How Do You Measure Literotica "Success?"

[intim8]

What - the royalty cheques aren’t enough?

Mine must be lost in the mail. Who do I talk to about that?

 

[Djmac1031]

I'll never have millions of readers, and that's fine with me. I am happy for your success, but my metric is completely different. I measure success in three ways: whether or not I feel I wrote a good story, whether my loyal readers feel they were presented with a good effort and whether or not the small group of my fellow writers respect what I have achieved.

I feel more successful by achieving those goals and getting a few thousand views than I would getting a million views and not doing so.

This.

I mean, not much I can add to it, really.

When I first started, the views numbers blew my mind. Eventually I started to understand they don't really translate to actual reads, but that was fine. My ratings and favorites showed me I was finding an audience that, for the most part, liked my stories.

And so, that's where I am. I'd love hundreds of thousands of followers and views and reads. Not gonna lie.

But I'm just some random guy playing author and writing short and hopefully entertaining little stories on a popular erotica site.

Chances are that's all my stories will ever be. And I'm cool with that.

My measure of success is actually completing a story, being happy with it enough to publish, and having people tell me, in one way or another, "hey, that was fun, I enjoyed it, thanks."

 

[EmilyMiller]

Did @onehitwanda read your story? Then it was a success.

Everything else? Debatable.

Note: This post and opinion is not up for debate as I am sure OneHitWanda will eventually read it.

It’s when she comments on your story (even with just an emoji) that you have truly arrived

Emily

 

[StillStunned]

It’s when she comments on your story (even with just an emoji) that you have truly arrived

Emily

I got a comment with a little blue heart. It's all downhill from here.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

I finally consider myself successful now that @Smuttyandfun has commented on my latest story.

“Well done! I've got to read more of your work now.”

 

[Devinter]

I got a comment with a little blue heart. It's all downhill from here.

Here's the low-image-quality, double-feature, overly-sparkling-wet-vagina-looking version! You're welcome!

 

[Rob_Royale]

The responses to my work have been overwhelmingly positive both from the average reader and my peers on the AH. Good enough for me.

 

[Djmac1031]

It’s when she comments on your story (even with just an emoji) that you have truly arrived

Emily

She commented on Reunion that it made her cry.

Guess I should just pack it up and call it a writing career, then?

 

[intim8]

It’s when she comments on your story (even with just an emoji) that you have truly arrived

Well, I haven't arrived then, but I think that djmac guy giving a "holy cow!" counts for something.

 

[lovecraft68]

When overlycritical not only bashes your story but is so upset by it they come back and leave a second comment, that you've arrived.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Well, I haven't arrived then, but I think that djmac guy giving a "holy cow!" counts for something.

He gave you a cow?

 

[intim8]

He gave you a cow?

A holy one. I wasn't allowed to make hamburger out of it.

 

[EmilyMiller]

A holy one. I wasn't allowed to make hamburger out of it.

Wow!

 

[Djmac1031]

Well, I haven't arrived then, but I think that djmac guy giving a "holy cow!" counts for something.

I'm not at all sure how that happened, seeing as I'm an atheist.

I do love a good steak though.

 

[Abbafan]

By height.

 

[Djmac1031]

By height.

Ah. So you tell tall tales.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Ah. So you tell tall tales.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The above is obviously very rare footage…

 

[MelissaBaby]

When overlycritical not only bashes your story but is so upset by it they come back and leave a second comment, that you've arrived.

I must be fucking up. They usually give me 4*.

 

[lovecraft68]

The above is obviously very rare footage…

Is that pre steroid Barry?

 

[lovecraft68]

I must be fucking up. They usually give me 4*.

Ironically the story he felt the need to take two nasty shots at is a 4.87 and won a monthly contest.

The fact I have a W in the romance category still makes me shake my head.

 

[uwey]

For me, the best comment is when a reader said they jacked off and came hard from reading my story. The numbers and votes are great also, but when a story gives a guy a hard-on and makes him want to jack-off - that's a huge thrill as an author.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

My measure of success was getting a comment on my story from Maonaigh.

 

[onehitwanda]

When overlycritical not only bashes your story but is so upset by it they come back and leave a second comment, that you've arrived.

a portrait of Overcritical.

 

[Duleigh]

I just hit my two-year anniversary writing and submitting stories to this site. My first chapter of my first series went "live" on May 25, 2018. On May 19 of this year, my 55 submissions reached a combined total of 7 million views. That seems like a lot, but there are nine individual stories that have more views than that. None of my submissions has yet reached 400k views. I also understand that "views" does not equate to people actually reading my stories. No idea what that would work out to as a ratio. My stories have accumulated just over 94,000 votes at this point. Maybe that's a better benchmark? People have added my stories to their favorites 11,666 times. That's good, right?

I've been here since 2006 and have only been writing seriously since 12/24/21
My numbers fall far short of yours, having crested 1 million views this month. Only one of my 80 submission exceed 100k views and my most voted on story has yet to reach 1k votes, but I count success differently.

I'm happy with what I've produced and I strongly feel that my stories are getting better and better. Placing in a contest feels good, I love it. Having high scoring stories feels good too, but nothing, nothing at all beats the feeling of when a blind reader, or a vet with PTSD leaves a comment that says, "You get it. You really get it." That's success to me.

I've been lucky enough to be successful on occasion.