For writers: do you care who reads your work? To rephrase, are you happy for anyone to read it, do you only want certain people from your life not to connect your stories to you but don’t mind everyone else knowing or would you rather keep your author identity completely separate/secret? Something unmentioned? Personally, I love to have my family read my writing. Perhaps a censored version for my mother though, lol. Coworkers on the other hand…I wouldn’t deny it if they asked, but I’d not be volunteering the information either. We get on swimmingly, I’m simply shy and socially anxious, so I’d feel pretty scrutinized.
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My family and friends dont even know that Im developing a HG lol, for some reason i prefer to keep my author life very separate from my real life. It makes me feel more comfortable
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I dont care who reads my work but i dont expect anyone i know to read it.
Im not an author until i publish something so my identity is nonexistent.
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I let my close friends read it, but not my family as much. They all know I do write though.
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My wife isn’t a fan of reading my stuff. My older daughter has read and enjoyed Parenting Simulator. She isn’t really old enough for the others.
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Definitely something I’ve struggled with. While I haven’t done this in the past, I think I’m leaning towards only offering my wips and works to those that actually read those particular genres regardless of it the potential reader is a family member or a friend. If what I’ve written isn’t the sort of thing they’d read, what’s the point to sharing? Though I kind of go back and forth on that too.
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There’s no harm in trying. Just don’t take it too personally when people aren’t interested. Sometimes folks close to us don’t grasp what it means to get that kind of feedback.
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Disclaimer: Not published. Just do a ton of hobby writing for myself.
Honestly? Yes and no.
No, I wouldn’t want my folks/my parents to read my writing. Pressure from one for my writing to “make money” and other comments that killed my drive early on to get published. The other I learned early on to not share things in confidence or else what I’d tell them would end up being used against me at a later point, despite my requests to keep shit private… which has poisoned the well about sharing my writing.
To me, this is just a necessary thing (not sharing it with my folks, at all) if I want to keep enjoying my writing.
I’m not close enough with extended family to say for certain. I probably wouldn’t care because I’m not close enough to them for it to make a difference.
Friends? Depends on how close I am, but I’d be willing to share that sort of thing.
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Like some others have said, I’m generally happy for family and friends to read my writing, but I’d generally rather my colleagues think of me in a work context rather than as a fantasy game author. That’s why I write under a pen name that should keep a little Google distance between my two jobs.
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if anyone i knew irl read half the smut i have planned for the ROs of my work theyd have me metaphorically flayed. also none of them are really into reading or writing much so they wouldnt care anyways.
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I have no problem with any of my friends reading any of my stuff.
But I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of my family, especially my parents, reading any of the more nsfw parts.
And luckily, all the middle-aged and older ladies I volunteer with is unlikely to ever discover anything I write, since that would be really weird. Though I can assure, they are at least as dirty-minded as any other demographic I’ve spent time with.
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I don’t keep my identity secret and I tell friends and loved ones about my writing - and colleagues, but they’re games people anyway. I don’t know how much they’ve played, but a few offline friends have definitely played my stuff. If any of my family (except for my wife @FayI of course) have played any of the romantic storylines they haven’t mentioned it, though 
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In my case, there’s a natural degree of separation between what I write and my family, since I’m the only one who understands English to a reasonable degree. In any case, I don’t want anyone who knows me outside the computer screen to read what I write. I feel extremely uncomfortable and awkward, like they’re invading my privacy. Writing for me is a safe haven that I’m not willing to contaminate with my real life. There’s the writer me, and the person me. Maybe it’s selfish, but vaguely saying that I write is knowledge enough for them.
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Best way to know which friends to drop when ‘finally’ adding LGBT within group.
Lost about 6 ‘friends’?!
Stopped communicating with few family members as well.
shrug
Never had certain stability anyway.
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i mostly share my writings and other works with my IRL best friend, who in turn shares with me her work. Since we also do a lot of soundboarding/spitballing of ideas to each other, i’m very comfortable with that particular person to share my work.
i sometimes offer other friends and my more accepting family members for some feedback but not as much as my best friend.
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A long time ago I shared a piece of erotic fiction with my partner at the time. She loved it.
She later asked if she could share it with a friend. I told her no. She told me she had already done it. I think that was seriously crossing a line.
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She should have at least waited for permission. It must have been great, apparently. Good work!
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My best friend was my first beta-tester! My mum asked to read feedback I was getting, but I was protective of that let alone my actual writing. My best friends are more than welcome to my writing, but my family is a no-go, couldn’t tell you why haha
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I don’t mind my family or friends reading my writing; quite the opposite, I would like them to see my talent and give me feedback or share more ideas.
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Funny enough, I come from the kind of family where, unless you’re a lawyer, doctor, or in some other “fulfilling” career, it’s not really worth talking about. I don’t think my family—my oldest sister in this case—would even care or understand what it means if I told her I was a game dev or a published author with Hosted Games.
Ironically, my love for reading romance and smut comes from her. She used to have all those Harlequin romance books lying around, and I’d sneak and read them after she was done with them (without her knowledge, of course).
Back in 2023, some of my coworkers wanted to read my games, and just the thought of it made me cringe—so, definitely no for coworkers! As for my sister, I’d love to know her thoughts on my stories, but realistically, she’ll probably never read them.
All she knows for now is that I sell some stuff online to make a bit of money since I lost my job.
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