Is there a benefit to marking a story as behind the paywall? One of mine is (and I assume I must have ticked the box). Does it just restrict the audience size?
E
Is there a benefit to marking a story as behind the paywall? One of mine is (and I assume I must have ticked the box). Does it just restrict the audience size?
E
It would only be available to premier members, which would reduce the number of possible readers.
Is there a benefit to marking a story as behind the paywall?
The benefit is to SOL (Lazeez). It's a way to get more paid subscribers.
I guess it's an indirect benefit to all users of SOL since more paid members could result in the continued existence of the site.
The general idea is that the stories remain available, as long as the author remains active on SOL, so it's assumed that readers will download the stories they want to keep. Unfortunately, the very ability to download stories and series in their entirety is yet another benefit of membership (i.e. not available to non-members). That benefits authors, as it somewhat reduces outsiders stealing SOL stories wholesale and selling them as their own (the bastards are usually too lazy to even change the name of the covers), just claiming that they wrote them.
Again, an old maxim of mine is that "People turn to crime, because they're too lazy and dumb to hold a legitimate job". That also applies to hackers and copyright thieves too.
As SB says above, but there is a caveat, especially if you are thin skinned.
If you put one of your stories behind the paywall, you run the risk of one bombing on the rest of your stories, as your (free) readers show their displeasure the only way they can.
Not a lot you can do about that, other than putting all your work behind the paywall.
You may not experience that, but be aware the possibility exists.
I've stated this before, that SOL readers are an odd bunch, as they expect to read the entire story for free, and once they're done, they'll pay for the book from the user, to encourage them to continue writing.
There are really no other sites where that works or even could work, as we SOL members are a unique breed. Yet, it works for us, as we get a LOT of feedback, both for full stories and for each chapter, plus direct feedback, whereas for most authors, the only time they get any feedback is for promotional book tours, where there's only time for a few select questions.
And personally, the feedback is more valuable to me than the actual sales are, as it helps keep on the top of my game, and stay up-to-date too.
One of mine is (and I assume I must have ticked the box).
Perhaps not. If it's 'erotica' and has mt/ft participants, it may have been moved behind the paywall during the great purge.
Can you move it back outside? (Do you want to?)
AJ
There's no mt/ft content -- that's simply not what I write. The story was a bawdy retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. https://storiesonline.net/s/39131/jack-and-the-bean-queen-an-erotic. I've been having a lot of fun rewriting fairy tales for adults.
So I already moved it back. Since there's apparently no benefit to me, I would prefer to have it have wider exposure.
E
That's fine, but just as I long wrote both 'adult' and 14+ kid stories, which includes the sex scenes, yet it's not nearly as prominent (and with the various curse words scrambled so they're recognizable yet not as blatant).
However, if your most loyal fans have moved to the new site, then why abandon those readers, simply because you're breaking no low? Instead, why not post on both, and any other SOL associate sites which apply (Sci-Fi Stories, stories.com, etc.).
That seems like common sense to me. It requires cross-posting between sites, yet it seems a small price to pay for gaining additional readers.
That said, my current stories on the main site storiesonline.net are a mixed bag, as the previously red-flagged Nowhere … Like Home? has been available on both sites since the whole brouhaha began.
Not that I'm complaining mind you, it just shows that both sites are still in flux, and will likely remain so until everything is officially moved over to the new servers.
I'm pretty new to this -- are you saying that putting the story behind the "paywall" automatically moves it to the other sites? I thought it was just making it unavailable except to paying subscribers.
I've been a long time SOL reader, but have never tried my hand at writing. So at some point I plan to start publishing for pay, but for now I'm just putting the stories out there. I look at the ratings, respond to comments, etc.
putting the story behind the "paywall" automatically moves it to the other sites?
Nope.
What it does is make it available only to Premier members. Your understanding is correct.