First time Author hints

[MiaBabe23]

No one has said that. That is inaccurate. No one has used that tone and no one has used exclaimation points, except for EB who did actually agree on one point with an exclaimation point. So not only is your assertion inaccurate, it's the opposite of the actual truth.



In this case, the point that the OP made about font was flatly inaccurate. To simply deflect from it would mislead other newer members into believing that changing the font might actually be possible. The OP was incorrect, and the replies have simply corrected him.

So you are completely wrong on all fronts and on top of that are doing your best to throw this entire thread into the toilet before it has begun. Good job.

Yes, someone did comment on font not needing to be an issue

Do you wanna look at your tone to me for deigning to disagree?

For that reason, not gonna waste my energy explaining my pov, already given it

But wow did you prove my point about making newbies feel unwelcome, particularly when my key point was, let’s all encourage each other more

And… ignore

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes, someone did comment on font not needing to be an issue

I think the point in this case was not to dispute the OP's font preferences but to make clear it doesn't matter because the stories all end up getting published in the same font and format, regardless of what font you want to write in. The OP's published stories look exactly like everyone else's, in the standard Literotica font.

 

[SimonDoom]

In my own personal view - it’s the tone
Like you’re more keen on marking down his work than building it up, for him and every other beginner

I suppose we can all be more mindful of our tone. It's difficult to read tone in Internet conversations. I try to make a point of not getting personal and insulting with people, and usually I try not to sound dismissive, but I don't hesitate to disagree if I disagree. Some people may take that as brusque or rude; I don't usually take it that way from others so I don't expect others to interpret my words that way, either.

I read the responses in this thread, other than one, differently from the way you did.

I also think there's a tendency over time to get blunter in these threads because we've seen the same topics raised so many times and we forget that there are still new authors who haven't participated in these discussions before.

@SolarClint, if you are still here (and not running for the doors), most of the people here have responded in good faith with a desire to be helpful and constructive. Your post was perfectly appropriate and welcome.

 

[MiaBabe23]

I suppose we can all be more mindful of our tone. It's difficult to read tone in Internet conversations. I try to make a point of not getting personal and insulting with people, and usually I try not to sound dismissive, but I don't hesitate to disagree if I disagree. Some people may take that as brusque or rude; I don't usually take it that way from others so I don't expect others to interpret my words that way, either.

I read the responses in this thread, other than one, differently from the way you did.

I also think there's a tendency over time to get blunter in these threads because we've seen the same topics raised so many times and we forget that there are still new authors who haven't participated in these discussions before.

@SolarClint, if you are still here (and not running for the doors), most of the people here have responded in good faith with a desire to be helpful and constructive. Your post was perfectly appropriate and welcome.

I get what you’re saying, and thank you for acknowledging the newcomer’s perspective too
It’s obviously not about the pertinence of your and others’ points, but how they came across; brusque does probably describe how they seemed, yeah
Personally I enjoy the air of everyone throwing around ideas with a sense of camaraderie, rather than one-up-manship.
Thanks for adding to the former

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I suppose we can all be more mindful of our tone. It's difficult to read tone in Internet conversations. I try to make a point of not getting personal and insulting with people, and usually I try not to sound dismissive, but I don't hesitate to disagree if I disagree. Some people may take that as brusque or rude; I don't usually take it that way from others so I don't expect others to interpret my words that way, either.

Your tone was perfectly matter-of-fact. So was EB's and everyone else's except for Kachina's. Mia is blowing this way out of proportion.

 

[SolarClint]

Why are you handing out advice? You've published only four 'stories', all in the last week. None are over one page long and they have been almost universally panned by those leaving comments. I would strongly advise you to read them.

Let's face it, you are a bad writer.

For those who would like to form their own opinion, here's the link to SolarClint's stories:

https://www.literotica.com/authors/SolarClint/works/stories

I am writing this because I made those mistakes. Yes I got hit for not knowing how this site worked.

 

[SolarClint]

Keep in mind that authors who have been here a long time may have more accurate site knowledge based on their years of experience, and may correct some incorrect advice.

Yes, pretty good advice. A common rule of thumb is one Lit page = 3,750 words, give or take a hundred or so. You have no control on where the page breaks, and it depends a lot on your style.

Not true. The editor will generally release chaptered stories one a day, which maximises your time on the category front page, but stops a twenty chapter story, for example, overwhelming it.

But you can get unrelated stories published on the same day.

Irrelevant. The site uses a common font and common font sizes, and it's scaled for different devices. Many readers read on their phones, for example. Whatever font or size you submit, gets converted.

If you want to see what your story will look like when it's published, copy paste into the submission form, and Preview. You can edit in the submission box, which is handy for catching last minute typos and formatting that didn't work.

Definitely!

Or proofread your own stories thoroughly. Many authors have developed good self-edit techniques over time, and never use proof readers.

Never kept a journal in my life, but a good suggestion for those who might keep a journal.

Some writers do outline, others don't. Read in on threads about "plotters" versus "pantsers" - this is absolutely not absolute advice. It's good advice for people who use outlines as part of their writing technique, but it's anathema to those who don't.

Yes and no. The amount of detail is best tuned to the nature of the story. Wordiness works sometimes, but generally, yes, "less is more".

Starting out, I'd agree, but once you get a bunch of writing techniques In your tool box, this is limiting advice.

Thank you ElectricBlue. I wish I found some basic hints when I broke up my one story into 13 pages. If I would have known that, I would have only published 1 and not gotten some of the negative feedback I did. I knew some of my advice would be wrong. But that is the nature of learning and sharing. Thanks for your help.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thank you ElectricBlue. I wish I found some basic hints when I broke up my one story into 13 pages. If I would have known that, I would have only published 1 and not gotten some of the negative feedback I did. I knew some of my advice would be wrong. But that is the nature of learning and sharing. Thanks for your help.

You should have wandered into the AH earlier. Your comments/observations about chapters and chapter length and publishing strategy etc. are typical queries from a new writer, they get asked frequently.

Unfortunately, there's not a huge number of stickies addressing these things, nor are they well covered in the FAQs - so it's always best to ask the question, and you'll get a bunch of answers (with a sliding scale on accuracy ).

 

[SolarClint]

Being nice is fine, but presenting inaccurate guidance is not helpful to new authors.

Stating what in fact happens isn't being critical, it's being accurate. There's a difference.

I knew I didn't know everything. I didn't know that Lit changes the font. I didn't know the word count per page. What I did know is that i could not find that information. I only found the one Expert Nobel prize winning Author that had an issue. All the others I have taken as helpful. Thank all of you for your advice and correcting my basic attempt to get some really basic info out. I edited the basic guide.

Again, thank you all for your help.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I Knew I didn't know everything. I didn't know that Lit changes the font. I didn't know the word count per page. What I did know is that i could not find that information. I only found the one Expert Nobel prize winning Author that had an issue. All the others I have taken as helpful. Thank all of you for your advice and correcting my basic attempt to get some really basic info out.

My comment wasn't aimed at you. It was in response to whoever jumped on posts that were giving more accurate information.

 

[SolarClint]

My comment wasn't aimed at you. It was in response to whoever jumped on posts that were giving more accurate information.

EB I didn't take your comment as anything but helpful. Maybe we all can figure out how to get a sticky post up with the basics of lit for the absolute newbie, novice, first time raw virgin.

 

[ElectricBlue]

EB I didn't take your comment as anything but helpful. Maybe we all can figure out how to get a sticky post up with the basics of lit for the absolute newbie, novice, first time raw virgin.

Folk have been asking for that for years. The sticky collection at the top of the page covers most of the key things, but there are folk who don't seem to see them. It's usually quicker to ask. Some folk grumble about seeing the same questions again and again; others just go ahead and provide some answers, which is more useful.