I may stop writing one-off stories

[AllenWoody]

TL;DR - I may give up writing standalone stories because of increasingly poor ratings.

My latest story Acquired: Angel went live this morning, and followed the same pattern of voting as my other stories have recently. High score at first, then higher yet as -I suppose- more of my followers found, read, and voted favorably. It got up to something like 4.9. Then, the score started to fall until now it rests well below a 4.5.

In the past this didn’t happen to me. The score would drop off, but never that low. Most of my older stories rate far enough over 4.5 that I don’t worry about them dropping out of ‘hot’ territory even with some fluctuations. But lately this has been the pattern. Granted, Acquired is a non-con story which is not to everyone’s taste, but that’s clearly explained up-front. My writing may not have improved, but I certainly don’t think it’s gotten worse, either.

Even my innocuous humor story “The Make Your Own Baby Bar” experienced a sudden drop. I’m not aware that it had anything in it that would draw ire, but after a long stay well above 4.5 is dropped down sharply.

Was Acquired one of my best? No. Do I only write because I want high ratings? Again no, but there’s no question that I have an ego and that ratings motivate and reward me. I have two longer, multi-chapter works that I’ve been dragging my feet on, but increasingly I think I might be happier taking a break from publishing while I finish one or both. I’m tired of pouring my energies into standalone stories that go out with a whimper, not a bang.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I'm sorry your stories got some negative reaction...
If I wrote for scores, or if I thought they mattered one little bit.
I woulda stopped before I started...
The thing with writing is... Like every other creative endeavour. If you're not enjoying it... Then stop...
It's the actual writing I love, stringing words and sentences together. Hopefully telling some sort of tale...
If I did it just to see what other people think...
I'd probably be looking for a tall building to jump off...
Please... Forget about the scores. Think about the process, is it still fun???
If you answer yes... Then to hell with the scores.

Cagivagurl

 

[Bamagan]

A couple of observations:
First, the phenomenon of peaking well into Hot and then cooling down is quite common. As you mentioned, the initial scores were likely mostly from followers and those who were particularly intrigued by the teaser, tags, etc. and would therefore be inclined to rate highly. People who read it later include a (presumably) higher percentage of readers who were only moderately interested to begin with. Some of them seem to still be only moderately interested when they finish, I guess.
Second, the ratings have very little to do with how 'good' one's writing is, at least in a technical sense (except sometimes in cases where the grammatical competency is very low). Your lower scores therefore don't mean your writing has gotten worse. At most, I'd say it implies you're reaching a somewhat wider audience than you'd prefer! That's a mixed blessing, I suppose. Some people like wider exposure, but it does mean you'll get more feedback from readers who aren't shy about giving you their negative opinion(s). Like almost all free advice, it's worth every penny you paid for it.

 

[SimonDoom]

I confess, I don't understand this way of thinking at all. Chaptered stories in series get higher ratings over time for the obvious reason of attrition: the people who don't like the story drop out from reading it, and the people who like it keep reading the series. So there is a clear, observable phenomenon at Literotica that many of the highest-rated stories are late chapters in series with many, many chapters. It is obvious upon a moment's reflection that this has nothing to do with quality. It's attrition, pure and simple. So when you say, "I want only to write chaptered stories, because they have higher numbers, even though I know rationally that those higher numbers are higher for reasons that have nothing to do with quality," you are confessing that you are surrendering to nonsense. Why would anyone do that? Why would you find satisfaction in a higher number when it's obvious that it has nothing to do with quality?

8Letters did an analysis that demonstrated that standalone stories tend to get more views. More views mean more votes and more favorites and more followers. So in the long run the standalone strategy is going to connect you with more readers that like your stories. That's my goal. The "only long chapter series" strategy limits your readership to only those most fanatical few who want to give you 5s. It baffles me that authors can find satisfaction in that. You're fooling yourself, right?

In your case, you seem distressed about the reception of your story when according to the statistics that I saw it hasn't been published for more than 24 hours and it has only slightly more than 500 views, which is a level at which scores are so volatile as to mean nothing at all.

I scanned your story list, and your average story score appears to be higher than mine. What's the problem?

 

[cadeauxxx]

It's a waste of time to worry about ratings. If you write enough stories, eventually the 1 star bombers will come along and make sure your new stuff struggles to get that little red H.

Ratings are a better way of gauging the engagement on a story and interest than what it really says about the rating itself. I imagine a lot of people just hit 5 or 1 star on everything they read.

Write whatever you want without the worry of of what strangers think of your work. If it makes you happy and you feel satisfied when you submit a story, that's the only thing that matters.

 

[gunhilltrain]

TL;DR - I may give up writing standalone stories because of increasingly poor ratings.

My latest story Acquired: Angel went live this morning, and followed the same pattern of voting as my other stories have recently. High score at first, then higher yet as -I suppose- more of my followers found, read, and voted favorably. It got up to something like 4.9. Then, the score started to fall until now it rests well below a 4.5.

In the past this didn’t happen to me. The score would drop off, but never that low. Most of my older stories rate far enough over 4.5 that I don’t worry about them dropping out of ‘hot’ territory even with some fluctuations. But lately this has been the pattern. Granted, Acquired is a non-con story which is not to everyone’s taste, but that’s clearly explained up-front. My writing may not have improved, but I certainly don’t think it’s gotten worse, either.

Even my innocuous humor story “The Make Your Own Baby Bar” experienced a sudden drop. I’m not aware that it had anything in it that would draw ire, but after a long stay well above 4.5 is dropped down sharply.

Was Acquired one of my best? No. Do I only write because I want high ratings? Again no, but there’s no question that I have an ego and that ratings motivate and reward me. I have two longer, multi-chapter works that I’ve been dragging my feet on, but increasingly I think I might be happier taking a break from publishing while I finish one or both. I’m tired of pouring my energies into standalone stories that go out with a whimper, not a bang.

Thanks for reading.

Don't take this personally, but almost every time I've read a post like this one and then I look at the person's scores, it's usually the same result. I lost count of the number of red Hs you have, but it's over fifty out of fifty-seven stories / chapters. (I don't have nearly that many with 138 submissions.) You are doing amazingly well, and you don't seem to recognize it! You're in Literotica Valhalla, but you don't have to die to get there. This is as close to the Gods of writing as anyone could expect here.

Just relax and keep doing what you're doing. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[ronde]

There is also a risk associated with long chapter stories. That risk is that if a reader of the first story in a series doesn't like it, it's unlikely they'll read subsequent chapters. Many readers choose what to read by the number of reads and number of votes. As the number of reads falls, so does the number of new readers. This can limit the ability to attract a following, and especially so if subsequent stories are just a continuation of the original plot.

The best approach, in my opinion, is to write single stories in multiple genre that have a variety of characters and plots. You'll still turn off a certain number of readers, but you'll also attract a bunch of new readers, some of whom will begin following you, and followers typically vote high.

The other thing to remember is that a rating of 4.5 means the vast majority of votes are either a 4 or a 5. If you go to any site that publishes customer ratings on anything, you'll realize that there are some people who never give the product a maximum rating, no matter what their included comment says. They'll say the product is everything they wanted and still give it one rating lower then that maximum. That's just the nature of some people. The product has to be perfect according to their definition of perfect, and nothing ever reaches that level. Be happy with the 4's and 5's and don't sweat the lower ratings. Those readers probably won't read what you publish next anyway.

 

[gunhilltrain]

For the record, it seems to be twelve out of 138. My most recent stand-alone story actually went up from a 3.3 or something to a 4.00. (Well, technically it was a prequel.) I count that as a success. But I liked the story anyway.

 

[nice90sguy]

I don't decide what to write, and don't consider how it will be received until after I submitted it. This is the great joy of being an amateur writer posting on a site like this, you just write whatever the fuck you feel like writing.

 

[jaF0]

It got up to something like 4.9. Then, the score started to fall until now it rests well below a 4.5.

In the past this didn’t happen to me. The score would drop off, but never that low. Most of my older stories rate far enough over 4.5 that

4.5 is not low.

 

[StillStunned]

4.5 is not low.

It's subjective. A story that starts out high and drops will always feel low. But a story that begins low and claws its way up will feel like more of a success.

I have a story that was at around 4.4 for a long time, until it gradually climbed up to 4.57, where it's stayed for about a year now. It feels like more of an achievement than other stories that have fallen from 4.7 to 4.6, for example.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

The four chapter stories that I had converted to single-submissions had all the chapters rated above 4.5. After republishing as single, longer stories every one of them has seen at least a .10 increase in the rating.

 

[rteny3245]

I’m not sure Literotica is the best place for constructive feedback. While it’s an excellent platform that provides free access to stories for both readers and authors, the way comments are moderated seems to discourage engagement rather than foster it. The culture of the site leans heavily toward content consumption rather than active engagement or feedback. Most readers seem more interested in passively enjoying the stories rather than participating in discussions or providing constructive criticism.

This is evident in the low number of story ratings and the minimal feedback left in the comments. Even when a story receives high view counts, it doesn’t necessarily reflect genuine engagement or interest—it could just be a result of curiosity or casual browsing. The tools we have for receiving meaningful feedback are quite limited, making it challenging to understand how readers truly feel about our work or how we can improve.

As others have pointed out, it’s important to remind myself that I write primarily for the joy of storytelling and sharing my creations, rather than for validation or praise. It’s about the process and the passion, not necessarily the reception.

 

[ElectricBlue]

the way comments are moderated seems to discourage engagement rather than foster it.

To clarify, the site doesn't moderate comments other than the occasional trawl for hate speech. The site will respond to comments if they're reported, and authors can moderate all comments, using whatever criteria they choose.

You're right though, Lit is a feedback-lite zone.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Don't take this personally, but almost every time I've read a post like this one and then I look at the person's scores, it's usually the same result. I lost count of the number of red Hs you have, but it's over fifty out of fifty-seven stories / chapters. (I don't have nearly that many with 138 submissions.) You are doing amazingly well, and you don't seem to recognize it! You're in Literotica Valhalla, but you don't have to die to get there. This is as close to the Gods of writing as anyone could expect here.

Just relax and keep doing what you're doing. You have nothing to worry about.

What gunhilltrain said.

Happens to me as well. Don't worry about it. The trolls hit your score early on, more reders come, the rating moves around - it's get to where readers on average think it should be in time. The more readers, the more accurate the average and the less the trolls matter. Just keep writing your stuf the way you want to write it and watch the views, comments and followers. You obviously have readers that enjoy your stories so you're doing it right

 

[rteny3245]

To clarify, the site doesn't moderate comments other than the occasional trawl for hate speech. The site will respond to comments if they're reported, and authors can moderate all comments, using whatever criteria they choose.

You're right though, Lit is a feedback-lite zone.

Yeah I guess I meant just the fact that it takes hours for a comment to pass moderation means no one is hanging out in the comments to have a discussion. The content moderation isn't the issue the extreme delay in the comments being posted is.

 

[Cacatua_Galerita]

TL;DR - I may give up writing standalone stories because of increasingly poor ratings.

Personally, I am not going to read your series works. I have nothing against your writing – I just prefer my erotica as a single, digestible sitting.

I believe Coleoidphilia is the only series I have ever read in entirety on Literotica (a shortish trilogy). I seriously avoid series!

I made this chart ~18 months ago to show the relationship of scores to views (in Romance category). Red for series and blue for standalone.

Standalone stories typically get an order-of-magnitude more views. Even though series stories rate ~0.2 stars higher. So I guess many readers are like me and prefer standalone stories, or simply don’t want to join a story at chapter 18, when it gets offered to them.

(If @Laurel had the time to help her consumers, she would separate the Top Lists into series and standalone entries; for the same reason Netflix separate their movies from TV series – they are scored differently and consumed differently.)

You’ll notice the correlation between rating and views on the chart. I believe the intent of a rating bomb is to reduce your audience. “Scores don’t matter” is a frequent comment in AH – but they do affect how many people will click on your story. So, actually, scores do matter, if you care about readership.

When I found I had an audience here, I wrote some social commentary into my last two stories. I wanted a large audience because I wanted my readers to be thinking about political disinformation and runaway corporatocracy (the themes in Statuesque and FT Clara Solti).

Vote bombing will reduce readership but is probably beyond your control.

Limiting yourself to series stories is also going to reduce your readership. You’ll get more stars but fewer eyeballs.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yeah I guess I meant just the fact that it takes hours for a comment to pass moderation means no one is hanging out in the comments to have a discussion. The content moderation isn't the issue the extreme delay in the comments being posted is.

There's a threshold, I don't know exactly what it is - once you reach it, your comments get posted immediately. My comments, for example, there's been no delay for several years.

 

[AllenWoody]

It's subjective. A story that starts out high and drops will always feel low. But a story that begins low and claws its way up will feel like more of a success.

Exactly this. Seeing it at 4.9, even knowing that it would drop as non-followers read and rated it, sort of stayed with me. I shrugged when it dropped, but when it *kept* dropping I admit to becoming despondent. That phenomenon, combined with having mostly written high-rated stories puts this latest effort into a bad light. It's sitting at 4.12 as of this post, making it the poorest-rated of my stories, well below even my clumsy first efforts.

 

[alohadave]

Yeah I guess I meant just the fact that it takes hours for a comment to pass moderation means no one is hanging out in the comments to have a discussion. The content moderation isn't the issue the extreme delay in the comments being posted is.

No one is hanging out in the comments because there is no notification of replies and no way to respond directly to a comment. The only person who is notified is the author.

Word on the street is this is a change that is coming down the pike. When it'll be implemented, who knows?

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

You gotta do what you gotta do for your mental health. But, personally, I think anything above a 4.0 is a solid rating. That's still A territory. But also, ratings are pretty pointless. Someone may not like your particular style, or how you portrayed a character or whatever, and instead of just going "not for me" and moving on they give a bad rating. There's no way to control how other people will react to your works, and taking it personally is only gonna lead you to depression.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Never, ever let the critics effect your enjoyment of your art, your creativity or the work itself. There are no awards here, no Oscar for highest rated smut. We do it because we enjoy it. Find that feeling again.

 

[AllenWoody]

I confess, I don't understand this way of thinking at all. Chaptered stories in series get higher ratings over time for the obvious reason of attrition: the people who don't like the story drop out from reading it, and the people who like it keep reading the series. So there is a clear, observable phenomenon at Literotica that many of the highest-rated stories are late chapters in series with many, many chapters. It is obvious upon a moment's reflection that this has nothing to do with quality. It's attrition, pure and simple. So when you say, "I want only to write chaptered stories, because they have higher numbers, even though I know rationally that those higher numbers are higher for reasons that have nothing to do with quality," you are confessing that you are surrendering to nonsense. Why would anyone do that? Why would you find satisfaction in a higher number when it's obvious that it has nothing to do with quality?

8Letters did an analysis that demonstrated that standalone stories tend to get more views. More views mean more votes and more favorites and more followers. So in the long run the standalone strategy is going to connect you with more readers that like your stories. That's my goal. The "only long chapter series" strategy limits your readership to only those most fanatical few who want to give you 5s. It baffles me that authors can find satisfaction in that. You're fooling yourself, right?

In your case, you seem distressed about the reception of your story when according to the statistics that I saw it hasn't been published for more than 24 hours and it has only slightly more than 500 views, which is a level at which scores are so volatile as to mean nothing at all.

I scanned your story list, and your average story score appears to be higher than mine. What's the problem?

You're not wrong. Although I didn't state that I wanted to write multi-chapter works solely because of better ratings, I won't deny that I'm motivated to continue writing by higher scores and the occasional favorable comment. There's also the sense of creating a more significant work, deeper characters, a larger world, etc. Stories with big reader counts are fun, but sometimes it's just as nice to write a story that a thousand people love as it is to write one then ten thousand people think is okay.

Thanks for the response!

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Which is better? 4.7 - 4.8 on 50-60 votes and a couple of thousand views, or 4.3 - 4.4 on close to 1,000 votes and nearly 40,000 views?

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

This is surprising to me, if only because my experience has been that one-off stories are almost always more higher rated than those in a series. More read, more comments, more engagement, more ratings, higher ratings.

I have done a single non-750 word one-off story, for the Valentine's contest, and it's one of my highest rated, most read. My two book length series don't get nearly the looks and ratings as this one.

Not sure if switching to serials is going to get you the numbers you're looking for.