Advice for New(-ish) Authors

[Statius]

Years ago I gripped the edge of a pallet to flip it out of the way. Someone thought it would be funny to screw it into the floor. I snapped off two fingernails and rumor has it the echos of my long string of profanity can still be heard today. We never found out who did it most likely due to my promise of walking around with pliers until I found who it was and pulled out all their fingernails.

I work in a warehouse, totally relatable story

 

[MillieDynamite]

Hey, guys, lets drop this thing.

This is Literotica. Some ghosters read her post and will continue to think her and her dad are writing porn together, based on personal experience, and you will not change their minds.

Sad but true.

If she had lied and said yes, she could have written literally anything for the T/I category and the ratings would have automatically been through the roof!

 

[lovecraft68]

If she had lied and said yes, she could have written literally anything for the T/I category and the ratings would have automatically been through the roof!

Again, sad but true.

Any incest story-Ohh

"Based on my real experience..."

 

[Husky_Embrace]

Say what now?

The biggest "specialty category" is incest, but we are surprised when father and daughter (I surmise) write a story together.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've written some incest on my altpen name at a different site. Not sure I want to publish stories under that pen here, though.

The biggest "specialty category" is incest, but we are surprised when father and daughter (I surmise) write a story together.

 

[cw5523729]

Again, sad but true.

Any incest story-Ohh

"Based on my real experience..."

View attachment 2578948

Imagine if she threw in some foot references for the foot fetish people? The Literotica server would crash for sure!

 

[StillStunned]

And lastly, if you ignore everything else in this thread, at least listen to this advice:

WRITE PEOPLE, NOT PORN STARS.

You could write the sexiest sex scene in the history of sex scenes, but if your characters are flat, boring stereotypes with raging hormones and no personality, no one will give a shit.

Erotica readers want characters they can relate to and root for, so that when they finally fuck, we actually care and are rooting for them.

This reminds me that I have to get back to finish my monologue about a director shooting a porn scene.

 

[cw5523729]

This reminds me that I have to get back to finish my monologue about a director shooting a porn scene.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

This reminds me that I have to get back to finish my monologue about a director shooting a porn scene.

I still want a story where two people meet romantically on the set of a porn movie. They go through the motions, yet are uncertain about how to approach the other. What if the other isn't in to them? What does it mean for work? Will the first time after a date when they get out of their clothes be very different?

 

[old_prof]

I still want a story where two people meet romantically on the set of a porn movie. They go through the motions, yet are uncertain about how to approach the other. What if the other isn't in to them? What does it mean for work? Will the first time after a date when they get out of their clothes be very different?

My memory is this is the Martin Freeman story line from Love Actually.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

My memory is this is the Martin Freeman story line from Love Actually.

It was! I found it underdeveloped and too little delving into it. Maybe someone could do it justice.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I still want a story where two people meet romantically on the set of a porn movie. They go through the motions, yet are uncertain about how to approach the other. What if the other isn't in to them? What does it mean for work? Will the first time after a date when they get out of their clothes be very different?

You might like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, if you can stand the sight of Seth Rogen's big dumb face.

 

[old_prof]

It was! I found it underdeveloped and too little delving into it. Maybe someone could do it justice.

So develop it as your own story then. It could be great.

 

[lovecraft68]

Imagine if she threw in some foot references for the foot fetish people? The Literotica server would crash for sure!

I am one of those foot fetish people.

Way back one year I mentioned it was my birthday and joked women could post feet pics and several of them did.

Maybe I'll try that next year

 

[cw5523729]

I am one of those foot fetish people.

Way back one year I mentioned it was my birthday and joked women could post feet pics and several of them did.

Maybe I'll try that next year

Wait, hold up - you mean I could have told people I'm a boob fetish person?! By an amazing coincidence, today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!

sits back and waits....

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Wait, hold up - you mean I could have told people I'm a boob fetish person?! By an amazing coincidence, today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!

sits back and waits....

 

[YmaOHyd]

 

[AwkwardMD]

I can't recall if this was mentioned earlier (and can't be bothered to search to see if it is) but Lit scores are generally considered volatile and not entirely reflective of the actual opinion of readers until you get north of 80 votes. The further you are from 80, the more that one particularly aggressive reader can have an outsized effect on your scores.

It is not cringe to take steps, either in authors notes or top comments, or on your author profile, to ask readers to vote. It's a small step for them to click a numbered star in return for your hard work.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

It is not cringe to take steps, either in authors notes or top comments, or on your author profile, to ask readers to vote. It's a small step for them to click a numbered star in return for your hard work.

If you feel bashful about it, you could go "Feedback is welcome" or something like it. That's what I did and it seems to work. Although I guess I don't actually know.

 

[AwkwardMD]

If you feel bashful about it, you could go "Feedback is welcome" or something like it. That's what I did and it seems to work. Although I guess I don't actually know.

100%

Let's make 2026 the year of normalizing asking for reader engagement.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I can't recall if this was mentioned earlier (and can't be bothered to search to see if it is) but Lit scores are generally considered volatile and not entirely reflective of the actual opinion of readers until you get north of 80 votes. The further you are from 80, the more that one particularly aggressive reader can have an outsized effect on your scores.

It is not cringe to take steps, either in authors notes or top comments, or on your author profile, to ask readers to vote. It's a small step for them to click a numbered star in return for your hard work.

You know the joke about two programmers talking about lending money, and when one of them says he needs around a thousand bucks, the other replies "Let's round it up to 1024?"

Is this 80 a thing in your profession?
Otherwise, why 80 and not a nice, round 128?!

 

[AwkwardMD]

You know the joke about two programmers talking about lending money, and when one of them says he needs around a thousand bucks, the other replies "Let's round it up to 1024?"

Is this 80 a thing in your profession?
Otherwise, why 80 and not a nice, round 128?!

I'm regurgitating a detail some more experienced writer than I was in 2014-2105 said, and that I internalized. As I recall, there was math involved in using 80 as a kind of break even point, but I didn't retain any of that.

EDIT: i don't even remember who it was anymore. I've slept since then.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

I'm regurgitating a detail some more experienced writer than I was in 2014-2105 said, and that I internalized. As I recall, there was math involved in using 80 as a kind of break even point, but I didn't retain any of that.

If I was to try to reconstruct: At the extreme ends - 1 5-Star + 79 1-Star, or 1 1-Star + 79 5-Star ratings - this works out to the single outlier vote making a difference of 0.05 points, or 1% of the rating scale.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm regurgitating a detail some more experienced writer than I was in 2014-2105 said, and that I internalized. As I recall, there was math involved in using 80 as a kind of break even point, but I didn't retain any of that.

EDIT: i don't even remember who it was anymore. I've slept since then.

I remember this too as in the number, but not who it was that said it.

There's also the trick of voting on your own story right away because it takes 10 to get to the H and you want the H as quickly as possible.

I think that falls on category though, a lot of categories here get 10 votes very quickly but it could help with others.

 

[AwkwardMD]

If I was to try to reconstruct: At the extreme ends - 1 5-Star + 79 1-Star, or 1 1-Star + 79 5-Star ratings - this works out to the single outlier vote making a difference of 0.05 points, or 1% of the rating scale.

I... honestly can't remember if that's the same math but it is an uncanny break even point that seems like justification enough to continue to regurgitate it for another 10+ years.