Question about the effectiveness of word count

[FragileUnbroken]

Have any of you more experienced authors found a range of word count that is more well received?

I am just curious what the reader base seems to prefer or if it is even relevant.

Thank you in advance.

Stephanie

 

[Bramblethorn]

Have any of you more experienced authors found a range of word count that is more well received?

I am just curious what the reader base seems to prefer or if it is even relevant.

Thank you in advance.

Stephanie

For me the sweet spot is about 3-4 Lit pages (~3700 words/page, so roughly 8k-15k words). Stories shorter than that tend not to be developed enough for my liking, though there are always exceptions. I'll read longer stories if they're really good, but they'll need to get my attention before I get to the bottom of page 1 and see there are still five more to go. Some other readers are more tolerant of long stories.

But long stories do tend to do better in the ratings because people who don't like them are less likely to read through to the end and vote. If you check the site toplist, you'll see all the highest-rated stories are either really long in themselves, or part n of a long series.

 

[oggbashan]

There is no answer that fits all.

I sometimes write 50-word stories and some readers like them. I have to submit them in batches of 15 to get to Literotica's minimum 750 word requirement.

I write one Lit-page stories; multiple Lit-page stories; chaptered stories that go on and on for tens of thousands of words...

What matters is whether the word count/length is appropriate to the story being told.

There is one conclusion that can be drawn: If you write very long stories the number of votes is much lower, but the average rating of those votes tends to be higher because only those who like the story persevere to the eventual end.

If you break that long story into Chapters, only those who liked Chapter 01 will read 02, 03 etc. There might be only a couple of votes on Chapter 32 because all the other readers have given up. That assumes that it is a continuous story with a plot.

If each Chapter is just a sex scene that can be read alone then the voting pattern is different.

So - the answer is: There is no answer except that the length should be right for the story.

 

[FragileUnbroken]

Thank you both.

That helps a lot and it makes sense now that you put it clearly.

Ultimately I'm forcing myself to ignore ratings. (Trying to at least. I'm very new and the novelty/curiosity nag at me.)

Writing from experience and from the heart isn't going to work if I am thinking about what someone else likes. I'm devoting myself to being who I am as a writer. (Too cliche, I know.) We'll see how that plays out in the ratings over the long haul, but for now it seems pointless. It's not like it's a for profit thing. It's from the heart.

Thank you again. I had to ask because I'm fascinated by Literotica in general.

 

[oggbashan]

That helps a lot and it makes sense now that you put it clearly.

Ultimately I'm forcing myself to ignore ratings. (Trying to at least. I'm very new and the novelty/curiosity nag at me.)

Writing from experience and from the heart isn't going to work if I am thinking about what someone else likes. I'm devoting myself to being who I am as a writer. (Too cliche, I know.) We'll see how that plays out in the ratings over the long haul, but for now it seems pointless. It's not like it's a for profit thing. It's from the heart.

Thank you again. I had to ask because I'm fascinated by Literotica in general.

Writing for yourself is usually the best way to start. It takes considerable experience and skill to write successfully for others on themes that you don't like.

Whatever your ratings, your exposure on Literotica is likely to be much greater than most other sites. The number of readers, votes and comments would jump if you entered one of the themed contests - the next one is Earth Day.

Whether the votes and comments will be favourable? Some comments won't be. Some might be helpful and thoughtful. Some might just be vulgar abuse but that comes with putting your work on display.

 

[Seanathon]

That helps a lot and it makes sense now that you put it clearly.

Ultimately I'm forcing myself to ignore ratings. (Trying to at least. I'm very new and the novelty/curiosity nag at me.)

Writing from experience and from the heart isn't going to work if I am thinking about what someone else likes. I'm devoting myself to being who I am as a writer. (Too cliche, I know.) We'll see how that plays out in the ratings over the long haul, but for now it seems pointless. It's not like it's a for profit thing. It's from the heart.

Thank you again. I had to ask because I'm fascinated by Literotica in general.

I'm relatively new to Lit myself so my advice isn't backed by the experience of some of the other posters. But I think if you just focus on writing good stories the ratings will come (regardless of word count). A one-page or a ten-page story are both going to be poorly received if they don't have the elements of a good story.

I also checked out your submissions and see they are all in the BDSM category. From my (again, limited) experience the BDSM readers are a small but loyal and communicative group (you won't get a lot of reads but should get some good comments). Pay attention to their feedback, write what you want to write, and write well and the ratings will come, regardless of word count.

Best of luck with your future submissions ~ Seanathon

 

[FragileUnbroken]

I'm relatively new to Lit myself so my advice isn't backed by the experience of some of the other posters. But I think if you just focus on writing good stories the ratings will come (regardless of word count). A one-page or a ten-page story are both going to be poorly received if they don't have the elements of a good story.

I also checked out your submissions and see they are all in the BDSM category. From my (again, limited) experience the BDSM readers are a small but loyal and communicative group (you won't get a lot of reads but should get some good comments). Pay attention to their feedback, write what you want to write, and write well and the ratings will come, regardless of word count.

Best of luck with your future submissions ~ Seanathon

Thank you. I wondered how being in BDSM might affect ratings, especially when the story includes popular tags outside of that category. I imagine if someone searches for "lesbian" and finds a BDSM story that runs outside of their tastes because the it's a slave girl, they're a chance to drop your rating.

It just hit me hat tags could be your enemy if you're trying for ratings. (Which I am not.) whereas tags might bring readers, they might also bring readers who are critical of the lifestyle depicted.

See, now that's why I find this subject so fascinating. Unless of course I am completely off track, that kiind of theoretical intricacy just draws me in.

 

[sr71plt]

There's no universal answer--and it probably differs a lot by category, as well. I can only note what I want to see and what I try to do.

I rarely read any Lit. story that's over three Lit. pages (about 11,500 words). I prefer that they not go over two. The definition of a short story is one that can be read in one sitting. My available sittings don't come in chunks larger than being able to take the time to read more than 10,000 words at a sitting.

When I write for Literotica I, first, just write it however long it winds up, without thought to what's the best length to post. If what I write turns up to be under 750 words, I don't bother to submit it. (It has to be that long to post at Literotica.) If it's over 11,500 words, I send it first to my publisher for publishing as an e-book and usually submit it in chapters of less than 11,500 words each when I eventually submit it to Literotica.

I think I've run up to six Lit. pages with one submission, but only rarely. Truth be known, I haven't seen a discernible rating/views effect on the basis of wordage in a submission of mine.

 

[FragileUnbroken]

There's no universal answer--and it probably differs a lot by category, as well. I can only note what I want to see and what I try to do.

I rarely read any Lit. story that's over three Lit. pages (about 11,500 words). I prefer that they not go over two. The definition of a short story is one that can be read in one sitting. My available sittings don't come in chunks larger than being able to take the time to read more than 10,000 words at a sitting.

When I write for Literotica I, first, just write it however long it winds up, without thought to what's the best length to post. If what I write turns up to be under 750 words, I don't bother to submit it. (It has to be that long to post at Literotica.) If it's over 11,500 words, I send it first to my publisher for publishing as an e-book and usually submit it in chapters of less than 11,500 words each when I eventually submit it to Literotica.

I think I've run up to six Lit. pages with one submission, but only rarely. Truth be known, I haven't seen a discernible rating/views effect on the basis of wordage in a submission of mine.

That was incredibly helpful. Thank you.

Would you me willing to tell me what publisher you use? If not, I understand. Feel free to PM me.

Thank you!

 

[sr71plt]

That was incredibly helpful. Thank you.

Would you me willing to tell me what publisher you use? If not, I understand. Feel free to PM me.

Thank you!

For erotica, I use eXcessica, which isn't taking new authors the last I checked, and BarbarianSpy, which is a Gay Male publisher.

 

[FragileUnbroken]

For erotica, I use eXcessica, which isn't taking new authors the last I checked, and BarbarianSpy, which is a Gay Male publisher.

Ahh, well thank you. The gay male sight won't be too interested in me, but it gives me a starting point.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That helps a lot and it makes sense now that you put it clearly.

Ultimately I'm forcing myself to ignore ratings. (Trying to at least. I'm very new and the novelty/curiosity nag at me.)

Writing from experience and from the heart isn't going to work if I am thinking about what someone else likes. I'm devoting myself to being who I am as a writer. (Too cliche, I know.) We'll see how that plays out in the ratings over the long haul, but for now it seems pointless. It's not like it's a for profit thing. It's from the heart.

Thank you again. I had to ask because I'm fascinated by Literotica in general.

I know the feeling. I keep an eye on my stats (actually, a spreadsheet), both because I like to understand how things work and because I do enjoy it when people like them. But deliberately writing for the "H" as opposed to something I enjoy writing would be unsatisfying.

Thank you. I wondered how being in BDSM might affect ratings, especially when the story includes popular tags outside of that category. I imagine if someone searches for "lesbian" and finds a BDSM story that runs outside of their tastes because the it's a slave girl, they're a chance to drop your rating.

It just hit me hat tags could be your enemy if you're trying for ratings. (Which I am not.) whereas tags might bring readers, they might also bring readers who are critical of the lifestyle depicted.

See, now that's why I find this subject so fascinating. Unless of course I am completely off track, that kiind of theoretical intricacy just draws me in.

I haven't seen stats, but I don't think many readers use the tag system to find stories, except maybe for specific taste that don't align well with categories. Some do go out of their way to find stuff that offends them, mostly in LW and NC, but I don't think this is a big issue with BDSM. I have a few stories up in Lesbian with BDSM-related tags and I've never had complaints.

 

[robertreams]

I assume you were asking only for the Literotica site. Smashwords has done a survey for those who sell their books. (e books). They discovered that readers favor longer works

 

[sr71plt]

That's largely because some folks are charging $2.99 for 3,000 words on Smashwords while others are charging $5.99 for 30,000 words. Some folks can do the relative word count on that.

 

[FragileUnbroken]

I assume you were asking only for the Literotica site. Smashwords has done a survey for those who sell their books. (e books). They discovered that readers favor longer works

Yes. I'm thinking it's safe to assume that my question could only apply to Literotica. This site is unique to my knowledge.