- Reviews & Essays
- Just Out of the Egg
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Click hereAs a new author on this site I have submitted four stories, three of them published thus far. I was elated with most of the comments I received on the first submission (Switch) as for the first time I had gotten feedback on something I had created. Finding beta readers has been an impossible task locally, not that I hadn't tried. It took a lot of courage to submit this first story and afterwards I felt better despite the substantial flaws that had been pointed out. I had certainly been too eager to submit it and keep it short. So here goes:
First lesson learned- write what needs to be told, don't shorten the story to some imagined page limit. Let the story play itself out. It rewards both the reader and yourself. My later submissions have borne this thesis out.
Second lesson- some readers don't like your story, or seemingly even the category. Their comments are generally not useful as they simply tell you they didn't like it without a reason. I can't help but wonder if they take the time to cast a vote or not; or if they do, if it reflects the true value/quality of the writing. On the other hand I have noticed some who give almost any story a five regardless as to whether it is well written or not. Go figure.
Third lesson- other author's comments are more useful and the suggestions they offer really help. Those are the comments that have propelled me forward and make me eager to perfect my craft. I am so grateful for those authors/readers who take the time to offer their perspectives and experience.
Fourth lesson- don't let the score take control of your ambitions. I was simply thrilled when my later two submissions (Poon Tang and Almost Human) won greater acceptance and went 'hot' on and off. After a few days I grew a little less enthused with this metric. Indeed, the scores reflected my own judgement of how each of them compared with the other in terms of quality. So I appreciate the score has value even to me if I keep everything in perspective. I have my favorites and readers certainly have theirs. But I have to remind myself that I need to write for myself to be good. I see most other stories that rank higher generally have more graphic sexual details. That's not me and I will just have to accept the readership really likes those stories better.
Fifth lesson- it takes time to learn to navigate the website site and to make use of writer's resources. I found that I was trying to contact volunteer editors for my third story without success, not getting any response. I went back and re-read the instructions and found I was not using the form correctly. Once I figured that out I contacted a potential editor for my planned next story and received a positive reply. Had my draft reviewed and returned with comments a day later. I was overjoyed with getting this kind of help and feedback. But then after submitting the second part of the story didn't receive any additional feedback. So I have to remember everyone has a life to live and the best I can do as an author is to submit a draft that is as error free as I can.
So as a newbie I appreciate more than ever the essay by Goldeniangel (What I Don't Understand). She hits all the marks and says it better then I think I would have.
One thing she mentioned was something I had observed myself and bothered me; probably more than it should. When I follow up on comments by looking at the person's bio most of them have not submitted anything for publication. I can accept that, they are readers. They are potentially who I am attempting to reach. But since I write mostly for a target audience of females the lack of gender identity in the great majority of bios leaves me with a data gap.
Am I reaching my target audience in terms of gender? I don't know. Though I admit without apology that I'm very pleased anyone is reading what I create and finding it enjoyable regardless of gender identify. Still, at least that that field would be useful if filled out and it wouldn't seem to degrade efforts to protect privacy.
So I can say at this point that I am grateful for the feedback I have received and look forward to becoming a more productive and giving member of the community. Thanks to all for taking time to read this commentary of my humble start and what I have learned. Now it's time to get back to some imaginative writing.
Shoot, did I write that story idea down somewhere?
- COMMENTS
KingCuddleover 3 years agoNice. Sincere.
Write from your heart!
"Deeply Felt & Honestly Stated"....will always be best.
Craft Key: A Story Is about a character who WANTS something...
and what they DO to get it.
Keep that at the Center of your story development!
Kisssses, wherever you love them most, guaranteed!
Anonymousover 3 years agoI must say I have never commented on or rated any story on here or any other sight. That being said I love your stories. I wandered onto them and have now read everything you have written and pretty much loved all of them other than maybe the sci-fi stuff but that’s just because I’m not really into it. I am a 45 year old male so don’t feel like it’s only women who enjoy your work I am relatively new to this sight but between your writing style and then to have numerous stories told about my local area has made you my favorite. Keep up the good work and I am really looking forward to see what adventures you have in store for us.
Anonymousover 3 years agoWhy do you say this? "But since I write mostly for a target audience of females the lack of gender identity in the great majority of bios leaves me with a data gap." I'm a male who thoroughly enjoys your stories. I'm sure there must be many others.
dmallordover 3 years agoI've read two of your articles. I like the clarity of your writings - thoughtful, logical, methodical, and very entertaining. My first story was in Novel section. After days of writing, editing, rewriting, and repeating the process, I was exhausted. At that point, it dawned on me readers might not like what I labored so lovingly to create, so I stopped and published it. There was little response to it. But I did get one nugget of encouragement so I posted the remaining as stand-a-lone chapters. They faired better. I felt good about it. That's when I consolidated it all from beginning to end and reposted it, again under Novels. Perhaps that was a bad idea. I had only one response thus far, calling it 'long...stupid...dribble'. Yet, it gets high grades and is favorited by several other readers w/o comments. Guess what I'm trying to say is, it is all a coin toss at some point in time. AND it is good to get the encouragement like those of your followers. Good reading! Your advise is gratefully appreciated.
nthusiasticover 3 years agoThank You!
Thank you for sharing your talents and viewpoints with us. I enjoy your stories which is why I became one of your followers immediately. I don’t read this category often, yet you made very valid points here. I suggest mining your followers for beta readers; after all, they obviously like what you write. Another suggestion is to read your story out loud, reading ONLY the words actually written. It’s a good way to find missing or extra words. Your ear will catch many grammatical errors since they’ll just sound “wrong.” It takes a lot of discipline to see only what is there and not what you meant to put there. Our brains are wired to automatically fill in any gaps, thus we can hav txt spk & othr shrtcuts, rght?
Boyd Percyover 3 years agoGood observations! I suggest you write stories that please you first and foremost. I only give out scores of 4 and 5. Why punish amateur authors if I don't like their stories or don't think they did a good job. Good luck with your future stories.
5
Boyd Percyover 3 years agoAlways good to see a thoughtful author! I tend to give 5s to authors I enjoy as a way of encouraging them to write more. I suggest you write stories that please you first and foremost!
5
rnebularover 3 years agoAs a fellow author I applaud your efforts and confidence to submit your stories. I can relate to the nervousness that comes with every submission, after you have spent time going over a story again wondering if more changes are needed. It took me ages to find two great people to help edit my work, one from the actual volunteer editors portal (took a LOT of emailing) and my second was actually a commentor on some of my stories. I found that his comments pointed out some gaps in my stories, so I asked him to beta read my next story. He agreed (thankfully) and the rest is history.
I try to reread my own work a few times before submitting, but know that I don't always have the patience to not submit.
I agree with you about the fickle nature of the audience, and would also suggest that the genre you submit in will steer the curve somewhat. A steamy hot sex story can do very well in Erotic Couplings, but maybe not as well in Loving Wives. A slower falling in love story could rate very high in Romance, but maybe not fare as well in Group Sex. Know your audience :)
Anyhow, I've enjoyed the two stories of yours I've read, and I'll be working on the rest when I can. Keep up the good work and as a writer I respect says all the time, "Keep your stick on the ice."
Rnebular
Jay626over 3 years agoScore helps authors gauge how good we are. Did we do what we set out? Did I make too many mistakes? Did they like it? Its generally the only feedback we get. The best advice to give is no advice at all. Write what you want for yourself, nobody else. Imagine you are the only reader of the story and then stop giving a shit about who will like it. Then forget you ever wrote it. Sit on the story for a few month and re-read it. If you need an editor, I can send you mine. Volunteer editors on this site are very rare or not good at all. Are they out there? Yes. Will you find one....LOL
Anonymousover 3 years agoI am one of the Anonymous readers who is a better critic than writer. I am male and of retirement age. I read a lot, Literotica being the only online reading I do. I read a lot of fiction and try to read a classic every now and then. I have read Egyptian, Indian, Russian, German, Dutch books in the last five years. I have enjoyed the English authors such as Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope. Joseph Conrad was a revelation. I also recommend anything by Nancy Friday.
In Literotica I have the opinion that the majority of writers and readers are male. Even some very convincing tales from the female point of view have been written by men. But the female point of view is mostly missing. So I am excited to read writings from an authentic female point of view. There are many things to learn about how women or a particular woman thinks and feels. I have found women to be much more interesting than men. I really liked the piece of yours that I read. So please keep on writing. Be yourself. Don't chase ratings or listen to the trolls. Thank you for the effort you have made to be heard. We need individual voices.
R.
