Are Lit ratings a good guide of success!

[BuckyDuckman]

In some categories (like Incest/Taboo) content can matter more than the craftsmanship of the story. Post in someplace like Lovin' Wives and you'll get blasted by either one of the two warring sides. I have yet to peg a category like Interracial correctly.

There does seem to be a few categories where the art of telling a story seems to matter a bit more. Romance comes to mind. Same with Sci-fi. Group Sex feels like more of a catch-all category where quality writing can help a story rise to the top.

My advice? Set your own goals, but let the first one be: entertain yourself. If you're having fun writing and posting your dirty little sex stories to the anonymous masses, then you're doing alright.

Do Lit ratings signify successful writing? Hell, do movie critics get it right for you every time?

 

[Kantarii]

Does it matter? Oh, we aren't taking about dick size here, but ego. Not much difference, I suppose. Anyway, ratings only matter to the insecure like dick size. I'd say if you were trying to sell your work to a publisher, ratings might be on your agenda. On a free erotic web site? I doubt they mean anything at all.

Now, we do have a residential, egotistical shithead or two running around here thinking their stories are the best things written since the Bible was translated into English on top of self validating everything they've done. Their inflation high ego ratings on their stories mean ZERO to me. Kant

 

[CyranoJ]

What do people think this rating really indicates? Is it a sign of anything much really, and if so, what is a good score? Or don't you think they matter

They matter if my ratings are high. If not, then numbers are for suckers.

To be serious though, the major way in which ratings concern me is in their potential to drive readership to or away from a story. I know that as a reader (it's sad but true) I tend to gravitate toward stories with a 4 or higher. So I'll generally hope for my stories to clear that bar.

Apart from that, who knows. It's a bit of a crapshoot, really.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I thought about it a long time. LIT ratings influence readers who know shit about writing quality.

Scores and comments should be one inseparable submission.

 

[NicoleZ]

Now, we do have a residential, egotistical shithead or two running around here thinking their stories are the best things written since the Bible was translated into English on top of self validating everything they've done. Their inflation high ego ratings on their stories mean ZERO to me. Kant

I see what you mean. There are people IRL to whom the daily and mutual administration of "Coffee LA-style" precludes useful contributions to society in general.

 

[Hypoxia]

LIT authors are driven by various impulses which may shift with time. What are our goals?

* Pure self-expression & exhibitionism. We want to write stuff and show it off. Fine.
* Approval, acclaim, high vote scores, ego-stroking. Pandering to audiences helps.
* Provocation. Anything that generates a reaction in votes or comments is great.
* Exposure. Grab eyeballs. Write only for the most-read categories. Affect people.

High view and vote scores on LIT means you're something of a success on LIT, which is not the rest of the world. "Please her; please him; try to be a SUCK-cess." I'm elsewhere.

 

[sr71plt]

I just like to help like-minded people get off on what gets me off.

 

[lovecraft68]

In general my answer is not really. This is a sex site, stories that contain wall to wall fucking and plots so ludicrous a 12 year old wouldn't believe them can get high scores here.

There's too many variables here to say a story is good just by looking and not actually reading and even then its subjective.

and of course let's not get started about the endlessly long series and all the scoring advantages that have nothing to do with anything but the same core audience high fiving it.

So I guess the answer is not really. But I'll note the people that tend to bash high scores and top lists etc the most are the ones that don't have the really high scores so you have to factor hate/envy into some of these discussions.

And no bigger example of that than the usual no one in incest can write. Its all about the content...more hate for the sites biggest categories.

I used to get the crack "you're just an incest writer, take mom out of it and try it"

Assholes look at my page. Look at the non incest stories. Lot of red and a W for each finger and a thumb.

So guess what I'm saying is haters gonna hate. I've forgotten better stories than the incest detractors will ever write.

 

[Germanikus]

Ratings are important to me. I like appreciation. I like a pat on the knack.

That said, in every rating system are tricky problems. It has already come up, that the story of the thread start maybe scoring better in the gay category. Than there are the haters. I don't know if there are gay hater here, but it is fascinating to see how much haters use there time to downvote and comment on cuckold stories. 4.2? That would be a wonderful rating for a cuckold story on Lit.

I would recommend to focus on other areas. Comments and feedback! I like ratings, but someone who takes the time and writes a few words? Thank you reader. When I published my first story a couple of month ago I actively asked for feedback and got some good one. My first story of a still ongoing series got just a 4.2 rating. I thought about the feedback and did some drastically changes to the second part and wrote as first-person narrator. The second part got a 4.6.

Writing is something you have to learn and honest feedback is the way to get there. So don't look to much at ratings, ask for feedback, try to get a better writer and higher ratings will come.

On the other side: 50 shades of grey has a rating of 3.9 on Amazon and did make millions ...

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

Ratings are important to me. I like appreciation. I like a pat on the knack.

That said, in every rating system are tricky problems. It has already come up, that the story of the thread start maybe scoring better in the gay category. Than there are the haters. I don't know if there are gay hater here, but it is fascinating to see how much haters use there time to downvote and comment on cuckold stories. 4.2? That would be a wonderful rating for a cuckold story on Lit.

I would recommend to focus on other areas. Comments and feedback! I like ratings, but someone who takes the time and writes a few words? Thank you reader. When I published my first story a couple of month ago I actively asked for feedback and got some good one. My first story of a still ongoing series got just a 4.2 rating. I thought about the feedback and did some drastically changes to the second part and wrote as first-person narrator. The second part got a 4.6.

Writing is something you have to learn and honest feedback is the way to get there. So don't look to much at ratings, ask for feedback, try to get a better writer and higher ratings will come.

On the other side: 50 shades of grey has a rating of 3.9 on Amazon and did make millions ...

I wish more people would leave comments! I always appreciate feedback, good or bad, as long as it's actual feedback not just someone saying You suck or something like that.

I wish the ratings didn't mess with my mind so much but I would be lying if I said they don't. I have always sought approval in my life, in every aspect of my life, so this is no different.

I do write for myself and my friend first and if I like it and she does I should be happy, but dammit some days it's nice to know other people like what you write too.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I wish more people would leave comments! I always appreciate feedback, good or bad, as long as it's actual feedback not just someone saying You suck or something like that.

I wish the ratings didn't mess with my mind so much but I would be lying if I said they don't. I have always sought approval in my life, in every aspect of my life, so this is no different.

I do write for myself and my friend first and if I like it and she does I should be happy, but dammit some days it's nice to know other people like what you write too.

This will likely annoy you.

What I notice about you is you discount praise unless it comes from VIPs in your life. I notice it and other readers will notice it, too.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

This will likely annoy you.

What I notice about you is you discount praise unless it comes from VIPs in your life. I notice it and other readers will notice it, too.

Doesn't annoy me, I see what you mean.

I remember once years ago while I was still married I left one of my notebooks out and my husband read a bit of something I had written.
He knew what I was writing, would tease me about writing erotica. The next day he confessed he had read some of it and said You suck at writing erotica, that is a love story.
I was crushed!
I still try to write smut, as my friend calls it, but if I end up with some decent romantic stuff then usually I am ok with that.

Not sure if I need approval from VIPs, approval from anyone is nice, and one day I hope to accept compliments!
The fact that my best friend always loves what I write makes me happy. She is very impartial and if something isn't working or there is something she doesn't like in a story she lets me know, but most of the time she loves everything! And yes that makes me happy.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I don't think that's true.

Complete opposite.

There's so much crap in Incest when a really well written one shows up it is HIGHLY rewarded because they see it so rarely. Incest is very very predictable. Hot meaningless strokers do not I repeat do not get the 4.8s (Well unless its by someone with backslapping fans.) There needs to be a long sob story attached to it. 4.6 is a hot stroker, 4.7 is MUCH BETTER, GOOD STORY, 4.8 is a big hit and its almost always for the well crafted story.

Lots of exceptions, of course.. The really popular authors are on their own scale.

In some categories (like Incest/Taboo) content can matter more than the craftsmanship of the story. Post in someplace like Lovin' Wives and you'll get blasted by either one of the two warring sides. I have yet to peg a category like Interracial correctly.

There does seem to be a few categories where the art of telling a story seems to matter a bit more. Romance comes to mind. Same with Sci-fi. Group Sex feels like more of a catch-all category where quality writing can help a story rise to the top.

My advice? Set your own goals, but let the first one be: entertain yourself. If you're having fun writing and posting your dirty little sex stories to the anonymous masses, then you're doing alright.

Do Lit ratings signify successful writing? Hell, do movie critics get it right for you every time?

 

[Sammael Bard]

This is from someone who has read hundreds of Lit stories (it's very close to a thousand now), and there's a few things I've noticed about the ratings.

A rating of 5.00:

That's a damn new story which hasn't yet been visited by the trolls. Wait a few hours for it to drop to a more stable level.

Or it's in the poetry section (Very, very very few active readers).


A rating of 4.85 to 4.95:

If it's a somewhat-old standalone story, it means the story is novel-length (maybe 9-10 Lit pages), a damn good plot and great characters. Readers with good attention spans cruised through it like a champ and most of them gave it a 5 star. Well done!

If it's a part of a continuity, then most of your fans are up-voting it for you by giving it a 5 star. Expect most of the trolls to stop following after the third or fourth chapter. Maybe even less if you're belting out novel-length chapters.

Keep in mind that the series needs to be decent for it to gain a fan following in the first place. A one-page series with cliched plot/characters/premise but decently written will end up in the 4.50-4.70 range.


A rating of 4.75 to 4.84:

Definitely a decent story. Usually 3-4 Lit pages (maybe a novel length) that's good to read. You know, the highest point in bell-curve demographic.


Between 4.60 to 4.75:

Maybe a good stroker. Maybe a decent medium-length story. This is the usual score after you check up on a high-rated story or chapter continuity after a few years. I call it 'stable score'.


Between 4.50 to 4.60:

Short stroker. Definitely. Almost all the cliched short-strokers fall in this score range. There's also a lot of comments (usually in the Incest/Taboo section). Scores usually oscillate between the Red H and the lack of it.


4.00 and below:

Strokers or Short LW story.

Or poorly written stuffs that even trolls don't need to down-vote. They kinda sink themselves in the abyss.


Special Score (1.00 to 2.50):

Definitely a Loving Wives story/satire that got trolled to the deep end. Expect the other stuffs written by the same author to take a noticeable dip in ratings.

 

[ChloeTzang]

..................

 

[sr71plt]

I think there's probably some better written stories below a 4 rating than Bard's harsh description. Most Lit. readers aren't exactly discerning story readers and there's quite a bit of author gang banging going on.

 

[georgie57]

Thanks for a really interesting discussion in reply to this thread, everyone. That's made things much clearer.

 

[Green_Knight]

Write for Lit because you want to and because you enjoy it - and for no other reason.

Remember that a tiny proportion of readers actually vote on Lit stories; a figure of 1 per cent is probably on the optimistic side. This means that the voting is open to all sorts of abuse and becomes meaningless. Write about a wife who cheats on her husband and it seems like every American male who has ever been cheated on will descend on you and wreak their revenge, seemingly using multiple user profiles for the purpose. Never mind that they were crap husbands and incapable lovers - it's your fault. They will then target other stories you've written and apply the same treatment. Just accept that there are people out there reading Lit stories who should categorise as severely disturbed - as in locked up severely disturbed. Add in a bunch of failed authors, a dash of homophobia, a soupçon of misogyny, a flavouring of racism, and...

It's easy for me to say, but please don't let it get to you. Always remember that for the vast majority of Lit readers, stories are simply wank fodder. It's no more sophisticated than that. You'll never satisfy all Lit readers; graphic sex scenes - it's not romantic enough; too much scene building - it takes too long to get down to the sex; try something new - it doesn't follow the conventions; follow the conventions - it's been done before. You'll drive yourself mad before you find a balance.

The sad thing is that loads of Lit authors depend on the voting system to give them validation but the same system encourages the abuse that makes it worthless.

I write as a post-retirement occupation - fiction, non-fiction, newspaper and magazine features - both to keep my brain working and to boost my pension. Success in that field helps me to put votes and comments in context; cash in the bank is worth any number of Lit votes.

That aside, compared to writing for profit, I find that writing for Lit is a relative doddle. A hundred adverse votes and comments from Lit readers are like nothing contrasted against a single publisher's rejection. Similarly a publisher's demands and the commercial pressures. Let's face it, no-one pays to read your Lit stories so, if you happen to write one that doesn't work, your readers have lost nothing and nor have you. Learn from it and move on.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I kind of agree with this however I don't know why people are always putting down or dismissing "want fodder." I can count maybe 20 things that truly make me want to wank and they're the gold standard Pantheon. And not at all easy to do. Actual hotness you never ever forget. Good luck just tossing that off in a day

Personally I'd shower these people with riches if I could.

Write for Lit because you want to and because you enjoy it - and for no other reason.

Remember that a tiny proportion of readers actually vote on Lit stories; a figure of 1 per cent is probably on the optimistic side. This means that the voting is open to all sorts of abuse and becomes meaningless. Write about a wife who cheats on her husband and it seems like every American male who has ever been cheated on will descend on you and wreak their revenge, seemingly using multiple user profiles for the purpose. Never mind that they were crap husbands and incapable lovers - it's your fault. They will then target other stories you've written and apply the same treatment. Just accept that there are people out there reading Lit stories who should categorise as severely disturbed - as in locked up severely disturbed. Add in a bunch of failed authors, a dash of homophobia, a soupçon of misogyny, a flavouring of racism, and...

It's easy for me to say, but please don't let it get to you. Always remember that for the vast majority of Lit readers, stories are simply wank fodder. It's no more sophisticated than that. You'll never satisfy all Lit readers; graphic sex scenes - it's not romantic enough; too much scene building - it takes too long to get down to the sex; try something new - it doesn't follow the conventions; follow the conventions - it's been done before. You'll drive yourself mad before you find a balance.

The sad thing is that loads of Lit authors depend on the voting system to give them validation but the same system encourages the abuse that makes it worthless.

I write as a post-retirement occupation - fiction, non-fiction, newspaper and magazine features - both to keep my brain working and to boost my pension. Success in that field helps me to put votes and comments in context; cash in the bank is worth any number of Lit votes.

That aside, compared to writing for profit, I find that writing for Lit is a relative doddle. A hundred adverse votes and comments from Lit readers are like nothing contrasted against a single publisher's rejection. Similarly a publisher's demands and the commercial pressures. Let's face it, no-one pays to read your Lit stories so, if you happen to write one that doesn't work, your readers have lost nothing and nor have you. Learn from it and move on.

 

[lovecraft68]

I kind of agree with this however I don't know why people are always putting down or dismissing "want fodder." I can count maybe 20 things that truly make me want to wank and they're the gold standard Pantheon. And not at all easy to do. Actual hotness you never ever forget. Good luck just tossing that off in a day

Personally I'd shower these people with riches if I could.

You're right. End of the day this is a PORN site with stories about S-E-X. Yes its nice to have a story to go with the good stuff, but many do not require it.

Those who dismiss it are the faction that speaks of literary erotica. If that's what they want to write and read that's fine. But trying to pretend this platform is about 'literary' is a misconception.

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

As a 'consumer', I would definitely say I use the score to decide whether to read the story. I tend to only bother reading the stories with the red 'H' (well, technically the 'H' is white and the box containing it is red, but you know what I mean). If it's a writer I particularly like, I'll read it come what may (although most of the writers I really like are consistent high scorers). If there's a long series of chapters and most of them have the red 'H', I'll read the ones that don't as well. I think the scoring is usually a pretty fair gauge as to whether a story's any good or not. It's the wisdom of crowds, I suppose...

 

[Green_Knight]

I kind of agree with this however I don't know why people are always putting down or dismissing "want fodder." I can count maybe 20 things that truly make me want to wank and they're the gold standard Pantheon. And not at all easy to do. Actual hotness you never ever forget. Good luck just tossing that off in a day

Personally I'd shower these people with riches if I could.

You're right. End of the day this is a PORN site with stories about S-E-X. Yes its nice to have a story to go with the good stuff, but many do not require it.

Those who dismiss it are the faction that speaks of literary erotica. If that's what they want to write and read that's fine. But trying to pretend this platform is about 'literary' is a misconception.

I certainly wouldn't put down or dismiss wank fodder. Hard realism says that's what many Lit readers want, even if different things work for different people. Some people do find that literary erotica works for them - it's just that the stereotypical Lit reader is not seen in that light. I happen to like a degree of subtlety that works on my imagination; that great French classic The Story of O is a case in point. A poorly-written fuckfest full of the most implausible anatomy and improbable sound effects translated into writing does nothing for me but it does seem to turn a lot of people on.

 

[Hypoxia]

As a 'consumer', I would definitely say I use the score to decide whether to read the story. I tend to only bother reading the stories with the red 'H' (well, technically the 'H' is white and the box containing it is red, but you know what I mean). If it's a writer I particularly like, I'll read it come what may (although most of the writers I really like are consistent high scorers). If there's a long series of chapters and most of them have the red 'H', I'll read the ones that don't as well. I think the scoring is usually a pretty fair gauge as to whether a story's any good or not. It's the wisdom of crowds, I suppose...

LIT's scoring shows whether the story met the expectations of the tiny fraction who bothered to vote; nothing more. No quality assurance. In lesser-read categories there's no statistical significance. But I might avoid an author with all 1's and 2's.

Note that the Android app, through which many many readers (me included) consume LIT, does not allow either posting or reading comments or votes. The app lets you find high-rated stories but doesn't indicate the score. No red H's are visible. My approach: I read a story I like; I read what else that author has written; I read the "related stories". If I don't like, the go-back button is always nearby. And I can quickly switch screens on the phone or tablet if curious eyes approach.

I see a LIT red H as paralleling an ORGANIC sticker on an apple. It doesn't tell me if I'll like the apple.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I don't know if I'd use the term literary. Groundbreaking hot can be well-written, or not.

I think anonymous underground Victorian erotica is some of the hottest ever written and still is. It's full of errors and can be really crude and just so poorly written. So? Some of the fetishes they were uncovering were being expressed openly for the first time, and you can tell. There's a rawness to them that you do not get when its all packaged and smoothed over. Hot is hot. Sometimes people are just breaking new ground and it comes across, whether it's wrapped in good writing or not.

A lot of the times, what is called a meaningless stroker is bad, but not because of the writing; the eroticism is bad. It's watered down, unoriginal, derivative, unimaginative. But then, you certainly get that as well in so-called literary erotica, where the sexual imagination can be just as much of a yawner, it's just written better.

I certainly wouldn't put down or dismiss wank fodder. Hard realism says that's what many Lit readers want, even if different things work for different people. Some people do find that literary erotica works for them - it's just that the stereotypical Lit reader is not seen in that light. I happen to like a degree of subtlety that works on my imagination; that great French classic The Story of O is a case in point. A poorly-written fuckfest full of the most implausible anatomy and improbable sound effects translated into writing does nothing for me but it does seem to turn a lot of people on.

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

LIT's scoring shows whether the story met the expectations of the tiny fraction who bothered to vote; nothing more. No quality assurance. In lesser-read categories there's no statistical significance. But I might avoid an author with all 1's and 2's.

Note that the Android app, through which many many readers (me included) consume LIT, does not allow either posting or reading comments or votes. The app lets you find high-rated stories but doesn't indicate the score. No red H's are visible. My approach: I read a story I like; I read what else that author has written; I read the "related stories". If I don't like, the go-back button is always nearby. And I can quickly switch screens on the phone or tablet if curious eyes approach.

I see a LIT red H as paralleling an ORGANIC sticker on an apple. It doesn't tell me if I'll like the apple.

Well, I've got to find something to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. If I spent all my time just reading every story, I'd never do anything but read stuff on Literotica. There has to be some quality control. The score may not be a perfect system, but it's the one I tend to use.