The Official Authors' Hangout Summer Lovin' 2024 Contest Support Thread

[Voyeurkenneth]

My first entry into I/T, Sister’s Summery Shadow, isn’t necessarily hitting it out of the park, but I’m very proud of it and extremely grateful for the comments left by readers who gave it a shot.

It has, though, perhaps revealed some things about I/T readership to me that speak to a low-4 score: That some I/T readers don’t like unrelated extramarital affairs alongside the primary family coupling. In hindsight, I guess that that makes sense; that it muddies what readers primarily go to this category for.

On the brighter side, it’s led to more readership of my multi-chapter series, where I’ve noticed two readers slowly make their way through it at apparently at the same pace. One of whom is scoring generously for every chapter, another one being more discerning. I like to imagine it’s a married couple with separate accounts reading it together, maybe dissecting it as they go. Hope they enjoyed it!

 

[Duleigh]

It has, though, perhaps revealed some things about I/T readership to me that speak to a low-4 score:

I've tried IT myself and found that they kind of like "twincest" but not a LOT so the story is languishing in the mid 4 level. These were established characters in a series and I hinted at the relationship often enough so nobody should have been shocked when the Big Reveal (and kiss goodbye) happened.

 

[mrs_mackenzie]

I have finally got mine written today; just editing to go. Felt like a long process getting it across the line so it's a good feeling. Hope to get it submitted soon and see what the response is like, it's great to see so many authors here getting really positive feedback from entering the contest.

 

[SyleusSnow]

My (hopefully first) entry went live this morning: Skinny Dipping with the Bad Girl

So far it's doing well... which feels great considering I haven't written a word since January.

Right now there are 63 stories in this year's contest... already nearly half of last year's (record?) 127 story total. And there are still 16 days left to submit!

 

[bblovergirl]

It only took three tries, but I finally got passed being accused of AI! So that's a relief

 

[Bassytian]

I'm working on a stand-alone entry involving characters from my Tiafell story. It will have nothing to do with the main series, it will simply be a humorous and sexy Summer time side-story, and a chance to put Tiafell in a bikini (though it may not be on for long). Tiafell is a femboy elf who cross-dresses but that isn't a major theme of the main story, so this will be a fun opportunity to expand upon that aspect.

While I don't expect to win, I'm still excited about submitting this story and seeing how well it does. I also look forward to checking out the other entries as well!

 

[MyBareTorso]

It is called a ‘sandwich.’ Start with a nice comment, next give the real ‘meat’ of the comment and finally end with another positive statement.

“I enjoyed reading this story….You could have used some more….Most writers recommend….That was a great plot twist and I hope to read more of your work soon.”

If only more commenters were so thoughtful!!

 

[MyBareTorso]

My submission for Summer Lovin 24 just posted, and it’s called Summer’s Island.

I spent summers at an island camp (what others call a summer home) in the Thousand Islands area on the Saint Lawrence River. Summer adventures on the river, exploring islands, and meeting cute boys in Alexandria Bay created some fond (and intense) memories I relive in this story about a couple’s first time. There is a lot of me in this story, which makes it personal, and the intimacy in this one is a bit like letting people read from a personal journal.

I placed this one in the first-time category, where I have only one other story. I kind of like that category; the readers are voracious but respectful. I don't know how many first-time stories I will ever be able to generate since I only had one first time in my life, and all my stories are based on my experiences.

It's a quick read—only four lit pages—and feels true to the events that inspired it. Please look at it; I would love to hear your thoughts.

- Wendy

Summer’s Island

I'm there...

 

[Voboy]

I'm there...

It's good. It has heart.

 

[MyBareTorso]

It's good. It has heart.

It certainly does...and it has five extra stars too!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Finally, Messing About on the River is up. Beautiful Cambridge in an English summer, and a couple slowly realising they aren't just having repeated one-night stands. (Erotic Couplings)

Quite a long story because I didn't have time to make a short one!

 

[TheLobster]

I didn't have time to make a short one

I’m in this picture and I don’t like it.

 

[ChasBozwell30]

I'm in with my story Mouse Gets To Roar

Had fun writing this, hope people like it x

 

[ElectricBlue]

Maybe edits are just temporarily slowed down due to new entries ? I just had a new story skip over a pending edit

Edits are lowest priority, and can take several weeks.

 

[Wineandcheese]

Nice! None of my stories ever gets anywhere close to 1,000 votes, at least not until they've been posted for years and years. It's nice to get such engagement!

If there is any justice in the universe you’ll get thousands of 5-star votes. Your story is remarkable.

 

[Voboy]

If there is any justice in the universe you’ll get thousands of 5-star votes. Your story is remarkable.

You're way too kind.

 

[OffNSFW]

Okay, y'all, I am finishing today. I will at the very least have a complete draft for editing within a few hours from now. I am speaking it into existence so that there is no other choice.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Submitted "The Champion Goes Harder" into mature. A young woman Jane, an older guy, Andy, and an older woman Kim go on a road trip, with Kim inserting an IUD into Jane so she can fuck Andy without a condom.

Won't be a winner, but it should do ok.

I had an issue with the submission button on Chrome on my PC, but no issues using Opera on my ipad.

 

[Voboy]

If there is any justice in the universe you’ll get thousands of 5-star votes. Your story is remarkable.

The more recent voters do not agree.

I'm glad I'm not a stats geek. If I was, I'd never publish anything.

 

[Duleigh]

I'm glad I'm not a stats geek. If I was, I'd never publish anything

I'm a stats geek and I'm also a fan of deep dark depressions. They go hand-in-hand so nicely!

 

[Jorunn]

I'm a stats geek and I'm also a fan of deep dark depressions. They go hand-in-hand so nicely!

I used to check my contest scores several times a day and keep track of every cluster of votes. If a batch of lower scores came in, it did have an actual effect on my desire keep working on the other stories I had in progress. Now, I duck under the covers and try not to peek out until the last sweeps are done at the end of the contest.

I did get a very nice PM from a guy in Germany on my Netherlands story. He had visited the country when he was young, and my story brought back happy memories for him. That the stuff that keeps my fingers glued to the keyboard! The surge of mystical muse energy even managed to get me to finish a second story, a lingering I/T tale, which is a new category for me.

 

[Jorunn]

Submitted "The Champion Goes Harder" into mature. A young woman Jane, an older guy, Andy, and an older woman Kim go on a road trip, with Kim inserting an IUD into Jane so she can fuck Andy without a condom.

Won't be a winner, but it should do ok.

I had an issue with the submission button on Chrome on my PC, but no issues using Opera on my ipad.

Others, including me, are struggling with the submit button. It's a topic on the support bulletin board.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I used to check my contest scores several times a day and keep track of every cluster of votes. If a batch of lower scores came in, it did have an actual effect on my desire keep working on the other stories I had in progress. Now, I duck under the covers and try not to peek out until the last sweeps are done at the end of the contest.

I did get a very nice PM from a guy in Germany on my Netherlands story. He had visited the country when he was young, and my story brought back happy memories for him. That the stuff that keeps my fingers glued to the keyboard! The surge of mystical muse energy even managed to get me to finish a second story, a lingering I/T tale, which is a new category for me.

Intellectually, I know that there will be 10 votes which are mostly positive, presumably from followers, followed by half a dozen downvotes as soon as a red H turns up, and then a few more votes after that if I'm lucky, hopefully boosting the rating again. It happens every time. Still makes me sulk when a rating plummets in half an hour!

Half a dozen nice comments though, and a few new followers, which is pretty good for an indulgent rambling tale. It's really nice that a few people now recognise characters from previous stories.

 

[Voboy]

It's really nice that a few people now recognise characters from previous stories.

Nothing tickles me more, to be honest.

I'm such a nerd about the interrelationships in my own stories; I love it when I find a reader who cares about that.

 

[Duleigh]

I used to check my contest scores several times a day and keep track of every cluster of votes. If a batch of lower scored came in, it did have an actual effect on my desire keep working on the other stories I had in progress. Now, I duck under the covers and try not to peek out until the last sweeps are done at the end of the contest.

Actually checking stats is a good way to see where your strong points are because in the long term. our readers are our indicator where we should be heading. I pull my CSV file from my published works page (click this link then click the little dark gray down arrow) and save that document every night at 10:00 PM. That page becomes a new page in my database and I can see trends and what the readers like.

I LOVE writing fan fic on Terry Pratchett's Discworld and from my stats I can see that my readers love it too - but only a few readers. (the best part about Pratchett Fan Fic is that it's so far beyond what a Troll can deal with, they either become a fan or go troll something easy.) Next for me is romance. I love writing Sci-Fi but my readers don't like reading it (as reflected in my book sales) I'm going to keep writing Sci-Fi (to my publisher's chagrin) but I'll concentrate on Romance.

Use your stats, but you need months of data to see what is happening. This screen shot was February where I published 5 stories. The blue line is number of views, the orange number of votes. Out of context the numbers are meaningless but I can look at my February CSV and see what was published on those days.