It allows me a forum to explore different voices, different POVs. Most of what I post is in the third person, because that's a POV where I struggle.
• There's a hidden political agenda to my writing. Not red state versus blue state, but a genuine desire to see a more open and accepting society.

As for what I hope might happen...

• Writing erotica has gotten me laid. Strange, but true. Not often, but it HAS happened.
• I've met some really fun, open minded people writing erotica.
• I'm foolish enough to hope that one day, a publisher (or someone with publisher connections) is going to stumble upon my erotica and offer to publish me, leading to fame, fortune, a mansion with hot and cold running blondes in every room...

The limits of my effort...

• I barely proofread anything I post.
• I seldom re-write, though I do edit heavily during the writing process.
• Most everything I post is a "one and done" effort
• In the back of my mind, I'm always carrying the thought, "This is free shit being posted on a free website. Fuck it. No stress!"

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I dont.

LIT is a lot like tossing your stuff into the acres of crap at the county landfill. As a reader the colossal pile of crap is too much to deal with, as a writer theres little to be gained.

 

[Safe_Bet]

Oh, bullshit!

Dude, like I said in the other thread, you give it away for free because NOBODY would read it otherwise. Fact facts: it ain't that good!

As for your statements to the regards that you "don't bother to do your best cuz it's for free" = double bullshit! If you bother enough to wire it, it's cuz you want the accolades. You are simply justifying in your own mind why you aren't getting them. Try improving your writing instead, dude. It will get you farther!


@ JBJ: you've NEVER written shit ANYWHERE! If so, either prove it or STFU.

 

[TxRad]

I dont.

LIT is a lot like tossing your stuff into the acres of crap at the county landfill. As a reader the colossal pile of crap is too much to deal with, as a writer theres little to be gained.

This shows just how little you know about actually writing something.

New writers need a place to test the waters and this is one of the best.

You talk a lot about what you read but show nothing of how you write.

So, put up or shut up.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'll admit it; feedback is like applause and the performer in me digs that sound.

Still, in the back of my mind, this is a free site and I'm giving away my talents for free, so why? This isn't the first place where I've done this. So, why do you do it? What do you hope to gain from doing it? And what are your limits to what you post? In no particular order, below are my reasons for doing it. What are yours?

Why I do it:

• It feels like good practice for my writing muscle. Writers write, so if I'm not writing, how can I call myself a writer?
• This gives me a place to share the things I'm pretty sure would never sell.
• Feedback and voting feel like applause.
• It allows me a forum to explore different voices, different POVs. Most of what I post is in the third person, because that's a POV where I struggle.
• There's a hidden political agenda to my writing. Not red state versus blue state, but a genuine desire to see a more open and accepting society.

As for what I hope might happen...

• Writing erotica has gotten me laid. Strange, but true. Not often, but it HAS happened.
• I've met some really fun, open minded people writing erotica.
• I'm foolish enough to hope that one day, a publisher (or someone with publisher connections) is going to stumble upon my erotica and offer to publish me, leading to fame, fortune, a mansion with hot and cold running blondes in every room...

The limits of my effort...

• I barely proofread anything I post.
• I seldom re-write, though I do edit heavily during the writing process.
• Most everything I post is a "one and done" effort
• In the back of my mind, I'm always carrying the thought, "This is free shit being posted on a free website. Fuck it. No stress!"

I started writing here because I read here first and thought that I could do better. At least in the incest category.

Mostly I put stuff here to see if I can get feedback. I also mean constructive negative feedback where people point out what could be done better.

The main thing lit did for me when I posted my series was give me some focus. If I were on my own I would not have finished my series. But when you receive a ton of e-mails every week asking for the next chapter, it keeps you locked in.

I also have gotten much better since I started, a lot of that is practice, but a lot came from these threads. Listening to people who have doing it longer.

I've started selling a few things, but no publisher is going to pick you up here. You have to go to them. In the meantime don;t put up your best stuff, or best version as this site is a grocery cart for the pirates.

 

[Safe_Bet]

This shows just how little you know about actually writing something.

New writers need a place to test the waters and this is one of the best.

You talk a lot about what you read but show nothing of how you write.

So, put up or shut up.

Great minds think alike, huh???

 

[TxRad]

I started writing here because I read here first and thought that I could do better. At least in the incest category.

Mostly I put stuff here to see if I can get feedback. I also mean constructive negative feedback where people point out what could be done better.

The main thing lit did for me when I posted my series was give me some focus. If I were on my own I would not have finished my series. But when you receive a ton of e-mails every week asking for the next chapter, it keeps you locked in.

I also have gotten much better since I started, a lot of that is practice, but a lot came from these threads. Listening to people who have doing it longer.

I've started selling a few things, but no publisher is going to pick you up here. You have to go to them. In the meantime don;t put up your best stuff, or best version as this site is a grocery cart for the pirates.

Wrong!

I know of at least three writers here that have ended up with mainstream book deals from just one company. I'm one of them. An editor who reads here saw a non erotic piece I did and got in touch. I thought it was a joke at first but five books later, i can tell you it is not a joke.

 

[lovecraft68]

Wrong!

I know of at least three writers here that have ended up with mainstream book deals from just one company. I'm one of them. An editor who reads here saw a non erotic piece I did and got in touch. I thought it was a joke at first but five books later, i can tell you it is not a joke.

Okay, so I will change it to few and far between.

 

[TxRad]

Okay, so I will change it to few and far between.

You never know who reads here. You also never know who writes here.

 

[lovecraft68]

You never know who reads here. You also never know who writes here.

But we know who does not write here. JB, the one who somehow is always the first to respond.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Wrong!

I know of at least three writers here that have ended up with mainstream book deals from just one company. I'm one of them. An editor who reads here saw a non erotic piece I did and got in touch. I thought it was a joke at first but five books later, i can tell you it is not a joke.

That's encouraging.

As for going TO the publishers as lovecraft68 suggests: I'm all for that, too. I've earned plenty of by-lines and paychecks for my writing in the past, writing for Penthouse Forum and the like before the internet absorbed that market with sites like this one. (No hate, it's life.) And, as lovecraft68 suggests, I'm against putting my best stuff out here for free when I have a greater interest in exploring the e-market.

And as for my favorite troll with a name, Safe_Bet - As for being a hack that nobody would read, I have just over a quarter of a million page views that suggests otherwise. For three months and a dozen stories posted on this site, I'll take that applause. Meanwhile, I can't believe you didn't pick out some of the juicier fodder I gave you. You completely missed trying to call me out on getting laid because of my writing.

 

[Darkniciad]

Simple. Because I'm not good enough to charge people real money for my drivel, and never will be. *laugh*

Why am I posting here? My babydoll nagged me to put the story I'd been writing for her for a while up where other people could read it. She enjoyed it so much that she wanted to share. The feedback and pulling people into my old gaming world are the primary motivators, with the challenge of playing around in new categories as a side motivator.

My stuff has gone full circle now. My writing had its genesis in the game, and now, readers are taking things from my writing and putting them into their games. Knowing that my characters are walking new worlds makes it all worthwhile.

 

[lovecraft68]

Simple. Because I'm not good enough to charge people real money for my drivel, and never will be. *laugh*

Why am I posting here? My babydoll nagged me to put the story I'd been writing for her for a while up where other people could read it. She enjoyed it so much that she wanted to share. The feedback and pulling people into my old gaming world are the primary motivators, with the challenge of playing around in new categories as a side motivator.

My stuff has gone full circle now. My writing had its genesis in the game, and now, readers are taking things from my writing and putting them into their games. Knowing that my characters are walking new worlds makes it all worthwhile.

Hey that worked damn well for Lovecraft. Authors like Bloch and Howard borrowed and then added to his mythos, people are still doing that today.

As for making a few buck on your work. Have you seen some of what is on Smashwords?

oh, and by the way Babydoll? That's cute. I love pet names. I've been calling my wife green eyes for years. Mostly because she refused to tell me her name the first few times I hit on her and tha.ts all I called her, now she likes it.

 

[Darkniciad]

I've been solicited four times -- and once by a reputable publisher that I didn't even need to research to know would play straight -- but I've always turned it down.

"It's better than some of the crap people are charging for" just isn't enough for me. There are a few like my Magic of the Wood series where I might consider it, but I always come to a "Bah..." point and go back to writing the next story.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've been solicited four times -- and once by a reputable publisher that I didn't even need to research to know would play straight -- but I've always turned it down.

"It's better than some of the crap people are charging for" just isn't enough for me. There are a few like my Magic of the Wood series where I might consider it, but I always come to a "Bah..." point and go back to writing the next story.

That comment probably just pissed off people here who would kill to have a publisher contact them.

It's like that theory that when you're married the hot women want you. when you're single they'll smack you.

Then again that was always what I wanted them to do.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

But we know who does not write here. JB, the one who somehow is always the first to respond.

LOVEBOAT is PILOTS echo. What else does your daddy say, LOVEBOAT?

 

[BuckyDuckman]

That comment probably just pissed off people here who would kill to have a publisher contact them.

It's like that theory that when you're married the hot women want you. when you're single they'll smack you.

Then again that was always what I wanted them to do.

I don't know, it makes some sense, too. There are surely others who can speak to this better than me, since my success has always been in the short story market rather than novels. But working with an editor can be frustrating. Elements you like sometimes have to go. Turns of a phrase you might have liked get changed for clarity instead of "artistic integrity." The re-writes can be more frustrating than writing it in the first place!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Wrong!

I know of at least three writers here that have ended up with mainstream book deals from just one company. I'm one of them. An editor who reads here saw a non erotic piece I did and got in touch. I thought it was a joke at first but five books later, i can tell you it is not a joke.

Thats cuz your stuff is good (most of it).

 

[lovecraft68]

LOVEBOAT is PILOTS echo. What else does your daddy say, LOVEBOAT?

He tells me to stay away from your daughters, but I was never one to listen.

And I don't echo Pilot, he doesn't need an echo he just keeps repeating himself until he thinks someone heard him.

 

[sr71plt]

I don't write erotica for free anymore. With the exception of some contest stories, I'm no longer posting to Lit. and other free sites until after the story's been in the marketplace for several months.

That said, I started posting erotica to free sites because I enjoyed writing it and wanted to share it, but, as a mainstream author already, I didn't want to have any links between me and it. And, as others apparently have experienced, I've been picked up by erotica publishers from here.

I think just enjoying writing and posting it here is enough of a justification for anyone who wants to do it, though.

 

[Darkniciad]

That comment probably just pissed off people here who would kill to have a publisher contact them.

Three of them were dodgy at best. I think I've seen where one of them has panned out for someone else, but oh well. The fourth was incredibly tempting, but editing stuff ( especially 500k+ words of Danica, which was one of the stories on the table ) to publishing standards put me off it.

There are things I do that I know don't follow CMS, and stylistic things that I refuse to change that publishers frown on. Just too much work

* Such as "that" which everyone says can almost always be removed, but looks stupid to me when I do it, so I don't

 

[lovecraft68]

Three of them were dodgy at best. I think I've seen where one of them has panned out for someone else, but oh well. The fourth was incredibly tempting, but editing stuff ( especially 500k+ words of Danica, which was one of the stories on the table ) to publishing standards put me off it.

There are things I do that I know don't follow CMS, and stylistic things that I refuse to change that publishers frown on. Just too much work

* Such as "that" which everyone says can almost always be removed, but looks stupid to me when I do it, so I don't

Not everyone is out for a buck, if you enjoy your writing, best off to keep it fun.

I made the mistake of starting the comic book store figuring it was a dream come true. After 5 years of seeing comics as nothing but dollar signs and seeing the industry from the inside I would just as soon burn them as look at them.

 

[TxRad]

Not everyone is out for a buck, if you enjoy your writing, best off to keep it fun.

I made the mistake of starting the comic book store figuring it was a dream come true. After 5 years of seeing comics as nothing but dollar signs and seeing the industry from the inside I would just as soon burn them as look at them.

My writing that gets posted here anymore is the fun stuff. Everything else is a job. A job I love but still work and not the play it started out as.

 

[Darkniciad]

Not everyone is out for a buck, if you enjoy your writing, best off to keep it fun.

I made the mistake of starting the comic book store figuring it was a dream come true. After 5 years of seeing comics as nothing but dollar signs and seeing the industry from the inside I would just as soon burn them as look at them.

And then they crashed the industry on top of it with endless mega-crossovers, "collector's editions", multiple covers, and steadily skyrocketing prices.

Glad I sold some of mine back in the day before the crash. Bought my first computer on the back of about 30 issues of Transformers and some Spider-Man, and made the down payment on my first car with some old Spider-Man and a couple of much-sought Wolverine appearances.

Alas for the day when those boxes were a nearly infinite piggy-bank that I could always fall back on. The lot of them probably wouldn't bring what I was getting for a handful at a time back then.

 

[lovecraft68]

And then they crashed the industry on top of it with endless mega-crossovers, "collector's editions", multiple covers, and steadily skyrocketing prices.

Glad I sold some of mine back in the day before the crash. Bought my first computer on the back of about 30 issues of Transformers and some Spider-Man, and made the down payment on my first car with some old Spider-Man and a couple of much-sought Wolverine appearances.

Alas for the day when those boxes were a nearly infinite piggy-bank that I could always fall back on. The lot of them probably wouldn't bring what I was getting for a handful at a time back then.

Yup, you got it. In a failing economy Marve/ DC were making it so to follow a story you had to buy across the board. Never mind nothing but rehashes and do overs and no original characters.

You must have sold at the right time to do well with those books. E-bay has watered the market down big time.

I have a safe deposit box with about 65 original golden age EC comics many in decent grade. Last appraisal had them around 28k. being from the 50's they are one of the few things that will keep going up.