What is a good rating

[CurvyMrs]

I mean it’s not the end of the world and I realise some deliberately mark people low (which is crappy but ).

I have written two pieces so far. Both in the hope of them being enjoyed by others and sharing my world of bdsm, submission and most recently escorting.

Is it any thing under 3 is bad. Over 4 is good. Or not that simple?

CurvyMrs xx

 

[AlinaX]

When I started out, the huge number of views was what thrilled me. Getting favourites and comments is great. A rating of 4.5 or more gets you a red H, which certainly feels good.

Ultimately the average rating depends on category, and someone will no doubt be able to point you to one of the many threads with statistics, but ultimately the question is how well do you feel you did, and can you do better?

 

[CurvyMrs]

True and my latest story was very much to set the scene so I guess I’m okay it’s not doing so well. But yes I love the exposure. Knowing it’s been seen and read by many. As a sub I do like being judged xx

https://literotica.com/s/fifteen-minutes-4

 

[StillStunned]

There are too many factors beyond your control to really worry about ratings. When your story is published, where on the list of new stories it appears. Who reads your story, when they read it, how they're feeling when they read it.

The fewer readers (and voters) your story has, the more the rating will fluctuate. If someone doesn't like your story and drops the dreaded 1, it will take seven 5s to bring it up to the level of the little red H (average of 4.5 or better from a minimum of ten votes). And yes, it's quite common to attract a personal troll or two who will bomb every story you put out.

Over time, though, your story will settle at a particular rating and probably not change much. If it's a high score, that's nice encouragement. If it's a low score, it's a shame. As long as you enjoyed writing your story, take whatever encouragement or motivation you can from what the readers say, but don't get too worked up about it.

Good luck, and have fun writing!

 

[CurvyMrs]

There are too many factors beyond your control to really worry about ratings. When your story is published, where on the list of new stories it appears. Who reads your story, when they read it, how they're feeling when they read it.

The fewer readers (and voters) your story has, the more the rating will fluctuate. If someone doesn't like your story and drops the dreaded 1, it will take seven 5s to bring it up to the level of the little red H (average of 4.5 or better from a minimum of ten votes). And yes, it's quite common to attract a personal troll or two who will bomb every story you put out.

Over time, though, your story will settle at a particular rating and probably not change much. If it's a high score, that's nice encouragement. If it's a low score, it's a shame. As long as you enjoyed writing your story, take whatever encouragement or motivation you can from what the readers say, but don't get too worked up about it.

Good luck, and have fun writing!

Thank you. Yes your right and I will pay less heed to it moving forwards xx

 

[StillStunned]

Thank you. Yes your right and I will pay less heed to it moving forwards xx

Good idea.


I should perhaps note that I check my ratings several times a day. It's an unhealthy habit.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I mean it’s not the end of the world and I realise some deliberately mark people low (which is crappy but ).

I have written two pieces so far. Both in the hope of them being enjoyed by others and sharing my world of bdsm, submission and most recently escorting.

Is it any thing under 3 is bad. Over 4 is good. Or not that simple?

CurvyMrs xx

My suggestion is to wait a month before you take anything from a rating. By that time, your story "is what it is." It's off the category first page, its score will have settled, readers have judged it.

The way I see ratings, any story lower than 3.50 is usually "low" for a reason - usually poor technical construction, poor grammar, poor writing. Except for one or two categories with rabid category police, I don't think readers dramatically knock down scores because of content, but I think readers will "punish" a badly written story.

Lit story scores tend to skew high (4.00 +). If it's a one-off low score, I wouldn't bother too much, but if your scores are persistently in the low 3s, that's when I'd start paying attention.

 

[KeithD]

Is it any thing under 3 is bad. Over 4 is good. Or not that simple?

If you take what the site itself proposes, then yes. But, no, it's not that simple.

 

[BlueSeagull]

While I do keep a handy spreadsheet of all my chapters and scores so I can see what's going on....those numbers aren't a full or even partial story.

At the end of the day for myself I'd rather have one person comment on what they enjoyed or didn't than get a dozen ratings.

 

[Britva415]

I mean it’s not the end of the world and I realise some deliberately mark people low (which is crappy but ).

I have written two pieces so far. Both in the hope of them being enjoyed by others and sharing my world of bdsm, submission and most recently escorting.

Is it any thing under 3 is bad. Over 4 is good. Or not that simple?

CurvyMrs xx

I like getting the red H, which is 4.50 and over. It's not because of the ego stroke of achieving a "high score" which "proves" my story was good. It's because the red H attracts attention and probably just means more people read my stuff.

 

[CurvyMrs]

I like getting the red H, which is 4.50 and over. It's not because of the ego stroke of achieving a "high score" which "proves" my story was good. It's because the red H attracts attention and probably just means more people read my stuff.

I can dream of getting one of them

 

[literallynotme]

I was just really happy to see the number of comments I got on my first series, and I was lucky enough to maintain just above a 4.5 on the finale. But yeah, from my limited experience, I feel like anything above a 4 is a success, especially when the number of ratings is over 50 or so, which means that errant ratings won't immediately sink your score.

 

[8letters]

I mean it’s not the end of the world and I realise some deliberately mark people low (which is crappy but ).

I have written two pieces so far. Both in the hope of them being enjoyed by others and sharing my world of bdsm, submission and most recently escorting.

Is it any thing under 3 is bad. Over 4 is good. Or not that simple?

CurvyMrs xx

Here is the average rating by category and page length to give you a standard to measure your stories.

 

[luv2custrip]

Here’s a good exercise: go back and look at your all time favorite stories; best authors. I’ve been amazed: some stories are in the 4.3s; they only overage around 4.5.
Sure made me feel better.

 

[Litfan2016]

I always get so excited when I get a new follower based on my stories. Then i check their profile and see they're following 10,000 other people (cue sad trombone sound).

 

[BlueSeagull]

I always get so excited when I get a new follower based on my stories. Then i check their profile and see they're following 10,000 other people (cue sad trombone sound).

Assume the best....they just like to read....A LOT!

 

[darkride]

I remember one of my lecturers at university stating that anything marked at over 85% (ie High Distinction) was considered "publishable" (and indeed - if we received such a score for a paper we handed in, we should consider seeking publication!)

But in this context, the "markers" are not professionals, they are people on an internet forum. You'll have, as you noted, people who mark you down just out of spite... But you'll also have people who mark you really high because your writing just got them off (well, subject to the state of their keyboard/mouse). Is that worthy of praise? (Yes! ) Then you'll have people who may actually have some reasonable experience with the written word who will take the time to mark your story, too.

Equally, some of these subsets will also leave comments on your story. Some loving it, some hating it, some offering feedback that will really make you feel good, because you know they've taken their time to critique your work. The best way to view any feedback is to read it all, dismiss what you don't like (and there will be plenty, especially on a site like this!), and take on board the rest to varying degrees. (My favourite lecturer at university talked at length with me about a tv-pilot that I had written, and we debated several of his "feedbacks". His overriding statement to me was - provided I could argue my case, I could keep XYZ. However, often if someone has an issue with how you have written something, it's for a good reason, and you should consider such feedback carefully, and determine if you need to clarify/rewrite it.)

At the end of the day, the way that Literotica works - a "H" (4.5 out of 5 stars) is your goal, because it gets you more readers, and that gets you more ratings, more comments... Most of us however may never reach that level. The best chance you have is to write your story as best you can (thinking for example of the types of writing crafts that you enjoy when you yourself read a story), proof read it several times, ideally then have someone else proof read it too (there's people on here who offer to proof read), or if that's really not possible - print it, then use a pen and point at each word as you READ IT ALOUD, and listen to your voice as you read - this will help to find problems.

(As you are the person who wrote the text originally, your brain has the amazing capacity to mis-read what you have typed and instead read it how your brain perceived it to have been written. I've proof read for adults and kids, and it never ceases to amaze me how I'll point something out and they will say - "Oh - I meant this." But that's not what is on the page... Printing it out, and using a pen to make sure you are actually reading the printed words, and not letting your brain auto-correct for you is a great self proof reading tool... Helped me with my GPA at university...)

 

[Rob_Royale]

There are too many factors beyond your control to really worry about ratings.

Correct. It's impossible to know how each reader uses of the 1-5 scale. Is it like a bell curve where 3 is average? Does a story start with a five and they deduct as they read? Hard to say.

I can dream of getting one of them

It will happen. As your skill as a writer progresses. Remember, readers love good healthy sex and happy endings. Add some likable, relatable characters and mix well. Pay attention to how your story flows and make sure whatever happens between the sex scenes is interesting.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I continue to use this story as an example of what factors do or don't indicate success with a story:

If we look solely at the rating, most would consider it a success. If we look at the low number of views, that opinion might change.

It is obviously well liked by the few who have read it, and the votes-to-view ratio is off the charts. The title and description are purposely vague, and that has influenced readership, but I feel very proud of the reception it has received, and that is what constitutes "success" for me.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

As someone who is really new to Literotica, obviously I obsess a little about this as well.

Generally speaking, the thing you notice with that sort of thing is how few people rate a story at all. On Literotica I am extremely pleased I get confirmation there are literally thousands of readers (no more screaming into the void, Looking at you, tumblr).
But the number of people who VOTE is usually much smaller.

Why?
My guess is, there are about 3 possible scenarios behind that:
- You don't feel strongly enough about a story to rate it / don't think the author needs your feedback (you want/feel you are neither entitled to push it up nor down)
- You LIKE the story, or at least parts of it, but if you gave it an "honest" rating, you would bring down the score. You don't want to bring down the score of a story you like (even if you don't like it 5/5).
- You HATE the story, but you have mercy on the writer. It's not your place to bring someone down - "If I have nothing nice to say, I'd rather not say anything".

Then there is the matter of the score set by those who DO rate.
Clearly, those are the people who cannot stay silent.
So if many people give 3 star ratings or less, clearly it's a bad story?
Well, not so sure about that...

Especially with erotic stories, it's complicated.

We don't even know WHAT each individual person is rating, exactly.

Are they rating the writing style?
Are they rating the story? (The characters? Their decisions? The "morality"? etc.)
Are they rating how horny it makes them?

Usually, it's all of the above - but in what proportion?

Those are vastly different things! (Ideally, the rating would differentiate, but I sure as hell couldn't program that.)

Look at point 3 especially. Your story could be a literal masterpiece, beautifully crafted, but most people find it disgusting, because it's just not their cup of tea? Still does not mean your story is "bad", just that other people are boring your taste is different from other people.

My personal take is, IF you give someone less than say a 4 star rating, curtesy demands that you leave a comment explaining why. If you feel strongly enough to downgrade, you feel strongly enough to give feedback!*
We can debate what counts as "constructive" feedback, but clearly a 1 or 2 star rating with no explanation is Not That. Even something primitive like "This killed my boner " is superior to a silent downrating because at least you know what kind of people downgraded your story.
Trouble is of course that rating is fast and quick, commenting is not. So here we are.

EDIT: *except, of course, if your silent downrating is a deliberate expression of disdain - "This offends me and is beneath me". Donwside is, the author will never know whether that's what you meant.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

I might actually link to one of my stories in this general forum, to explicitely ask for an explanation:

It's my story with the most views and the lowest rating!
My guess is, the title is catching people's attention, and then they are disgusted by quite an off-putting description, offended by the actions of the protagonist, or both. Would be interesting to see what exactly.

I personally had a LOT of fun with that one, but I feel I can guess why it may make people squirm

 

[StillStunned]

I might actually link to one of my stories in this general forum, to explicitely ask for an explanation:

It's my story with the most views and the lowest rating!
My guess is, the title is catching people's attention, and then they are disgusted by quite an off-putting description, offended by the actions of the protagonist, or both. Would be interesting to see what exactly.

I personally had a LOT of fun with that one, but I feel I can guess why it may make people squirm

For stories with a specific kink, high viewing numbers mean more people who don't like that kink.

 

[ArdentHemingway]

Not that it may apply to the story you mentioned, but I will say that I recently saw someone state that s/he one-votes any story containing the C-word regardless of anything else.
Others may one-vote for any use of the word "whore". People are petty.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

Not that it may apply to the story you mentioned, but I will say that I recently saw someone state that s/he one-votes any story containing the C-word regardless of anything else.
Others may one-vote for any use of the word "whore". People are petty.

I hope we can all agree though in THAT case, that person morally needs to leave a comment to point out the "transgression"?

Otherwise it's not even punishment (the author will never know the reason), just destruction.
Of course one may argue, some transgressions (like, in that example, any use of the C-word) are so severe that rate-nuking out of the blue (with no chance of correction) was the only correct action. Surely a person even capable of using the C-word is already beyond redemption? /s
Not mutually exclusive, people like the one in your example may simply be scared of pushback for their policy - they feel it's rightous, but prefer not to discuss it.

 

[HordHolm]

As someone who is really new to Literotica, obviously I obsess a little about this as well.

Generally speaking, the thing you notice with that sort of thing is how few people rate a story at all. On Literotica I am extremely pleased I get confirmation there are literally thousands of readers (no more screaming into the void, Looking at you, tumblr).
But the number of people who VOTE is usually much smaller.

Why?
My guess is, there are about 3 possible scenarios behind that:
- You don't feel strongly enough about a story to rate it / don't think the author needs your feedback (you want/feel you are neither entitled to push it up nor down)
- You LIKE the story, or at least parts of it, but if you gave it an "honest" rating, you would bring down the score. You don't want to bring down the score of a story you like (even if you don't like it 5/5).
- You HATE the story, but you have mercy on the writer. It's not your place to bring someone down - "If I have nothing nice to say, I'd rather not say anything".

You need to consider the (probably very pertinent) fourth reason readers may not vote: they click on the story, read a few sentences, it doesn't grab them for whatever reasons, and they leave. They never get to the point of voting.