Are less people reading?

CiaoSteve

Lonely Dreamer
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Posts
273
Wondered if anyone else had noticed a downturn in the number of people reading stories on Lit. At the start of the year it seemed easy to have a story ready by more than 10K people but now it seems a strain to get to 10K. Is this a trend others have seen or maybe my writing has gone off the mark a little :(
 
Not 'less' - FEWER!

But I don't think so. My stories are getting more views than they used to.
 
My number of views has gone down with each story I've released, but each story has been in a different category. I understand that the number of readers can vary wildly depending on category. If that's the case, then I'm probably not a reliable data point.
 
Wondered if anyone else had noticed a downturn in the number of people reading stories on Lit. At the start of the year it seemed easy to have a story ready by more than 10K people but now it seems a strain to get to 10K. Is this a trend others have seen or maybe my writing has gone off the mark a little :(

I keep track of views on my stories. I went back and checked some of my earlier stories where I have about two years of records. Things were very active when I first started and that activity died down. I don't see much change in the last year+.

You may see different patterns depending on what category you're posting in and just what you're posting. If you're posting chapters (for instance), then it can be hard to maintain readership as time goes on.
 
I haven't noticed a drop in views. In a series, the number of readers will drop, usually, with each successive chapter. And some categories get fewer readers than others. That's probably what you are seeing.

Your "Secretary to Slut" series follows a typical progression. The early stories have more views, but the later stories have higher scores.
 
The confusion between less and fewer is one of the few things that irritate me.

If you can count them it's fewer.

If you can't, it's less.

Less milk; fewer bottles of milk.

Less sugar; fewer sugar lumps.

But I'm not getting fewer views (and there is a counter)!
 
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Unless I've paid for it or it's something academic I'm suppose to learn from, I don't care what someone says/writes if I can understand them.

Let it go, you'll live longer or at least you'll live less irritated.

supposed

rj
 
The confusion between less and fewer is one of the few things that irritate me.

If you can count them it's fewer.

If you can't, it's less.

Less milk; fewer bottles of milk.

Less sugar; fewer sugar lumps.

But I'm not getting fewer views (and there is a counter)!

Yep. It glares out there (like me/I and also where you place me/I in a compound) as a mark of a substandard education.
 
The confusion between less and fewer is one of the few things that irritate me.

If you can count them it's fewer.

If you can't, it's less.

Less milk; fewer bottles of milk.

Less sugar; fewer sugar lumps.

But I'm not getting fewer views (and there is a counter)!

It's a little more complicated than that. You would say "The bread cost less than ten dollars", not "The bread cost fewer than ten dollars", even though you can count the dollars.
 
It's a little more complicated than that. You would say "The bread cost less than ten dollars", not "The bread cost fewer than ten dollars", even though you can count the dollars.

It still seems to follow the same rule. In that statement 'less than ten dollars' you can't count how much less because it isn't stated. It could be nine dollars 50 or five 50. You don't know. If you say 'fewer than ten dollars' I would infer that it was still priced in whole dollars, not eight dollars thirty cents.

But although it irritates me the distinction doesn't really matter. Whether you write fewer or less, people know what you mean.

I'm still seeing more views on my stories even on my very old ones.
 
I care a lot about my own grammar, but am fewer intolerant of those of other people.

The number of readers and writers seems to be growing.

I'm amazed that Literotica is still as popular as it is after eighteen or so years. I originally came here for two reasons: because I wrote stories that were a bit too sexually twisted for most writing web sites, and also because it seemed to allow pretty much anyone with a basic grasp of English to post stories. The level of writing competence required for a story to be accepted is really low here, which makes it a great jumping-off point for amateurs who are still learning how to write, as well as a great site for people who have "one story" in them and just want to share.
 
...

But although it irritates me the distinction doesn't really matter. Whether you write fewer or less, people know what you mean.

...

I care a lot about my own grammar, but am fewer intolerant of those of other people.

...

As I said earlier, it irritates me, but that's my problem not the author's. There are very few things about other people's writing that bother me. Less/fewer is just one of a small number.

I'm more annoyed with my own mistakes. :rolleyes:
 
As I said earlier, it irritates me, but that's my problem not the author's. There are very few things about other people's writing that bother me. Less/fewer is just one of a small number.

I'm more annoyed with my own mistakes. :rolleyes:

One can go too far with this sort of thing, but I don't think one is a grammar Nazi to point out a mistake as you did -- I noticed it too. One of the ways a community of writers can help its members is to provide input and feedback on matters of usage and grammar.

I don't know if you are a Game of Thrones watcher but there's an amusing scene in which Stannis Baratheon corrects someone for improper use of "lesser" under his breath. Grammarians everywhere felt a pang of sympathy for an otherwise very unsympathetic character.
 
One can go too far with this sort of thing, but I don't think one is a grammar Nazi to point out a mistake as you did -- I noticed it too. One of the ways a community of writers can help its members is to provide input and feedback on matters of usage and grammar.

I don't know if you are a Game of Thrones watcher but there's an amusing scene in which Stannis Baratheon corrects someone for improper use of "lesser" under his breath. Grammarians everywhere felt a pang of sympathy for an otherwise very unsympathetic character.

Bad grammar is one of those visible and correctable errors that just throw many readers out of the story. I'm working on mine and that thread suggesting grammarly really helped.
 
Bad grammar is one of those visible and correctable errors that just throw many readers out of the story. I'm working on mine and that thread suggesting grammarly really helped.

It's true for me. If I see repeated instances of bad grammar my enjoyment of the story suffers. It's true for a lot of people. The grammar standard to be met here at Lit is not high; it's not too much to advise an author to bone up on the basics.
 
I'm amazed that Literotica is still as popular as it is after eighteen or so years. .

I think it's because it's still, as far as I can tell, the best place to go to read erotic stories. That's what surprises me: that there isn't better competition. The online erotic story landscape has changed surprisingly little in the last 10 years or so, despite the changes in the Internet world generally. The same sites seem to dominate, with the same stone-age user interfaces and rinky-dink capabilities. I can't help but think that has to change at some point.
 
I think it's because it's still, as far as I can tell, the best place to go to read erotic stories. That's what surprises me: that there isn't better competition. The online erotic story landscape has changed surprisingly little in the last 10 years or so, despite the changes in the Internet world generally. The same sites seem to dominate, with the same stone-age user interfaces and rinky-dink capabilities. I can't help but think that has to change at some point.

The only way it will change is if someone with big bux comes along and designs a better website from scratch. Or the various sites are bought by Amazon and get upgraded at the cost of millions of dollars in software changes.

I keep wondering why no one has learned from the success of iTunes. Electronic media for music isn't that much different than E-based literature. The key, I think, is that iTunes is CHEAP and the selection vast.
 
Wattpad seems to be tolerating hotter stories, but not ones that are largely sex. It's a step, but they also have a huge teenage audience so I guess they have to be careful there.
 
Wattpad seems to be tolerating hotter stories, but not ones that are largely sex. It's a step, but they also have a huge teenage audience so I guess they have to be careful there.

Damn, ChloeTzang! Where do you find the time to keep up with other story sites?

You're always on the Lit forums (it seems like on every thread), you write 10x more than I do, you listen to amazing music I've never heard of, and read books I've never been able to find the time for. If I remember correctly you have other hobbies too. And you work irregular hours while maintaining a relationship.

You're one of those people who only needs to sleep 30 minutes a night, aren't you?

Not criticizing. I'm honestly amazed/impressed/a little bit jealous.
 
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