How does the rating system work?

[Rexxxist]

Hello,

I posted my first story recently, and while I have had a number of views, I'm worried my rating is very low. So far, it's at 3/13. I'm confused as to what this means, as the rating goes up to 5 stars. Do I have an average of 3 stars over 13 reviews? The only comment I've had so far was positive, and 2 people have favorited it, but the rating is still concerning.

I'm not trying to complain about not receiving comments or getting a bad score. What I'm posting is a few old stories I wrote when I first got back into writing about 2-3 years ago, so I know they aren't my best. I just couldn't find anything on the site that explained how the rating system worked and what the scores mean.

I'm really trying to focus on seeing what people like and don't like, as I'm trying hard to get back to my full potential after a 5 year hiatus. I know I shouldn't put all my faith in the scores, but since it's the most common feedback I do want to keep an eye on it.

 

[alohadave]

It's a simple average of the votes that you've received. Your score is 3 out of 5, from 13 votes.

 

[FrancesScott]

I posted my first story recently, and while I have had a number of views, I'm worried my rating is very low. So far, it's at 3/13.

You have had thirteen people award you an aggrgate of thirty-nine stars. As the options are one star through five, you’d think that was an average score. But votes here, like say Amazon reviews, follow a J curve. Many people vote five, a disgruntled few vote one, and not many vote anywhere in between (some do of course - not everyone votes the same way - some may award five stars to anything they finish - others may only award five stars to a truly exceptional story).

Which all goes to say that the rating is a bit of a mess a lot of the time. But sadly an average of three stars is a little low.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Your score is 3, which is somewhat low, but it's actually the number of votes that's more of a problem in this case. Thirteen is a very low number of votes, and at such a small pool of votes, your overall score gets affected far more by potential trolls who sometimes vote 1 to put someone's score down.
Now, I'm not saying that's what happened in your case. It's possible all of your votes were legit. I'm just saying that at such a low number of votes, you are more vulnerable to malicious voting.

Either way, don't worry so much about it. You are a new face here, so it will take a while before you build up a following and a larger base of potential voters. Keep at it, and even if it takes a while, your audience will find you.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Your score is 3, which is somewhat low, but it's actually the number of votes that's more of a problem in this case. Thirteen is a very low number of votes, and at such a small pool of votes, your overall score gets affected far more by potential trolls who sometimes vote 1 to put someone's score down.
Now, I'm not saying that's what happened in your case. It's possible all of your votes were legit. I'm just saying that at such a low number of votes, you are more vulnerable to malicious voting.

Either way, don't worry so much about it. You are a new face here, so it will take a while before you build up a following and a larger base of potential voters. Keep at it, and even if it takes a while, your audience will find you.

This.

Welcome to the alternate universe that is Lit writing. Hang in there! Oh, you might want to include a link to your published work(s) in your signature here. Getting noses-to-screen is important.

 

[Writer61]

I know I shouldn't put all my faith in the scores, but since it's the most common feedback I do want to keep an eye on it.

It is the most common, but very few readers give a rating (approx 1.2% for mine) so there is a case for ignoring it.

It's a simple average of the votes that you've received. Your score is 3 out of 5, from 13 votes.

You need at least 10 votes and an average of 4.5 or better to qualify for a "Hot" marker.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I'm not trying to complain about not receiving comments or getting a bad score. What I'm posting is a few old stories I wrote when I first got back into writing about 2-3 years ago, so I know they aren't my best. I just couldn't find anything on the site that explained how the rating system worked and what the scores mean.

Alot of times it is worth going over your old stories and doing a little re-write like a major edit with new eyes.... You will feel better about them as will your readers.