Question Regarding Voting - Keyed to Amount of Sex?

[Glaze72]

Hello:

I have noticed what looks to me to be a trend on my five published stories. The more sex in a particular story, the higher the score.

This seems to be particularly prevalent in my "Balance" cycle. The first section, five chapters, which was mainly buildup, scores a solid 4.70 on 23 votes. (This story is in Novels & Novellas, which I think accounts for the low amount of votes. Maybe I should have placed it in Incest/Taboo, but with the story now pushing 130 pages in Word with no end in sight, I think I made the right choice).

The second section, where we finally get to the humping, is currently at 4.91 (albeit with only 11 votes). The third, with less sex, is at 4.62, though we may be getting into small sample size territory, as there are only 8 votes for this section. Lastly, chapters 13-18, with only 1 small sex scene, is at 4.36 with 11 votes. This is despite the fact that I consider this chapter to have the best writing and character development of the entire series thus far (although I am very happy with how the next section to be posted is turning out).

This trend continues in the only section I have posted in my new "Coven" story. This story, posted in incest/taboo, contains mostly buildup, and is at 4.28 with 109 votes. Though to be fair, I have had an incredible amount of people list this story as a favorite, or me as a favorite author due to this story.

So, to complete the question, have you seen your stories ranked higher based upon the amount of sex scenes? Obviously, good writing is going to have a place. I am under no illusions about the fact that I am not creating great literature here, but I would like to think that my scores are not a direct corollary of how many humping scenes I have included.

 

[Handley_Page]

I think that there is a way you can check.
Write a non-erotic chapter/section of your masterpiece and see how well or ill it is dealt with.
If you have a good style and write with some authority and a good story, you'll get the votes, I'm thinking.

 

[SusanJillParker]

Hello:

I have noticed what looks to me to be a trend on my five published stories. The more sex in a particular story, the higher the score.

This seems to be particularly prevalent in my "Balance" cycle. The first section, five chapters, which was mainly buildup, scores a solid 4.70 on 23 votes. (This story is in Novels & Novellas, which I think accounts for the low amount of votes. Maybe I should have placed it in Incest/Taboo, but with the story now pushing 130 pages in Word with no end in sight, I think I made the right choice).

The second section, where we finally get to the humping, is currently at 4.91 (albeit with only 11 votes). The third, with less sex, is at 4.62, though we may be getting into small sample size territory, as there are only 8 votes for this section. Lastly, chapters 13-18, with only 1 small sex scene, is at 4.36 with 11 votes. This is despite the fact that I consider this chapter to have the best writing and character development of the entire series thus far (although I am very happy with how the next section to be posted is turning out).

This trend continues in the only section I have posted in my new "Coven" story. This story, posted in incest/taboo, contains mostly buildup, and is at 4.28 with 109 votes. Though to be fair, I have had an incredible amount of people list this story as a favorite, or me as a favorite author due to this story.

So, to complete the question, have you seen your stories ranked higher based upon the amount of sex scenes? Obviously, good writing is going to have a place. I am under no illusions about the fact that I am not creating great literature here, but I would like to think that my scores are not a direct corollary of how many humping scenes I have included.

"Duh?"

Now that you confessed your scores, you put a target on your stories for the bashers to bash.

Sadly, most readers don't come here to read. They come here to cum. They want to read something that will get them aroused enough to masturbate.

The favorite story of the masturbation crowd are the pornography stories. They love stories where the writers don't describe their characters, don't even name them, have little dialogue, tension, or imagery. What they like and what they prefer are talking heads having sex.

"Oooooh. I'm going to cum! Wow! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

You just have to read some of the top stories to see the formula to writing a story that garners lots of hits, votes, and high scores.

Sadly, even then, even after you've crafted the best pornographic masturbation story that Literotica has ever known, very few readers will vote. They're too busy masturbating with their right hands to vote with their left hands. By the time they cum, they're off to another story.

I receive more e-mails than I do votes. Whenever I post a popular incest story, one that garners six figure hits, I'll receive 200 to 300 e-mails for the first two days that the story posted. Unlike other authors on the site, I will take the time to answer every e-mail as long as they're not nasty and insulting.

Incest is the best category here. My story written under my WmForrester name is the 62nd most read story of all time with 1.7 hits.

Had I not pulled my two other stories written under my BostonFictionWriter name back in 2007 to publish, Mother-in-law Stripped naked and Sex with my Sister-in-law Samantha, easily with 850,000 hits and 650,000 hits respectively after only 2 months on the site, they would have been in the top ten all-time most read stories by now.

Sadly, this is not the best venue for a writer of erotica. I'd do better to write stories with talking heads have sex from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. I'd do better to write a new "I Love You, Mommy" story.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

"Duh?"

Now that you confessed your scores, you put a target on your stories for the bashers to bash.

Sadly, most readers don't come here to read. They come here to cum. They want to read something that will get them aroused enough to masturbate.

The favorite story of the masturbation crowd are the pornography stories. They love stories where the writers don't describe their characters, don't even name them, have little dialogue, tension, or imagery. What they like and what they prefer are talking heads having sex.

"Oooooh. I'm going to cum! Wow! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

You just have to read some of the top stories to see the formula to writing a story that garners lots of hits, votes, and high scores.

Sadly, even then, even after you've crafted the best pornographic masturbation story that Literotica has ever known, very few readers will vote. They're too busy masturbating with their right hands to vote with their left hands. By the time they cum, they're off to another story.

I receive more e-mails than I do votes. Whenever I post a popular incest story, one that garners six figure hits, I'll receive 200 to 300 e-mails for the first two days that the story posted. Unlike other authors on the site, I will take the time to answer every e-mail as long as they're not nasty and insulting.

Incest is the best category here. My story written under my WmForrester name is the 62nd most read story of all time with 1.7 hits.

Had I not pulled my two other stories written under my BostonFictionWriter name back in 2007 to publish, Mother-in-law Stripped naked and Sex with my Sister-in-law Samantha, easily with 850,000 hits and 650,000 hits respectively after only 2 months on the site, they would have been in the top ten all-time most read stories by now.

Sadly, this is not the best venue for a writer of erotica. I'd do better to write stories with talking heads have sex from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. I'd do better to write a new "I Love You, Mommy" story.

I'm a southpaw.

 

[lovecraft68]

"Duh?"

Now that you confessed your scores, you put a target on your stories for the bashers to bash.

Sadly, most readers don't come here to read. They come here to cum. They want to read something that will get them aroused enough to masturbate.

The favorite story of the masturbation crowd are the pornography stories. They love stories where the writers don't describe their characters, don't even name them, have little dialogue, tension, or imagery. What they like and what they prefer are talking heads having sex.

"Oooooh. I'm going to cum! Wow! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

You just have to read some of the top stories to see the formula to writing a story that garners lots of hits, votes, and high scores.

Sadly, even then, even after you've crafted the best pornographic masturbation story that Literotica has ever known, very few readers will vote. They're too busy masturbating with their right hands to vote with their left hands. By the time they cum, they're off to another story.

I receive more e-mails than I do votes. Whenever I post a popular incest story, one that garners six figure hits, I'll receive 200 to 300 e-mails for the first two days that the story posted. Unlike other authors on the site, I will take the time to answer every e-mail as long as they're not nasty and insulting.

Incest is the best category here. My story written under my WmForrester name is the 62nd most read story of all time with 1.7 hits.

Had I not pulled my two other stories written under my BostonFictionWriter name back in 2007 to publish, Mother-in-law Stripped naked and Sex with my Sister-in-law Samantha, easily with 850,000 hits and 650,000 hits respectively after only 2 months on the site, they would have been in the top ten all-time most read stories by now.

Sadly, this is not the best venue for a writer of erotica. I'd do better to write stories with talking heads have sex from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. I'd do better to write a new "I Love You, Mommy" story.

Have to say, you are pretty head on with this.

Romance readers are here for more than on handed reads, but pretty much every other sexual category(which excludes EH< NH and sci fi because they are not kink driven) will reward stroke more than substance. That doesn't mean you can't do well with some actual story along with your smut, but they still want smut...cheap out on it and you see the difference.

I'll say again look at the top two authors on this site fav wise. Silk has pure porn titles(but does have some romance as well, but its her "fuck mommy" titles that drive her numbers) and TTT...writes cum drooling bimbos and appeals to the male stroker audience better than anyone, and see how much of what passes for success here for their appealing to the pure porn fans.

 

[Bramblethorn]

So, to complete the question, have you seen your stories ranked higher based upon the amount of sex scenes? Obviously, good writing is going to have a place. I am under no illusions about the fact that I am not creating great literature here, but I would like to think that my scores are not a direct corollary of how many humping scenes I have included.

I suspect the answer is - yes by default, but complicated by other factors. My lowest-rating story here is also one of the more sexual, compared to the rest of my work; I also have a 14-part story, and the only chapter that doesn't have sex is also one of the higher-rating.

Different readers have different preferences. Obviously "explicit sex" is a very common preference here! But it's not the only one. There are people here for plot, characterisation, romance, and some who are just willing to let you surprise them with an interesting idea.

If readers are approaching you as an unknown quantity (e.g. a brand-new story from a brand-new author) then a lot of those are going to be the "looking for explicit sex" group, so a low-sex story is likely to score lower.

But if you're posting a multi-part series, or if people are finding your stories because they enjoyed one and sought out more on your author profile, then you're more likely to get readers whose tastes match your personal style, and will rate you according to how good you are within that style. Likewise if your blurb encourages those matched readers and deters the unmatched ones.

For example: If you post one story that's 5% sex and 95% gardening, you're likely to get bad ratings and "wtf why so much gardening?" comments. But if you post dozens of them, eventually the gardening fans (however many there are) will learn that you're somebody they should follow, and the non-gardening-fans will learn not to read you. From there, your voting averages will be driven less and less by the quality/quantity of the sex, more and more by the quality of the gardening.

You can get some idea about this by looking at the view/vote count stats. A story with a high average but a low view/vote count means that something is filtering your readers so you're only getting the ones who are well matched to your style - could be the blurb, could be reputation. A low average/high view count might mean you've been too successful in drawing in readers who may not be after what it is you have to sell.

I suspect that's what happened to my "Counting To Eleven". Usually I write blurbs that focus on non-sexual aspects of the story. For that one my blurb looks more stroke-y; I suspect I succeeded in drawing in a lot of stroke-oriented readers who then found it wasn't really their thing and voted accordingly, whereas they wouldn't have bothered clicking on my other blurbs.

 

[DreamCloud]

Most-Favorites has a high correlation to quantity and time. Five years with many quality stories is what gets you to the top of the list.

The stories may be short strokers, but they are, for the most part, well written. I bow in admiration to the sheer quantity. Success through perseverance.

 

[sr71plt]

That's why Scouries is #7 on the Favorite Author list?

I don't think there's any such ipso facto high correlation to claim. There's no demand that story quality has anything to do with why a reader pushes the "favorite author" button.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

What I see with my wares is: The scores float upwards as my target readers find my stuff. I don't aim for general audience, noir readers are the game for my nets. I see, too, how titles affect clicks. THE DAY I BECAME A MOTHER FUCKER has almost 40K clicks in 2 days. National Enquirer titles pull people in.

My readers want real depravity, and want the sickness fed red meat. Its my writing target for every new effort. SHE AND SATAN MADE ME A MOTHER FUCKER aims low with a man who goes with his mom on a cruise. His wife died and Ma is out to cheer him up.

 

[LadyVer]

Keyed to amount of sex? Maybe for some readers, not all. I'm just looking for good stories in my chosen categories, and sometimes too much sex is worse than too little. And it pisses me off when an author puts an incest or BDSM story into the Romance category. Duh. Geeze. Some writers are so damn stupid and/or lazy when submitting their stories on Lit. End of rant.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Keyed to amount of sex? Maybe for some readers, not all. I'm just looking for good stories in my chosen categories, and sometimes too much sex is worse than too little. And it pisses me off when an author puts an incest or BDSM story into the Romance category. Duh. Geeze. Some writers are so damn stupid and/or lazy when submitting their stories on Lit. End of rant.

Pissed off is your default mood.

 

[HeyAll]

Here's some rambling I thought of:

The success of a story is a very weird thing.

If you want a great score and lots of votes/favs/comments, obviously there are certainly formulas for each category that will help you succeed. But even then, success isn't guaranteed.

In my experiences, something I'll write a story which I'll love, and it only gets a so-so reaction. Other times, I think it'll be a hit, and it becomes a hit when it's posted. Sometimes I'll think "not bad, it's okay" and it gets a very very strong reaction (in a positive way).

Sometimes a story of mine will get a low score, but tons of favorites, and hardly any comments, which is wierd.

1) As for the question of this thread.

I've seen 7-8 page stories which masterfully tells an erotic story, and is jam packed with sex, but the score is less than a 4.5, so there's no red H. The likely answer is that the storyline is controversial, so some people vote down.

So from my perspective, there's a correlation between more sex & a higher score, unless the story is controversial in some way (ie blackmail, coercion, interracial, cuckold, cheating, ect...)

Another thing that helps with a score is if you hit a bullsye with a particular fantasy. A 2 page story can outscore a 5 page story if it does a better job at hitting all the erotic spots.

2) The readers.

This is an erotic website. So naturally, people want to read about hot fantasies.

With that said, look at each catagory hubris. Rarely are the top stories stroke stories. They're very long, and/or part of long chapter series. And they have tons of votes/favs.

So different people come here for different reasons. And some people like all of the above. It's just like your taste in movies. Sometimes you like something mindless that's fun, other times you like something that's extremely well crafted. Both are entertaining in their own way.

 

[LadyVer]

Pissed off is your default mood.

I could care less what you think. Now pontificate again on your noir stories.

 

[sr71plt]

Here's some rambling I thought of:

The success of a story is a very weird thing.

If you want a great score and lots of votes/favs/comments, obviously there are certainly formulas for each category that will help you succeed. But even then, success isn't guaranteed.

What surprises me are the stories of mine I consider comparatively light weight that pop up as favorite story votes years after they've posted here.

 

[HeyAll]

Yeah, that's another wierd thing, how some stories continue to grow, and others fade way.

Just look at the Top List for views. Some stories start off very strong in the first month, then fade. Others keep on growing for the rest of the year, and then after that.

 

[robertreams]

I have only a few non-erotic stories published on this site and the scores are all over the place, but one I have always been particularly fond of, one of those stories that falls on one's head from space. The original manuscript was scribbled literally with the nub of a pencil crouched over a Coleman lantern and a dying campfire, long after everyone else had gone to sleep, at a lonely campsite near a rustling creek in the Cascade mountains. It has consistently scored above 4.8, though with fewer votes. I believe the answer (in general) is yes! If the story is well written, it scores high. If the sex is well-written, it scores high. My best scores over all, on this site seem to be for my best written stories, with, in my opinion, some exceptions.

 

[robertreams]

One factor I haven noticed is continuity. When I was submitting stories or chapters regularly, I had more readers. If a long period goes by without my submitting anything, I could still have one of those 'favorites' pilot talked about, but they are less frequent. At least part of this is that readers find it less daunting to read the 'new releases' than to weed through hundreds of stories to find one.

 

[Black_and_White_Writer]

Yeah, that's another wierd thing, how some stories continue to grow, and others fade way.

Just look at the Top List for views. Some stories start off very strong in the first month, then fade. Others keep on growing for the rest of the year, and then after that.

I've found many serials just fade and become less interesting as they go along.

 

[TamLin01]

The success of a story is a very weird thing.

I suspect this is the only reliable conclusion likely to come out of this discussion.

Be that as it may, conventional wisdom doubtless says yes, most readers are here for the action, and perhaps may not even read the rest of the story. But I don't think anyone has surveyed such things empirically, and conventional wisdom is usually just assumption wearing its Sunday best anyway. Even comparing the scores of specific stories doesn't necessarily tell us anything, since there are a lot of other variables and we have no way of isolating any of them (to say nothing of the dangers of a small sample size).

For example, how do we know that single-minded readers aren't more likely to just click the BACK button away from a story that doesn't get to the goods fast enough without bothering to vote it down? That seems at least as likely, doesn't it? This would probably result in stories with minimal explicit material having slightly better scores, since only those really digging them would bother to finish. Admittedly, that's speculation just as much as the contrary theory, but isn't it at least equally as likely? And hey, I could find you any number of story pairs that (seem to) confirm it after a shallow appraisal.

Certain people would always have you believe that your work (and by extension their own--chiefly their own, actually) is never going to be really appreciated on its merits and that the readers, unwashed masses that they are, lack taste and are only interested in rewarding laziness and prurience. The appeal of that point of view should be pretty obvious, because who hasn't ever wanted to take comfort in their own superior tastes and assure themselves that it's the public's fault if their latest offering hasn't found the audience they hoped for at least once or twice?

It might even be true...but only coincidentally, in many cases.

 

[Black_and_White_Writer]

I suspect this is the only reliable conclusion likely to come out of this discussion.

Be that as it may, conventional wisdom doubtless says yes, most readers are here for the action, and perhaps may not even read the rest of the story. But I don't think anyone has surveyed such things empirically, and conventional wisdom is usually just assumption wearing its Sunday best anyway. Even comparing the scores of specific stories doesn't necessarily tell us anything, since there are a lot of other variables and we have no way of isolating any of them (to say nothing of the dangers of a small sample size).

For example, how do we know that single-minded readers aren't more likely to just click the BACK button away from a story that doesn't get to the goods fast enough without bothering to vote it down? That seems at least as likely, doesn't it? This would probably result in stories with minimal explicit material having slightly better scores, since only those really digging them would bother to finish. Admittedly, that's speculation just as much as the contrary theory, but isn't it at least equally as likely? And hey, I could find you any number of story pairs that (seem to) confirm it after a shallow appraisal.

Certain people would always have you believe that your work (and by extension their own--chiefly their own, actually) is never going to be really appreciated on its merits and that the readers, unwashed masses that they are, lack taste and are only interested in rewarding laziness and prurience. The appeal of that point of view should be pretty obvious, because who hasn't ever wanted to take comfort in their own superior tastes and assure themselves that it's the public's fault if their latest offering hasn't found the audience they hoped for at least once or twice?

It might even be true...but only coincidentally, in many cases.

I agree with all that, but even when I'm writing to a brief off a friend I put ultimately what I like into the story. If they say they want this or that I just tell them to write the bloody thing themselves.
If there writing is ok and shows promise I'll edit it - well I'll always edit it and if I like it and it shows promise I'll polish it up too as best I can.

Writing though is about love. You have to love what you write. If you don't love it no one else will. You can't write what you think other people think think other people want. Nothing of any note has ever come from that. You can't and shouldn't write what you think others will like. It has to be you. And just maybe, someone else will fall in love with it like you love it too." Steven Moffat, Exec Producer/lead writer on Doctor Who from 2009.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Readers want something to traumatize their minds. They want what they cant forget. They want your words to shove them off the bridge or roof. Its that simple.

 

[lovecraft68]

What surprises me are the stories of mine I consider comparatively light weight that pop up as favorite story votes years after they've posted here.

That's most likely from people who read one of your new ones and either faved you or at least keep coming back and looking at your page.

That's the only explanation I have for my old stuff that will get a fav or comment out of the blue because unless its on some type of top list how else would they see it?

 

[lovecraft68]

Writing though is about love. You have to love what you write. If you don't love it no one else will. You can't write what you think other people think think other people want. Nothing of any note has ever come from that. You can't and shouldn't write what you think others will like. It has to be you. And just maybe, someone else will fall in love with it like you love it too." Steven Moffat, Exec Producer/lead writer on Doctor Who from 2009.

Great point, but I prefer passion or sometimes even lust when writing erotica. Many here write there kinks and keep doing so. People who have the kink they are writing of tend to write better, hotter stories because they know what makes that kink work, then can hit the hot spots because it is their own hot spot.

Example I have a foot fetish and I have gotten great feedback on the couple of foot stories I have written here a lot of "wow, you really got it right" course I did, its my fetish I just write what I enjoy about it.

On the other hand you have authors who try to stretch themselves..."Okay, I'm not into non consent/incest/interracial but I'm going to try one"

Fine if that's what you want to do, great. But understand you are writing something you have no real idea about and posting it in a category where people come specifically to read that so...for lack of a better term the readers can smell a poser.

There's lack of key attributes to the kink, there's no passion because the writer is writing from the mind not the heart or the 'loins" they are doing ABC...they likes this, I'll do this...etc...

So I think part of success here is to be into your subject.

Authors-like readers-are split into factions we write different ways for different reasons. Personally I don't feel like stretching myself, if I don't have a kink or don't like a certain type of story why waste time when I can enjoy myself doing what I want? I have nothing to prove.

Other authors feel they need to prove themselves either to them or to the readers and say things like "I've never done a cross dressing story, well I'll prove to me/them I can. If that makes you happy go for it, but again I think readers can tell you're not into it. Maybe eventually if you write a few you could pull it off.

I read mostly incest here at the moment and that is a category that gets a lot of 'posers' because they want the attention the category brings. But I can tell someone who has genuine interest in the subject and someone who is thinking "I"ll replace "Gina" with "Mom" and those morons will eat it up and its straight to the top list....wrong every category readership can tell when the writer has no real passion or clue so the A B C to success does not exist unless you really are passionate about it.

 

[lovecraft68]

A personal example of my above post on Black and white's comments.

I have lived a BDSM lifestyle most of my life. I know it well, can't say I'm an expert on everything because BDSM has a wide variety of styles and factions and practices, as long as you have consent BDSM can encompass a lot of things.

When I came here it was he category I raced to, to read what people had here. In general I was disgusted. A lot of what is there is poorly masked rape/non con stories, whether the author has no clue of the difference or was just trying to avoid the stigma of non con...I don't know I just know the stories there are inaccurate.

Then there was the pile of "older vanilla woman is seeking new experiences" cliched dribble. especially because the new experiences involved the aforementioned abuse. So between those and people just simply putting up eye rolling material I said screw it I don't feel like plodding through the crap to find the god stories that are there(and there are some every good authors there, its not all bad, just a lot of it)

I expressed that view many times here, that I won't read there or publish any more stories there(I did three my first summer here then none for four years)

I received a PM from someone last year basically telling me put up or shut up...I have no right to trash the material there if I don't prove myself.

Normally I don't take bait on 'prove it" but I did this time. I posted "Mercedes Bends" back last November.

It scored in the 4.8's and would have had the number one all time spot if the top list worked(but hey, its only been broken for 2 years I understand these things take time)

My point? I wrote a successful story in a category I really had no desire to enter here only because I have lived it, I know it and have passion for it.

Had that challenge been delivered about non human or gay male? I wouldn't have take it or if I did I would have tanked because I have no clue about them nor do I want to, not my thing, but because it isn't I don't insult the readership there by throwing crap at them to try to stretch myself, that's my take on it.

When you feel you have something to prove to others...it means you have even more to prove to yourself because you're showing you care a little too much about what people think of you.

 

[RejectReality]

You only have five submissions up, so it's a little early to try to make anything out of your results.

It takes time for readers to notice you.

You're also writing multi-chapter stories. Keep in mind that with each chapter ( or in your case, submission that contains multiple chapters ) the normal trend is for voting to diminish as the story goes on. The score also trends upward, and while you're not seeing that yet, a few more submissions will most likely demonstrate it.

You're also writing in wildly divergent categories. N&N is one of the slowest on the site, and Incest is one of the most-read. They have vastly different readerships, and attempting to correlate anything between the two of them presents all sorts of problems.

In short, I wouldn't make any assumptions about what your numbers so far mean, and certainly wouldn't try to make any sort of changes based upon them.

Write what you want and give things time to shake out.