The guidelines are long, the Archivist is one volunteer, and small mistakes slow you down. Here’s what matters. I updated this guide in October 2026, when Nifty opened its new author portal.

You can submit a story to Nifty through the self-service author portal, which opened in beta on 15 October 2026, or by emailing it to stories@nifty.org. Send one complete story or chapter at a time as plain text, with the title and chapter number in the subject line. Then wait for a reply before you send the next part.

What kind of stories does Nifty accept?

Nifty archives LGBTQ+ erotica in any language. Stories need to show some development of the plot. Outlines or unfinished scenes get turned away. Nifty won’t publish teaser stories that send readers elsewhere for the ending. It won’t take memoirs or stories with pictures either.

The content guidelines also list what Nifty won’t archive. That list covers bestiality, graphic violence, unwilling participants, dangerous drug use, dangerous sexual acts and more. Read it before you write, not after. My own rule is simpler: every character in my stories is an adult who wants what’s happening. I’ve written more on showing that in my guide to writing consent in gay erotica.

If your story is a revised version of one already on Nifty, say so in your note and explain what’s changed. The Archivist won’t compare two versions to find the differences.

Should you use the author portal or email?

Both are accepted. The author portal is the new route: you enrol from your account page, then submit and manage your own stories. Email is the older route, and the guidelines spell it out in detail. If you prefer email, send each submission to stories@nifty.org with the story attached or pasted into the body.

The portal is brand new, so I’d expect a few teething problems. Whichever you pick, the formatting rules still apply. Treat the rest of this guide as the checklist for email submissions, as that’s what the published guidelines describe.

How should you format a story for Nifty?

Nifty prefers plain text or Markdown, saved as .txt or .md. Use UTF-8 if your story has special characters. Word files or HTML are accepted but not recommended. Don’t send PDFs. Separate paragraphs with a blank line, and start a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes.

Spell-check it. A single long paragraph is the quickest way to annoy a reader, never mind the Archivist. Don’t put lines at the top that look like an email header, such as From or Subject. Don’t zip the file either. If you write in British English like I do, the guidelines ask you to say so in the introduction.

What goes in the subject line and cover letter?

Put the story title and chapter number in the subject line. Don’t write New Story or Submission there. The cover letter goes at the start of the email body, never as a separate email. Use it to suggest categories or give a short summary. Any request to the Archivist belongs there too.

This is where you protect your name. By default, plain text stories go up with your email header, including your name and email address. Ask for a pseudonym in the cover letter of every submission. Asking for a pseudonym won’t remove your email address, so request that separately if you want it gone. I’d never risk sending one without both requests.

How do you choose a title and category?

Pick an original title. The guidelines single out First Time and My First as clichés to avoid. Crude or duplicate titles get delayed or ignored too. Suggest categories that match how Nifty already uses them, but the final decision is the Archivist’s. My gay erotica glossary explains the labels you’ll see on other writers’ stories.

One rule surprises people. If a story shows a character with the genitals of the opposite sex, even briefly, it goes in the Bisexual category. That applies later in a series too, so a chapter can move your whole story. Browse the category you’re aiming for first. A straightforward story like Car park after gym hookup fits one category cleanly.

How long does Nifty take to publish a story?

Allow up to a week for a story to be reviewed and published. Updates can take up to 24 hours to appear after you get a reply. Don’t resend a story while you’re waiting. If a week passes with no reply, check the homepage announcements, then send a short note asking about it.

For series, wait for confirmation that a chapter is live before you send the next one. After you get a response, wait at least two days before the next submission. Nifty is run by one part-time volunteer, which explains every rule in this section. Plan your chapters around it.

What rights do you give Nifty when you submit?

You keep the copyright. You also grant Nifty a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-cancellable licence to display your story on its site. You can license the same story to other publishers. Removal requests are decided case by case, so don’t treat Nifty as somewhere to post a story for a week.

You can link to your own website or tip pages in a story. You can’t ask for payment for that story, or for early access to its next chapters, inside the story on Nifty. Plenty of authors use Nifty to build readers for paid work elsewhere, and the guidelines encourage it.

FAQ

Does Nifty pay authors?

No. The guidelines say the Archive does not compensate authors. You keep your copyright, so you’re free to sell the story elsewhere too.

Can you post the same story on other sites?

Yes. You can publish chapters on other websites before they reach Nifty. A list of other places to post sits in my guide to where to read free gay erotic stories. My guide to where you can publish gay erotica for free covers each one from the writer’s side.

Can you send a whole series at once?

No. Send one part per email, wait for a response, then wait two more days. Contact Nifty first if you need special arrangements.

What should a first-time author send?

Send one complete, polished story. If you need help with the sex itself, start with my step-by-step guide to writing a gay sex scene. For a sense of length, see my guide to how long a gay erotica short story should be.