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Submitting standards.

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SecretStories
Rookie Scribe
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Do any other writers feel that there appears to be double standards when it comes to having stories published? One Mod will accept where another critiques quite harshly, I’ve read stories in the past that have been terrible yet have some how been accepted.

Anyway I’m currently in a cycle of being rejected which is basically pushing me to give up, I enjoy writing but I can’t seem to shake off the bad habits I appear to have which just means I’m writing but no one is seeing it. So what’s the point.
Guest
Lurker
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Quote by SecretStories
Do any other writers feel that there appears to be double standards when it comes to having stories published? One Mod will accept where another critiques quite harshly, I’ve read stories in the past that have been terrible yet have some how been accepted.

Anyway I’m currently in a cycle of being rejected which is basically pushing me to give up, I enjoy writing but I can’t seem to shake off the bad habits I appear to have which just means I’m writing but no one is seeing it. So what’s the point.


I have had my fair share of rejections and for the most part, its because of not listening. No two mods are the same and communication is what you need to do. I understand what you are saying and do agree that there are a few stories or poems that should not have passed muster. Just keep writing and don't get frustrated.
Unknown User
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Standards have definitely gone up over time and old stories vetted in older times don't necessarily get taken down unless there is a change in rules (as happened when was removed as a story topic for a while). Also, keep in mind that mods are volunteers doing the job as individuals on their own time. They aren't employees of the site or anything. So, naturally, their approach to moderation varies as does how much time they can spend on doing moderation. As a former story mod myself, I know how rough it gets. Those who stick with it deserve a pat on the back.

As far as your "bad habits", if those involve improper sentences, dialogue, etc., then that needs to be corrected and you will be the chief beneficiary of that. Stories need to be readable to be interesting, let alone sexy. Find an editor who is not a mod but is an experienced Lush hack and get them to critique or even edit a story or two. They might be able to point you in the right direction. Just post a request in Writing Resources.

(FYI, I did help one young lady in the past, but unless she approaches me again, I'm not doing editing work right now.)
Just_A_Guy_You_Know
Wouldn't you rather have a nice cup of tea?
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If you'll permit me to be a bit of a dick, I frankly think that the mods should reject more stories. I appreciate that Lush exercises some level of quality control over what gets published, which already elevates it over other erotic stories sites, and is what initially drew me here. However, the standard of quality in writing that Lush is willing to publish is still a fairly low bar to get over. If you're having trouble getting your story past the mods, then I'd suggest reading more, making sure you're familiar with site guidelines, and working to improve your craft. You're not going to become a better writer by quitting or complaining about the story mods. If there's inconsistency in mod responses to your writing, it's because the quality of your writing is on the border of being (un)acceptable. If you learn to write better, you'll leave no question in the minds of the mods about whether your work deserves publication.

Don't believe everything that you read.
LikeToWrite
Active Ink Slinger
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Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
If you'll permit me to be a bit of a dick, I frankly think that the mods should reject more stories. I appreciate that Lush exercises some level of quality control over what gets published, which already elevates it over other erotic stories sites, and is what initially drew me here. However, the standard of quality in writing that Lush is willing to publish is still a fairly low bar to get over. If you're having trouble getting your story past the mods, then I'd suggest reading more, making sure you're familiar with site guidelines, and working to improve your craft. You're not going to become a better writer by quitting or complaining about the story mods. If there's inconsistency in mod responses to your writing, it's because the quality of your writing is on the border of being (un)acceptable. If you learn to write better, you'll leave no question in the minds of the mods about whether your work deserves publication.


Just_A_Guy, during the time I’ve been a member of this site, I’ve had the privilege of reading several comments you have made in various forums, and in all fairness, I have to admit I haven’t always agreed with you. Once, I even entered into a debate over something you said, but this time, I agree 100% with your response. You gave some great advice to SecretStories, and in particular, I want to draw attention to the one sentence in your comment I’ve highlighted. I think it sums up very well why some story moderators may accept a story when another would reject it.

[Quote=SecretStories] Do any other writers feel that there appears to be double standards when it comes to having stories published? One Mod will accept where another critiques quite harshly, I’ve read stories in the past that have been terrible yet have some how been accepted.

Anyway I’m currently in a cycle of being rejected which is basically pushing me to give up, I enjoy writing but I can’t seem to shake off the bad habits I appear to have which just means I’m writing but no one is seeing it. So what’s the point.
[/Quote]

SecretStories, the idea of ‘double standards’ has been raised in these forums many times over the years, and usually by a new writer that is having problems getting a piece accepted. Anytime a story verifier has replied, one thing they usually mention is that they have guidelines given by the site management to go by when judging whether a story is good enough to publish. I’ve never been a moderator, so I can’t speak directly to any guidelines they have, however, I’m reasonably sure there are no ‘double standards’. If anything and I think this is only human nature to do so, I imagine they are probably more lenient with someone that is only now starting to publish stories, than they would be with a more experienced author, keeping in mind the guidelines they have. It must give them a great deal of pleasure to see a beginning author grow over a period of time, knowing that perhaps they played a small part in helping that person to improve their writing skills. They are here to maintain the high standards this site has and to encourage writers to do better, not to discourage people.

Our story verifiers are authors and I’m sure they have experienced the frustration and heartbreak of having their stories returned. I’d think it would be a very hard thing to do, to have to tell someone they know has poured their heart and soul into a story, that the piece is not good enough to publish here. If you stop and think about it for a minute, why would they deliberately want to send out a rejection notice? They are giving freely of their time to read everyone’s story and I’m sure it is more pleasant for them to read something that is well written, as opposed to one that isn’t. For this reason, it is to their benefit to offer help to the beginning author, which is what they are doing when they return a story with comments on how it may be improved.

Just_A_Guy gave some very good advice when he suggested you read stories as well as write your own. Find a few of the better, well-known authors here that have earned several awards and study how they put their stories together. You will be surprised how much you can learn this way.

One suggestion I’d like to make, is that anytime you write something, whether a story, a submission to one of these forums or even a letter/email to a friend or family member, is that before you send it, go back and read your words several times. Spend some time on it and edit your work, by changing a word, rewriting a sentence, whatever it takes to make what you have written clearer and more forceful. Read your letter aloud, and you will probably spot places where it doesn’t flow smoothly. If you will do this, you will soon find as you type something that isn’t quite right, you will immediately spot your error.

Looking at your profile, I see there are four stories published by you, so that tells me you certainly have the talent to put words together in a meaningful way. You state that you ‘… can’t seem to shake off the bad habits I appear to have…’. Bad habits are hard to break, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It takes time, effort and a stubborn determination, but if you want to be a successful author with a large readership, it is well worth the effort. You ended your post with, ‘So what’s the point.’ I’d like to answer that by quoting three simple words you used at the beginning of your previous sentence, and they are, ‘I enjoy writing’. What better reason can you have than that? If you enjoy doing so, then go for it, Don’t quit! When you receive a rejection notice, learn from it. My Grandfather had a saying I've never forgotten, and it is, ‘Quitters never win, and winners never quit’.

Make SecretStories a winner!
If you're feeling bored during this Covid-19 epidemic I’d like to suggest
you take a peek at a story I collaborated with SueBrasil, a brilliant author.
It's about a mistake in judgment a lady makes concerning a friend, based
on the hurtful words of someone that only thinks of himself. Will that
conniving person succeed in ruining a beautiful friendship, or will she see
through his lies? It's gradually creeping up towards the 30,000 mark
and we’d love any votes or hearing whatever comments you may wish
to make. It is listed in my profile under ‘FAVOURITES’ as Apologize.

www.lushstories.com/stories/first-time/apologize.aspx
Rally
Advanced Wordsmith
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Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
If there's inconsistency in mod responses to your writing, it's because the quality of your writing is on the border of being (un)acceptable.


I don’t think that’s necessarily true. What I see is that some moderators ask for certain changes that others don’t care about, and that kind of inconsistency makes for inefficiency in the submission process because instead of revising once for everything a writer may have to revise multiple times, each time to solve a different problem that may not even be of concern to the next reader.

And I’ve also seen moderators asking for changes to eliminate some writing practices they actually use in their own stories. That’s clearly a not-ok double standard.

Something that might help is for the site to adopt a standard reference for grammar, and point writers to that, e.g. its particular sections or rules, when revisions are requested. I’m thinking that a common shared source of writing standards would help with the inconsistencies.

That said, grammar conventions shouldn’t be strictly applied in fiction where deviation from a standard is often useful to create certain effects, such as bringing written language closer to spoken language for the sake of conversational or playful tone. Not recognizing those uses of unconventional writing practices in fiction can be a problem in itself.
WannabeWordsmith
Writius Eroticus
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Quote by Rally
What I see is that some moderators ask for certain changes that others don’t care about


While this may appear to be the case, I can assure you that the reason is largely technical rather than not caring. As LikeToWrite says, "why would they deliberately want to send out a rejection notice?" That's spot on. Everything runs super smoothly and we can rattle through well-presented stories, fixing the odd typo or the odd run-on or the odd grammar snafu (which are all easy to miss when close to a piece of work, and is why it's fab to have that second pair of eyes).

When there's only one or two main things wrong - maybe a repeated grammatical error - the moderator may (at their discretion):

1) fix them and mention the changes in the acceptance box
2) fix a few and ask the author in the rejection box to go through in the same vein to fix the rest
3) return the story and ask the author to fix the issue(s) themselves

They may do more if the submitting member has bought Gold status.

Where there are multiple issues, we'll try and highlight as many as we can in the rejection box and suggest some further reading via links that we've specially curated for the most common types of issues we encounter. But this is where we hit the technical hump. To help keep us focused and to keep the moderation queue down, the rejection box has a strict character limit enforced. Otherwise, we could write pages and pages about each and every issue, offering advice we'd love to give that's specific to that story to help people grow as writers. We love helping out. But if we did that, the queue would get bigger and bigger and we'd not be able to pass stories as quickly.

Since the rejection box is very limited on space, we are forced to only pick the top issue(s). Some moderators will read the first few paragraphs and send feedback. Some might read further, or skim all the way through, or find certain things to highlight. It largely depends on available time and the general impression/vibe we get from the story.

If you get a rejection, take the comments on board and solely fix the highlighted issues, then resubmit, you might find that another mod (or the same one) spots other things, perhaps further in the story than they read first time. Again, if they're relatively minor they might fix them. Or they might return it again. They are most likely things that the first moderator spotted but didn't have space to write about in the rejection box because they were eclipsed by the main issues, and we hoped you might spot the others as you gave the entire thing another sweep.

This does, as you say:

Quote by Rally
makes for inefficiency in the submission process because instead of revising once for everything a writer may have to revise multiple times, each time to solve a different problem.


But there's only so much we can do in the limited space we have. The best comment is given by Just_A_Guy_You_Know:

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
it's because the quality of your writing is on the border of being (un)acceptable


If there are very few things to do, we'll fix them, pass it and move on. It's the fastest route for everyone and keeps the queue flowing. If there are a bunch of things up with it, we'll get a feel for that and try to highlight the main ones as space permits in the rejection box, and hope you spot the others during a second proofread.

Quote by Rally
That said, grammar conventions shouldn’t be strictly applied in fiction where deviation from a standard is often useful to create certain effects, such as bringing written language closer to spoken language for the sake of conversational or playful tone.


I for one appreciate that grammar conventions are often done for a reason. Especially in dialogue. Most moderators will recognise that "What the fuck are you looking at?" and "The fuck you lookin' at?" are very different in tone and convey character and should be left alone, even though the second is grammatically questionable. The same is true of general prose.

The key is if it's consistent and clear throughout the story. If there's ambiguity, or tenses wander back and forth without reason, that's when we might get the red pen out. Otherwise, you're free to break as many grammatical rules as you damn well like in the pursuit of wowing readers.

Conversely, grammatical position of punctuation in dialogue is very strictly adhered. "Because it's English punctuation rules," he says.

At the end of the day, if you've written to an acceptable, consistent standard in prose, it's relatively typo free, fairly clear who's saying what to whom, not littered with run-on sentences and excessive punctuation (exclamation marks, ellipses, etc) and doesn't break our hard-rules of underage/non-consent then we'll pass it.

We want to pass everything. We really do.

Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 111 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:


* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads.
* 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten.
* 21 collaborations.
* A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
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Quote by WannabeWordsmith




We want to pass everything. We really do.



this. it's actually easier and more fulfilling, for us, to do so. we hate sending things back, but, on the other hand, we try to maintain a certain level of quality, so it does happen.

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
LYFBUZ
Troublemaker
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this thread was not what i expected
Just_A_Guy_You_Know
Wouldn't you rather have a nice cup of tea?
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Quote by sprite


this. it's actually easier and more fulfilling, for us, to do so. we hate sending things back, but, on the other hand, we try to maintain a certain level of quality, so it does happen.


***Sends Sprite back for revisions***

Don't believe everything that you read.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
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Quote by WannabeWordsmith

They may do more if the submitting member has bought Gold status.


I for one will admit, rather irks me to be honest.

Most of us write for the enjoyment of writing and to tell a story. And without these scribblings we put down on the phosphors of our monitors, there would in essence be no stories.

But it seems like every 3rd message is basically the same thing. "Pay for membership, and you will get the attention you deserve."

But hey, rock on I say. But I found it interesting when discussing various sites elsewhere, this one was ranked generally at the bottom of the list for publishing stories at.
BadDog9
Active Ink Slinger
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In my experience, the mods are quite lenient when it comes to approving stories. I have found mistakes in my own stories after they have been published that I wish would have been pointed out so I could fix them. If you enjoy writing, then keep writing because you enjoy it, whether it gets read by others or not. If you really want it posted keep working at it until you get there.
WannabeWordsmith
Writius Eroticus
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Quote by Mushroom0311
Pay for membership, and you will get the attention you deserve.


That's not strictly true. Emphasis in my original post was on "may do more". Just because someone has bought membership doesn't automatically mean their writing will be flawless. Mine isn't. And just because someone has Gold or Platinum doesn't guarantee a moderator will do anything more for them compared to non-paying-members.

There are perks such as jumping to the top of the moderation queue and being able to do more around the site, but editing assistance is at moderator discretion, regardless of membership level. If a piece is littered with grammatical errors, we will often point out resources where the author can learn about the issues, edit their piece accordingly and resubmit. It's a two-way collaboration process. Authors help us and the site as a whole by taking any advice on board.

We're not editors, we're volunteers trying to help authors get their work published to a reasonable standard - in both quality and technical realms - for the enjoyment of the reader base. We miss stuff. We're human. Spending time tidying submissions takes time away from processing other authors' submissions, so we may elect to return a story for the author to correct and learn from the issues we've highlighted rather than edit it on their behalf. If we have time, we may do light editing to fix a few typos, punctuation for clarity, or spell out numbers for consistency (for example; that's a non-exhaustive list), but we'd do that for all membership levels, paid or not.

The site has operating costs that need covering: this comes from paid memberships and (to some degree) advertising. You're under no obligation to buy it. Your submissions so far seem to have sailed straight to the front page virtually untouched, unless I'm missing something. What editing assistance/attention do you need from paid membership that you're not getting at your current level?

Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 111 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:


* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads.
* 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten.
* 21 collaborations.
* A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
kiteares
"the Great God (snicker)" - James 'Bear' Llewellyn
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Quote by WannabeWordsmith

When there's only one or two main things wrong - maybe a repeated grammatical error - the moderator may (at their discretion):

1) fix them and mention the changes in the acceptance box
2) fix a few and ask the author in the rejection box to go through in the same vein to fix the rest
3) return the story and ask the author to fix the issue(s) themselves

They may do more if the submitting member has bought Gold status.

I read the 3 options as things that mods do in general and have experienced as a freemium, free, bronze and gold memberships.
But I think the comment about gold should read They WILL do more. After all it is an advertised perk of paying for gold status.
"Stories edited (within reason)" (whatever within reason is, who knows and even if there are some standards, I'm sure there is discretion on this too.)
Reading a moderator saying they may do more when the the official perks read to me that they will do more; does nothing to help the perception of double standards.
Even if I have the wrong end of the stick, the important thing is my perception.
If I perceive there are double standards, if I perceive that the perks I pay for are only possibles not guarantees, then I will question the value of paying extra. It's the same for everyone, if their perception is they are not getting what they expect they will stop doing what they are doing.
And isn't that what this thread is about, even if it was started 2 years ago, perception.
And to keep it on topic, yes there are double standards. For the simple fact that the mods are humans and working within some subjective rules. Some red lines are crisp and sharp, some red lines are a bit blurry and then there's things like 'how many are too many errors?', 'what is not erotic enough?', etc.

Quote by Mushroom0311


I for one will admit, rather irks me to be honest.

Most of us write for the enjoyment of writing and to tell a story. And without these scribblings we put down on the phosphors of our monitors, there would in essence be no stories.

But it seems like every 3rd message is basically the same thing. "Pay for membership, and you will get the attention you deserve."

But hey, rock on I say. But I found it interesting when discussing various sites elsewhere, this one was ranked generally at the bottom of the list for publishing stories at.

1st Welcome to Lush.

IF you do truly write for the enjoyment of it, then what does it matter to you what others do? If no one reads your story? And if it really doesn't matter then why does it irk you?
The message is there are 4 levels of membership, free, bronze, silver or gold (platinum is just advertised as gold for life).
With each of the levels there are perks, you are free to pay for those perks or not and only you can decide if it is value for your money. I also think it goes a little beyond the perks and is about supporting a site you use, but again without Nicola forcing it on people, it is at your discretion to choose to add a little more cash to support it.
One of the gold perks is 'stories edited (within reason)' others include, prioritised verification and a little box around your story on the home page.
Want the perks, pay for them. If you don't there is no need. "Pay for membership and you will get the attention you pay for."
I think of my business, it was strictly a local one, I could have run a national TV ad campaign, but it was not value for money, the only attention I wanted was local. So it never irked me seeing the likes of Amazon or Quantas running TV ads.

That said, I get your point about our scribblings, there is a huge amount said about remembering the mods are volunteers, I can't point you to anywhere that says remember the authors are mostly amateurs and without them there would be no site for the mods to mod.

I would be interested in more info on your claim that Lush is generally ranked at the bottom of the list for publishing at as I have found it to be the friendliest, most community driven of all the erotic story sites I have experienced.
If you mean speed and ease of publication, maybe that means the standards are higher here...

Kite's Kinky Tales

My latest offering -

Once more in Love Poems - My Forever Beauty

My 2 previous submissions:

Both Love Poems

Pearls

As The New Year Dawns

Please read and enjoy. If you really enjoyed a story someone has written; how about clicking on 'Like' and/or 'Favorite'.
Why not leave a comment too?
WannabeWordsmith
Writius Eroticus
0 likes
Quote by kiteares
I think the comment about gold should read They WILL do more. After all it is an advertised perk of paying for gold status... "stories edited (within reason)"


No, not will. May. It's at our discretion. Assholes can still buy Gold

If anyone is being unreasonable, we have the right - within reason - to refuse to help. We will try to work with everyone and will do everything we can to help, because we love doing it and it's in the interests of the site and the readership, but there are no guarantees if an author is not prepared to meet us in the middle.

Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 111 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:


* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads.
* 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten.
* 21 collaborations.
* A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
kiteares
"the Great God (snicker)" - James 'Bear' Llewellyn
0 likes
Quote by WannabeWordsmith


No, not will. May. It's at our discretion. Assholes can still buy Gold

If anyone is being unreasonable, we have the right - within reason - to refuse to help. We will try to work with everyone and will do everything we can to help, because we love doing it and it's in the interests of the site and the readership, but there are no guarantees if an author is not prepared to meet us in the middle.



I'm going to assume that the assholes comment wasn't directed at me, this time.

If the forum hadn't dumped on me there would have been a long arsed response to your response to Mushroom (which looking around appears to be a waste of both our keyboards as he appears to be moving on...).
Basically, I get you're not going to rewrite just because I have a gold membership, but if a perk is listed (Stories edited as needed (within reason)), then it should be will.
Members being assholes
Members not meeting you halfway
Members being unreasonable
Members being... insert
Are all things that I would assume would be dealt with separately. I know I've had at least one private conversation when I was being an arse.

What I'm talking about is all things being equal (which they aren't ever), a gold member is paying for a little more attention. I get this is subjective too, but if the official line is that no more help is offered to gold than to freemium then the perk about editing should be removed from the list under gold membership.
I look at those lists and use them to decide on my level of support. For example, I will never buy silver, the perks of that I don't need or can do for free in other ways. I'm sure I'm not the only one that uses them as a guide.

And just to be very clear, I don't think I have had much, if any more attention in that department as a gold member than at other levels. So this isn't about the level of editing, it is about a moderator making statements that I perceive to be in conflict with what is being offered on the membership page.
So, please clarify, as a gold member, with all other things being equal, is the official line that I should or should not receive (within reason), more help editing my stories than other levels of membership (not counting platinum as not different perks are listed)?

Kite's Kinky Tales

My latest offering -

Once more in Love Poems - My Forever Beauty

My 2 previous submissions:

Both Love Poems

Pearls

As The New Year Dawns

Please read and enjoy. If you really enjoyed a story someone has written; how about clicking on 'Like' and/or 'Favorite'.
Why not leave a comment too?
WannabeWordsmith
Writius Eroticus
0 likes
Yes. All things being more or less equal, Gold members receive more editing assistance. It's a perk.

But if a Gold member sends us a load of tosh chock full of errors, we're not at liberty to rewrite it for them. We have other members to attend to as well. We would like basic grammar rules to be applied, for instance. If they're not, we may choose to edit a portion of the story and ask them to carry on in the same vein. That's a greater level of service than non-members usually get, but it's by no means the only way we help. And if we do that, but the member deletes the story (undoing our edits) and resubmits a new version, with or without the errors corrected, we might choose not to help them in that manner next time, electing a different branch of assistance instead. It's based on a lot of factors.

So, yes, more editing assistance within reason. To change the terminology to "will" implies a guarantee on our part irrespective of other factors. Hence I used "may". Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 111 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:


* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads.
* 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten.
* 21 collaborations.
* A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
0 likes
Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Your submissions so far seem to have sailed straight to the front page virtually untouched, unless I'm missing something. What editing assistance/attention do you need from paid membership that you're not getting at your current level?



Honestly, I gave up. After almost a week of hearing people say "Oh, 2-3 days is normal", I decided to ask why mine was taking almost a week. Chalked it up as an aberration, shrugged it off.

Then multiple stories just sent back, no real explanation given, but was suggested I pay for a membership. At that point I just gave up. I do still come and watch the forums, because I enjoy interacting with others and getting/giving advice. But publishing here? Nope, not worth my time.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
0 likes
Quote by kiteares

1st Welcome to Lush.

I would be interested in more info on your claim that Lush is generally ranked at the bottom of the list for publishing at as I have found it to be the friendliest, most community driven of all the erotic story sites I have experienced.
If you mean speed and ease of publication, maybe that means the standards are higher here...


Thank you for the welcome.

But I am not here to try and throw stones. But the consensus is generally pretty bad, with passive-aggressive, cliquish, and semi-abusive being some of those most said.

But it is not hard to find the issues, I see them in comments in here from others. Primepornlist only ranks 2 sites lower (ASSTR being one of them). Elle magazine rated it 1 out of 5. And I do talk with a great many other authors. As I said, not trying to throw stones. But some of this is obvious just reading the comments in here, if you are not aware...
kiteares
"the Great God (snicker)" - James 'Bear' Llewellyn
0 likes
Quote by Mushroom0311


Honestly, I gave up. After almost a week of hearing people say "Oh, 2-3 days is normal", I decided to ask why mine was taking almost a week. Chalked it up as an aberration, shrugged it off.

Could be you were talking to/listening to the wrong people. I've seen one person responding (to you?) saying he's never had any issues, it only takes a day or two (going on memory here); but then was reminded he's a gold member.
I've had stories taking a week or more. Some during competitions, some there were niggles, I know a few have gone to the mod forum to be discussed too (I've suggested that authors get told when this happens).
So for a free member, I would not say it's an aberration, but neither is it normal. I think who ever said 2-3 days is normal might have been better saying about average. Even as a bronze member (where you're not paying for Q jumping or editing help), I've had stories approved in hours; as a gold I've had stories take a week.


Quote by Mushroom0311

Then multiple stories just sent back, no real explanation given, but was suggested I pay for a membership. At that point I just gave up. I do still come and watch the forums, because I enjoy interacting with others and getting/giving advice. But publishing here? Nope, not worth my time.

I can't say that I have ever felt that the advice I was given included pay for membership or even a higher level of membership as either a suggestion or resolution. Now that I am at the gold level, I have still had stories rejected.
What I have seen in my short time here is a wide variation in feedback, from a rejected story being sent back with a copy and paste of a guideline it allegedly broke and included a link to the guidelines. Nothing more.
I've had other mods send the approval message with chapter and verse about suggestions on where I might polish up my writing.
Different people, different amount time they have or are willing to take feeding back.
Overall though, I've found the mods I have dealt with, even when I'm being a stroppy twat have generally been happy to help. If it was one mod sent the multiple stories back, it could be an aberration, but it would be worth dropping them (all) a line for more clarity... if you were going to continue. As you say you're not, this really would be a waste of everyone's time.

Quote by Mushroom0311


Thank you for the welcome.

But I am not here to try and throw stones. But the consensus is generally pretty bad, with passive-aggressive, cliquish, and semi-abusive being some of those most said.

For someone not trying to throw stones, you do a remarkably good job of it.

You use consensus, as if it is common knowledge around the net, when it is far from that, given the size of the internet it would be hard to find a consensus about anything. In the post I previously responded to you spoke as if you had discussed Lush all over the place and it ranked bottom on every site that does that sort of thing.

You do understand what passive aggression is? Things like saying you're not going to throw stones, but instead throw general accusations about without any real substantiation. Using ellipsis to imply there is more being said, often with a negative connotation.

EVERY new place you go will, even the most welcoming, in real life or on line will feel cliquish until you settle in. Just by the sheer fact you are the only one that doesn't know anyone, or at least it seems that way. In a community of a few thousand very active members, there will be cliques there will be friendship groups, there will be common interest groups, it's the nature of the beast. It's not necessarily the bad thing that a lot of people make it out to be. A definition of a clique is nothing more than a social circle bonded by a common interest.

Anything (semi) abusive I would report, as simple as that and I have never reported anyone for being abusive (can you be semi abusive?) and in my experience of the internet if anyone finds this place abusive, it may be best to cut their connection and get some medieval armour because life is going to be very unfair to them. Some of that is driven by common sense too, I don't use the Think Tank because I know that it is one of the most volatile areas on this forum and frankly I don't want or need that in my life.

And finally one more generalisation without corroboration to end with; 'most said' by whom?


Quote by Mushroom0311

But it is not hard to find the issues, I see them in comments in here from others. Primepornlist only ranks 2 sites lower (ASSTR being one of them). Elle magazine rated it 1 out of 5.

If the comments you mention are comments on the forum, there are comments about issues with every aspect of this site and probably a lot more. But then I do not know of a forum or similar that I have used regularly since the days of alt.talk etc that have not complained about each and every aspect of a particular site they were using.
If it's about comments on stories, sometimes I think the comments people leave here do not point out errors and issues enough, but then they are generally polite and supportive of the author, which can't be a bad thing.

I hadn't heard of Primepornlist (PPL) and 5 minutes there shows how much value it has.

It's a one man band that makes claims about how wonderful he is, but you can see it's a totally amateur set up. Take story sites, on the front page it lists 1 - 4 Literotrica, Sex Stories, ASSTR and Nifty. Yet when you look at the remaining six the sites with the 4 highest marks are Stories On Line, Sex Stories, Nifty and McStories.

Now note that the tab on my browser says - 10 Best Free Sex Stories Sites etc.
The top rated - SoL - I have stopped using because of the limitations of free accounts, apart from the site being a pig to navigate (but then maybe that's because I'm not a paying member. And on the very site that is promoting SoL as the best free story site, when you open the review in the bad column it lists the limitations of free accounts... huh?

Talking of the reviews and good/bad columns only Lush and one other site out of the ten have nothing listed as bad. Surely if they have no bad points they should be ranking above those that do? I'm afraid John makes his own site and ranking system look like a joke as on the face of it they are just random numbers and when you drill down a bit further there is not explanation behind them.

Another issue is that as soon as you compare Lush with Lit you are moving towards comparing maybe peaches and nectarines. There is a whole lot more built around Lush than just the stories including the forum and chat rooms which are far more active here and the mods who are far more contactable and approachable here.

3 last comments about PPL
1) his categorisations are a bit scratch the surface and that will do. The likes of Pornhub are in multiple categories, but smaller sites like here or F95 Zone are only in one. Lush could easily be listed in 'Porn Forums' and F95 in games, comics, stories, etc.
2) some of the biggest sites out there are not listed. Sites you see popping up again and again in searches for games or stories just do not show.
3) I guess he covers his arse by saying he only lists the best. I did find it amusing reading his couple of rants about not listing 2/10 sites or new sites.

Fortunately for my keyboard, I did a search for Elle Magazine and Elle Magazine Lush and only returned articles on the cosmetic company. So I can't see anything about your 1/5 claim.

Quote by Mushroom0311

And I do talk with a great many other authors.

I don't have the luxury of being so well connected, so I am afraid I just rely on my own intuition.
I have published one story on Lit - it took about a week to get up. But there is no easy interaction with authors or readers there and you either open your email address up to abuse or you close off half the comments on your stories. Now for abusive comments on stories, Lit's the place to go.

As I have said, I found SoL a pig to navigate so have happily let my log in there lapse.
Lush is not perfect, there are lots of things here that go from frustrating to out and out skin crawling annoyance, but, for me the balance between that and the good that I find here is worth my time, even at what I value my hourly rate at.
YMM (and obviously does) V

Frankly it could be other amateur authors like me and many here or Booker prize winners, what is important to me is how comfortable I feel in a place not 'who' is there. Lush works for me, it doesn't for you. Once I am pissed off with somewhere and ready to move on, I tend to without too much fanfare and I don't tend to look back either. While I still like a place, I'll keep on bitching about bits I don't like because I want to see the site improve.

Quote by Mushroom0311

As I said, not trying to throw stones. But some of this is obvious just reading the comments in here, if you are not aware...

Do you understand irony?


(Edited to tidy up the quotes a little)

Kite's Kinky Tales

My latest offering -

Once more in Love Poems - My Forever Beauty

My 2 previous submissions:

Both Love Poems

Pearls

As The New Year Dawns

Please read and enjoy. If you really enjoyed a story someone has written; how about clicking on 'Like' and/or 'Favorite'.
Why not leave a comment too?
Unknown User
0 likes



Literotica! Don't get me started. The last refuge of the sexually deranged reader, the place where writers have to just sit back and soak up abuse without any facility for reply.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
0 likes
Quote by LucaByDesign



Literotica! Don't get me started. The last refuge of the sexually deranged reader, the place where writers have to just sit back and soak up abuse without any facility for reply.





I bailed from there well over a decade ago. One of the oldest sites, now I wonder how they even keep going. Heck, I just popped in to see, and their "News" is literally over 4 years old. It's like they stopped even trying years ago.

I just looked, all of my stories finally removed (they do that after a while), and my 20 year old profile is pretty much blank, even my favorited stories are all gone.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
0 likes
Quote by kiteares

Do you understand irony?



You asked, I responded, then get pounded because I responded.

Enough said. Have a good day.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
0 likes
Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know


***Sends Sprite back for revisions***


how, may i ask, do you improve on perfection?

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
LikeToWrite
Active Ink Slinger
0 likes
Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

***Sends Sprite back for revisions***

That's okay, Just_A_Guy_You_Know. If you don't want her, send her my way. I'll take her.

Quote by sprite
how, may i ask, do you improve on perfection?
Sprite, I couldn't agree with you more. Oh, and I do love your 'modesty' too. You are so funny sometimes.
If you're feeling bored during this Covid-19 epidemic I’d like to suggest
you take a peek at a story I collaborated with SueBrasil, a brilliant author.
It's about a mistake in judgment a lady makes concerning a friend, based
on the hurtful words of someone that only thinks of himself. Will that
conniving person succeed in ruining a beautiful friendship, or will she see
through his lies? It's gradually creeping up towards the 30,000 mark
and we’d love any votes or hearing whatever comments you may wish
to make. It is listed in my profile under ‘FAVOURITES’ as Apologize.

www.lushstories.com/stories/first-time/apologize.aspx
kiteares
"the Great God (snicker)" - James 'Bear' Llewellyn
0 likes
Quote by Mushroom0311


You asked, I responded, then get pounded because I responded.

Enough said. Have a good day.


Pounding is all you took from my response?
If that's the case, then I agree, enough said.
Enjoy your weekend and your time on Lush

Kite's Kinky Tales

My latest offering -

Once more in Love Poems - My Forever Beauty

My 2 previous submissions:

Both Love Poems

Pearls

As The New Year Dawns

Please read and enjoy. If you really enjoyed a story someone has written; how about clicking on 'Like' and/or 'Favorite'.
Why not leave a comment too?
Unknown User
0 likes
Quote by Mushroom0311


I bailed from there well over a decade ago. One of the oldest sites, now I wonder how they even keep going. Heck, I just popped in to see, and their "News" is literally over 4 years old. It's like they stopped even trying years ago.

I just looked, all of my stories finally removed (they do that after a while), and my 20 year old profile is pretty much blank, even my favorited stories are all gone.



Literotica had a bit of a makeover a few years ago but it was hardly a re-branding; an opportunity to improve and update the site wasted.


As to Lush. You seem to have had problems settling in, perhaps you'd been expecting Lush to be something it is not. When I returned after a break my stories were taking a week to get verified when the blurb said it usually took a couple of days. A verifier apologised and said they were inundated.

But it was no different than Literotica. Stories were taking up to ten-day to get the green light just then over there. I've not posted anything there for a couple of years


Anyhow, hope you have decided to stick around and continue to post your writing. You could not find a more friendly and helpful collection of people — but only if you give them a chance.
chris_brown
Advanced Wordsmith
0 likes
Quote by sprite


how, may i ask, do you improve on perfection?


Sprite,i think some members who've commented in this particular subject need to listen to this video from beginning to end to get some perspective on what good it does to bitch about things thatre out of thier control lol https://youtu.be/1IlhWwTiPfY
Aussie_kitty77
Gold hearted fun loving Aussie Angel
0 likes
If you are having problems with getting published make sure you listen and reread why your piece is currently unacceptable. I have always found although I might not always agree with the criticism, the moderators do give you the feedback necessary to make the piece acceptable or suggest publication on the sister site if not deemed erotic.
utterchaos
Resident Otaku
0 likes
Quote by Aussie_kitty77
If you are having problems with getting published make sure you listen and reread why your piece is currently unacceptable. I have always found although I might not always agree with the criticism, the moderators do give you the feedback necessary to make the piece acceptable or suggest publication on the sister site if not deemed erotic.


Reading it back to check the flow of your writing helps, ensuring there are pauses in the correct place. If it's too long-winded to say in one go, then it will read that way too. I had a story rejected due to an editing issue but I've not had any problems since. Grammarly is great for double-checking after editing, but it shouldn't be relied upon. It's definitely something that you get used to. Also, check guidelines and ask questions over what is acceptable content if you're unsure before submitting. It saves a lot of time for everyone involved.