Literotica?..Also, short stories.

Literotica is not a publishing credit and it's got some of the worst porn I've read.

Ellora's Cave, Samhain, Loose Id, Total e-Bound, Cleis, and all kinds of other publishers will contract short erotica.

You could also look here for calls for submissions:
http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/G/Call_For_Submissions.htm

Duotrope and ERWA have lists of markets for short erotica. Anthologies can be a good place to start.

I second what Jenn said. When I started writing erotic romance, I posted stories on Literotica.

I had one publisher turn me down because of that. I also had two marketing groups refuse to admit me because I'd posted stories on Literotica. A third admitted me on the condition that I strike all references to Literotica from my website.

Although Literotica claims to vet submissions, they really don't. Not well. They check to make sure the story meets their minimum word count and skim to make sure there's no underage sex, and that's about it. It isn't a publisher, and among some circles in the industry it has a very bad reputation.

Jenn and Veinglory have given you some good places to start in looking for reputable publishers that accept short stories. Good luck!

I would have to agree with everyone here. I actually took my free reads into my own hands and self-pubbed through LuLu. In doing that, a lot of publishers found me, and asked me to write something short for them. Now my short stories are used as a marketing tool to entice readers to buy the stuff that has been polished and prettied up.
Yes, I did start off on LuLu and I think self-publishing is indeed the way to start off, or if you have time, posting a weekly serial on your site as a free read. I have done all the above, and really it helps you gain exposure. I wouldn't go the Literotica route, but maybe Smashwords?

Lulubell said:

All right, so I am the typical aspiring writer with no credits... yet. (I've been writing for a while but only started posting/sending stuff recently). And as far as i know you get credits by getting short stories out there. So my question: is Literotica viable, or is it more like fictionpress for 18+?? (Not to knock FP, but it's not exactly a publishing credit, in fact the opposite, with the web rights and all :S) And what to do with erotica short stories anyhow?


L.

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Moderators, I hope this won't come across as spam, and if you feel it is, please remove the post, but I couldn't help but throw in my 2 cents.

Here's one thing you can do with erotica short stories--my website runs a monthly contest for erotica; no cash, but you do receive adult toys prizes if you win. We'll let you link to all your published works and/or blogs and website (whether you're the winner or not), and keep the links active even after the monthly contest ends and the stories go into the archives (or you tell us to take them down). You retain ALL rights to your story; we ask for none.

Our September contest winner also will have her story published in an anthology with Ravenous Romance (and yes, I know that was due to come out already and it's late, but I have been promised it is due out very, very soon) and we may be running such a contest again in the future.

We'd love to see you submit!

Lulubell said:

All right, so I am the typical aspiring writer with no credits... yet. (I've been writing for a while but only started posting/sending stuff recently). And as far as i know you get credits by getting short stories out there.

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The problems with Literotica are twofold:

- you may screw up your chances of getting that material published.

- since common sense dictates that you use a pseudonym on a public site, you don't really get any bennies at all that connect with your name.

It's not all porn. I've found some excellent stories there.

Ah, Literotica. I used to post there, but never wrote/published anything there. Mainly because erotica is an area I found that I can't write in.

It is a shame that it has the reputation it has, though. The site has a split personality like you wouldn't believe.

First, you have the people who post in the forums. They are intelligent people- professional and serious in their writing. Unfortunately it stops there, as 95% of the people who publish stories don't post or take their writing seriously.

And those that do both are often driven away. The last time I posted there a few years back, I saw a topic about this. It was a VERY disgruntled writer who took the craft seriously. He (I assume it is a he) posted a very well written story... and was subsequently mocked for it. The reviews for the work were nothing more than comments about how much he was scum and his work (despite its quality) was utter garbage.

So yeah, many writers there take this just as seriously as those at this very site. But you don't see it as it is so open to the public, and ANYONE can get published on a site like that.

I also have an admiration for that site's administrator. She is one of the few website owners who will fight tooth and nail to protect the writers on the site. Many times material has been 'stolen' and used on porn sites, and she knows all the legal ways to protect their content. You wouldn't believe it really- a site like that, you wouldn't expect a mama bear.

(And I must point out that writers there HAVE been published.)

So yeah, please don't lump everyone there into the collective of terrible writers that really do just use it to get their rocks off. I'd also like to say I haven't been there in awhile so it MAY be different now, but at the time it was one of the most helpful places I've been to.

That said, it is not a publishing credit, it is a display site.

So before I found this site, I posted on Literotica for a while before removing my work--another story later--and I have to say that there are some wonderful stories, and incredible writers there. However I have to agree with MRevelle83 in that the content and writers of the site are heavily divided. For every great story found on the site, there are at least twenty badly written ones burying it.

S. Angele, agreed. I got my start posting stories there on the suggestion of a guy I was dating at the time. I'm now multi-published in the erotic romance genre, and I haven't posted any stories on Literotica in nearly two years. There are some gems there, but they're heavily outweighed by the detritus.

MRevelle is right about the writing advice you can find on the forums. There are some very helpful people there, and those who are serious about the craft of writing tend to congregate there. But as far as posting stories... what Veinglory said. It isn't a credit, and as I said in my earlier post can actually be a detriment to becoming legitimately published.

MRevelle83 said:

The reviews for the work were nothing more than comments about how much he was scum and his work (despite its quality) was utter garbage.

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I've seen that. There seem to be a few toxic types that go from story to story posting mocking or even angry comments, impugning a male writer's masculinity, calling female writers sluts, etc.

dangerousbill said:

I've seen that. There seem to be a few toxic types that go from story to story posting mocking or even angry comments, impugning a male writer's masculinity, calling female writers sluts, etc.

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I had that happen to me, actually (anonymous commenter asked why all of my male characters were gay, including insinuating that I was gay as well). As soon as I received that comment, I stopped posting on the site and had all of my stories removed. Haven't gone back since.

On the bright side, actually managed to get those stories into an anthology coming out next year. Guess it worked out in the end.

TnD said:

As soon as I received that comment, I stopped posting on the site and had all of my stories removed. Haven't gone back since.

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After my first few sessions of in-depth critiquing, I realized I was going to need a thick skin to be a writer, so I've invested time in making myself able to listen to fierce critiques without getting all bent out of shape. At the same time, this self-training made me impervious to morons.

Comments like you got don't bother me, and that's a good thing, because some readers have said some nasty things about my stuff. If their criticisms were substantive, I'd pay attention. But if they're just shooting from hiding, it's not worth responding, let alone getting upset over.

They're far outnumbered by the people who do like my stuff.

An additional benefit to my rhino hide is that I can argue all day with Republicans without bursting a blood vessel.

At the time that I posted those works, I was still rather hesitant about the whole 'erotica' themed storyline. It was one of the first times that I put it out there and was still nervous about who might see it.

However, I (much like yourself) have finally grown the skin that doesn't let much through and I have learned to find the gold in the commentary (if it exists).

If I never grew that skin, I wouldn't be where I am today. So, sometimes you have to feel that pain and embarrassment to learn from it and become a better writer.