When to post stories?

[Biggalute]

Firstly, i hope you are all well and managing during these challenging times.
I post stories on Literotica because i enjoy writing and i want people to read my stories (i imagine the same being true for most writers who post stories)
My question is whether there is any rhyme or reason to the order Lit publishes submitted stories.
I am in Ireland and the first tranche of stories get published daily around 7am local time, with sometimes a second tranche much later in the day.
When you read down the new stories page the second tranche is below the first tranche even though they were published later. The effect of this is that a few hours later, when the next days stories are published, the stories in the second tranche are sometimes on the third page of the new stories.
A few of my stories have been published in the second tranche and even though they have been well received (both with scores and feedback) i have found that they have been read far less, presumably because of when they were published.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a reason the second tranche appears below the first tranche? Is there anything an author can do about it in terms of when they submit their stories.

I know it's not the biggest issue in the world but it was something i was thinking about and wondered whether anyone had any advice or insight.

 

[NotWise]

Firstly, i hope you are all well and managing during these challenging times.
I post stories on Literotica because i enjoy writing and i want people to read my stories (i imagine the same being true for most writers who post stories)
My question is whether there is any rhyme or reason to the order Lit publishes submitted stories.
I am in Ireland and the first tranche of stories get published daily around 7am local time, with sometimes a second tranche much later in the day.
When you read down the new stories page the second tranche is below the first tranche even though they were published later. The effect of this is that a few hours later, when the next days stories are published, the stories in the second tranche are sometimes on the third page of the new stories.
A few of my stories have been published in the second tranche and even though they have been well received (both with scores and feedback) i have found that they have been read far less, presumably because of when they were published.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a reason the second tranche appears below the first tranche? Is there anything an author can do about it in terms of when they submit their stories.

I know it's not the biggest issue in the world but it was something i was thinking about and wondered whether anyone had any advice or insight.

I don't think there's anything you can do as a writer. There are a lot of factors that determine when Laurel publishes stories, and the recent glut of stories is probably a big factor.

I had a new story in I/T earlier this week, and I noticed that the number of stories published on the same day, and the order of the stories on the hub varied through the day. My story started out being at #5 and ended up being #3, and the number of stories posted during the day may have doubled. So yeah, it's noticeable. I know it's happened before, but not regularly.

 

[HeyAll]

It's been happening a lot lately these past few weeks. I hadn't happened in months, but it used to happen before that too.

I'm not sure why, but as mentioned, there are a ton more stories being submitted now.

Basically, it's a roll of the dice in terms of when your story gets posted and where you placement is.

On a side note, the best way to increase the views of your stories is to write stories that becomes hit. That way, more people will check out your older stories.

 

[Biggalute]

Thanks for the replies

 

[sbrooks103]

Firstly, i hope you are all well and managing during these challenging times.
I post stories on Literotica because i enjoy writing and i want people to read my stories (i imagine the same being true for most writers who post stories)
My question is whether there is any rhyme or reason to the order Lit publishes submitted stories.
I am in Ireland and the first tranche of stories get published daily around 7am local time, with sometimes a second tranche much later in the day.
When you read down the new stories page the second tranche is below the first tranche even though they were published later. The effect of this is that a few hours later, when the next days stories are published, the stories in the second tranche are sometimes on the third page of the new stories.
A few of my stories have been published in the second tranche and even though they have been well received (both with scores and feedback) i have found that they have been read far less, presumably because of when they were published.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a reason the second tranche appears below the first tranche? Is there anything an author can do about it in terms of when they submit their stories.

I know it's not the biggest issue in the world but it was something i was thinking about and wondered whether anyone had any advice or insight.

I see late postings all over the place, not just after the regular posting. If there is a special case, like an event or a large number of stories, you can request Laurel to move it up. I've never done it, but I've seen it done.

 

[gordo12]

I've had it happen a couple of times although in my case the story posted at the top. Not below as you noted.

But you are correct that they get very little time in the sun before being pushed down the stage and that affects the reading and voting numbers.

I will confess one of them was my fault. I made a request, not thinking it through. I wanted it posted on Friday thinking it would go with the Thurs night list for Friday. Nope, it appeared in the middle of Friday afternoon. My bad!

 

[NotWise]

I will confess one of them was my fault. I made a request, not thinking it through. I wanted it posted on Friday thinking it would go with the Thurs night list for Friday. Nope, it appeared in the middle of Friday afternoon. My bad!

That could belong on the "Twist a Wish" thread.

 

[gordo12]

That could belong on the "Twist a Wish" thread.

Which strangely, despite spending years here, I have never read that thread Not sure why!

 

[LexxRuthless]

Which strangely, despite spending years here, I have never read that thread Not sure why!

The thread only began early in December of last year. It has grown quickly with regular audience participation.

 

[LexxRuthless]

Back to the OP, though, you have essentially zero control over your placement among the day's new stories. There is also no possible way to predict (outside of contests and other events) how many other submissions will occur the same day as yours. It is unfortunate, but there are several random elements at work over which you have no control.

I have had new stories spend three days on the first page of new stories on I/T, while others have disappeared the next morning. My last story in the Anal category got nearly a month of exposure on that first page. Each day on that front page results in thousands of views, so it is a big deal. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot you can do to influence your placement or the length of your stay.

 

[ElectricBlue]

... or the length of your stay.

You can influence that - don't write in the most popular categories.

Trade-off = fewer views, but over a longer time period, maybe not. I guess it boils down to which readers you want to attract - mass consumers or a bit of a niche market.

 

[LexxRuthless]

You can influence that - don't write in the most popular categories.

Trade-off = fewer views, but over a longer time period, maybe not. I guess it boils down to which readers you want to attract - mass consumers or a bit of a niche market.

Sorry, but that argument doesn't make sense here. We're talking about trying to time your submission so that it will stay on the front page of new submissions longer precisely so you get more views. Regardless of category, that timing matters. I was saying there isn't much we, as authors, have control over when it comes to the length of that stay.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Sorry, but that argument doesn't make sense here. We're talking about trying to time your submission so that it will stay on the front page of new submissions longer precisely so you get more views. Regardless of category, that timing matters. I was saying there isn't much we, as authors, have control over when it comes to the length of that stay.

The volume of stories does make a difference though. The more there are in any given period, the faster they're going to be pushed off the category page. If you write in the high turn-over categories, that's what you get, high turnover, low stay.

Stories roll off the I&T front page in 2 - 3 days if regular I&T authors are anything to go by. I've had stories on the Mature and Group pages for over a week, and I've had stories in Sci-Fi and Fantasy for over two weeks. If you want to stay in view longer, write in the less popular categories. It's a trade-off between numbers and time, but the category choice is yours to make. Other than that, you're right, there's nothing you can do about it. It's entirely down to Laurel's throughput on any given day.