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[Conkersbadfurday]

I'm sure this'll be somewhat controversial, but I've grown to the opinion that all criticism should be taken with a grain of strong salt. On one hand, if you have a bunch of people saying "I don't get this!" then you should definitely examine that, but if he divide is 50-50, then maybe not. It really is a question of do you want the world to get your thing, or only as many people needed to get your thing? If you really like your ending, then you should keep it. Always try to keep the things you're proud of! That said, if you want to touch it up, drop more hints, leave more clues, then that's another matter.

Right? Haha. I plan on keeping the ending as is, so right now it's a matter of adding in some more clues that make it work a bit better. Music is a big theme of the story, and one of my test readers is a musician. I'm having a chat with him right now, and he's being super fucking helpful. I can make a handful of little changes that should help a lot.

Sent some questions to the other guy who wasn't sold to see what he had to say.

 

[aidan]

I look forward to the aidan cinematic universe in 2020.

If that happens, I'll buy GAF and turn it into a Suikoden fan-site.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

..

 

[360pages]

That doesn't seem all that controversial.

The advice I got from the MRK short story workshop I did a while back was that there are four possible responses to a specific critique:
-Oops! Yes, they correctly identified a problem, and you will fix it now that it's pointed out.
-Yes, but... Their reaction indicates a problem, but their analysis or suggested fix is incorrect. You will find your own fix.
-Nope! The critiquer is thinking this is a totally different story than it is. They are giving prescriptions to make it more like the story in their head. You will ignore this entirely.
-WTF? Somewhere there was a major miscommunication. You will try to find out what went wrong and how it can be fixed.

Seems to me that the open ending critiques are going to fall into either the second or third reaction. Some people just straight-up hate open endings and don't want them in anything ever, and you should feel free to ignore them. But it's also possible that some of the readers feel like they were promised an ending that resolved everything, and then feel cheated when that didn't happen. Is there something you can do in the story to hint early on that this mystery won't be resolved? Is there something you can remove from the story that might have given readers the false expectation of resolution? If so, do those things. Otherwise, well. Some people won't like the story. So be it.

I think writing is just generally hard to crtic than things like a game or movie. Even most audiences can usually tell when a game flat out is broken or a Movie simply falls apart or is nonsense.

Writing is so much more vague, and depending on how you tell your story. At most the best advice I can give is keep it consistent. Outside of that, most advice for writing is well, almost useless outside of spelling errors and continuity and grammar.

Some people hate long winded prose others enjoy it. Some people like minimalist type of stories. Others want more meat to them, since words are the only way to convey your message through writing it means books tend to be far more opinionated.

 

[toddhunter]

At the end of the day if somebody gives you criticism that means they a) actually read it and b) cared enough to comment.

I'd embrace that as a net positive.

 

[360pages]

At the end of the day if somebody gives you criticism that means they a) actually read it and b) cared enough to comment.

I'd embrace that as a net positive.

True enough!

It's just hard to pinpoint if that is a legit flaw or if someones preferences are getting in the way.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

At the end of the day if somebody gives you criticism that means they a) actually read it and b) cared enough to comment.

I'd embrace that as a net positive.

This!

@Longwindedpostabove

I was on board until you mentioned Prometheus in a negative light. That's my favorite movie BECAUSE it's ambiguous and a confusing mess. There's enough puzzle pieces to put it together if you watch it enough though, and that's why I love it.

But I suppose that's maybe not a good thing to take into my own writing, especially given how many people LOATHE THE SHIT out of that movie

 

[Crash Station]

Day 11 results: 1 borrow on first short.

Is posting these updates getting annoying or should I still do it?

Edit: Oh hey, 2 new sales just showed up in the report for yesterday, though 1 was for Freeze Kill and not the erotica.

 

[H.Protagonist]

Hubba-hubba Challenge Update: 1st DEADLINE

Today is the first deadline where you should (ideally) be done with the roughs for all 3 shorts. For those who are not quite ready, don't panic. There's still this next week to catch up as well as do your proofing and covers, etc. If you are super behind, there's still no need to panic. Just prioritize your first short this week to get everything ready for publication on May 18th, then you can spend the next week scraping together whatever's left for your other two.


If people could please give me an update on their progress, I'll know how many are still in the game and give slowpokes some gentle nudging

Spoiler

with a spear

.



Guidelines:
- Write 3 erotic shorts (2,000 – 8,000 words*) by May 9th
(Proofreading/editing 2nd week of May)
- Simultaneous release of everyone’s first erotic short to be May 18th
- 2nd short to be published May 25th, and 3rd on June 1st
- Bundle of all 3 to be published in June for 1.99-4.99 (if your shorts are <5000k 1.99, if >5000k 4.99)
- Release platform: Amazon
- Pricing (2.99 for 4500+ words, .99 or 1.99 for 2000 - 4500 words) + (KU available)
- Willingness to share sales/profit numbers (if any)P) so that we can track and compare


Progress Checklist
- 3 shorts
- Silly pen name

Things to do: FINAL WEEK BEFORE PUBLISHING DEADLINE (05/18)
- Amazon account/agreement to publish
- Formatting
- Editing/Proofing
- Blurbs (if you haven't already)
- Covers

Resources:

- Formatting: Free Template, Draft2Digital (free formatting), Mark Cokers formatting guide for Smashwords

- Covers: DIY & Paid cover resources
1) Canva - Super cheap and easy to use
2) 4 Incredible Free Sources for Photos to Use in Your Book or Blog - Good info about the process of getting photos + free and paid sites listed
3) Canstockphoto - Free and paid images
4) Fiverr - Recommended by reddit/used by other authors putting out shorts if you don't want to design your own


Other Considerations:

- Twitter Account - You might want to consider starting a twitter account for your pen name now so that you can cultivate a few followers in the weeks leading up to tell about your shorts when they release. Not necessary, of course, but it's free marketing and could benefit your sales. If you do start one, let me know and I'll put a * next to your name. No need to reveal what it is, but this will be a good way to see how much of an impact a little marketing does for this.

Tips from other erotica authors:
1) 2/3 of your short should be sex
2) You need to hook a reader in the first 10% of the short (remember the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon)
3) Titles really need to be eye-catching for the genre
4) Nail your keywords
5) One bestselling author noted not to put your book in the erotica category
They also said to not use taboo, step-family, virgin or anything like that in keywords.
6) Blurbs need to be tight and suggestive (without getting you flagged by Amazon as ADULT), not meandering

A hilarious, but compact blurb example I saw:
"Julie's life is out of control and empty. As a 21-year-old college drop-out, she wanders the side show, looking for something, anything, to make her feel alive. When she sees six-foot, seven-inch Arnold under the Strong Man canopy, she realizes she may have found just what she's been craving. But can she take his raw power?"

Participation List

Me - Medieval
Nappuccino - Friends and Benefits
Gaz_RB - Doctor-Patient Fling
Delio - Superhero
Blargonaut - Cyberpunk Heist Caper
Jintor - Lesbians?
timetokill - Virgins/Daddy Issues
toddhunter - Theme? What theme? Sex!
Nudull - ???
mu cephei - ?????
FlowersisBritish - Historical/Dinosaurs?
Cyan - Tiger/human love
cosmicblizzard - The Strange and Bizarre
Petit Melon - Vampire/Paranormal
besada - Housewives/Occult
Fiction - Heaven and Hell
sirap - Werewolf billionaire stepbrothers kink (serial)
AngmarsKing701 - Fantasy/Monster
SolVanderlyn - ???
Ashes - Thinking Man's Erotica
360 pages - Various smut
cr_blah_blah -

Yes? I'm saying Yes because that means I'm committed to not let you down now.

You're in and you can never leave now.

That's below minimum wage though.. I'm guessing.

It will (potentially) fund the alcohol needed for real life.

Yeah, I know. Just the dismal sales/borrows of the second book are bumming me out and making me think it's not worth it when I could be writing things I actually want to write.

Of course the book sirap mentioned did say this kind of stuff would happen, so not that big of a deal, especially when I'm sitting on 3 more completed shorts to release.

Don't be disheartened. This is initially just a little experiment (and one that's pretty at odds with our usual fare, so there's bound to be a lot of fine-tuning to learn over the course of it), it has a lot of competition to break in, and you've already sold pretty well from what I've read on other forums. I think you'll feel a bit more motivated and have a little more fun when other people start posting results, so hang in there.

Speak for yourself.

:3

If that happens, I'll buy GAF and turn it into a Suikoden fan-site.

I'm OK with this!

Spoiler

Suikoden4Lyfe

 

[aidan]

I'm the Writer of the Day on r/fantasy! If you're on Reddit and interested, drop by and ask me a silly/interesting question!

http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/35ajyz/rfantasy_writer_of_the_day_aidan_moher_author_of/

At the end of the day if somebody gives you criticism that means they a) actually read it and b) cared enough to comment.

I'd embrace that as a net positive.

I agree, with an asterisk. I've had some beta readers who've been thorough, but completely inept at providing feedback in a constructive manner. Usually other aspiring writers, they seem more interested in providing cutting commentary (often with examples of how they'd do it better) without bouying the harsh criticism with constructive criticism that encourages the writer to get better. It feels like they're boosting their ego as much as being helpful. I've not gone back to them the next time I've needed feedback.

It's nice that someone's read your work, but it's best to leave petty criticism to Amazon and Goodreads reviewers.

Maybe this experience is unique to me?

 

[timetokill]

I'm a little behind (just finishing my second story today) because I got blindsided by various life issues. I'll be ready to go by the deadline though, no worries there.

 

[mu cephei]

My update is: I'm horribly behind. I'll be aiming to get the first one done and out on the 18th, then try to scrape together the other two. Still in, but dubious.

Also, is the Amazon agreement to publish fairly straightforward? I haven't done that yet, it's like the step that makes this REAL.

 

[360pages]

I'll start/ finish my last one tonight or tomorrow. Need to work on formatting and editing after that.

 

[toddhunter]

I agree, with an asterisk. I've had some beta readers who've been thorough, but completely inept at providing feedback in a constructive manner. Usually other aspiring writers, they seem more interested in providing cutting commentary (often with examples of how they'd do it better) without bouying the harsh criticism with constructive criticism that encourages the writer to get better. It feels like they're boosting their ego as much as being helpful. I've not gone back to them the next time I've needed feedback.

It's nice that someone's read your work, but it's best to leave petty criticism to Amazon and Goodreads reviewers.

Maybe this experience is unique to me?

I could see that happening a lot. Everybody is "writing a novel" but few people actually do anything and that can create a lot of negative emotion when reading somebody elses finished work.

Doing the neogaf creative writing comps was a bit of a lesson in this for myself. I'll admit I had to push down any jealousy when giving feedback.

HP I'll be ready for the 18th.

 

[360pages]

It's complicated, which is why I just look for technical errors in reviews and save my opinion of characters and what not until it is legit finished. Since I realized that reviewing something chapter by chapter is horrible and kind of pointless.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Usually other aspiring writers, they seem more interested in providing cutting commentary (often with examples of how they'd do it better) without bouying the harsh criticism with constructive criticism that encourages the writer to get better. It feels like they're boosting their ego as much as being helpful. I've not gone back to them the next time I've needed feedback

Sometimes I wonder if I've been guilty of this. I try not to be, but I'm also an opinionated cunt.

 

[360pages]

Also, for those thinking about covers for erotica but don't want to risk using people on it. Fruits are actually pretty good, Apples, Cherries and Strawberries are usually good.

However, do not use something like a Banana , I would find it difficult to take any erotica seriously that had a Banana on the cover.

 

[aidan]

This is why you need a group you can trust that you can keep going back to.

This is definitely important. I've gathered together a good group of beta readers over the years--honest, smart, but also encouraging and supportive--and it's been immensely beneficial for my writing.

On another note: Take that, Ted Chiang.

Spoiler

One thing I'm learning through all of this is that you really don't have to sell a lot of books to end up ranking in obscure sections of foreign Amazon stores.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

This is definitely important. I've gathered together a good group of beta readers over the years--honest, smart, but also encouraging and supportive--and it's been immensely beneficial for my writing.

On another note: Take that, Ted Chiang.

Spoiler

One thing I'm learning through all of this is that you really don't have to sell a lot of books to end up ranking in obscure sections of foreign Amazon stores.

Congrats! That's awesome (regardless of the country)!

 

[Delio]

Third short isnt done but the general idea is there. First and second are done and just need proofing/edits. First cover is done second is..coming along. Twitter status I already have 15 followers yay!

I have no idea how to make a short blurb for this tho.

 

[Last Baron]

Is it cool to post writing and get feedback? I want to see if the folks in my creative writing class are just blowing smoke up my ass or not.

 

[Mike M]

Is it cool to post writing and get feedback? I want to see if the folks in my creative writing class are just blowing smoke up my ass or not.

Depends on how much you want people to read : P

 

[Last Baron]

Depends on how much you want people to read : P

It's just a short 5-minute character sketch I did in class, not long at all

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Is it cool to post writing and get feedback? I want to see if the folks in my creative writing class are just blowing smoke up my ass or not.

Dunno what the norm is here, but I"ll give it a read and a critique.

 

[Last Baron]

Alrighty then. The prompt was just to write a quick character sketch with the defining quality being the person has to be greedy after a fashion.

He always thought of himself as a selfless person. But the truth of it was as different as an inner picture show could be. Friends would always share with him but he never shared back. The thrill of getting something for seemingly nothing always swept out the notion of returning the favor. This extended beyond ice cream cones and sodas to personal things. Friends would offer small pieces of themselves up but he could never reciprocate. Anything personal was his and he didn't think of sharing. This bled into his professional life as well. He wasn't a team player yet somehow no one could see this. The shock was palpable to everyone but him when he would take credit where it wasn't due or throw someone under the bus just to suit himself. This afforded him many luxuries that would all end up as fuel for bigger, better, and shinier.

 

[Nappuccino]

The end of my semester has been killer, basically non-stop paper/project/grading.

I won't three stories done by the ninth, but everything slows down after Wed, so I should be able to hop back on the writing train.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Alrighty then. The prompt was just to write a quick character sketch with the defining quality being the person has to be greedy after a fashion.

I don't have any real objections to the content on first glance, though I feel like some of the sentences could easily be combined. There's maybe a lack of flow in the writing.

 

[Ashes]

Alrighty then. The prompt was just to write a quick character sketch with the defining quality being the person has to be greedy after a fashion.

I think it's very good. If a little too explicit. This would work perhaps in a non-fiction piece.

What I'd personally like to have seen is you tackling the motivation aspect.

John Malkovich's biggest fear was that his children would suffer under Labour inheritance rules. As such he voted with his heart and not his head.

Edit: That took about fifteen minutes. Which isn't really a quick sketch, I suppose. But hopefully, it helps.

 

[Conan-san]

Oh, I'm a daft bastard.

I've started to serialise the rewrite of my Nanowrimo 2012 novel on wattpad and writeon.

Went and got a cover commission and everything.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I can tell I'm on the last draft of Amp because I'm going through every curse word to see if I need it or not. I tend to swear a lot in both life and my writing, meaning i have to devote an hour to just finding all of the naughty words and removing them. Well, most of them.

God, almost 40 fuck-bombs in a bit over 40 single-spaced pages. That's excessive, even for me. What I get for writing teenagers.

I do this with adverbials too.

 

[360pages]

You know what, I think I might publish my first short early. Might as well, and prepare for the others coming weeks. Just to see how well it does, with formatting and spelling checks.

 

[Delio]

I forget. Any copyright info goes at the front of the short correct? This will be my first time actually writing that stuff out.

 

[360pages]

Almost done formatting and editing. Now I just need a cover, and I will be finished.

Yep, fruit it's going to be, or other random objects. Can't get sued over fruit.

 

[Delio]

Almost done formatting and editing. Now I just need a cover, and I will be finished.

Yep, fruit it's going to be, or other random objects. Can't get sued over fruit.

Depends on the fruit. Dont want Apple coming at you for having a random apple.

 

[360pages]

Well, I did it. I published it, now it's waiting for review and might be put up in 2 days.

Used Cherries as the fruit, and really only had to spend 2 dollar on it. So hopefully I can make at least that much back. After a week, I'll see how well it does.

 

[Crash Station]

Alright, bundle is under review. Will hopefully be up by the time I'm awake.

Haven't been doing any updates for the last few days since I haven't gotten any sales/borrows, so no point. It is a bit disheartening, but that's not changing my publishing schedule or me finishing a 6th book.

 

[Plasticine]

Since I'm finally done with my next book, I decided to try writing some good old fashioned smut. 800 words in, 500 of which is the opening sex scene, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It doesn't feel erotic enough, I guess. I might just go ahead finish since I'm so far along.

 

[360pages]

Just to note, the lowest you can possible go on Amazon if you are using the 70% model is 2.99$ So be aware of that and try to make it at least 2000-5000 words long. Just so people won't feel jimped.

Honestly, I wrote a 2000 word short, and I legit feel that 2.99 is too much for something that short.

 

[360pages]

Also, just got a borrow, I guess it released in different areas at different times. Now I hope they read at least 10% of it.

I don't see myself getting more than maybe 5 or 6 buys at max/ But that's alright since I pretty much already made my money back.

(Though it would be nice to make about 25$ off of it, the same amount I payed for my current spelling editor)

 

[krrrt]

What do you guys think about writing in English when you're not a native speaker.
This erotica challenge has made me wonder if maybe I could earn a little much-needed extra income that way bit I'm not entirely sure it would be feasable.

(my native language is Dutch by the way, and the not-quite-the-same regional variant spoken in Belgium at that)

 

[Crash Station]

First bundle up. We'll see how that does.

 

[360pages]

I'm doing a deal for the next week my first story will be 1.00. Which is honestly, I wish was the default price, since 2.99 for a 2000 word smut short is way too much. Also, made a twitter account.

 

[Veelk]

So I need some feedback on whether this is a good idea to do or if I should not bother with it and work on original fiction instead.

I've had a writing itch for a while. I am a big superhero fan, and I love the DC characters a lot (Batman, Superman, etc.). I read comics and a lot of them are good, but at the same time, a lot aren't. And in terms of the movies, I have huge doubts over DC's ability to make an adaptation of the characters I can get behind. I desperately have stories in my head that I want to see realized in some way.

This has been driving my crazy for more than a year. I've start scribbling down story notes, but the more I do it, the less satisfied I am with it. I am starting to think I'm not going to be happy until I write out my own stories wholesale.

I'm worried whether this is a waste of my time. I mean, on one hand, any writing is good practice, obviously. On the other hand, should I be focusing on my own fiction rather than using characters that DC will almost never see fit to publish? At this point, the idea that I have would essentially be come a 10+ book product if we count all the various stories with various characters I want to do. It's a stupidly huge project, for something that has virtually no chance of being published, since there is only one publisher that can say yes to it.

I'm tempted to just say fuck it, and just write it because I want to, but I also feel I should be productive with my time. This being a passion project, I don't know if it's quite appropriate to work on it now.

 

[360pages]

So I need some feedback on whether this is a good idea to do or if I should not bother with it and work on original fiction instead.

I've had a writing itch for a while. I am a big superhero fan, and I love the DC characters a lot (Batman, Superman, etc.). I read comics and a lot of them are good, but at the same time, a lot aren't. And in terms of the movies, I have huge doubts over DC's ability to make an adaptation of the characters I can get behind. I desperately have stories in my head that I want to see realized in some way.

This has been driving my crazy for more than a year. I've start scribbling down story notes, but the more I do it, the less satisfied I am with it. I am starting to think I'm not going to be happy until I write out my own stories wholesale.

I'm worried whether this is a waste of my time. I mean, on one hand, any writing is good practice, obviously. On the other hand, should I be focusing on my own fiction rather than using characters that DC will almost never see fit to publish? At this point, the idea that I have would essentially be come a 10+ book product if we count all the various stories with various characters I want to do. It's a stupidly huge project, for something that has virtually no chance of being published, since there is only one publisher that can say yes to it.

I'm tempted to just say fuck it, and just write it because I want to, but I also feel I should be productive with my time. This being a passion project, I don't know if it's quite appropriate to work on it now.

That kind of stuff, can still be great for practice. I think feedback is really important for early writers. If it's a passion project, go for it!

 

[show me your skeleton]

okay so here's a very specific question for you guys:
i have a species in my little fantasy world that is asexual. when referring to them i was thinking of using s/he and he/r as the pronoun. does this seem a little too on-the-nose or a good way to approach the uniqueness of the species?

 

[Haly]

Wouldn't there be a word for them?

If they are a prominent race with their own linguistic culture, then they probably have a pronoun they use for themselves, which would become a loan word in other societies' languages.

Alternatively, if your main societies are predominantly patriarchal, then they would default to the use of he. Or if this asexual race is very feminine by the standards of the aforementioned society, they may use "she" instead.

Whatever you use, don't use s/he. That's just... yeah. No. Unless this world is a thinly veiled allegory for modern issues of gender and sexuality you don't want to use a severely artificial pseudo-pronoun like s/he.

 

[show me your skeleton]

Wouldn't there be a word for them?

If they are a prominent race with their own linguistic culture, then they probably have a pronoun they use for themselves, which would become a loan word in other societies' languages.

Alternatively, if your main societies are predominantly patriarchal, then they would default to the use of he. Or if this asexual race is very feminine by the standards of the aforementioned society, they may use "she" instead.

Whatever you use, don't use s/he. That's just... yeah. No. Unless this world is a thinly veiled allegory for modern issues of gender and sexuality you don't want to use a severely artificial pseudo-pronoun like s/he.

got it, haha. it's going to be tricky figuring out the ins and outs of their society. cheers for the insight!

 

[fredrancour]

okay so here's a very specific question for you guys:
i have a species in my little fantasy world that is asexual. when referring to them i was thinking of using s/he and he/r as the pronoun. does this seem a little too on-the-nose or a good way to approach the uniqueness of the species?

Those pronouns would feel too artificial because they are very clearly invented based on how they look on a written page, rather than how they'd be spoken in conversation. I agree with Haly's commentary.

Think of it this way: The sexless race probably wouldn't view itself as a compromise between the human sexes (unless that's somehow logical in a fantasy origin story). Why would a hybrid pronoun make any sense to them? They'd probably have a genderless one. Then it's back to how the humans and such react to them. They'd handle it in a self-centered way, sure, but there are too many simpler solutions in the context of normal conversation. Heck, people would probably be more likely to use "it" for that race than a hybrid word with probably-unpronounceable punctuation.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

.

 

[Crash Station]

Got the third short up for pre-order just because of how unpredictable the review process is the day before. We'll see if that gets me anything.

No sales/borrows on the bundle yet beyond the one I got on a friend's Kindle, but it's only been up for like 6 hours or so, so maybe later.