I may stop writing one-off stories

[SimonDoom]

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!

You're welcome, and I'm glad you took my comment positively. I realized after the fact that it may have come across as smug or dismissive, and that wasn't my intention.

Your reaction is a very common one--you have lots of company in your feelings--and I think looking at the issue from different perspectives can, for some, assuage some of the anxiety.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

4.5 is not low.

But it kinda is. Was it 8letters who presented those site-wide statistics about ratings, where the average rating of all stories on Literotica was around 4.45, and of those published in the last year around 4.5.
That would mean that a 4.5 rating sucks because it's a representation of the average Lit story, and the average Lit story is pretty, pretty bad.

The whole situation is problematic because this analysis shows that ratings and the red H are almost meaningless as a gauge of a story quality and that we shouldn't fret about them, but then, readers clearly use the ratings and the red H to sift through the stories, so we end up fretting about them because we care about being read.

I don't even know if I can give proper advice to the O.P., that's how weird all of this is.

 

[AllenWoody]

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?

Good question! See my response to SimonDoom just above your post. Both are appealing in their own way. I have found that I'm more likely to receive meaningful feedback on installments in series than I am for standalone stories where the theme of the comments always seems to be, "Hey, write more exactly like this!"

 

[StillStunned]

I will love my story even if...

 

[jaF0]

You may be in a rut. You do series, you get followers who follow series. Your followers expect series. You do a single, they're looking for more. They rate based on series or lack there of.

You don't get followers who prefer singles. They may read the first chapter and rate it, but never come back. Follow on chapters get less views, less ratings.

Are your singles rating suffering because of your limited followings?


If you change your spots and do more singles than series will your followers change? Will views and ratings patterns change?

 

[jaF0]

But it kinda is. Was it 8letters who presented those site-wide statistics about ratings

Statistics show what statisticians want them to show.

They may tilt the table without even knowing they're doing it.

 

[SimonDoom]

The whole situation is problematic because this analysis shows that ratings and the red H are almost meaningless as a gauge of a story quality and that we shouldn't fret about them, but then, readers clearly use the ratings and the red H to sift through the stories, so we end up fretting about them because we care about being read.

Readers plainly DO use ratings to decide whether to read a story, but the degree to which this is the case is exaggerated in this forum. I've been around long enough and have enough published stories to see that this is so. Stories can achieve high view numbers, as well as many votes and favorites, without necessarily having high scores. People unnecessarily fret that anything less than a stellar score will doom their story to invisibility. It doesn't have to be so.

My advice to authors, which I think is a less stress-inducing philosophy, is to concentrate first and foremost on what you want to write, write the best you can, and be attentive to things like category, title, tags, and taglines to get your stories in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

 

[Melon_Morph]

Sorry to hear that youre feeling discouraged @AllenWoody

I would try to remember the audience that youre dealing with. Not to trash talk, but the average reader is some guy trying to jerk off. Youre a creator and I think you are justified in feeling superior to the trolls in the comments. Hopefully that helps.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Readers plainly DO use ratings to decide whether to read a story, but the degree to which this is the case is exaggerated in this forum.

I tried that. I looked at a few stories based on higher ratings:

https://forum.literotica.com/thread...e-new-stories-over-the-last-few-days.1618139/

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Readers plainly DO use ratings to decide whether to read a story, but the degree to which this is the case is exaggerated in this forum. I've been around long enough and have enough published stories to see that this is so. Stories can achieve high view numbers, as well as many votes and favorites, without necessarily having high scores. People unnecessarily fret that anything less than a stellar score will doom their story to invisibility. It doesn't have to be so.

You are both right and wrong, in my opinion. You are right because ratings are not the only things that matter. Category, kinks, themes, tags, and followers, all taken together, matter more in the sense of the visibility of a story.
But I also don't think that the importance of ratings (and the red H) as a means to sift through the stories is exaggerated at all. This is especially true in the last couple of years when we witness a significant rise in the number of stories published each day.

The average reader doesn't spend much time on Literotica and he has to tighten the criteria for even clicking on a story if he hopes to make some kind of a selection among all these countless stories. Besides the category and the title of the story, ratings and the glowing red H are the first things that hit him in any story list. To see the tags and kinks even, he has to click on a story.

So no, I don't think there is any exaggeration because there are too many freaking stories being published every day. And things are only going to get worse unless some significant change in Laurel's approach happens. We both know that's not going to happen.

 

[SimonDoom]

So no, I don't think there is any exaggeration because there are too many freaking stories being published every day. And things are only going to get worse unless some significant change in Laurel's approach happens. We both know that's not going to happen.

You're right that it's not going to happen. We disagree, somewhat, about whether that's a bad thing or not. I'm more sanguine about it.

But since we can all agree it's not going to happen, then we might as well adopt personal story publishing strategies that maximize our chances of attaining satisfaction here. Focusing obsessively on scores is not, in my opinion, the sensible way to do that. I've adopted a strategy where, while I like, on balance, getting a high score as much as anyone else, my overall satisfaction from writing and publishing isn't in any way dependent on it. I focus on other things and get a lot of satisfaction from that, and I don't fret about scores or what Laurel is or isn't doing, ever.

 

[gunhilltrain]

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?

As @ElectricBlue said, this a "feedback-lite" arena. First of all, we've tried to estimate how many people come on here mostly to read. I forgot what we came up with, but it's like the population of a small city. Mass production followed by followed by mass consumption. I'll respond sometimes, but I've never had anyone continue the conversation.

It's like one of those free newspapers given out at Penn Station and such. E.g., AM-New York. Maybe the commuter will still have it when they get off at Ronkonkoma,* maybe not. They'll be another issue tomorrow.

* An indigenous people's word that roughly translates as "inadequate parking."

P.S.: After ten or twelve days, few people will vote on a submission. By then, it is what it is.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The average reader doesn't spend much time on Literotica and he has to tighten the criteria for even clicking on a story if he hopes to make some kind of a selection among all these countless stories. Besides the category and the title of the story, ratings and the glowing red H are the first things that hit him in any story list. To see the tags and kinks even, he has to click on a story.

You're right, the Red H pulls readers, whether people like it or not. My latest story is a little 750 Word thing which has stalled at 4:47/34. That's not a bad score for a a 750 Word story, but if it had nudged the 4:50 barrier the Vote count would be far higher.

But here's the odd thing - since it's gone live i've got several new followers, who I'm guessing have come from that story. But they're following me, not voting on the story, and not faving the story, even though the View count has nearly doubled. Readers are strange, unpredictable beasts.

I'm intrigued to see what happens on 1st March when the complete list of 750 Word stories get published. It'll get another kick on, I'm sure. I've got another 750 Word story in the queue, so I'm expecting the same thing to happen. I doubt either will get Red H, but I might get a pleasant surprise.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

You're right that it's not going to happen. We disagree, somewhat, about whether that's a bad thing or not. I'm more sanguine about it.

But since we can all agree it's not going to happen, then we might as well adopt personal story publishing strategies that maximize our chances of attaining satisfaction here. Focusing obsessively on scores is not, in my opinion, the sensible way to do that. I've adopted a strategy where, while I like, on balance, getting a high score as much as anyone else, my overall satisfaction from writing and publishing isn't in any way dependent on it. I focus on other things and get a lot of satisfaction from that, and I don't fret about scores or what Laurel is or isn't doing, ever.

What you are saying is that we all have our own personal way of experiencing Literotica, and I fully agree with that. Your personal Lit philosophy is very good, especially under the circumstances.
But as you can see for yourself, different people - different philosophies. It's not easy to force yourself to find a different way to enjoy your publishing experience because Literotica isn't budging in the slightest when it comes to various suggestions and demands.
It's possible to adapt to this situation, sure, and it's great when you find a way to do it. I even envy the people who can adapt easily.

For me personally, Literotica isn't worth changing my views and approach. And even though the O.P. seems very frustrated with ratings, for me, the absurdity of ratings is probably at the bottom of the list of things that put me off about Literotica.

 

[gunhilltrain]

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.

You're not really a Lit writer until you get your first 2.33. (Some people get scores below 2.00.) I must have told the story of that score four times already, but you can take my word about the 2.33. I actually thought it was a pretty good story.

 

[jaF0]

^^^ I'm betting I'll have one tomorrow.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

So no, I don't think there is any exaggeration because there are too many freaking stories being published every day. And things are only going to get worse unless some significant change in Laurel's approach happens. We both know that's not going to happen.

To illustrate this, today, 31 Incest/Taboo stories were published, and 29 SciFi&Fantasy ones. I rest my case.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

To illustrate this, today, 31 Incest/Taboo stories were published, and 29 SciFi&Fantasy ones. I rest my case.

But only 8 in interracial, including my latest chapter!

Come on over and hang with us, lol. Just make one of the aliens Asian in your Sci-Fi stories and you're set.

 

[AllenWoody]

But only 8 in interracial, including my latest chapter!

Come on over and hang with us, lol. Just make one of the aliens Asian in your Sci-Fi stories and you're set.

Okay, this remark has spiked my curiosity. Is that the law of the jungle dictates that interracial is limited to encounters between black men and white women?

EDIT: My mistake. I misread your comment.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

Okay, this remark has spiked my curiosity. Is that the law of the jungle dictates that interracial is limited to encounters between black men and white women?

EDIT: My mistake. I misread your comment.

No worries - it's an easy assumption make, given the way things tend to go in there.

 

[alohadave]

As @ElectricBlue said, this a "feedback-lite" arena.

It's feedback-lite because there is no real way to interact in comments. If that were to change, the comments would change. Everywhere else that has a proper commenting system has activity in the comments.

 

[gunhilltrain]

You are both right and wrong, in my opinion. You are right because ratings are not the only things that matter. Category, kinks, themes, tags, and followers, all taken together, matter more in the sense of the visibility of a story.
But I also don't think that the importance of ratings (and the red H) as a means to sift through the stories is exaggerated at all. This is especially true in the last couple of years when we witness a significant rise in the number of stories published each day.

The average reader doesn't spend much time on Literotica and he has to tighten the criteria for even clicking on a story if he hopes to make some kind of a selection among all these countless stories. Besides the category and the title of the story, ratings and the glowing red H are the first things that hit him in any story list. To see the tags and kinks even, he has to click on a story.

So no, I don't think there is any exaggeration because there are too many freaking stories being published every day. And things are only going to get worse unless some significant change in Laurel's approach happens. We both know that's not going to happen.

Yes, but how much is too much? The site seems proud of the half-million submissions it has published. I suppose that helps sell merchandise and whatever else they do to keep going.

Probably if a story follows the site rules (including the increasingly tricky AI ones) and it's "coherent," whatever that means, then it's guaranteed to be published. I can't imagine that they will ever be any more picky than that.

https://www.literotica.com/resources/about-literotica

 

[jaF0]

Lit is one of the longest surviving sites on the web, nookie or otherwise.

Why do people keep thinking it needs to be changed to suit some personal preference?

Seems pretty clear that L&M know more about keeping the place running and popular than most others here.


Lit's been alive longer than the minimum age to post here.

Lit's been alive long enough to smoke in most places.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's feedback-lite because there is no real way to interact in comments. If that were to change, the comments would change. Everywhere else that has a proper commenting system has activity in the comments.

Well, the person making the comment could check back to see if there was a counter-response from the author. Usually they don't do that. I've had a few people PM or email me, which is nice but usually there aren't deep discussions. Years ago, I would sometimes use the Story Feedback section, but I haven't done that in a while. Maybe there is only so much one can say about a 7,000 word story.

On another site, I have three or four people following a series I am doing there. They like it, but they maybe have two or three lines about each chapter. I guess that is good enough for what we are doing.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, the person making the comment could check back to see if there was a counter-response from the author. Usually they don't do that. I've had a few people PM or email me, which is nice but usually there aren't deep discussions. Years ago, I would sometimes use the Story Feedback section, but I haven't done that in a while. Maybe there is only so much one can say about a 7,000 word story.

On another site, I have three or four people following a series I am doing there. They like it, but they maybe have two or three lines about each chapter. I guess that is good enough for what we are doing.

The point is, Lit could facilitate the interaction that many authors crave with some small changes to the website and its interface. They just don't want to do that. It's one of (my) major issues with Literotica.

There are other examples too, like wordcount and tags, but I suspect they don't want to make those happen for different reasons.