The Deal With Loving Wives

[Inkent]

I did a little experiment today and posted a story in LW. Within minutes, it was one-bombed, and the result is that I'm going to take it down. I will most likely publish on a different site in the future.

People trolling is one thing, but Lit actively enables that with their rating system. Many other social media sites have switched to a reaction-based system that is less prone to abuse. You could easily rank stories by (score=likes/authenticated views) or similar, maybe time-weighted. That would stop giving trolls such an outsized lever.

I'm sorry you feel as you do, and are considering abandoning LW. At this point, not read your work, so cannot comment, although I hve never personally rated a one to anyone. GO look at some of my works, and have a read through the comments. I delete only the ones that are just hate aimed at me of other Lit users, and there aren't that many. I'd suggest go look at the comments for a couple of bits of my recent works such as Invisible or Losing Your Head over Love . You'll see the widest spectrum of comments from "love it" to outright "hate it", and everything in between. Each piece scored by over 1500 readers, both scores just over the four point mark.

They are released here at 6am in the morning, when I'm usually travelling to work on the train. There are some hardcore haters out there, trying to "steer" or at least put people off reading work by hitting the ones ridiculously early, often within five ten minutes. After ten-fifteen minutes I may be averaging 2 point something. Why? The only logical reason behind it is someone that doesn't like this kind of site, so by doing what they do they have a couple of aims. Stop people reading stories by scoring them like shit, and stop people like us publishing by trying to put us off.

Don't forget, most of us authors are simply keen amateurs.....just as they are keen amateur book pundits. If you enjoyed writing your story, don't give up. Don't forget, you can turn off comments and scoring, there are some of the bigger fish that publish on here do exactly that.

As for revising scoring, it would be nice if Lit gave the option to accept scoring from registered users.

 

[farbeyondourstars]

I'm sorry you feel as you do, and are considering abandoning LW. At this point, not read your work, so cannot comment, although I hve never personally rated a one to anyone. GO look at some of my works, and have a read through the comments. I delete only the ones that are just hate aimed at me of other Lit users, and there aren't that many. I'd suggest go look at the comments for a couple of bits of my recent works such as Invisible or Losing Your Head over Love . You'll see the widest spectrum of comments from "love it" to outright "hate it", and everything in between. Each piece scored by over 1500 readers, both scores just over the four point mark.

They are released here at 6am in the morning, when I'm usually travelling to work on the train. There are some hardcore haters out there, trying to "steer" or at least put people off reading work by hitting the ones ridiculously early, often within five ten minutes. After ten-fifteen minutes I may be averaging 2 point something. Why? The only logical reason behind it is someone that doesn't like this kind of site, so by doing what they do they have a couple of aims. Stop people reading stories by scoring them like shit, and stop people like us publishing by trying to put us off.

Don't forget, most of us authors are simply keen amateurs.....just as they are keen amateur book pundits. If you enjoyed writing your story, don't give up. Don't forget, you can turn off comments and scoring, there are some of the bigger fish that publish on here do exactly that.

As for revising scoring, it would be nice if Lit gave the option to accept scoring from registered users.

I'll have a look - thanks! At first glance, part of the difference is because longer stories rate much better than shorter ones. Trolls aside, it's not surprising: you invested more, so you like it better (effort justification, cognitive dissonance, etc.).

I do well in the sci-fi category with longer pieces and serials. Never had any issues or absurd, insulting comments there in years. Took just a day in LW to experience that, too.

 

[Inkent]

I do well in the sci-fi category with longer pieces and serials. Never had any issues or absurd, insulting comments there in years. Took just a day in LW to experience that, too.

My new Year's resolution is to "grow" beyond the LW section. I've enjoyed it because I believe it's the hardest one to "crack" with something original, so there's the first challenge, at least, for me personally. I find writing work with a lot of angst, easy to pull together, then use it to steer a story. I also like to make people think - how would they handle some of the situations, should they find themselves in that situation.

I'm a lover of sci-fi but not really gone down that path, at least yet, on Lit and surprisingly, not read a great deal. I've got a bare bones idea for next year based on the archetypical 50's/60's sci fi horror - think Village of the Damned, sitting in the ideas file, but may press deeper into the genre.

In the meantime, will come a nosin' your work

 

[farbeyondourstars]

My new Year's resolution is to "grow" beyond the LW section. I've enjoyed it because I believe it's the hardest one to "crack" with something original, so there's the first challenge, at least, for me personally. I find writing work with a lot of angst, easy to pull together, then use it to steer a story. I also like to make people think - how would they handle some of the situations, should they find themselves in that situation.

I'm a lover of sci-fi but not really gone down that path, at least yet, on Lit and surprisingly, not read a great deal. I've got a bare bones idea for next year based on the archetypical 50's/60's sci fi horror - think Village of the Damned, sitting in the ideas file, but may press deeper into the genre.

In the meantime, will come a nosin' your work

Well, you take LW as a challenge, and I respect that. To me, it would be bad for my mental health, and I see absolutely no upside in putting up with vicious trolls.

The sci-fi crowd here, on the other hand, is very kind and tolerant - the only disadvantage is that they don't comment all that much. I'm lucky enough to have an insanely successful author giving me feedback, and that has really helped to improve my writing. He's not shy to point out issues, but not once has he suggested that I "go back to my day job of cleaning toilets," or enter sexual relations with a dog (LW at its finest, I guess).

In the sci-fi category, people appreciate longer serials (I found 7-10K words per chapter to be the sweet spot). Shorter stories like Making Your Own Luck or similar wouldn't run well there, but they wouldn't be 1-bombed.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[WCSGarland]

I think what I write is eclectic erotica, not fap fodder. I submitted my first LW foray and received both helpful and not helpful comments. About a third of the comments were from category police telling me that I put my story in the wrong category. Most of my works are not highly rated, and I don't really care that they aren't. I tell stories that I want to tell. I consider the 3.58 stars at 381 votes wildly successful for what I wanted to say in that story. Some loved it, some hated it. It still got more views than my stories in the NC/R category. That also I consider wildly successful. Despite the comments and not so great ratings, I've decided I will continue writing the stories that I think need to be written, putting them in the category that I think they belong, on the chance that there might be one person out there that appreciates what I've done. Aside from myself that is.

 

[HannahBaird]

My question is this - what's so scary about the loving wives catego

As a new author, I had a very wise and storied writer here @lovecraft68 , tell me about how nasty the sub genre can be. Most who engage with it are very petty individuals and the scores and comments don't reflect the quality of the actual work, like, at all. It's suuuuch a good genre and so many fear it, it's fiction, it's not real, there's no reason to be afraid, like imagine yourself as the alpha, bull, corrupter stealing someone's wife, or the wife breaking all vows. It's a pretty simple power/indulgent fantasy I feel.

 

[HannahBaird]

Well, you take LW as a challenge, and I respect that. To me, it would be bad for my mental health, and I see absolutely no upside in putting up with vicious trolls.

The sci-fi crowd here, on the other hand, is very kind and tolerant - the only disadvantage is that they don't comment all that much. I'm lucky enough to have an insanely successful author giving me feedback, and that has really helped to improve my writing. He's not shy to point out issues, but not once has he suggested that I "go back to my day job of cleaning toilets," or enter sexual relations with a dog (LW at its finest, I guess).

In the sci-fi category, people appreciate longer serials (I found 7-10K words per chapter to be the sweet spot). Shorter stories like Making Your Own Luck or similar wouldn't run well there, but they wouldn't be 1-bombed.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Just published my first LW story, a three party story, there has been some, like really sweet comments and constructive criticism, but oh my god I saw the score drop from a 4.0 to a 2.6 in hours. I realized it wasn't me, it's the community who just don't understand the genre.

Really interested in exploring the sci fi and fantasy genre tho

 

[HannahBaird]

I did a little experiment today and posted a story in LW. Within minutes, it was one-bombed, and the result is that I'm going to take it down. I will most likely publish on a different site in the future.

People trolling is one thing, but Lit actively enables that with their rating system. Many other social media sites have switched to a reaction-based system that is less prone to abuse. You could easily rank stories by (score=likes/authenticated views) or similar, maybe time-weighted. That would stop giving trolls such an outsized lever.

Don't give up. Yes it may be a genre or categorization issue, but the people who love it, LOOOOOVE it. Don't let the trolls win! If no constructive criticism is offered in comments, or low ratings are trolled, it's a sign you're doing something right. I plan to taking to Reddit to reach a wider and more thoughtful audience.

 

[HannahBaird]

I'd also say - depending on the details of your story, and just based on you saying the stories you have read there are "bland" - you also might consider publishing in the BDSM category. I've written a handful of cuckold/ethical non-monogamy stories, and I always put them in BDSM rather than LW. Those stories did all right, and people were pretty cool about it. Granted, there was a lot of pain and humiliation in those stories as well, so I think it's important to keep that in mind, but I do think, if you're trying to "market" a story like that, you have some options.

LW in general - and the sheer heat of the debate between the two sides - was always fascinating to me. Like, being that upset - on a site dedicated to erotica of all things - about a consensual adult arrangement (or even just a cheating story involving adults) always blew me away.

I think there needs to be like a taxonomy/genre change. There's far too many angry readers at a specific fetish who probably don't need to be exposed to cheating/NTR/cuckolding regardless of the circumstances. What this would be called? Like I have no idea, but the LW category/genre is tumultuous right now.

 

[lc69hunter]

I spend a lot of time in that category, and piss a lot of the angry readers off. I tend to praise and comment favorably loving and consensual non-monogamy stories, though will give a 2 to stories where there s cruelty, humiliation and the like, because they belong in Fetish, not LW. And, get accused of being a cuck and a cuck lover when that is not the case at all. That fact is, that I love a married woman in play (hotwife), as she loves her husband, her marriage, and her family, and is just looking to have an itch scratched that hubby is not scratching. My first wife was like that (she liked Frat boys). I have a body count of 33, and 14 of those have been married women.

 

[HannahBaird]

I spend a lot of time in that category, and piss a lot of the angry readers off. I tend to praise and comment favorably loving and consensual non-monogamy stories, though will give a 2 to stories where there s cruelty, humiliation and the like, because they belong in Fetish, not LW. And, get accused of being a cuck and a cuck lover when that is not the case at all. That fact is, that I love a married woman in play (hotwife), as she loves her husband, her marriage, and her family, and is just looking to have an itch scratched that hubby is not scratching. My first wife was like that (she liked Frat boys). I have a body count of 33, and 14 of those have been married women.

A very, very interesting and valid opinion. Thoughtful. I think that lends more to where they needs to be another separate category asides from fetish.

Because there can be consensual, actually like, romantic even cuckolding monogamous stories if given time and quality. I think the nastier, NTR side should have its own category honestly.

 

[Lifestyle66]

A very, very interesting and valid opinion. Thoughtful. I think that lends more to where they needs to be another separate category asides from fetish.

Because there can be consensual, actually like, romantic even cuckolding monogamous stories if given time and quality. I think the nastier, NTR side should have its own category honestly.

I appreciate all of the comments I received on my stories, both good and bad.

I don't want a category of a smaller subset of readers to prop up my ego, thinking EVERYONE loves my story.

I prefer a larger, general audience, some or even many of whom will hit the story with their real feelings about it. Even the harshly negative ones influence my next story, either toning down some aspect they HATED in their comment, or tasking me to make the next one even more repulsive to them!

But if everyone's LOVES my story, I don't think I'd grow or change as fast.

 

[HannahBaird]

I appreciate all of the comments I received on my stories, both good and bad.

I don't want a category of a smaller subset of readers to prop up my ego, thinking EVERYONE loves my story.

I prefer a larger, general audience, some or even many of whom will hit the story with their real feelings about it. Even the harshly negative ones influence my next story, either toning down some aspect they HATED in their comment, or tasking me to make the next one even more repulsive to them!

But if everyone's LOVES my story, I don't think I'd grow or change as fast.

Also very a very nuanced and like, mature way of looking at it. I can absolutely respect this point of view, the positive and constructive feedback keeps me going, but when it's pure negativity and sometimes like personal attacks, it can be a bit much.

Regardless, I think is a great way to look at it, I don't want everyone to like my story! :3

 

[Actingup]

Well, you take LW as a challenge, and I respect that. To me, it would be bad for my mental health, and I see absolutely no upside in putting up with vicious trolls.

The sci-fi crowd here, on the other hand, is very kind and tolerant - the only disadvantage is that they don't comment all that much. I'm lucky enough to have an insanely successful author giving me feedback, and that has really helped to improve my writing. He's not shy to point out issues, but not once has he suggested that I "go back to my day job of cleaning toilets," or enter sexual relations with a dog (LW at its finest, I guess).

In the sci-fi category, people appreciate longer serials (I found 7-10K words per chapter to be the sweet spot). Shorter stories like Making Your Own Luck or similar wouldn't run well there, but they wouldn't be 1-bombed.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

You should absolutely prioritise your mental health, and that is the last 'you should' statement in this reply To me, the upsides are:
- learning to be stoic in the face of criticism, whether justified or not
- learning to thrive in that environment - to springboard from it to new ideas or creative heights
- having the pleasure of seeing the enjoyment from those who do resonate with your story. We don't write for the sake of having everybody love our work. The easiest way to acheive shallow instant gratification is to walk down the street throwing dollar bills away, but it also doesn't achieve any lasting satisfaction despite all the 'likes' that it generates. Writing can achieve something deeper. It might help them achieve a sexual release, of course, but it might also help them laugh out loud (which is usually what I'm trying to achieve), or reevaluate their lives, or sob because they feel that somebody else is finally listening to them. Those wins are worth the effort.
- having your work widely read. As I and others have posted previously, a 'hit' in LW gets a great deal of readers and exposure, and the net result can be that far more people have enjoyed your work than in another category.
- having the thrill of spinning the LW roulette wheel. Because the responses are to some degree less predictable than in other categories, there are often delightful surprises (as well as less delightful fails). There's an adrenaline rush with that that's hard to reproduce in a more boring category.

The downsides are absolutely there too, and it is perfectly reasonable to not step foot in the cesspit.

 

[HannahBaird]

You should absolutely prioritise your mental health, and that is the last 'you should' statement in this reply To me, the upsides are:
- learning to be stoic in the face of criticism, whether justified or not
- learning to thrive in that environment - to springboard from it to new ideas or creative heights
- having the pleasure of seeing the enjoyment from those who do resonate with your story. We don't write for the sake of having everybody love our work. The easiest way to acheive shallow instant gratification is to walk down the street throwing dollar bills away, but it also doesn't achieve any lasting satisfaction despite all the 'likes' that it generates. Writing can achieve something deeper. It might help them achieve a sexual release, of course, but it might also help them laugh out loud (which is usually what I'm trying to achieve), or reevaluate their lives, or sob because they feel that somebody else is finally listening to them. Those wins are worth the effort.
- having your work widely read. As I and others have posted previously, a 'hit' in LW gets a great deal of readers and exposure, and the net result can be that far more people have enjoyed your work than in another category.
- having the thrill of spinning the LW roulette wheel. Because the responses are to some degree less predictable than in other categories, there are often delightful surprises (as well as less delightful fails). There's an adrenaline rush with that that's hard to reproduce in a more boring category.

The downsides are absolutely there too, and it is perfectly reasonable to not step foot in the cesspit.

This is a really like, wonderfully thought out post. I've had a lot of awesome people in the community reach out to me and be super supportive, but the first entry of my series I just finished, holy crap I thought I wouldn't even bother.

Stoicism is what it did help me with though. Still going to publish in the category!

 

[Actingup]

This is a really like, wonderfully thought out post. I've had a lot of awesome people in the community reach out to me and be super supportive, but the first entry of my series I just finished, holy crap I thought I wouldn't even bother.

Stoicism is what it did help me with though. Still going to publish in the category!

Cheers, Hannah. I'm looking foward to reading your story. I tried to extend myself by reading up on ballet moves for a recent story ('Mirror Twin' in my list), so at least I can vaguely understand the first paragraph

 

[HannahBaird]

Cheers, Hannah. I'm looking foward to reading your story. I tried to extend myself by reading up on ballet moves for a recent story ('Mirror Twin' in my list), so at least I can vaguely understand the first paragraph

Oh my goodness! Yes the ballet influence comes from a close family member. I really am excited to hear any feedback if you like choose to offer it, it's been wonderful to have reached some people. Hope to reach more!

 

[Cagivagurl]

As somebody who has dabbled a little in the LW's genre. I offer the same advice to everybody... (I am not claiming to be an expert, or even know what the hell I'm talking about). I am simply offering some positive thoughts.

Go for it. Write and post your story. Yes, there are going to be some nasty comments if you've prodded the angry ones who live in there...
If you can accept that they don't represent all readers, then all's good...

You have to ignore the score, it's not a reflection of the quality of your writing. If you've pulled the tail of the angry ones, then your score will at first suffer. It will climb back after a while as a wider audience reads..
Think about it this way. If your score is around 3... A lot of people have enjoyed it...

Let the nasty comments flow away. Ignore them if you can.

Mostly, enjoy your writing. Enjoy the nice comments, and positive feedback. If your story is well written, it will do OK...

Be proud and strong... Don't let the few nasty people who can't help themselves but throw caustic comments, dissuade you from telling the story you want to tell.

Cagivagurl

 

[VerbalAbuse]

marriage or a boyfriend/girlfriend commitment means MONOGAMOUS sex

that's why it's called commitment.

 

[Lifestyle66]

that's why it's called commitment.

Commitment means MONOGAMY! If that's what the couple BOTH agree that it means when they say their vows.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that not everyone even using the same language says the same words believing in the same meanings, and believing commitment lasts forever.

My first wife seemed to think commitment meant having kids together. Once the baby-making potential ended with my vasectomy, her commitment turned to her full-time job. And the day-after-day, year-after year slights chip away the original meaning of the words we used in the beginning.

I've met many couples who married young with the idea marriage meant monogamy and sexual slavery, which inevitably led to disagreements, fights, and divorce. The happiest couples I know are all into their second marriages, with more realistic expectations, and both preferring to see their spouse happy. And their happiness does not necessarily demand monogamy. They are committed to each other, not sex.

EDIT: My next story is about ready and should be published within the next few days. It's a short story (5.7k words) exploring these same things of what it takes to remain together.

 

[nice90sguy]

I've never posted in loving wives (and, aside from Comshaw, I've probably been posting stories longer than anyone here, since May 2002).

Personally I don't find swinging/wife swapping sexy. Brits here will understand when I say that it has a very 1960's/1970's "Abigail's Party" or "Carry-On" vibe to it.

My staunch insistence on monogamy in marriage is probably a major reason why I write and read porn. I consider it a more benign form of infidelity (although I may be kidding myself there). I've always been tempted to fuck around, and always resisted -- but only by allowing those urges an outlet through porn.

 

[Gamblnluck]

You have to ignore the score, it's not a reflection of the quality of your writing. If you've pulled the tail of the angry ones, then your score will at first suffer. It will climb back after a while as a wider audience reads..
Think about it this way. If your score is around 3... A lot of people have enjoyed it...

That is true: if your initial first day score is 3 or better, it will tend to climb as you get past that influence of small numbers. But at the same time if you get below a 3, your story is not resonating with many readers at all. I tend to not even open a story that is not above a 3 unless it is by an author I recognize as one I enjoy.
On occasion I will look if the title or description catches my attention even with a low score. And usually, I tell myself, 'Yeah, I can see why this story bombed.'

 

[Cagivagurl]

That is true: if your initial first day score is 3 or better, it will tend to climb as you get past that influence of small numbers. But at the same time if you get below a 3, your story is not resonating with many readers at all. I tend to not even open a story that is not above a 3 unless it is by an author I recognize as one I enjoy.
On occasion I will look if the title or description catches my attention even with a low score. And usually, I tell myself, 'Yeah, I can see why this story bombed.'

I agree mostly... Although... I have read a few stories in LW with low scores, like 2.5 that were OK...
There is a very angry contingent that live in LW, and they vote maliciously. If the story doesn't cater to there fetish IE, revenge porn. Then they give the story their Uni bomb. Mostly the readership are just ordinary people. They read and if they don't like it, just back out. Unfortunately they also don't vote, so the story weighting suffers...

Score doesn't always reflect quality

That is only my opinion BTW. I do not claim to be an expert or have a better understanding than anyone else. Just my thoughts...

Cagivagurl

 

[Lifestyle66]

My latest story published last night (just over seven hours ago) in Loving Wives, and it's doing rather well at 3.55 with a vote to view ration of 1 to 30! Most of my stories start out on the first day barely above 2.0, and by this time, anything above a 2.5 would be a win, to eventually climb above 3.0.

"Good Answer"
"Do you take this woman to love until the end of time?"

Warning: No slut wives were burned in the making of this story!


I think this one goes to show that, in general, the LW audience "likes" monogamous marriage stories.

 

[LightningSeed]

I did a little experiment today and posted a story in LW. Within minutes, it was one-bombed, and the result is that I'm going to take it down. I will most likely publish on a different site in the future.

People trolling is one thing, but Lit actively enables that with their rating system. Many other social media sites have switched to a reaction-based system that is less prone to abuse. You could easily rank stories by (score=likes/authenticated views) or similar, maybe time-weighted. That would stop giving trolls such an outsized lever.

My unasked for advice is to ignore the 1-bombs and just enjoy that people are reading your work. I’m appreciative of anyone who takes time out of their day to read one of my stories. Deep down I don’t think any of us do it for the scores do we? If we did we could all write one that scores 4.9 just by giving the masses a homogenized story with anyone who veers from the societal restrained being punished grandly. That’s no fun. Being creative is…right?

My new one for the contest is out today and it’s taking the usual LW beating on the scoreboard, but I’ve also gotten a few complimentary emails, so that makes it all worth it!