What do the stars mean

Hi,
can anyone explain to me what the stars under my works in my profile mean?
Like for example: I submitted work, it has been posted and then something like 2/2.00 or 4/13 comes up under the stories.
What does that mean? I'm new here and so I am still trying to find my way around. It is a bit much I have to admit.
Thanks for any reply

Hugme said:

Hi,
can anyone explain to me what the stars under my works in my profile mean?
Like for example: I submitted work, it has been posted and then something like 2/2.00 or 4/13 comes up under the stories.
What does that mean? I'm new here and so I am still trying to find my way around. It is a bit much I have to admit.
Thanks for any reply

Click to expand...

If you go to your story on Lit and scroll all the way to the bottom of the last page you will see how readers can vote for your story, giving it from one star to five stars. Mousing over the stars gives you the site's definition of what each star is supposed to mean. The voters don't necessarily use those definitions.

The ratio in your listing for the story is the rating / the number of votes. The rating is the average number of stars per vote. Higher ratings means your story is more popular among those who voted.

And yeah, there is a learning curve and helping with that curve is a lot of what we do in this forum.

NotWise said:

If you go to your story on Lit and scroll all the way to the bottom of the last page you will see how readers can vote for your story, giving it from one star to five stars. Mousing over the stars gives you the site's definition of what each star is supposed to mean. The voters don't necessarily use those definitions.

The ratio in your listing for the story is the rating / the number of votes. The rating is the average number of stars per vote. Higher ratings means your story is more popular among those who voted.

And yeah, there is a learning curve and helping with that curve is a lot of what we do in this forum.

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And try to practice my wits and prove I'm halfway there.

But, yeah.

The heart is the number of people who have favorited your story.

The bar graph is the number of people who have clicked on your story to open it.

The star is the average of the votes divided by the number of people who have cast one.

The speech bubble is the number of comments.

DON'T sweat it. And do NOT let yourself get discouraged. Just focus on your writing and getting it a little better with each submission.

As NotWise said, there is a learning curve and after thirty years of trying I'm still on the uphill climb. But, damn! It's gonna be a helluva ride on the other side!

Thanks

Thanks for the insight. I think I understand a bit better now.

Yeah, I don't know if it's worth to post here then. Because if out of 4k clicks only like 5 people actually took the time to click on a star, then that's not a lot. I know my writing isn't bad but so far I have only written multiple chapter devotee romance but I post that somewhere else.

I came here to post some fetish stuff because I thought it may be a better place to post those kind of stories here than anywhere else but they are probably not hardcore enough.

I can see that there are thousands of stories here and so it's probably difficult to actually get some attention and especially if it's a specific kind of fetish. I feel my stories will go under here.

Thanks though for the insight.

Hugme said:

Thanks for the insight. I think I understand a bit better now.

Yeah, I don't know if it's worth to post here then. Because if out of 4k clicks only like 5 people actually took the time to click on a star, then that's not a lot. I know my writing isn't bad but so far I have only written multiple chapter devotee romance but I post that somewhere else.

I came here to post some fetish stuff because I thought it may be a better place to post those kind of stories here than anywhere else but they are probably not hardcore enough.

I can see that there are thousands of stories here and so it's probably difficult to actually get some attention and especially if it's a specific kind of fetish. I feel my stories will go under here.

Thanks though for the insight.

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I guess that Fetish is a tough category. Imagine that your readers need to share your fetish in order to enjoy your story. There are as many fetishes as there are people, so getting a group of readers to make your story popular is pretty impossible.

You need a standard other than views/votes/rating to judge your success. Talk to Oggbashan. He knows.

Hugme said:

Thanks for the insight. I think I understand a bit better now.

Yeah, I don't know if it's worth to post here then. Because if out of 4k clicks only like 5 people actually took the time to click on a star, then that's not a lot. I know my writing isn't bad but so far I have only written multiple chapter devotee romance but I post that somewhere else.

I came here to post some fetish stuff because I thought it may be a better place to post those kind of stories here than anywhere else but they are probably not hardcore enough.

I can see that there are thousands of stories here and so it's probably difficult to actually get some attention and especially if it's a specific kind of fetish. I feel my stories will go under here.

Thanks though for the insight.

Click to expand...

You have to look at fetish stories a little different. The readership isn't high and neither is the voting. Secondly, the scores aren't high mostly because fetishes are usually narrow from a personal standpoint. You also have people who hate this fetish or that one and low ball the votes.

Maybe Ogg will weight in as he writes fetish stories.

In any case, keep writing as you can and will build a following, which help a ton.

Hugme said:

Thanks for the insight. I think I understand a bit better now.

Yeah, I don't know if it's worth to post here then. Because if out of 4k clicks only like 5 people actually took the time to click on a star, then that's not a lot. I know my writing isn't bad but so far I have only written multiple chapter devotee romance but I post that somewhere else.

Click to expand...

Expect to see one vote per hundred views, and one comment per thousand or so views, thereabouts. Literotica is a low-feedback zone.

As noted in the post above, Fetish has an even lower response rate.

Fetish?

Writing Fetish is a bang-your-head-against-a-wall-repeatedly activity.

People's fetishes are individual. If your story hits the exact fetish they enjoy it might get high-rated particularly if it is a rare fetish with few followers.

If it doesn't fit their perception, or if the reader doesn't understand the fetish at all, the story will get a back-click or one vote and an abusive comment.

Femdom is awkward. While some people like it as a fantasy and some enjoy it in real life many men who tend to describe themselves as 'real men' are threatened by it. The 'real men' will vote down and be very abusive. They want the female character divorced, arrested, jailed or killed because she is such a threat.

I have several Unbirth stories. Unbirth is impossible. It is a fantasy scenario. Yet I get accused of writing unrealistic unbirth. WTF? It is unrealistic but some like the idea of unbirth as a fantasy.

My ghosts can be felt and appear to have human weight and texture. Why not? But people's perceptions of ghosts are that they are immaterial, transparent or translucent, so my ghost stories are attacked because they don't match the image the reader already has of ghosts.

So - if you are writing fetish you should expect a very low ratio of votes to views, abusive comments and ratings below 4.00 for stories that some readers might think are wonderful.

Writing more mainstream stories would get better responses than fetish.

oggbashan said:

My ghosts can be felt and appear to have human weight and texture. Why not? But people's perceptions of ghosts are that they are immaterial, transparent or translucent, so my ghost stories are attacked because they don't match the image the reader already has of ghosts.

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They only ghosts I've written had weight, texture and warmth--or at least that's how they were perceived by the MC's. The story went to Erotic Horror (though there was no 'horror' in the story), the reception was pretty good, and no-one complained about that aspect.

You get pretty minimal attention in Erotic Horror, but it might be better than Fetish.

RubenR said:

What is your aim, posting your stories on Literotica? Are you trying to make, at some point, money out of it, or is it mainly for your own satisfaction and the satisfaction of other readers?

As everybody has already written before, fetish-stories are niche-stories. Lots of niches, because people tend to be very specific about their likes and dislikes, which makes that there are very few stories that hit exactly the right spot. I don't think it has anything to do with being 'hardcore enough'; on the contrary, light-fetish stories may actually appeal to more people, because it is easier to identify with.

One way of getting the stories that you like is, by writing them yourself. Lots of writers here write the stories they'd want to read. Writing stories down is different than just fantasizing about them, as you'll have to think about details, story structure, etc., and while writing, the story might take different directions than you initially intended. Call me narcissistic, but I really enjoy reading my own stories once in a while.

If you like writing stories, there is hardly any reason not to post them on Literotica; they won't stop you from posting your stories on other websites too. The only 'disadvantage' is, that you probably can't sell those stories later on, but how likely is it that you make money on such specific stories?

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I totally get what you are saying. As I stated above I have been writing for a while and also post on another site for romance fiction. I am not out for money at all, I know better than to imagine making any money out of this. I write only for myself and for people who "get it".

I write stories that I either have experienced or at least been inspired to write because of contacts I have. I write about my own and my like minded friend's fetishes and so I'm not catering to other fetishes that don't interest me.

I know only a limited number of people will enjoy those type of fetishes or even read about it.
When it comes to men, they are visual anyways, so they mostly want to see stuff instead of reading about it. And as for women and my favorite fetishes I'm a rare species anyways, not too many women out there into it.

So, it is not about money at all.
I just merely came to the realization that Lit is saturated with lots of different topics and stories or other means of entertainment that I think the time and effort I would put into writing and editing won't be worth posting. I was hoping to entertain and connect with people who are into the same stuff I am.

I used to post my stuff on Fetlife but took it down from there and came here to post. I may actually go back and post on FL again because there it will at least reach only the people who are into the same stuff I am and I know they will appreciate it.

Thanks for all your feedback

I'd beware of Fetlife if I were you. The management and moderators have complete contempt for copyright. I've had a dozen of my stories stolen and reposted there under other people's names. The stories were left up for the thieves to continue soaking praise for, and the people who reported the theft were deleted.

Scumbaggery of the highest order.

Hugme said:

I totally get what you are saying. As I stated above I have been writing for a while and also post on another site for romance fiction. I am not out for money at all, I know better than to imagine making any money out of this. I write only for myself and for people who "get it".

I write stories that I either have experienced or at least been inspired to write because of contacts I have. I write about my own and my like minded friend's fetishes and so I'm not catering to other fetishes that don't interest me.

I know only a limited number of people will enjoy those type of fetishes or even read about it.
When it comes to men, they are visual anyways, so they mostly want to see stuff instead of reading about it. And as for women and my favorite fetishes I'm a rare species anyways, not too many women out there into it.

So, it is not about money at all.
I just merely came to the realization that Lit is saturated with lots of different topics and stories or other means of entertainment that I think the time and effort I would put into writing and editing won't be worth posting. I was hoping to entertain and connect with people who are into the same stuff I am.

I used to post my stuff on Fetlife but took it down from there and came here to post. I may actually go back and post on FL again because there it will at least reach only the people who are into the same stuff I am and I know they will appreciate it.

Thanks for all your feedback

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Don't get put off by the possibility of a negative reaction. Too many authors here get too psyched out by bad comments and bad votes. The advantage of this site is that the audience is enormous -- I think it's bigger than anywhere else. If you want to connect with readers who share your kink and have the same reading tastes you do, this probably is the best place to do it, despite the number of trolls. As others have pointed out, the response rate is not high, but that's because the sheer number of viewers/readers is so large. If you write a good story in a category that readers like, you'll connect with some readers, and probably more than if you publish the story elsewhere.

Let readers know about the content of your story through your title, tagline, and story tags, and you will improve your chances of getting favorable readers.

It usually means I hit my head again and stuff.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

Nevermind.

Debbie

It's not negative feedback that bothers me, it's no feedback that bothers me.
It's not worth it then if people don't have time to comment or check a star or something.
I'm usually one that always gives feedback when I read someone's story or anything really. That's the only way people will know if they are doing something right.
Even when I buy stuff or in everyday life, I give feedback. Maybe that's why I find it disappointing if so many people read but no one leaves feedback.

Hugme said:

It's not negative feedback that bothers me, it's no feedback that bothers me.

Click to expand...

If it's feedback you want, then I'll give you feedback. I read your first story.

I don't share your fetish. I don't think that should be surprising or really much of an impediment for a well-written story. It became a problem for me when narrative and dialogue repeatedly described the casts and braces as 'hot,' which made no sense.

It seems to me like you should be able to demonstrate how hot it makes them without saying it over and over. Maybe you could do more to describe their aroused physical reaction to each other. That would make it unnecessary to say 'You're hot.'

The story is less than a full Lit page. That's short. Lit readers respond well to longer stories. A good, short stroker might go over well, but generally shorter stories earn lower scores. Is it normal for stories in Fetish to be short?

An editor could have helped.

The story is dominated by narrative. I think the story would have been improved by more substantial dialogue that tells at least part of the story.

Your characters have no names; they're simply 'he' and 'she.' They have no backgrounds aside from they're married, they have a friend, and they share a fetish. They have no personality. Your readers might respond to your characters better if they have names, personalities and backgrounds that the reader can understand.

The story is a simple vignette in which you give your readers very little to get their teeth into. I've seen vignettes (a series of them, in fact) earn high views and ratings in rarefied air, but I think you need to put more effort into it if you want the story to be worth the readers' time.

I read the story as well. A few thoughts:

I agree with Notwise's remarks, mostly. If you are going to set up a fetish, then you need to establish its erotic quality for the reader. You have to show, not just tell. The eroticism of the fetish isn't clearly established early on. We don't know who the female character is or why she has this fetish.

Something I've noticed is that stories get a lot more comments when they feature characters that the reader can get involved in. Your two characters have no names, so it's harder for readers to get involved in them. A story is much more appealing if the character is established.

I agree, too, with Notwise that your story could use more dialogue. The female character in this story never says anything. The dialogue is one-sided, so it's not really dialogue. This is a very odd fetish, and to make it work the female character's perspective is essential. She should talk. We need a better window into her mind to understand what the fetish is, why she has it, and why it's erotic.

Another bit about dialogue: Too often, your dialogue begins with a narrative intro. For example, you write this sentence:

As he picked up his glass he said, 'Let's go upstairs!'

I would reverse this:

"Let's go upstairs," he said, picking up his glass.

Dialogue makes a story more interesting by breaking up the narrative. But when you precede every line of dialogue with a phrase of narrative you weaken this effect of dialogue.

There are some instances here and there of unusual word use and sentence structure. Having an editor look at your story before publication might make sense. For example:

He looked at her, 'Put your right leg up here', and he gestured to the right brace.

This isn't a grammatical sentence. It should be written this way:

He looked at her.

"Put your right leg up here," he said, gesturing to the right brace.

Good luck with your stories.

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback.

The stories are not meant to be very deep and are meant to be about just two random people, nothing deep, just the attraction, the fetish and the sex, simple as that.
If you don't have the interest in the fetish, they won't do anything for you. I get that. Only a select few of people who get it.

As for the length, they weren't meant to be novellas or romances with back stories, they were really just about sex.
I have written stories with over 200,000 words so yeah, my fetish stuff won't be anything like that. And even my devotee romance is only being read by a select group of people, the pool is very small.

As on the technical side of things, English is not my native language so I know some of it may be grammatically not perfect. It seems a lot of trouble to get it edited for really nothing.

Thanks again though for the feedback.

Hugme said:

And even my devotee romance is only being read by a select group of people, the pool is very small.

Click to expand...

What is "devotee romance?" Just curious I guess. I haven't heard the term before.

NotWise said:

What is "devotee romance?" Just curious I guess. I haven't heard the term before.

Click to expand...

It's romance fiction involving disabled love interests and appeals to devotees. Devotees are people with an attraction and interest in people with a variety of disabilities.

Unfortunately there is a medical term and it's Abasiophilia, psychosexual attraction to people with impaired mobility. It's difficult to explain in just a few words.

I am a devotee of attractive paraplegic men, meaning I'm very interested in paraplegic men in a physical and psychological way.
I post my dev romance fiction elsewhere, multi part romance novels with the backstory and plots everyone's missing here in my fetish stories.

I also have my fetishes I enjoy and that's what I wrote about here, wasn't supposed to be deep and emotional, just fun.

Thanks.