I'm new here

[whimpersofdesire]

Welcome.

It appears that you are writing a chapter story so I will wait until it is finished before diving in. It's just my personal preference to not start reading incomplete stories on this site.

Contests are the only viable way to monetize content on Literotica. The ambiguity surrounding them and the competitive targeting associated with them stacks the odds against every entrant. If the monthly contests return at some point, they pit each story published in the month against every other one "behind the scenes", so to speak. I won one of these with my first story and got a check, but that was more than a dozen years ago.

I believe that most writers do better when they utilize this site to hone their skills and embrace reader feedback to adjust their content to increase the market appeal of their stories. These improved stories then might find a marketable reception on other sites, such as Smashwords or even Amazon. The improvements might entail toning down the graphic depictions of some content, creating a novel-sized version of the individual chapters, or an anthology built from multiple series episodes.

There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach, but if you take examples from how things work in traditional publishing when publishing for this site, you should be better positioned in the long run.

Good luck

Wow that's aweomse you won with your first story.
Yes I am here to learn to get better so that my works are "publish" ready - as they are right now - I don't think I could charge for them. They need some work. I've been re-reading and have found a lot of instances for improvement etc. But it's easy when you're writing the draft to rush and get carried away.

 

[whimpersofdesire]

Welcome! Love the name. No time now, but I’ll look at your work later.

Thanks so much ! I appreciate it!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Wow that's aweomse you won with your first story.
Yes I am here to learn to get better so that my works are "publish" ready - as they are right now - I don't think I could charge for them. They need some work. I've been re-reading and have found a lot of instances for improvement etc. But it's easy when you're writing the draft to rush and get carried away.

One other thing I will add is, try not to be embarrassed by what you write.

The fear of sharing erotic content is what holds most aspiring authors here back. It's fiction and more people than you might imagine understand it as such.

Certainly, there will always be some content, in the form of kinks or graphic depiction that will be viewed as too transgressive for many. However, being x-rated in and of itself will not be a disqualifier, even for traditional publishing. There are several agents and publishers who actively solicit erotic content.

I participate in several local author events, book signings, and book club readings, typically with warm receptions and lots of book sales as a result. Recognize limits, don't create them yourself.

 

[whimpersofdesire]

One other thing I will add is, try not to be embarrassed by what you write.

The fear of sharing erotic content is what holds most aspiring authors here back. It's fiction and more people than you might imagine understand it as such.

Certainly, there will always be some content, in the form of kinks or graphic depiction that will be viewed as too transgressive for many. However, being x-rated in and of itself will not be a disqualifier, even for traditional publishing. There are several agents and publishers who actively solicit erotic content.

I participate in several local author events, book signings, and book club readings, typically with warm receptions and lots of book sales as a result. Recognize limits, don't create them yourself.

Thank you so much!

 

[bmeyem8]

Salutations to you, and good fortunes to your writings!

 

[StillStunned]

I'm new here and am excited to be publishing my work. I'd love to hear your feedback (good, bad and ugly). What would make my erotica better for readers?

Welcome to the erotica hobby, and welcome to the Authors Hangout!

One piece of advice I haven't seen yet in this thread is to slow it down. Don't be in a hurry to get to the end. A story is scenic journey, not a commute or a race. The slower your sex scenes (and the build-up), the more the reader will be on the edge of their seat. And the more satisfying it will be for them when it's finished.

So take your time. Describe scents, sounds, tastes. The pattern of the light, the birdsong outside, the drop of sweat and hairs clinging to the forehead. The shiver at the lightest touch and the bitten lip of anticipation. The throaty breathing, the scent of skin and the heat of two bodies.

Write sex as if you're actually doing it.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Amazon is a challenge.

Familiarity with the site takes time, just like it does for a lot of people who want to publish their stories here. The success is dependent on the effort one puts into it.

I am not the most prolific writer on Amazon, but I do try to contribute and stay attuned to KDP and what it provides self-published authors. I take advantage of their e-book, paperback, and audio formats for most of my works available on their site. I have been a beta tester for them a few times on different planned enhancements and benefited immensely from these engagements, both in knowledge and sales.

The steps required to be successful on Amazon are foreign to many amateur writers. From identifying the best keywords to use, to pricing and cover design, it demands more than simply writing the story.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Welcome!

 

[Jada59]

Done! This type of story is right up my alley. Well written. Love it!

One thing though… In the first story, you used the word “cum” and then “come”. Not a big deal to me. And I’m not the best proofreader. Seems like every time I read my own stories, I find things like that.

I shall stay tuned for more of your work.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

One thing though… In the first story, you used the word “cum” and then “come”. Not a big deal to me. And I’m not the best proofreader. Seems like every time I read my own stories, I find things like that.

The best, the absolute best way of finding errors and typos is to publish. Guaranteed 100%.

 

[deathlynx]

Welcome to the mad-house! We love fresh meat...er...faces! There's a lot of great writers here and even better advice. My best advice is to write for yourself first and foremost, because then you'll enjoy writing more. That and try not to take criticism personally. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here who really do just want to make us better at our craft.

 

[whimpersofdesire]

Welcome to the erotica hobby, and welcome to the Authors Hangout!

One piece of advice I haven't seen yet in this thread is to slow it down. Don't be in a hurry to get to the end. A story is scenic journey, not a commute or a race. The slower your sex scenes (and the build-up), the more the reader will be on the edge of their seat. And the more satisfying it will be for them when it's finished.

So take your time. Describe scents, sounds, tastes. The pattern of the light, the birdsong outside, the drop of sweat and hairs clinging to the forehead. The shiver at the lightest touch and the bitten lip of anticipation. The throaty breathing, the scent of skin and the heat of two bodies.

Write sex as if you're actually doing it.

Yes!!! This is good advice

 

[whimpersofdesire]

Welcome to the mad-house! We love fresh meat...er...faces! There's a lot of great writers here and even better advice. My best advice is to write for yourself first and foremost, because then you'll enjoy writing more. That and try not to take criticism personally. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here who really do just want to make us better at our craft.

Yes I think feedback is so huge ! As greedy as I am - this is mainly for fun haha, I do want to get better.

 

[whimpersofdesire]

The best, the absolute best way of finding errors and typos is to publish. Guaranteed 100%.

why is this so true!

 

[whimpersofdesire]

Done! This type of story is right up my alley. Well written. Love it!

One thing though… In the first story, you used the word “cum” and then “come”. Not a big deal to me. And I’m not the best proofreader. Seems like every time I read my own stories, I find things like that.

I shall stay tuned for more of your work.

Omg i am already cringing at the errors.. I've read it twice since publishing and I just want to dig a hole to jump in hahahah thanks so much for reading.

 

[whimpersofdesire]

Done! This type of story is right up my alley. Well written. Love it!

One thing though… In the first story, you used the word “cum” and then “come”. Not a big deal to me. And I’m not the best proofreader. Seems like every time I read my own stories, I find things like that.

I shall stay tuned for more of your work.

Thanks so much for reading and pointing that out! I appreciate it! I'm very good at not catching things like that haha

 

[whimpersofdesire]

First off, welcome! Always happy to see new writers liven up the place and bring with them their own brand and tastes and philosophies and whatnot

Second, lotta questions I got into writing smut because I wanted to break a near-6-year hiatus and shake some rust off, and add some more smut to the niche category I most read (anthros). There are a lot of different approaches and philosophies to finding readers, getting feedback, stuff like that. The primary thing is to keep writing and keep building your skills as a writer. It rarely happens overnight, but as you keep posting, you become more of a known quantity, more people are likely to find your stuff and stick around. It also helps to have characters that the reader can connect with. I believe that erotica that focuses on the characters is usually more engaging and sensual, because the readers can really get a sense for these people and connect more viscerally with them. But if you're writing kink, that tends to trump characterization, because people are there for the sexy scenario less than the characters. Still, why not have both if you can? Sexy kink with characters a reader can connect with is a winning combo in my book.

We have a ton of threads on writing advice that could be helpful in helping you hone your craft, but I'd probably start with https://forum.literotica.com/thread...f-writing-tricks-philosophies-styles.1632683/ because it's a bit more general and encompasses a lot of different aspects, whereas the On Writing threads tend to be more narrowly focused and get really in the weeds on stuff. The best writers tend to be the ones who are constantly learning and trying out new things, figuring out more advanced techniques, and always striving to be better.

Third, if you're looking for feedback, you should also try the Story Feedback forum, since that's usually where people who are most willing to give feedback on stories hang out. It can be a bit of a crapshoot, some people get a lot of useful comments, some get nothing, but most get about 1 - 3 people of varying levels of skill and experience, who providing a decent amount of feedback, and occasionally a pretty huge chunk of it. I think you'll find at least a couple takers, since your chapters are a single Lit page each.

In any event, welcome, and good luck Hope to see you around more often. AH is a great place to ask questions and learn and have fun, quite a lot of us here enjoy talking about writing and helping out others. Also being weird and goofy, there's a lot of that too. And puns, so many puns.

Thanks so much for sharing!! <3