The official Authors' Hangout Halloween 2020 contest Support Thread

[spyralout]

Wow, I really didn't expect to win. I thought the contest was a good excuse to buckle down and finish my first story. It certainly is motivating that it was so well received.

I do think the top ranked stories bounced around a lot and the results would have been different on any given day. For the record my story had a 4.90 at the closing bell. It has gone up and down since.

Regardless, I'm happy most of the readers enjoyed it and it's humbling to be among the top of such a great group of stories! Some really fun and sexy entries to read! Congrats to all.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I went to the last page of my story and the stars were blank, allowing me to vote for it again, indicating my initial vote had been swept.

You can tell if a vote you cast on any story has been swept by looking at the last page and if you have the option to vote again, then your previous vote was swept.

Ah. I would not have thought of that. Thanks.

 

[Voboy]

I just feel that as an author, and contributor to this site (which which generates income off the traffic from our free work), I should at least have the ability to ask a question about the events they sponsor to generate that increased traffic.

Well, you certainly can ask...

Many have. And no answers have yet been forthcoming.

 

[NotWise]

Well, you certainly can ask...

Many have. And no answers have yet been forthcoming.

It wasn't really necessary to ask until last spring. Before that, the scores on the author's public profiles updated frequently enough that you could get a pretty good picture of the final scores. They dropped back to updating most pages only once/day, possibly because of the very heavy traffic associated with social distancing.

The traffic is probably still high, but I hope they'll go back to more frequent updates when they can. This way, the site is even more opaque than usual.

 

[BrokenSpokes]

Wow, I really didn't expect to win. I thought the contest was a good excuse to buckle down and finish my first story. It certainly is motivating that it was so well received.

I do think the top ranked stories bounced around a lot and the results would have been different on any given day. For the record my story had a 4.90 at the closing bell. It has gone up and down since.

Regardless, I'm happy most of the readers enjoyed it and it's humbling to be among the top of such a great group of stories! Some really fun and sexy entries to read! Congrats to all.

Great job and congrats!! And welcome to the ranks of LitE authors!!

 

[SisterJezabel]

Laurel was asked about this a couple of years ago and responded that an author could vote once on his/her own story and it would hold. I've seen evidence like yours, though, that suggest that isn't true.

I suspect if you click to the last page and vote it will be swept, but if you read it it will stand.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I suspect if you click to the last page and vote it will be swept, but if you read it it will stand.

That’s the theory.

 

[KeithD]

I suspect if you click to the last page and vote it will be swept, but if you read it it will stand.

I've stopped worrying about what happens with the voting here, especially for contests. The system is a sieve and without much meaning. The sweeping wouldn't be needed otherwise. And I don't think it's the readers manipulating the voting. I think it's those with stories in the contests. They are the ones with an oar in the water and ratings and money to win.

I find the contests worthwhile for providing added exposure and attracting new readers and giving slightly higher ratings and view numbers than is provided by the regular pathway.

 

[NotWise]

We have many time said and been told, "don't talk about how it works." Every word you say tells the trolls how to get their votes around the sweeps. Why does this conversation exist?

Maybe you think that trolls don't read the AH, but you're wrong. The worst troll attack I've had came in response to a post on AH.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

We have many time said and been told, "don't talk about how it works." Every word you say tells the trolls how to get their votes around the sweeps. Why does this conversation exist?

Maybe you think that trolls don't read the AH, but you're wrong. The worst troll attack I've had came in response to a post on AH.

Fully agreed. Let’s not give the trolls clues as how to evade the sweeps.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

In my experience, all contest winners have been worthy of their win. I've never read a story that placed a contest and thought, "They don't deserve this win."

If all you care about is the blue W on your story list, you'll drive yourself crazy. So what do you say to the hopeful?

• Do you blame trolls?
• Do you advise "don't ever post in the forums under the same pseudonym you use for stories?"
• Don't write in "this" category or "that one" if you hope to win a contest?
• Promote your story on social media to gain more votes.
• Always use an editor? Or, is it: never use an editor?
• Write a long story so people get too bored to finish it unless they love it?
• Write under the pseudonym of a woman, because they always get the best votes?
• Be sure to solicit a vote at the beginning and/or end of your contest entry?
• Be fearful of other writers because they are all out to beat you?
• Create as many alts as possible, all from different computers and different IP addresses and vote for yourself, because that's what the boogeyman is doing to make sure you don't win
• If you generate enough content for the site, sooner or later, they'll throw you a bone and give you a win.
• Don't ever complain or criticize the site or you'll never place.
• Submit it early (or at the last minute) for the best score.

I've heard all of those things in my 9+ years. I honestly don't know. It's a crapshoot at best.

Again, I felt like every winning story I've ever read deserved the recognition it received. So did a lot of other stories submitted in that same contest.

It's not really a writing contest. Those of us who have been around long enough know that. It's not even a popularity contest. Hell, my entry received more views, favorites, and comments than the winners did and I'm not even one of the more popular writers on the site! Silkstockingslover and both of HeyAll's stories received many more views and favorites than mine did. And rightfully so, they are two of the most popular writers on the entire site!

For me, it goes back to what I said just before the winners were announced. Write for yourself. Write for the thrill of writing. Enter contests for the increased exposure, the challenge of writing to a theme, and the camaraderie of knowing others are doing the same thing.

I didn't write my story for this contest, I finished a story I really wanted to finish in time and with a theme that fit the contest. I'm good with that. I feel accomplished even without another blue W on my story list.

Congratulations to the winners! The blue W looks good on your story page. And for everyone who wanted one and didn't get it - there's always the "Winter Holidays" Contest.

 

[SisterJezabel]

In my experience, all contest winners have been worthy of their win. I've never read a story that placed a contest and thought, "They don't deserve this win."

...

Congratulations to the winners! The blue W looks good on your story page. And for everyone who wanted one and didn't get it - there's always the "Winter Holidays" Contest.

Thank you! I did like the idea presented on another forum around here whereby Lit offers an anonymous contest where authors are not revealed until votes are in and tallied.

 

[ChloeTzang]

What really hurts me and makes me not want to enter another contest is starting out the first couple of days I have a 4.91 score with over 80 votes and then suddenly it starts dropping like a rock to 4.66 at 229. All of that work for trolls and haters to ruin my chances of winning and I don't even get halloween candy for all my effort

I just snorted my coffee. I shoul no not to drink coffee and read here. Don’t worry, you are not alone. One of my stories a couple of years ago was a perfect 5 after the first 50 votes and then it got bombed into oblivion. It came back, but not enough. It’s unfair but it’s the way Literotica works, and there’s no perfect system. Once you’ve suffered through it a few times it’s water of a ducks back. Honestly I didn’t even look at the scores for my competition stories until just now. My Roanapur one did okay and my alt story is at 4.9 but didn’t get enough votes to qualify. Life’s tough but hey, they were fun to write. I enjoyed them. Readers enjoyed them, and that’s what found. Just do it again for the next competition and good luck

 

[ChloeTzang]

* 2020 Halloween Contest Winners *

First Place ($150 Cash Prize Winner):
The Halloween Skits
by spyralout

Second Place ($100 Cash Prize Winner):
The Verse
by gabthewriter

Third Place ($75 Cash Prize Winner):
The Hunt
by BrokenSpokes

Congratulations to them and to all those who entered.

And a really belated congratulations to the winners as well as to the veritable horde of authors who authored for this.

 

[RetroFan]

My scoring for my story was the strangest I've had for any story.

It was posted and received few views and dismal scores, around 3.2 after several days. There must have been some troll votes and a sweep removed a number of them, boosting the score which eventually went up to 4.60 and the magical H.

But since then, its been all downhill and story has slipped back to 3.50 at the time of posting.

 

[Rustyoznail]

My scoring for my story was the strangest I've had for any story.

It was posted and received few views and dismal scores, around 3.2 after several days. There must have been some troll votes and a sweep removed a number of them, boosting the score which eventually went up to 4.60 and the magical H.

But since then, its been all downhill and story has slipped back to 3.50 at the time of posting.

Ouch.