How do you not freak out over votes?

[JosephineKuo]

This story is my first fiction writing since high school, and I thought I was doing pretty well - most of my stories have been ranking in the high 4s. I thought my most recent piece was my best, and when I checked on Friday it was at 4.79 with 30 votes.

But now it's down to 4.63! What the hell man?

I know, I know 4.63 is still a good score. But it dropped .16 points over the weekend.

So how seriously should I take votes? Do they matter? Do I suck? Please take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-vampire-and-the-goth-ch-08

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't read in Non Human, but I checked the 30 day top list..that had you at 4.65 on 37 votes...your page may show different because they update at different times.

But with less than 50 votes it only takes a couple bombs to drop you that far.

If they were just bombs the next sweep may pick you back up.

But as for your question, you can't obsess over votes and scores because that will make you think too much about what you're writing. The story you want should come before fretting about score.

Having not read the story, this is a guess, but something common in series. This is chapter 8, you have an invested base at this point-hence the prior high scores, by this time only people who like it are reading- but sometimes if you did something that jars the reader, kill a character or have something bad happen, they may lash out with a bad vote...usually when you see a low score in a series surrounded by high scores its because that chapter was not a 'happy' one.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

I think that just about everything that was said in response to your "My First Truly Negative Comment" post applies to this as well.

I read the chapter. It didn't do a a great deal for me, but I think that was largely the characters. They're a bit sophomoric. I don't mean that your portrayal of them is sophomoric, but that you've accurately portrayed sophomoric characters. That's a choice and there's nothing wrong with that. Obviously, you have readers that enjoy it. I mention it because it makes it hard for me to evaluate the appeal of the chapter, so I don't think I can be very helpful there.

I could definitely have done without the werewolf fart, and certainly without such a very long treatment of it. I think something like that, especially right at the beginning, risks turning off more people than are entertained by it.

I think you could probably make the sex a little less perfunctory. It started off well, and I thought you used the Polish terms to good effect, but as soon as that is over, the rest felt like you ran out of interest or inspiration. I'm not sure if it was reticence to be detailed or if you just weren't into it. I think it's perfectly possible to have a good sex scene without going into a lot of detail, but it requires a good technique to pull off. The whole thing can be addressed summarily, although that sort of defeats the purpose of erotica, or you can pick a particular moment to focus on (as opposed to going through the whole sequence with varying levels of detail). I'm sure there are other ways, too. There's just a sweet spot for how much detail you can give before you need to either carry it through or find a way to skip from one point to the next.

I haven't read the other chapters in your series, so I'm not in a position to compare this one to those. Nothing in this chapter stood out to me as terribly wrong, and there's nothing terrible about your score, either. All you need to do is run the math to see how quickly you can drop until you get a lot of votes to make your score stable. Let's say you have 30 votes that are all perfect 5s. Your score is 5.0. Someone comes along and gives you one star because they don't like werewolf farts, or they don't like vampire stories, or they feel mean and nasty, or they're just a troll. Your score is now 4.87. With only 30 votes in, it only took one vote to move the score 0.13 points. Now let's say you have 100 votes, perfect fives again, so your score is 5.0. Someone comes along and gives you 1 star. Your rating is now 4.96. With relatively few votes, the scores just aren't stable enough to place a lot of significance on small or even moderate movements.

The way you don't freak out over it is you make the choice not to. As Lovecraft said, focus on your writing. You're not getting graded or paid and the score doesn't tell you anything about what you can do to improve. Don't get hung up on it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think that just about everything that was said in response to your "My First Truly Negative Comment" post applies to this as well.

I read the chapter. It didn't to a a great deal for me, but I think that was largely the characters. They're a bit sophomoric. I don't mean that your portrayal of them is sophomoric, but that you've accurately portrayed sophomoric characters. That's a choice and there's nothing wrong with that. Obviously, you have readers that enjoy it. I mention it because it makes it hard for me to evaluate the appeal of the chapter, so I don't think I can be very helpful there.

I could definitely have done without the werewolf fart, and certainly without such a very long treatment of it. I think something like that, especially right at the beginning, risks turning off more people than are entertained by it.

I think you could probably make the sex a little less perfunctory. It started off well, and I thought you used the Polish terms to good effect, but as soon as that is over, the rest felt like you ran out of interest or inspiration. I'm not sure if it was reticence to be detailed or if you just weren't into it. I think it's perfectly possible to have a good sex scene without going into a lot of detail, but it requires a good technique to pull off. The whole thing can be addressed summarily, although that sort of defeats the purpose of erotica, or you can pick a particular moment to focus on (as opposed to going through the whole sequence with varying levels of detail). I'm sure there are other ways, too. There's just a sweet spot for how much detail you can give before you need to either carry it through or find a way to skip from one point to the next.

I haven't read the other chapters in your series, so I'm not in a position to compare this one to those. Nothing in this chapter stood out to me as terribly wrong, and there's nothing terrible about your score, either. All you need to do is run the math to see how quickly you can drop until you get a lot of votes to make your score stable. Let's say you have 30 votes that are all perfect 5s. Your score is 5.0. Someone comes along and gives you one star because they don't like werewolf farts, or they don't like vampire stories, or they feel mean and nasty, or they're just a troll. Your score is now 4.87. With only 30 votes in, it only took one vote to move the score 0.13 points. Now let's say you have 100 votes, perfect fives again, so your score is 5.0. Someone comes along and gives you 1 star. Your rating is now 4.96. With relatively few votes, the scores just aren't stable enough to place a lot of significance on small or even moderate movements.

The way you don't freak out over it is you make the choice not to. As Lovecraft said, focus on your writing. You're not getting graded or paid and the score doesn't tell you anything about what you can do to improve. Don't get hung up on it.

A werewolf fart? is that like a regular fart that smells worse under a full moon?
Asking for a friend with a sophomoric sense of humor

 

[Emirus]

This story is my first fiction writing since high school, and I thought I was doing pretty well - most of my stories have been ranking in the high 4s. I thought my most recent piece was my best, and when I checked on Friday it was at 4.79 with 30 votes.

But now it's down to 4.63! What the hell man?

I know, I know 4.63 is still a good score. But it dropped .16 points over the weekend.

So how seriously should I take votes? Do they matter? Do I suck? Please take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-vampire-and-the-goth-ch-08

4.79 multiplied by 30 is 144. 4.65 x 37 gives 172. So you’ve had 7 votes averaging 4. So I would suggest you’ve had 3 votes of 5, 3 votes of 4, and some ******* has dropped a 1-bomb on you. The bomb should be removed when it’s swept. If it hasn’t gone by about two weeks after the story has come off the first page request a sweep.

Unfortunately you can’t stop the trolls from bombing. It’s what they do. It’s annoying but even if the 1’s aren’t swept you have the satisfaction of knowing the rating isn’t correct and as long as the magic red box is there you know the majority of your votes have been 5’s which is what you are after.

I’ve not read this story but I’ve glanced at your page and it looks as if a bottle of ketchup had been liberally used so, apart from the annoyance, just keep doing what you’ve been doing.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't freak out over votes because they are not worth freaking out over.

30 votes is a small sample size. A score based on 30 votes can be dramatically changed by three random bad votes. You can't read anything into it. There's no point in getting worked up about it. Doing so won't make you a better writer. It won't make you a happier writer.

Once you get up to about 100 votes and have been through a sweep, your score is probably somewhat stable, and it's unlikely to go up or down a lot. But until you get to that point there's no point whatsoever in getting invested in your score, so don't do it. Just sit back and let the ride take you where it will.

I'm not trying to be dismissive, because your concern is shared by many. There was an author, whose name I won't mention, who was very, very successful here but would post about how freaked out he got that his score would drop from 4.83 to 4.81. I would ask him why and he couldn't answer, other than that he was worked up into a lather about the unfairness of it.

When you publish a story, you do so to get a reaction. You can't complain just because people don't react the way you want them to.

People need to detach themselves from scores. They don't mean much.

My advice: focus on the next story rather than the last one.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

A werewolf fart? is that like a regular fart that smells worse under a full moon?
Asking for a friend with a sophomoric sense of humor

You can tell your "friend" that according to the story, "There is nothing so toxic as a werewolf fart." I believe the term rancid was used as well. It was about that time that the werewolf started air humping, with his own narration about "banging." So maybe the werewolf was someone your "friend" might like to play a few rounds of darts with?

 

[jaF0]

So how seriously should I take votes?

Not at all. I put my first story in quite a while up over the weekend. I knew it wasn't anything special. Only took an hour or so. Scanned the scores for the first day or so, then forgot about it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So how seriously should I take votes? Do they matter? Do I suck? Please take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Don't panic, Grasshopper. Your overall scores are doing okay, ups and downs, pretty typical. Scores are fun, and we all like good ones, but your story file is too new for them to mean much. Get another dozen or so stories and chapters up and you'll get a better handle on what they mean - but only in relation to your own body of work. To compare your scores to the next writer's is a waste of energy really - nothing is comparable except in a very broad sense.

 

[KeithD]

One reason not to freak out, especially in posts on the discussion board, is the old and very relevant advice of "Don't let them see you sweat." That's a major reason a lot of them do it, and if they see you complaining on the discussion board, guess what . . .

 

[lovecraft68]

You can tell your "friend" that according to the story, "There is nothing so toxic as a werewolf fart." I believe the term rancid was used as well. It was about that time that the werewolf started air humping, with his own narration about "banging." So maybe the werewolf was someone your "friend" might like to play a few rounds of darts with?

I think I met that guy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCUr4_bWK80

 

[JosephineKuo]

Thanks guys

This is the first story I've posted without my husband reading it first. He taught Journalism and English at the college level. I know how to take criticism, but I feel weirdly vulnerable without him approving it first.

My husband has been in the hospital with Covid. He is now Covid-free, but he had a stroke, so he's going to be in a rehab facility for a few weeks. I can't see him. We talk on the phone several times a day, and his progress is going well. But... I think I've become dependent on his criticism of my writing.

I think I'm going to fire up the bong and just try to relax and not think about writing for awhile.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Don't freak out; you're doing incredibly well with what you've already done here. It can be a tough audience here because I think they allow anonymous non-members to vote and comment. Vampires seem to really wow them. I should write about one now but I have no feel for it.

I'm another site that only allows members to do that. They give each other high scores so that they don't step on each other's toes.

 

[SimonDoom]

Always remember the Literotica/Serenity Prayer (with apologies to Reinhold Neibuhr):

Eros grant me the serenity to accept the votes and comments, good, bad, or trollish, that I cannot change, the courage to face the flaws in my writing that I can, and the wisdom to log off this Site once in a while and do something productive like play with my dog.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

I think I met that guy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCUr4_bWK80

Might have been the one sipping the pina colada at Trader Vic's, although he struck me as more of a draft beer by the pitcher guy.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

This is the first story I've posted without my husband reading it first. He taught Journalism and English at the college level. I know how to take criticism, but I feel weirdly vulnerable without him approving it first.

My husband has been in the hospital with Covid. He is now Covid-free, but he had a stroke, so he's going to be in a rehab facility for a few weeks. I can't see him. We talk on the phone several times a day, and his progress is going well. But... I think I've become dependent on his criticism of my writing.

I think I'm going to fire up the bong and just try to relax and not think about writing for awhile.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband. That's frightening.

It definitely seems like a good time not to worry about something like this. When it's all behind you, maybe think about moving away from needing that validation. But right now, it seems like relaxing is the best thing you can do. If Lit stories cause you anxiety once they're submitted, consider waiting to publish any others you write until after you're through the crisis.

 

[MelissaBaby]

This is the first story I've posted without my husband reading it first. He taught Journalism and English at the college level. I know how to take criticism, but I feel weirdly vulnerable without him approving it first.

My husband has been in the hospital with Covid. He is now Covid-free, but he had a stroke, so he's going to be in a rehab facility for a few weeks. I can't see him. We talk on the phone several times a day, and his progress is going well. But... I think I've become dependent on his criticism of my writing.

I think I'm going to fire up the bong and just try to relax and not think about writing for awhile.

Best wishes to you and your husband. Here's hoping for a full and speedy recovery.

 

[8letters]

This story is my first fiction writing since high school, and I thought I was doing pretty well - most of my stories have been ranking in the high 4s. I thought my most recent piece was my best, and when I checked on Friday it was at 4.79 with 30 votes.

But now it's down to 4.63! What the hell man?

I know, I know 4.63 is still a good score. But it dropped .16 points over the weekend.

My guess - you are in a low-vote category. It doesn't take many non-5 votes to pull down your rating. Your initial votes were from people who had read and liked the first seven chapters, and they really liked this chapter. Then some readers in your category who hadn't read your stuff before saw the high score of your chapter and decided to give it a try. And while they liked your chapter, they didn't like it as much as the people who read and liked the first seven chapters. And people who had read some of the earlier chapters and didn't care enough for them to keep reading saw the high score on your latest chapter and decided to give your story another try. They liked it, but not as much as the initial voters.

So how seriously should I take votes? Do they matter? Do I suck?

You don't suck. 4.63 is a good rating. Your rating will probably bounce back up over time. Don't worry about short term movements in your rating.

Best wishes to you and your husband.

My two cents that you can feel free to ignore - write stand alone stories if you want to get more meaningful feedback.

Bonus: My stupid personal story which isn't going to make you feel any better. One of my stories hit #1 in the Incest/Taboo Hall of Fame with a 4.88 rating on 351 votes. The next week, it was down to 4.83 and out of the I/T HoF. Stuff like that happens. It moves in and out of I/T HoF all the time. It's currently at #7.

 

[katt2007]

Review scores on this site are an awful idea. I wrote my first (and only) story a few years ago, intending it to be the first chapter of a longer corruption tale. But the low reader score completely discouraged me and I lost all motivation and self-confidence. I haven't written anything since.

 

[AlinaX]

I'm usually delighted to get 4.6 or higher. It's annoying when something that's doing steadily well abruptly dips below 4.5, and ironic when something I particularly like never gets anywhere near it, but otherwise votes are something I just watch with idle curiosity.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Review scores on this site are an awful idea. I wrote my first (and only) story a few years ago, intending it to be the first chapter of a longer corruption tale. But the low reader score completely discouraged me and I lost all motivation and self-confidence. I haven't written anything since.

I looked briefly at your story. I think your score is a reflection of the category in which you posted it. Erotic couplings is a very vanilla category, but your story is about extortion, and if I'm understanding where you intended for it to go, debasement and sluttification, for lack of a better word.

I view Erotic Couplings as the category for stories that just don't fit anywhere else. They tend to be generic in subject matter. I do not mean that they are generic in storytelling or writing quality. They can and often are done very well. There are also Erotic Couplings stories that are unique, but the majority of the category is about everyday encounters. I think it tends to be even less kinky than Romance. Your story had a lot of kink for the tastes of readers of Erotic Couplings.

I think the correct category for the chapter would have been Non-Consent/Reluctance. People often seem to forget the "Reluctance" part of the category. If you are headed into sluttification territory, Fetish might be a better choice.

I suspect your score is more a reflection of your category choice than it is your writing. I thought your writing was much better than most of the stories on the site, and that your score was not an accurate reflection of it.

It's a shame that you've allowed your opinion of your work be shaped by the scores of strangers, without even knowing why they didn't rate it well. You can't tell from the score alone whether people are voting on the writing or on the subject matter. The only comment on your story was complimentary. Maybe it's time to reread your own story and decide whether you like it enough to continue. If you do, why not pick it back up and try again in a more suitable category?

You're the only one who gets to decide whether to let the scores define your view of your own work.

 

[jaF0]

I'm usually delighted to get 4.6 or higher. It's annoying when something that's doing steadily well abruptly dips below 4.5, and ironic when something I particularly like never gets anywhere near it, but otherwise votes are something I just watch with idle curiosity.

I ain't nevuh got over a 4.3 and I'm not sure why they like that one. Most are in the mid 3.x s which is fine for me.

Just not a big deal for me.

 

[AlinaX]

I ain't nevuh got over a 4.3 and I'm not sure why they like that one. Most are in the mid 3.x s which is fine for me.

Well, LW is generally low, and E&V is weird. My lowest scoring story is in E&V and it's one I'm particularly fond of myself.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's a shame that you've allowed your opinion of your work be shaped by the scores of strangers, without even knowing why they didn't rate it well. You can't tell from the score alone whether people are voting on the writing or on the subject matter. The only comment on your story was complimentary. Maybe it's time to reread your own story and decide whether you like it enough to continue. If you do, why not pick it back up and try again in a more suitable category?

You're the only one who gets to decide whether to let the scores define your view of your own work.

I have a story with a zero rating. The one vote on it got pulled somehow.

It was one of the Valerie Solanas stories. I reread them, and I still like them. But, yes, the subject matter - there doesn't seem to be a market for tales about 1960s celebrity-shooting, radical feminist, lesbian prostitutes.

As I wrote below, katt2007 should definitely get back into the game.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Review scores on this site are an awful idea. I wrote my first (and only) story a few years ago, intending it to be the first chapter of a longer corruption tale. But the low reader score completely discouraged me and I lost all motivation and self-confidence. I haven't written anything since.

I might agree with you about review scores. But we live in a society where everything is judged and rated. I especially dislike the one to ten scores now given to people's looks; it's absurd.

But anyway, you got a 4.07 on the first time out. At sixty stories out, I'd love to get more 4.07s.

So you were on to something, but you didn't recognize it. Try revisiting the series, or try something new. Probably the more you write, the more ideas you will generate. I can testify to that. And there will always be slumps; even Hank Aaron had them.