Ratings v story

[SinderellaSin]

So how do people feel about ratings v story. I've written a couple of shorter stories directed more at one genre, while my longer stories cover multiple. The next for instance has exhibitionism, dominance and group.

Would I be better concentrating them on one genre. Or should I even care about ratings. It's nice people fav or follow to be fair I didnt think anyone would, just writing for fun.

Sin xx

 

[ElectricBlue]

So how do people feel about ratings v story. I've written a couple of shorter stories directed more at one genre, while my longer stories cover multiple. The next for instance has exhibitionism, dominance and group.

The risk with a smorgasbord story, with multiple kinks, is that you might end up with combinations that individual readers might not like, or you don't go deep enough into one kink before you move to next one.

Would I be better concentrating them on one genre.

As a writer, I tend not to mix too much up in any one story. If I want to explore something in particular, I tend to write to that category. Which is why I've got stories in at least half the categories on Lit.

Or should I even care about ratings. It's nice people fav or follow to be fair I didnt think anyone would, just writing for fun.

That's completely up to you. As a long time writer I still get a buzz from good scores, but I still write what I want to write. I don't pander to readers, but I do like it when I please them.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I think it is better to post a story, even if it contains elements of multiple facets into one category. Alot of time, reluctance/non-consent is a catchall. The story can have several kinks, bdsm, incest etc and still be non-consent. I would not post different chapters of the same series across categories/genres. To do that, you will lose some of your readers.
If you post chapter 3 of a story in LW and the first in interracial, and the second in bdsm, you can almost guarantee a loss of points. Just keep the story together.
Now comes the question of why might scoring be important since of course you write only for yourself and not for an audience, like so many authors claim here. Personally I want my stories to be read over time.
Readers tend to read stories that got good ratings in the past. A few might like one of your stories and look for other things you wrote. But they only have so much time, and there is so much available, so they will tend toward your better stories.

 

[AG31]

So how do people feel about ratings v story. I've written a couple of shorter stories directed more at one genre, while my longer stories cover multiple. The next for instance has exhibitionism, dominance and group.

Would I be better concentrating them on one genre. Or should I even care about ratings. It's nice people fav or follow to be fair I didnt think anyone would, just writing for fun.

Sin xx

Personally, I could care less about ratings. Unless you have a really high readership, too much influence by outlieers.

 

[lc69hunter]

So how do people feel about ratings v story. I've written a couple of shorter stories directed more at one genre, while my longer stories cover multiple. The next for instance has exhibitionism, dominance and group.

Would I be better concentrating them on one genre. Or should I even care about ratings. It's nice people fav or follow to be fair I didnt think anyone would, just writing for fun.

Sin xx

Lit readers can be a picky group. The problem with multiple genres mixed is that someone might like MFM, but only if there are no crossed swords. Others might not like anal, or creampie cleanup or IR. Personally, I am pretty open, but don't like overt humiliation or chastity, so If I see that in a story, I generally will not read or comment. This is why using tags is so important. It gives the reader a heads up as to what to expect.

 

[RoperTrace]

I think it is better to post a story, even if it contains elements of multiple facets into one category. Alot of time, reluctance/non-consent is a catchall. The story can have several kinks, bdsm, incest etc and still be non-consent. I would not post different chapters of the same series across categories/genres. To do that, you will lose some of your readers.
If you post chapter 3 of a story in LW and the first in interracial, and the second in bdsm, you can almost guarantee a loss of points. Just keep the story together.
Now comes the question of why might scoring be important since of course you write only for yourself and not for an audience, like so many authors claim here. Personally I want my stories to be read over time.
Readers tend to read stories that got good ratings in the past. A few might like one of your stories and look for other things you wrote. But they only have so much time, and there is so much available, so they will tend toward your better stories.

I agree with your first paragraph totally. Some of my highest rated stories may include several genres, but my most-read stories stick mostly in one genre. I've been satisfied with my ratings either way, so I write what I enjoy.

 

[SinderellaSin]

Thank you for your replies, I take it all on board. So I rewrote my barbecue story as I felt it was in the wrong category, added a little more detail, went with bits that had been edited out. At first it was a battle to get published and then I found i needed to re-edit my new writing. Finally it got published in interacial and it's 0.44 ratings higher and as many readers.

I guess its target audience. Some of my experiences /stories aren't black and white but I hope people will still read the series. Work related white on white, the Ibiza trip with my sister. Things to come.

Thank you again x

 

[RoperTrace]

Thank you for your replies, I take it all on board. So I rewrote my barbecue story as I felt it was in the wrong category, added a little more detail, went with bits that had been edited out. At first it was a battle to get published and then I found i needed to re-edit my new writing. Finally it got published in interacial and it's 0.44 ratings higher and as many readers.

I guess its target audience. Some of my experiences /stories aren't black and white but I hope people will still read the series. Work related white on white, the Ibiza trip with my sister. Things to come.

Thank you again x

Suggest adding a link to your stories in your signature line.

 

[LightningSeed]

I think you post what you post and let the chips fall where they may. A lot of good stories are going to crossover into more than one story category, so it’s tough to pick just one. I appreciate the ratings to one extent, but I don’t want to be writing in service of them. I’d rather 10 people give my story a 5 and 90 give it a 1 than have 100 people give it a 3. It’s the 5’s - it’s the connection between writer and reader - that make me happy.

 

[darwin1859]

Personally, I never look at the ratings because I'm writing for myself and the audience's ratings don't match mine. I think that's the nature of a diverse readership with really diverse kinks and I'm fine with that.

But it sounds like you pay some attention to the ratings, and you're in good company. There are many authors who care about the ratings and want higher ratings. Someone's "About" page said his strategy is to write something and then retire it if it's not rated highly enough. Also, there are several HOW-TO articles about improving your ratings (not sure if they work). I would be inclined to find highly rated stories and emulate the features I liked best (although that's tricky because their audience won't be your exact audience).

But I don't know... Did/Do Nielsen ratings lead to better TV? I wouldn't retire a story unless I didn't like it. If you told me the exact "formula" to nail a top numeric rating each time, I'd probably write one that way and then get bored.

 

[Gamblnluck]

But I don't know... Did/Do Nielsen ratings lead to better TV? I wouldn't retire a story unless I didn't like it. If you told me the exact "formula" to nail a top numeric rating each time, I'd probably write one that way and then get bored.

Nielson certainly played to the trends. You saw a massive number of detective shows for a couple years and then sitcoms later. As for quality, a story that did not get the views didn't last long. And the ones that did not get views did not keep a following either.
Here there is a difference between initial reads and later reads. A lot of stories get read at first and if they are rated poorly, are rarely read. Yet you will see some stories get read repeatedly.
One exception I have to that is my lowest rated story and that was because it was a sequel to another author's story (with his permission). I departed from the way he portrayed the errant wife. In his she was a total slut with no redeeming character. I saw her as a clinically depressed woman and gave her the chance at redemption after she got therapy.
Scores do play a part in how a story is received in your body of work.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

So how do people feel about ratings v story. I've written a couple of shorter stories directed more at one genre, while my longer stories cover multiple. The next for instance has exhibitionism, dominance and group.

Would I be better concentrating them on one genre. Or should I even care about ratings. It's nice people fav or follow to be fair I didnt think anyone would, just writing for fun.

Sin xx

It depends on what you are going for.

I believe @pink_silk_glove said this in another thread, you gotta know what your audience is and what they are trying to get out of the experience.

If you go for people who have a specific kink and fantasy and looking for nothing but a quick dopamine rush, then your best bet might be a relatively compact story that sticks to one or a few kinks without too much narrative. Catchy title, popular category, executing what people who come from a quick wank are looking for. If you do that well, you might gets lots of views and good ratings (but two edged sword, miss the mark of precisely what the audience wants and you get shit ratings).

Or you can write longer, more elaborate pieces covering multiple ideas and themes and erotic/romantic elements and hope you build a dedicated following based on your quality.

Final option, just write what you love and what entertains you and see if you can catch a few like-minded people. Might have some crossover with category one and two.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

the audience's ratings don't match mine

I feel kinda awful for saying that so I usually refrain, but like, when I look at the rating for some stories next to mine, or compare between my own stories, and see how well written and how entertaining they are... or not... Yes of course I am biased, nobody laughs at my jokes like I do, but it really, really DOES feel sometimes that there is a "gives the audience exactly what it wants" factor in some well rated story that is willing to disregard things like pacing and characterization and, well, writing.
Crudely speaking, for a man who wants tiddies, the drawing by a horny teenager on a napkin will be worth more than a Van Gogh painting. And that's okay. Again, know your audience, and what you're getting yourself into.

EDIT: Btw, I am not some sort of saint here. I know for instance that there are people here who have posted entire damn novels, literal published authors who get actual money for what they do - and their stuff bores me to tears. The most well crafted story does nothing for me if it's not the story I am looking for. It's stories that I would rate 10/5 based on quality and 1/5 based on what little fun I have reading them.

 

[Wiz1002]

Apologies for being late to this thread but for what it’s worth, my thoughts are….
I think it is best to write what you like to write and possibly know most about (although that isn’t a100% necessity). This might mean that you keep to one genre OR you can write about any number of categories. HOWEVER, it needs to be made clear in the titles, sub-title or tags what is included in its content

 

[Wiz1002]

In addition to my previous post I wanted to add the following but somehow the comment got posted before I was finished??!!
Notwithstanding this, there will always be some readers that complain about errant wives and husbands who have sex with others yet the story is categorised under LW!! What in gods name did they think it would be about??!!
I have only read a couple of your submissions, both of which were early works and found them very good but quite short in length and in content. However I’m hoping your later works are more refined and even better, which I shall read shortly and provide comments, feedback and a rating!

 

[alextasy]

As a long time writer I still get a buzz from good scores, but I still write what I want to write. I don't pander to readers, but I do like it when I please them.

That begs the question, exactly how do you know when you've pleased them?

It's not from the ratings, which we all recognize are gummed up. It's not from the Favorites, because that's not an accurate measure of how many members have actually saved the story (the "Lists" metric hasn't yet made it onto the author's My Stories page). Maybe you get a few positive comments, but even if they're negative, is that a statistically valid sample of the opinions of the other thousands of readers, or just some disgruntled trolls who glanced at the tags and decided they didn't need to read it before passing judgement, because it had "that word" in there?

And to extend the question to its most important point, how can potential readers quickly and easily find out whether other people liked it?

Thank you all for this exciting and timely discourse.
=Alextasy

 

[ElectricBlue]

That begs the question, exactly how do you know when you've pleased them?

It's not from the ratings, which we all recognize are gummed up. If

I don't have the issues with the rating system many people express. It's not ideal, but it does tell me something about the way readers react to my stories. None of the, "How about this for a new ratings method?" has ever convinced me they would be "better".

It's not from the Favorites, because that's not an accurate measure of how many members have actually saved the story (the "Lists" metric hasn't yet made it onto the author's My Stories page).

Agree with you there. The Faves numbers are so far down in the noise as to be meaningless.

Maybe you get a few positive comments, but even if they're negative, is that a statistically valid sample of the opinions of the other thousands of readers, or just some disgruntled trolls who glanced at the tags and decided they didn't need to read it before passing judgement, because it had "that word" in there?

Other than the occasional clown, I don't get trolling comments, but then, I don't write in the troll swamp categories, either.

And to extend the question to its most important point, how can potential readers quickly and easily find out whether other people liked it?

My experience, shock horror, shoot me, is that readers generally follow the Red H. Authors might rant on and shout at the Red H system, but I don't think readers share the same angst.