About the Top of the Top Lists

[MelissaBaby]

The topic comes up over and over again.

"My story had a 4.98 rating and was number one on the all time top list, but then it got one bombed and now it's only 4.80 and disappeared from the front page."

Those who have never experienced it might roll their eyes at the hubris of authors who complain because, of the more than half million stories on Lit, theirs isn't the highest rated. But for those who have enjoyed that flash of glory, the let down can be disheartening. That's understandable, and not just as a matter of pride. A place on the Top Lists almost always means more views and most writers want their audience to grow.

But realistically, even the best authors should not expect to maintain a story near the top of the list. Let's look at the facts.

Here is the current top ten on the all time list (100 votes to be eligible):




The first thing to notice is that the number one highest rated story on the site is at 4.92. Not 5.00, not 4.99; when your story crosses the 100 vote threshold at those kind of numbers, it is a guarantee it will drop. Will some of that be due to one bombs? It's likely. Is natural attrition and regression to the mean more responsible? Certainly.

The current #1, Wintering Over in Wyoming Territory, has been up for less than a week, and has only 304 votes. Chances are overwhelming it won't be in the top ten for more than another day or two.

#2, The Rehab, is at 4.91 after more than ten years. It has 21,859 votes. It ain't going nowhere. A hundred one bombs would not budge it from the top ten. In terms of ratings, it's the most successful story on the site.

#3, The Wind Off The Lake, was published in February, and should be considered very successful for still hanging in so high. But most likely, it will gradually slip into the high 4.80s for the long term. And if authors have ambitions to get stories into the top list, that's a realistic goal.

Apart from #6, a series chapter with only a hundred votes which will certainly slip down the list soon, the top ten is dominated by chapters in a series that has been running for almost eight years, by a very popular author who promotes her work widely.

The bottom line is that you aren't likely to have a top ten story for more than a day or two. If you put one there, enjoy it, take a screenshot as a momento, swallow your disappointment when it slips down the list, and have the humility to understand that an awful lot of writers here would kill for a 4.85 rating.

 

[Voboy]

I'd been writing here about four years (after reading for about fifteen years) before I even knew there was such a thing as a top list.

I've always felt kinda stupid to admit that, but it's true.

ETA: of course I just looked. One of my poems is way up there, all time. Yay me!

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I don't understand the purpose of this thread?

 

[filthytrancendence]

I suspect this was at least partially in response to something I said in the other thread. And I just want to be clear, I wasn't trying to say this doesn't suck. It does suck and it isn't fair. I know I'd be irritated about it if I ever got there.

Only that it's an intractable problem as a result of how voting works and the limited resources of the site. And any change I can think of to the voting system that would mitigate it would have bad side effects on all stories, not just the top ones.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

This also covers something from a different thread that only one chapter of a series should be eligible, same as contest rules that say only one submission from an author can win.

 

[Voboy]

I don't understand the purpose of this thread?

I suspect it's Melissa, reminding us all to cool our jets. That the top lists aren't an end-all, be-all. She's not wrong.

If you need the reminder, great. If not, go on with your bad self.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I don't understand the purpose of this thread?

I started the thread because I have read several posts in the past few days from people who placed stories high on the list and then expressed disappointment or rancor when they slipped down, some suspecting that it was the result of mischief or malice. Having been in their situation a few time, I thought I'd share my observations on how things actually work.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I suspect it's Melissa, reminding us all to cool our jets. That the top lists aren't an end-all, be-all. She's not wrong.

If you need the reminder, great. If not, go on with your bad self.

Yeah, more or less. I was thinking about this reading Lovecraft's "Can You Top Yourself" thread and reflecting on the different measures of success people apply to their work.

 

[SimonDoom]

Yeah, more or less. I was thinking about this reading Lovecraft's "Can You Top Yourself" thread and reflecting on the different measures of success people apply to their work.

I understand it perfectly. I totally agree with the perspective.

We're all human. There's nothing unusual or wrong about getting some pleasure from having a story at or near the top of a list. The trick is not to get wedded to those numbers, not to get invested in them, because that way lies frustration and foolishness.

I had the good fortune of having a story that rose to a score of 4.92 at exactly the right time to place in a contest. So I got my "W." Then it was promptly bombed, and now, a year and a half later, it's parked at 4.49. Whatever. It's still the same story.

It doesn't make as much difference as people think it does. I have a story that has NEVER reached 4.5 and still gets many views every single day, over 8 years after publication.

Scores exist for readers, not for us. Keep reminding yourself of that. If somebody thinks your great story sucks, they're perfectly entitled to bomb it. There's no injustice in that. It's a feature of the system, not a bug.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I don't understand the purpose of this thread?

It's an AH discussion.

Does it need a purpose?

 

[Voboy]

Scores exist for readers, not for us. Keep reminding yourself of that.

This is something that needs to be tattooed in bold font on the forehead of every newer writer on Lit. Backwards, so that they're reminded of it whenever they look in the mirror.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I understand it perfectly. I totally agree with the perspective.

We're all human. There's nothing unusual or wrong about getting some pleasure from having a story at or near the top of a list. The trick is not to get wedded to those numbers, not to get invested in them, because that way lies frustration and foolishness.

I had the good fortune of having a story that rose to a score of 4.92 at exactly the right time to place in a contest. So I got my "W." Then it was promptly bombed, and now, a year and a half later, it's parked at 4.49. Whatever. It's still the same story.

It doesn't make as much difference as people think it does. I have a story that has NEVER reached 4.5 and still gets many views every single day, over 8 years after publication.

Scores exist for readers, not for us. Keep reminding yourself of that. If somebody thinks your great story sucks, they're perfectly entitled to bomb it. There's no injustice in that. It's a feature of the system, not a bug.

If someone sets out with the ambition to write high scoring stories, more power to them. I thought I'd point out what their realistic prospects are.

My own perspective on my ratings is that I want each new story to have a score above my average. I see that as at least some measure of whether or not I have maintained or improved the quality of my writing.

 

[TheLobster]

The site-wide toplist is like prime real estate in Manhattan: if you’re not from old money, you ain’t getting it. So I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Rolling toplists, the 30 day ones, are what’s worth focusing on. Since I don’t think most readers visit the site every day, these the natural places where they might look for stories worth their while. These are by nature transient leaderboards, so getting bombed away isn’t that big of a problem in the long run, and there is no wall of chapters 110 to 120 of a decade-long series to break through.

This isn’t just idle speculation. Early on in my carrier here, I had my first stories climb to top 30day viewed (not even rated) in I/T and it kickstarted my follower base into the hundreds. I suspect getting to the top of a 30day list in a popular category and staying there for 3-4 weeks is comparable in terms of exposure to a 1-2 day flash-in-a-pan on the site-wide toplist.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

My own perspective on my ratings is that I want each new story to have a score above my average. I see that as at least some measure of whether or not I have maintained or improved the quality of my writing.

I don't see that as a very good measuring stick. A writer has no control over the scores unless the writer chooses to pander. I know that you're not the pandering type, so I can't see how that metric has any accuracy for you. Your barometer should be something that you have some control over otherwise the measurement is pretty much random.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I don't see that as a very good measuring stick. A writer has no control over the scores unless the writer chooses to pander. I know that you're not the pandering type, so I can't see how that metric has any accuracy for you. Your barometer should be something that you have some control over otherwise the measurement is pretty much random.

That's why I said "some measure", one data point among many.

 

[THBGato]

The bottom line is that you aren't likely to have a top ten story for more than a day or two. If you put one there, enjoy it, take a screenshot as a momento, swallow your disappointment when it slips down the list, and have the humility to understand that an awful lot of writers here would kill for a 4.85 rating.

Fair.

I remember when I got my first Lesbian Sex No 1, I was taken by complete surprise but luckily had the presence of mind to take a screen shot as, yep, it didn't last more than a day (if that). I was thrilled and humbled by that, but also felt like a complete fraud - total imposter syndrome - to be up there placed above writers I admired and was inspired by.

Sure, of course scores will come down. I think that readers approach stories differently if they are high up in a top list versus something brand new. I can imagine some readers, who might have given a story 5 if they had just stumbled across it, finding it on the top list and going "this isn't THAT great - I'll give it a 4." Fair enough.

In a sense, I'm glad my stories have dropped from number 1.... if only because I would never have got number 1s 4-6 if Thirty (my third number 1) had stayed there at 4.97. ;-) No, but, seriously, I still don't feel like my stories have any business being placed above A Girl Called Mitch, Walking with Sam, When the dark dresses lightly or Nanny Sarah (or Oyster River for that matter). I'm happy with them being on the relatively obscurity of pages 3 and 4.

That said, one-bombing and top list trolling does exist. Don't pretend it doesn't or belittle those hurt by it.A friend's story was at 4.95 on 100 votes; it was 4.91 after 101 votes. That's only possible with a 1* vote. And it was instant, so most likely a bot at work. Since the monthly contests seem to have stopped, the only way for new writers to have their stories stay on the category home page is to get on the top list (or win a themed contest); so for writers hoping that their story will still be read beyond the first two weeks, placing on the top list matters.

 

[NotWise]

I don't see that as a very good measuring stick. A writer has no control over the scores unless the writer chooses to pander. I know that you're not the pandering type, so I can't see how that metric has any accuracy for you. Your barometer should be something that you have some control over otherwise the measurement is pretty much random.

We can't predict the rating very well, but if you've posted many stories, particularly to one category, then you can probably say whether a story will sink, float, or swim, by whatever standard you choose.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

That's why I said "some measure", one data point among many.

All right, well I suppose that I shouldn't have even entered the thread, since none of my stories (past nor future) will ever get a Red H let alone get anywhere near the same galaxy as a top list, so I have no business here. : P

 

[pink_silk_glove]

We can't predict the rating very well, but if you've posted many stories, particularly to one category, then you can probably say whether a story will sink, float, or swim, by whatever standard you choose.

Well, going by my scores, the only thing to do is quit writing, but that ain't happening. ; )

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

The bottom line is that you aren't likely to have a top ten story for more than a day or two. If you put one there, enjoy it, take a screenshot as a momento, swallow your disappointment when it slips down the list, and have the humility to understand that an awful lot of writers here would kill for a 4.85 rating.

Well stated, Melissa. My story Mentor reached #1 in the Mature category Top 250 roster on August 21, 2021, while another of my stories was also in the top 10 in the category after having reached #3 just three weeks earlier.

Mentor had less than 10% of usual top-ranked story in the category so it dropped the next day but I got to see it sitting pretty for that brief moment. It's now down to #145 on the Mature category list, whereas the other story, The Valentine's Dance, has held up a little better and is still in the top 100.

Edit: Corrected the timeline anomaly.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

"Popular actor"?

--Annie

 

[Voboy]

We can't predict the rating very well, but if you've posted many stories, particularly to one category, then you can probably say whether a story will sink, float, or swim, by whatever standard you choose.

This.

At a certain sample size, the rating can be a useful metric especially within stable categories. I've found that to be the case in my own catalog. But then, I've submitted over a hundred of these damn things.

 

[TheLobster]

My story Mentor reached #1 in the Mature category Top 250 roster on August 21, 2025, (…)

Sir, as you were traveling to this timeline, have you perchance brought with you an almanac of sporting events and their results?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I think the bigger concern with the list is that 6 of the top 10 are chapters in the same series. With no malice towards Writerannabelle, I'd like to see a separate list for top rated series.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Sir, as you were traveling to this timeline, have you perchance brought with you an almanac of sporting events and their results?

Ha ha! Lot of BttF references in the past few days on the 40th anniversary of the original.

No, seriously, that was a big honor to me and figuring it would be about the closest I'd ever come to an Honor or Award, I recorded it on my profile page (it's still there).

EDIT: I really get the joke now! OOPS! Fixed above.