Geek Pride Day! Official Support Thread

SimonDoom said:

I'm curious whether this really is what other people have experienced: that publishing a story for a contest significantly increases its views and votes above what a similar story in the same category would have enjoyed if published outside a contest.

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I'm yet to be convinced, but I'm not sure how you could ever test it.

My Songs of Seduction - Water (my mermaid story) was published late January in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, outside any contest, and stayed on the category front page for nearly two weeks. In that time it pulled several thousand views and a solid score, and is now up to 8100 views (which I think is pretty good for the category).

By comparison, my Geek Anthology entry, which fell off the category front page in three days because the story title was far down the alphabet, is only just crawling up to 1700 views (with a similar score).

I reckon it might have run stronger if it had been outside the Anthology, and stayed longer on the category front page in its own right. Mind you, it has received a much better vote/view ratio, and proportionally more comments (most from fellow Anthology entrants).

SimonDoom said:

The two stories I have submitted to contests/events are the least-viewed stories of the twenty I've written. That probably has more to do with the categories in which they were published, however, than anything else.

I need to publish a story for a contest in the incest/taboo or exhibitionism categories to test whether this is true.

I'm curious whether this really is what other people have experienced: that publishing a story for a contest significantly increases its views and votes above what a similar story in the same category would have enjoyed if published outside a contest.

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You're likely to get a larger response to the question if you ask it on the contest support thread. It's a fairly common topic there.

Personally, I 'feel' like the contests boost my views and votes beyond what I'd otherwise have, but I can't really meet your requirements for a reasonable test (two similar stories in the same category, one in a contest and one not).

The closest I can get is my first Valentine's Day entry from 2016 (A Valentine's Day Mess, 65k views, 683 votes, 22 comments) and Part 2 of the same story (8.9k views, 89 votes, 2 comments, and a higher score than the original). There is always a drop-off from a part 1 to a part 2, but I wouldn't expect it to be that large.

My Pixie stories are another close miss. They aren't chapters. Pixie by the Fireside was in the Mature category and I entered it in the Holiday contest. It got 27.3k views and 236 votes and not a very good score. Mature is a small category. The three other Pixie stories all went into EC, which can produce a big response or a big yawn, and they average about 15k views and about 70 votes. The lowest score among the three stories in EC is the same as the score for the contest entry.

I'm hesitant to call it a "rollercoaster" because my pace has been kinda sluggish at times, but there have been plenty of ups and downs. I've finally finished all but one of the GPD stories, and I found something to enjoy about each and every one of them. Really great collection. I've found a couple of new favorite authors and I'm looking forward to a couple of sequels/conclusions. I'm proud to have been a part of it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to start on MSTarot's 17 page epic "Mercury Retorgrade". With a 4.92* rating, I'm hoping for a strong finish. But I might not be around for awhile.

SimonDoom said:

The two stories I have submitted to contests/events are the least-viewed stories of the twenty I've written. That probably has more to do with the categories in which they were published, however, than anything else.

I need to publish a story for a contest in the incest/taboo or exhibitionism categories to test whether this is true.

I'm curious whether this really is what other people have experienced: that publishing a story for a contest significantly increases its views and votes above what a similar story in the same category would have enjoyed if published outside a contest.

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I'm a rookie, and the Geek Pride story was my first. I've had 1400 views and only 29 votes?! The score has been steadily dropping. It's down to 4.1 from a high around 4.4. I assume it's getting 3s. The comments were very positive and constructive. ( I need an editor or Beta reader). Based on the comments only, I am going to finish the sequel. I have a Nude Day story nearing completion. I'm likely going to enter anyway, and hope for constructive criticism.

TANSTAAFL58 said:

I'm a rookie, and the Geek Pride story was my first. I've had 1400 views and only 29 votes?! The score has been steadily dropping. It's down to 4.1 from a high around 4.4. I assume it's getting 3s. The comments were very positive and constructive. ( I need an editor or Beta reader). Based on the comments only, I am going to finish the sequel. I have a Nude Day story nearing completion. I'm likely going to enter anyway, and hope for constructive criticism.

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SciFi&F is a small category, so views and votes tend to be small, but the ratio of votes/views is good and comments are there. The audience is engaged.

Keep at it. No-one's first story is their best, or at least we all hope it ain't.

Still writing. My third story is posted. The score is low, and dropping like a stone. No comments

But

It has two "favourites".

I read comic books and build my own computers...can I join?

EyeStruggle said:

I read comic books and build my own computers...can I join?

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Sure! The only thing to join is this thread, since the event itself has already passed.

LoquiSordidaAdMe said:

Do these kinds of events or contests usually have such staying power? The views on my story are still ticking up slowly but steadily three weeks later. I woke up this morning to find a new 'favorite'. Usually, once the "N" tag drops off, my stories go dormant until I publish something else.

I didn't really have much interest in competing in contests before, but if they usually keep your story in the spotlight like this, I'm starting to see the appeal.

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I think it makes a difference being in the contests not just to that one story but if people like your writing style they tend to check out the rest of your work too, so it's a win-win situation. I try and enter all the contests for that reason and I will admit that I like the fact the story gets swept at the end of the contest to get rid of the troll votes. Over the years I have had some very dedicated trollers like most of the writers who have been around for a while. It's one of those things you just have to accept but the contest sweep helps to rid the story of a few.

The blue W is nice to have on your page if you get one of the top 3 places because the little bit of money isn't enough of an incentive to compete in the contests on its own, especially as being Australian it is a moot point now that even Amazon won't deliver here anymore, lol.

So despite the other positives, my verdict would be that most people enter the contests regularly for the views and votes or else you probably wouldn't see much of a turn out for the less popular ones. Gosh I hate the Halloween theme but I will try to scribble some thoughts down and give it a go, I like being part of a group like this one and I feel the same about the contest entrants. I like seeing how people interpret a theme in so many different ways