Site Statistics

[John988]

[This content has been removed due to a copyright violation.]

[This content has been removed due to a copyright violation.]

 

[AwkwardMD]

Everyone's experience is different, and the variables on the site are too vast for any overall site averages to be meaningful.

Most people here, when talking numbers and metrics, are either referencing their own metrics or what they've seen when looking around on their own.

If you want to try to see how you stack up, try to find an author whose content is similar to yours and ask nicely

 

[SimonDoom]

Hector Biden did an analysis and posted a thread about this perhaps 9 months ago. Look up his name and the thread on his page.

 

[AwkwardMD]

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1466462

Like he says at the bottom, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[8letters]

Hector Biden did an analysis and posted a thread about this perhaps 9 months ago. Look up his name and the thread on his page.

I found this post from 2015:
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=72397520#post72397520

Not much meat.

 

[SimonDoom]

I found this post from 2015:
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=72397520#post72397520

Not much meat.

His analysis, which is the most thorough I've seen on any thread on this subject, gives a reasonably good sense of the relative number of views that stories in different categories get. Its results are consistent, more or less, with what I've observed about which categories are popular and which are not.

But it's worth keeping in mind that category is only one variable that affects the number of views your story gets. There are other factors. It's also worth keeping in mind that the number of views isn't very closely related to the score of the story.

There are innumerable factors that affect the stats that a story gets, and what influences one stat won't necessarily influence another. Some rough observations I've made from my experience (which may be totally different from the experience of others):

1. Choosing the right category is very important both for maximizing views and maximizing your score. It's worthwhile educating yourself about how categories work.

2. The degree to which your story conforms to the expectations of readers in a category is important to maximizing views and scores. But this is truer in some categories than in others.

3. Attractive, titillating titles and taglines matter, though you can find plenty of examples of stories with bad or bland titles that are successful.

4. People are more likely to finish shorter stories, but there are plenty of examples of very long stories with a gazillion views and votes.

5. Views tend to drop off sharply with many-chaptered stories.

6. Scores tend to go up with the later chapters in many-chaptered stories, because only the readers who like the story stick with it.

7. There seems to be some positive relationship between the length of the story and how high the score is.

8. Good sex scenes matter for both views and score. Getting the length and pace of a sex scene just right is helpful.

9. Prose style is not that important, either for views or score. If it's horrible it will hurt both, but if it's passable your story can do very well if it has other things people like.

10. Contrary to what some people think, character development and good plotting really do matter, especially for getting a higher score. They don't matter a lot for getting many views.

11. A story with a red "H", meaning a score of 4.5 or better, is around the 75th percentile for most categories, though it's less than that for some and much higher than that for Loving Wives, which is the most brutal category, score-wise.

12. Incest is far and away the most popular category. You cannot compare view numbers in this category with the view numbers of stories in other categories. My incest stories average about three times the views of my nonincest stories.

13. On average I get around 1 vote for every 100 views, though it varies widely from story to story. This ratio increases for short stories and shrinks for long stories.

14. There is a very big random factor in the views your story gets. It will be affected by how long it remains on the category hub's new story list, which you have no control over. I've had stories in the incest category drop off the list in one day. I've had others last several days. It makes a huge difference to the number of people that view the story. You can't sweat this stuff too much because you have no control over it.


These are my observations. Others may have completely different observations.


I think it's useful to pay attention to these things to the extent you want to try to use Literotica's unique features to increase your reader base, but you can't get too concerned about comparing yourself to other authors, because your muse may be totally different from theirs. "Write your own story, the best you can" is probably the best advice to follow.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I'm not going to quote Simon's post for the sake of screen space, but there are a lot of assumptions going on in there that aren't being presented in the language of an assumption. HectorBiden's thread was not significantly more substantial. Yes it was a lot of pretty numbers, but any stats nerd worth their salt knows that no sampling of less than a thousand is meaningful.

There is more guesswork than actual data so far. That's a recipe for misinformation.

 

[NotWise]

There is more guesswork than actual data so far. That's a recipe for misinformation.

Real information is hard to come by. Most of Simon's points are consistent with my observations, but they're just that -- subjective observations.

One item I disagree with is this:

8. Good sex scenes matter for both views and score. Getting the length and pace of a sex scene just right is helpful.

A view is counted when someone opens the first page of the story, so the only things that can effect the number of views are things the reader sees before they open the story. A good sex scene could only have an indirect effect on the views -- through the score, for instance.

Good tags help, but aside from that there aren't many things to help the reader out before they open a story. On the hub there's the title, short description and author's name, the score, vote count, and favorites. Other sources give less information. A contest story on the contest page, for instance, just gives the title and author, and the reader knows it's a contest story.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not going to quote Simon's post for the sake of screen space, but there are a lot of assumptions going on in there that aren't being presented in the language of an assumption. HectorBiden's thread was not significantly more substantial. Yes it was a lot of pretty numbers, but any stats nerd worth their salt knows that no sampling of less than a thousand is meaningful.

There is more guesswork than actual data so far. That's a recipe for misinformation.

I think you are asking a bit too much in terms of proof. Nearly all the opinions offered on this forum are based on anecdotal evidence and personal observation. I feel pretty confident of the observations I've made. I wouldn't vouch for their validity as social science, but they're based on more than just speculation and guesswork -- they're no more that than 99% of the other opinions offered here. But if you or others have different observations, those would be welcome and useful as well.

 

[SimonDoom]

A view is counted when someone opens the first page of the story, so the only things that can effect the number of views are things the reader sees before they open the story. A good sex scene could only have an indirect effect on the views -- through the score, for instance.

.

I didn't explain it but this is what I meant. Indirect effects can count for a lot. When a story appears on a new story page, for instance, if it gets high marks and more favorites than others, I think readers are more likely to read that story, because readers can see on that page which stories have higher scores and more favorites and comments than other stories. There's a feedback effect.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I think you are asking a bit too much in terms of proof. Nearly all the opinions offered on this forum are based on anecdotal evidence and personal observation.

You are repeating back to me what I said in the first place, in post #2. You tacitly disagreed with that earlier when you pointed to HectorBiden's data. Hector's analysis being 'the most thorough you've seen' does not qualify it as thorough.

I am not asking too much for proof, because proof is not a flimsy, flexible concept. It is, by it's very nature, concrete. Proof being hard to come by does not lower the bar for what constitutes proof.

HectorBiden captured some data, but he spent 80% of his post on ill-informed conjecture. Your followup did no better. I have 5 years of viewcount data saved pertaining to my own stories, with (at the time of posting) 5466 points of data, and the most I would feel comfortable giving based on that data is observations.

The OP didn't ask for observations and conjecture. He wanted site averages, and he's not going to get them from any of us.

 

[Bramblethorn]

3. Attractive, titillating titles and taglines matter, though you can find plenty of examples of stories with bad or bland titles that are successful.

I suspect there's a significant difference here between what helps views and what helps scores. If you make the title and tagline bland enough, the only people who are likely to click are the ones who've read and loved your other work - which will probably be great for your averages, though not for views.

14. There is a very big random factor in the views your story gets. It will be affected by how long it remains on the category hub's new story list, which you have no control over.

And by where it appears on the main "New Story" list. I had one that showed up at the top of the page for almost a day, and another one that got bumped to page 2 almost as soon as it was posted, and it made a BIG difference to views.

 

[Bramblethorn]

A view is counted when someone opens the first page of the story, so the only things that can effect the number of views are things the reader sees before they open the story. A good sex scene could only have an indirect effect on the views -- through the score, for instance.

I think this is largely correct, but story content can affect views directly if somebody likes the story enough to reread it.

 

[SimonDoom]

You are repeating back to me what I said in the first place, in post #2. You tacitly disagreed with that earlier when you pointed to HectorBiden's data.

.

Not quite. My observations are based not just on my own personal experiences but my observations of stories of other authors as well (including yours). I wouldn't describe it as scientific, or systematic, but I would call it more than guesswork or speculation, and more than mere personal, subjective experience. I guess to be more accurate I'd say I feel pretty good about the accuracy of the numbered statements that I wrote but I'd be happy to agree they're subject to a high error rate and that other variables may come into play that I haven't taken account of. So to a newbie author I'd say, go ahead and try this at home but don't be surprised if your results are a bit different from mine.

But to respond to the OP's original post, again, it is surprising to me that there isn't MORE summary data available about statistics on this site. The quantity of data over 20 years of publishing stories is huge, and it would be a goldmine of interesting information for anyone who wanted to take it on. Hector Biden's analysis was just an initial stab at it, but it's about the best stab I've seen so far. That's why I cited it. I'm a huge data nerd and would love to see this site publish more statistical information about its trove of stories.

 

[8letters]

His analysis, which is the most thorough I've seen on any thread on this subject,

Still doesn't say very much.

11. A story with a red "H", meaning a score of 4.5 or better, is around the 75th percentile for most categories, though it's less than that for some and much higher than that for Loving Wives, which is the most brutal category, score-wise.

What is this based on? Is it true for all submissions? Is it equally true for stand-alone stories, first chapters and subsequent chapters?

Red H % looks highly category dependent. Looking over at the Novels and Novellas 30 Day Top List, 44 stories were published in the last 30 days and 32 of those have at least a 4.5 rating.

12. Incest is far and away the most popular category. You cannot compare view numbers in this category with the view numbers of stories in other categories. My incest stories average about three times the views of my nonincest stories.

This is based on your limited experience. How many stories do you have published? How many categories have you published in? How many chapter stories and stand-alone stories have you published in those categories?

14. There is a very big random factor in the views your story gets. It will be affected by how long it remains on the category hub's new story list, which you have no control over. I've had stories in the incest category drop off the list in one day. I've had others last several days. It makes a huge difference to the number of people that view the story. You can't sweat this stuff too much because you have no control over it.

If you're trying to say that stories in categories that have few stories published in them get more views, you're wrong. As you say, I/T has the highest number of views per story and it has the most stories published to it. Sleepy categories like H&S, L&T, T&M and EH get very few views for their stories.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I guess to be more accurate I'd say I feel pretty good about the accuracy of the numbered statements that I wrote but I'd be happy to agree they're subject to a high error rate

These are mutually exclusive statements. It's like trying to have both ends of a see-saw at the top of their range of motion simultaneously.

 

[SimonDoom]

What is this based on? Is it true for all submissions? Is it equally true for stand-alone stories, first chapters and subsequent chapters?

I used the search feature to search stories in designated time periods, first searching all stories in a category and then searching for those in the category with a red H. I divided one figure by the other.
The average across all categories is in the neighborhood of the 75 percentile, but it varies widely from category to category and it makes a big difference whether it's a standalone story or late chapter in a series (I allowed for other variables in my comment).

This is based on your limited experience. How many stories do you have published? How many categories have you published in? How many chapter stories and stand-alone stories have you published in those categories?

No it's not. I've published 22 stories, including one 3 part series and 1 8 part series. 13 incest and 9
non incest. 6 categories total. My personal experience bears out everything I've said. But I've observed other stories by other authors as well, and I've done searches of stories and observed the results on various toplists. One only has to review the most-viewed toplists to see that incest does far better than anything else. It's not even remotely close.

If you're trying to say that stories in categories that have few stories published in them get more views, you're wrong. As you say, I/T has the highest number of views per story and it has the most stories published to it. Sleepy categories like H&S, L&T, T&M and EH get very few views for their stories.

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that for any given story X it will make a difference how long it stays on the hub page new story list. This variable is less important than the category, but it matters, even so.

What's interesting to me about your objections, and AwkwardMD's, is that I've read at least 4 or 5 stories by each of you and would say that your stories completely bear out the accuracy of my observations -- not all of them, because some of them may not apply, but many of them.

 

[SimonDoom]

These are mutually exclusive statements. It's like trying to have both ends of a see-saw at the top of their range of motion simultaneously.

Oh for Pete's sake. Really. I didn't quantify "high error rate," and I'm not going to.

I feel good about each of the statements I've made. You haven't said anything to contradict any of them. You're quibbling with the fact that I'm making them on the basis of standards of proof that no one here cares to enforce. I haven't done thorough research to support these statements, but I'm not just pulling them from my butt, either. I don't mind admitting that I've spent quite a lot of time not just looking at my own stories but at various toplists and the stories of others. There's a sufficiently high error rate that others may have different experiences, but it doesn't in any way shake my confidence that I'm pretty much right about all the things I stated.

I do not have footnotes or compilations of data readily available to substantiate everything I've said. Anyone is free to take it with a grain of salt, or to offer their own observations or evidence. But my guess is that most experienced authors would agree with most of what I've said, based on their own experience or on their review of others' stories.

So, to be clear, is there anything I've said that you specifically disagree with or that runs contrary to your experience?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I think this is largely correct, but story content can affect views directly if somebody likes the story enough to reread it.

Yes, I have two long multi-chapter works, and it's easy to see the base read through, and which chapters have been read twice, just from the ups and downs in the view count across the entire story.

Both stories show the predictable drop off from Chapter One - which is why views on a single story tell you absolutely nothing other than it was opened. You need a long multi-parter to get any idea of your true reader base. Stand-alone stories tell you zip.

 

[HectorBidon]

I think it's useful to pay attention to these things to the extent you want to try to use Literotica's unique features to increase your reader base, but you can't get too concerned about comparing yourself to other authors, because your muse may be totally different from theirs. "Write your own story, the best you can" is probably the best advice to follow.

I think that Simon's list very aptly summarizes many of the key factors that affect views and scores. I wondered about those things myself and so compiled the tables referred to above. One looked at the distribution of scores across categories for the 2,278 stories published in October 2015. The other looked at the number of views, votes, and comments during the first three days for the 54 stories published on 12/10/2017. Not that much meat, perhaps, but what not-significantly-more-substantial gristle there was tended to back up some of Simon's observations. My commentary might be as follows:

3* "Attractive, titillating titles and taglines matter." As Bramblethorn points out, this will get you views, but if the story doesn't deliver it might get you a lower score that you would have gotten with a blander title.

11*. The Non-Human, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, and Novels & Novellas readerships tend to award a higher percentage of red H's than in the other categories.

15. Stories go through two life stages. Most of the votes and comments come in during the first week, when the story is still on the new lists. But after that the story remains in the archives. If you keep writing other good stories, it will attract new readers to read your old ones.

 

[lovecraft68]

This is a lot to read through so if it has been mentioned, sorry to bring it up again.

But what it does't look like people are taking into consideration is the numbers themselves that can be seen? Could also be a product of the shady shit that goes on with readers and authors bombing, cheerleading, creating alts to comment on and favorite etc....especially any contest entry.

So now you have 'here's the numbers, but are they always real' to toss in.

I think everyone likes their stories to get good numbers, me included.

But when I see these threads I just feel people are obsessing over...what? Numbers that as many have said can't really be quantified? The countless variables of why story A and story B in the same category have such a disparity in numbers?

Worse is the writing to try to hit the numbers because at that point who are you writing for?

Last...do we make more or less money based on numbers?

Spend your time writing, not analyzing.

 

[John988]

[This content has been removed due to a copyright violation.]

 

[8letters]

Spend your time writing, not analyzing.

I think this implies that a writer has no choice over what he/she writes. There's no point in analyzing your options as you have to write the story that's currently in your head.

I, for one, have lots of story ideas that I could work on. I've got several romance and several incest stories plotted out and started. If I knew that if the average Romance whole story gets 5.8K views, 4.9 comments and a 4.40 rating in its first week, whereas the average Incest/Taboo whole story gets 43.6K views, 9.8 comments and a 4.26 rating, then I'd be able to make a more informed decision on which one to pick to finish.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes, I have two long multi-chapter works, and it's easy to see the base read through, and which chapters have been read twice, just from the ups and downs in the view count across the entire story.

Yep, although there are also people who jump in at later chapters without going back to the start of the series. I have a Chapter 14 that drifted into the top-25 list for the category, and that one picks up about twice as many new views as the chapters immediately before it. There was a strong and immediate effect when it made the toplist, so I presume that's from people who see it in the list and go straight in to the final chapter.

11*. The Non-Human, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, and Novels & Novellas readerships tend to award a higher percentage of red H's than in the other categories.

Some of that may be driven by story length issues. Long stories score highly and obviously N&N is the best place to find those; I think those other categories you mention tend to have longer stories than average, but I won't swear to it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think this implies that a writer has no choice over what he/she writes. There's no point in analyzing your options as you have to write the story that's currently in your head.

I, for one, have lots of story ideas that I could work on. I've got several romance and several incest stories plotted out and started. If I knew that if the average Romance whole story gets 5.8K views, 4.9 comments and a 4.40 rating in its first week, whereas the average Incest/Taboo whole story gets 43.6K views, 9.8 comments and a 4.26 rating, then I'd be able to make a more informed decision on which one to pick to finish.

You're making my point. You're going to base which project you work on what gets the better numbers rather than which story do you really want to write. The 'informed decision' should come from the muse, not how many people read it.

And the thing is if someone writes exclusive for a category, like you with incest, I realize that if you pop out a romance that those taboo readers are not going to follow you, many will be like "aw man, romance?"

But of you do write in other categories you pick up some new readers. People always associate me with I/T but ironically my most successful stories here are in other categories