This is my most recent story. I'm a new-ish writer (for fiction) and I've avoided promoting anything I've done before, but the early reaction to my most recent story has been positive and given me the courage to try to draw some eyeballs to it

I welcome (and request!) all feedback, including criticisms (be kind, but honest!) because I'm genuinely looking for ways to improve, and that includes figuring out what elements people respond to and which don't resonate at all.

It's a long story (8000 words!) so I want to thank anyone in advance who carves out a part of their day to read it. Thank you!

https://www.weihailove.com/stories/first-time/i-wont-forget-you

Thank you. That's why I was asking. I vaguely remembered a 'Hide' option, and I was wondering if I was missing it somehow. Thanks for the reply!

Is it possible to change the status of a published story to make it private/delist it so it can't be seen and won't appear in searches? If it is possible, is it a hassle to re-list it?

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

The final URL remains the same after publication. The story is just pulled temporarily off the site while the changes are being moderated. All sorted for you now. An excellent story.

Thank you, for the help and the kind words

Well, for better or worse, I got it down to *just* under 4000 words. To be honest, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, it was just a challenge for a new writer (this was my first shot at writing fiction!) to write with restraint, but maybe that's a good skill to learn early

Here it is, all feedback is welcomed...I say this sincerely, as someone who is dipping his toes into writing fiction for the first time I do want to hear what people think worked, and what didn't. I won't be offended by constructive feedback - I want it :)

https://www.weihailove.com/stories/interracial/the-island-between-us

Edit: I spotted a couple of little mistakes and had to re-submit it after making the corrections, I'm not sure if the link above will still be correct once the edits are approved. I'll update it ASAP if needed.

Quote by Piquet

Lush Gospel Truth #1 You'll get more readers at 4K than you will at 7+K.

I don't doubt that, but it's already not the story I intended it to be. This is my first shot at writing pure fiction. All of my other stories are based on real-life experiences, so the stories come easily. They're also all part of either a 9 or 10 multipart story where each chapter averages about 5000 words. For me to tell a single story in just 4000...it's a challenge

4000 words? No problem!

Looks at current word count : 7213

Edits..more edits...sections gutted....5621

More edits, remove another section...4836

Edit, reword things, look for brevity...4672

Be merciless, let go of treasured passages, drop subtext that gives the story meaning...4272.

4272 words...left with a story that no longer feels what it was meant to be, motivations are half-sketched, events don't happen naturally, only because they must...not sure if I can cut this down to 4271 words, much less 4000