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The Secret Alley Is Closing Down
All good things must come to an end
It is with a heavy heart that I announce this news.
For months, ever since the boost program launched, erotica has been shoved aside. Not only can erotica not be boosted, the algorithm actively suppresses it because it’s adult content.
At one point, some sympathetic Medium staff promised that they will create safe filters in the future, so that readers who don’t want to read NSFW can opt out, and erotica will be distributed to readers who do want to read it. But it’s been more than a year since, and things have only gone from bad to worse.
In the past, while erotica didn’t get much engagement (most readers are too shy to clap or comment), people’s thirst for sex stories made up for it by giving us high views and reads.
But now, well, I typically get single digit read stats. From asking around, I know I’m not the only one who gets such abysmal stats. It’s not like I ever expected to make a lot. But single digit read stats is too sad.
If I spent a loads of time engaging with others, that would help, but it’s hard to do much of that anymore, since getting a job, setting up a new business, and doing a lot of work on my main (non-erotic) account. I accepted that my views and reads would be much lower when I engaged less with others. But not this low!
A hopeless persistence
At first, I wanted to persevere anyway because I’m a perpetual optimist. I thought things would get better one day. But from ongoing conversations with Medium staff, we’re frankly getting nowhere. Many writers feel ignored and disrespected by Medium.
Things are going downhill for most people, but especially for us, since we can’t even get boosted and our genre is actively suppressed.
I can afford to pay the $5 a month, which was a reason why I clung on for so long. But I realized that, rather than giving my money to a platform that diminishes erotica, it would be much better to give that $5 a month to charity. At least my money would be put to good use there.
It’s not just the money, either, but the labor. It was fun editing and writing erotica. But my time and energy are limited, with how many projects and endeavors I have. If we get so little in return (single digit read stats, for instance), then it would be wise to go elsewhere.
In this time of Medium chaos, everyone can decide what they wish to do for their situation.
But if you want to know where you can publish erotica outside of Medium, here are some recommendations I have:
- Literotica
- Wattpad
- Amazon
- Eden Books (it’s like Amazon but specialized for erotica and romance.)
What will happen now?
To be clear, I will not delete The Secret Alley, as I don’t want to orphan our stories. But we will stop accepting submissions.
I will also cease to be a paid Medium member on this account, so all my stories will become free from the paywall. (I’ll still be here on my main account, for those of you who know it.)
If you want to stay in touch but don’t know my main account, here is my Wattpad profile, also named .
Thank you everyone for your support and understanding!
Love from the editors: , , and
