OMG One Bombs!

[yowser]

* If you are going to write a series:
** Have sex in each of your first few chapters
** Have a lot of content written before you publish the first chapter so you can pump out a lot of chapters early on
** Don't change categories

The one place where an exception might be more than moderately useful in changing categories in a series: LW. In my two series there, I had some middle chapters in other categories, at the time thinking it made sense (since the focus of the chapter was different.) Ha! Scores went up markedly, it pulled in people from other categories (at least some of them going back to chapter one to get origin info) and I think ended up (inadvertently) a good move. It was fascinating to me: same characters, same writing, but GS folks gave chapters far better scores (and reception) than chapters in LW.

I even enjoyed the one anon LW commentator who was annoyed I 'changed categories' on him (presumably removing the red flag he was anticipating for for target practice.)

 

[RejectReality]

Yep, no audience here.

 

[Bbl87]

This has been a bit frustrating for me as a new writer. There seems to be a particular person, commented anonymously on a couple of my stories, who doesn't like cheating men stories and one bombs them. Obviously can't say for sure it's them, but a sudden precipitous drop in ratings on each story I've published since I started getting similar comments kind of lends itself to it.

My first story started out solid, was around 4.7 up to about 9 ratings, and then all if the sudden a bunch of ratings dropped it to like 3.5. As a new writer, it's kind of discouraging. Most of my stories hover around 4.5, so I really don't think it's my writing.

My thing is, if you don't like the category or topic just don't read the darn story and don't rate it.

 

[lovecraft68]

View attachment 2160956

Yep, no audience here.

Great example of the unfair advantage of chapter stories as well

 

[Lifestyle66]

Although a couple have said, literally on a couple of different stories, “interesting story, 4”. Not quite interesting enough for a five, would’ve liked to know what I needed to put them over the top But they neglected to tell me.

I've rated stories like that a few times.

With my own rating methodology, I give a 5 to a story only if it's rather well written AND with subject matter I enjoy and prefer.

An "interesting" story would be one I consider well written, but with subject matter outside of my usual preferences. I don't consider it "average" as if deserving a 3. But it wasn't something I considered "GREAT!" as in something I might would consider reading a second time.

So, with this in mind, you'll never get all 5s with any story, because you can't please everyone with the subject matter. You might write the next "Grapes of Wrath" novel. But not everyone rating it is into the Great Depression era poverty stories. Try to enjoy their saying it was interesting enough to garner a 4.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I've rated stories like that a few times.

With my own rating methodology, I give a 5 to a story only if it's rather well written AND with subject matter I enjoy and prefer.

An "interesting" story would be one I consider well written, but with subject matter outside of my usual preferences. I don't consider it "average" as if deserving a 3. But it wasn't something I considered "GREAT!" as in something I might would consider reading a second time.

So, with this in mind, you'll never get all 5s with any story, because you can't please everyone with the subject matter. You might write the next "Grapes of Wrath" novel. But not everyone rating it is into the Great Depression era poverty stories. Try to enjoy their saying it was interesting enough to garner a 4.

That's logical in one sense, but why would anybody read a story which isn't written about something they enjoy in the first place? It's not like there's a test or something to follow or a job interview hanging on it.

Using myself an an example, I don't find incest all that interesting. Not judging, but it's not my thing. From that, I'm just not going to read a story in the I/T realm. Accordingly, the opportunities for me to rate (in any way) something I'm not interested in are pretty few.

Yes, I know, it happens. I've had comments along the lines of "I hate ghost stories so I only gave you a 3." Seriously? You spent 20 minutes reading a story which from the very beginning you knew you wouldn't like? So, yes, people like that exist, but I don't understand.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've rated stories like that a few times.

With my own rating methodology, I give a 5 to a story only if it's rather well written AND with subject matter I enjoy and prefer.

I try hard NOT to do it this way, because I think it disserves potential readers, which, after all, is the entire point of a rating system. If I downgrade a story because I don't like the subject matter, I am offering no help to readers, who presumably, will be thinking about reading the story precisely because they DO like its subject matter. If I downgrade on the basis I don't like the subject matter, I'm just pooping in their mess kit.

I accept the subject matter as a given, unless it's really something beyond the pale, which I find rare at Literotica (although it's common at some other sites). If the story truly promotes violence or bigotry against people, I might take a different tack, but it's more likely I won't read the story in the first place.

My two criteria are:

1. Does the story artfully and successfully accomplish what I think it's trying to do, whether or not I value what it's trying to do?
2. Are the mechanics good: prose style, spelling, punctuation, dialogue format, word choice, grammar?

Roughly speaking, I think of a 5 as top 10-15%, 4 as top 30%, 3 as 45-65 percentile, etc. But this is theory. In practice I award far more 5s than anything else, because I don't usually finish stories unless I like them and I never vote on a story I haven't finished.

 

[Lifestyle66]

... why would anybody read a story which isn't written about something they enjoy in the first place? It's not like there's a test or something to follow or a job interview hanging on it.
...
Yes, I know, it happens. I've had comments along the lines of "I hate ghost stories so I only gave you a 3." Seriously? You spent 20 minutes reading a story which from the very beginning you knew you wouldn't like? So, yes, people like that exist, but I don't understand.

I try hard NOT to do it this way, because I think it disserves potential readers, which, after all, is the entire point of a rating system. If I downgrade a story because I don't like the subject matter, I am offering no help to readers, who presumably, will be thinking about reading the story precisely because they DO like its subject matter. If I downgrade on the basis I don't like the subject matter, I'm just pooping in their mess kit.

I consider 4 as a good rating, while I'm saying a 5 is what I consider an outstanding story for my particular interests.

Seriously, I do sometimes spend 20 minutes (or more) reading stories outside of my comfort zone. I once spent well over an hour with a story outside of my usual choices, to find it worthy of a 5. It's how I grow. I would think it rather sad that someone won't read different things, or if they do, they will ignore the quality of the work to just hate it.

I have one story I wish more people would read and rate for good or bad (Lifestyle Ch 11: Demons Past). It only has just under 1,200 views. But when it first went public, someone 1-bombed it within the first hours, and it took 2 days before anyone else rated it. Since the last scrape, it now only has four ratings of 5, but it's long past catching any notice in any lists. I know it's not that perfect, even though it has ALL 5s (LOL, all four of them).

So, we're here for different things. I'm still at the point of looking to improve my writing and learn more.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

It’s not so much a question of not being willing to broaden the scope of my reading as it is a lifetime of experience, knowing what appeals and what doesn’t. Again, this is a porn site. It’s a good one, well-run and with a good selection, but it’s not part of my course-load for an MA in Literature. I think people come here for some light, enjoyable reading. In a nutshell, there are a million tales here and, while I respect your opinion, I’m going to look for ones I find most likely to amuse in every way.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I consider 4 as a good rating, while I'm saying a 5 is what I consider an outstanding story for my particular interests.

Seriously, I do sometimes spend 20 minutes (or more) reading stories outside of my comfort zone. I once spent well over an hour with a story outside of my usual choices, to find it worthy of a 5. It's how I grow. I would think it rather sad that someone won't read different things, or if they do, they will ignore the quality of the work to just hate it.

I have one story I wish more people would read and rate for good or bad (Lifestyle Ch 11: Demons Past). It only has just under 1,200 views. But when it first went public, someone 1-bombed it within the first hours, and it took 2 days before anyone else rated it. Since the last scrape, it now only has four ratings of 5, but it's long past catching any notice in any lists. I know it's not that perfect, even though it has ALL 5s (LOL, all four of them).

So, we're here for different things. I'm still at the point of looking to improve my writing and learn more.

So, you decide that you will not give a story a 5 before you begin reading it? "I'll read this, but no matter how good it is, the highest I'll score it is a 4?"

If that's what you are saying, isn't the difference between you and someone who says "I hate incest/cuckold/whathaveyou stories, I'm just going to give it a 1 without reading it," just a matter of degree?

 

[Lifestyle66]

So, you decide that you will not give a story a 5 before you begin reading it? "I'll read this, but no matter how good it is, the highest I'll score it is a 4?"

If that's what you are saying, isn't the difference between you and someone who says "I hate incest/cuckold/whathaveyou stories, I'm just going to give it a 1 without reading it," just a matter of degree?

You're misreading my method.

I read one story with a theme I wouldn't normally go to (fantasy/scifi.) But it so engaged me I rated it a 5.

I don't prejudge stories and limit my ratings. I use my general guide as "I won't hate or average your story, just because I don't usually like those types."

 

[MelissaBaby]

You're misreading my method.

I read one story with a theme I wouldn't normally go to (fantasy/scifi.) But it so engaged me I rated it a 5.

I don't prejudge stories and limit my ratings. I use my general guide as "I won't hate or average your story, just because I don't usually like those types."

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I read outside my comfort zone all the time. I read stories from most of the categories on the site. This isn't saying I rate them all at a 5; I don't. To rate a story, I judge three factors, is the story well written, engaging, and did I enjoy the tale? Ratings are dependent on varying degrees of each criterion. If it is enjoyable enough and engaging enough, I can overlook some sloppy writing. I don't expect perfect grammar. What I want in the well-written category is text to pull me into the moment. The minute I see something like, "She had perfect 36D boobies," I stop reading. I consider fixations on measurements of a woman's body as lazy writing. In the Commodores' song, Brick House, I cringe when they sing Thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six oh what a winning hand. Why? Because it totally screws up my appreciation of the woman. My mind wonders who took those measurements. Are they sure it isn't 37 28 39?

I also read from every category to help me improve as a writer.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Thank you for the clarification.

I essentially reserve my 5s for those stories I would like to attract others to read due to my own preferences. Your story "The BJ at the End of the World" was one I rated a 5 (fantastic deadpan ending.) And while I would never deliberately look for a lesbian story, your "Oyster River" story garnered a 4 because of the imagery and strong female character (the one on the boat). But I found her acceptance of her lost love returning as somehow missing decades of resentment. If I could give it a 4.5, I would.

In my own writing to the LW crowd, I like to think of it as entertaining those haters in their own way. When I get a 1-bomb there, I've struck an emotional nerve! (Or I'm a really shitty writer, but I'll look on the positive side.)

 

[Lifestyle66]

I read outside my comfort zone all the time. I read stories from most of the categories on the site. This isn't saying I rate them all at a 5; I don't. To rate a story, I judge three factors, is the story well written, engaging, and did I enjoy the tale? Ratings are dependent on varying degrees of each criterion. If it is enjoyable enough and engaging enough, I can overlook some sloppy writing. I don't expect perfect grammar. What I want in the well-written category is text to pull me into the moment. The minute I see something like, "She had perfect 36D boobies," I stop reading. I consider fixations on measurements of a woman's body as lazy writing. In the Commodores' song, Brick House, I cringe when they sing Thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six oh what a winning hand. Why? Because it totally screws up my appreciation of the woman. My mind wonders who took those measurements. Are they sure it isn't 37 28 39?

I also read from every category to help me improve as a writer.

As a (relatively) new and not-formally-trained writer, I think we (geeks) tend to take advice from editors of "show, don't tell" too literally in some of the descriptions. We also get advice from editors that readers want imagery, and don't like the burden of filling in with their own imaginations.

So, we would tend to try describing various bodies as "exactly 38D", rather than a more subjective "ample breasts", or "8-inch cock" rather than "well endowed".

While I now know to avoid such explicit descriptions, I recognize why some would write that way.

 

[EarlyMorningLight]

As a (relatively) new and not-formally-trained writer, I think we (geeks) tend to take advice from editors of "show, don't tell" too literally in some of the descriptions. We also get advice from editors that readers want imagery, and don't like the burden of filling in with their own imaginations.

So, we would tend to try describing various bodies as "exactly 38D", rather than a more subjective "ample breasts", or "8-inch cock" rather than "well endowed".

While I now know to avoid such explicit descriptions, I recognize why some would write that way.

I think that men should have to get the equivalent of a driver’s license before they can write about women’s bodies, and the requirement would be something like spending a minimum of 1000 hours reading how women write about women.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I think that men should have to get the equivalent of a driver’s license before they can write about women’s bodies, and the requirement would be something like spending a minimum of 1000 hours reading how women write about women.

If that's the case, then the reverse is also true: Women can't write about men without the 1000-hour minimum reading how men write about men.

Does that mean a trans needs to spend 2000 hours reading both? Or are they exempt?

 

[ElectricBlue]

If that's the case, then the reverse is also true: Women can't write about men without the 1000-hour minimum reading how men write about men.

Men don't write about men, because that would be, "Ooo, gay."

 

[TheRedChamber]

I think that men should have to get the equivalent of a driver’s license before they can write about women’s bodies, and the requirement would be something like spending a minimum of 1000 hours reading how women write about women.

In fairness most of us have about that amount in visual research, could we get partial credit for that?

Joking aside, even after all that research and even the occassional bra-shopping trip with the missus, my understanding of the difference between, say 32D and 46D can be best be described by the Smiths - "some numbers are bigger than others, some mothers' numbers are bigger than other mothers' numbers"

 

[EarlyMorningLight]

Men don't write about men, because that would be, "Ooo, gay."

The phrase “men writing men” immediately makes me think of the one and only time I tried to read Tom Clancy, and put the book down when Jack Ryan, in the space of an afternoon, saved the world, made millions on the stock market, then went to bed with his beautiful wife.

 

[tenyari]

I consider 4 as a good rating, while I'm saying a 5 is what I consider an outstanding story for my particular interests.

Regardless of intent, the IMPACT of any vote other than a 5 is a downvote that pushes a story towards obscurity.

The further a story is from the top voted story a potential reader sees when searching, the less likely that story will get a read. In most categories there will be a large stack of stories up near the top that are rated 4.8 or 4.9 + - and every <5 vote pulls a story further away from that crowd.

So, while it makes no logical sense, the best way to vote is to start with 5, and remove points for every notable flaw. Unless your intention is to 'shadow ban' an author, don't vote them out of the pack.

(A better way for 'top stories' to work would be to return X random stories that are above score Y' without showing their actual score until you've read it, rather than the actual top Z. If that were done, a '4' wouldn't be a downvote.)

 

[tenyari]

The phrase “men writing men” immediately makes me think of the one and only time I tried to read Tom Clancy, and put the book down when Jack Ryan, in the space of an afternoon, saved the world, made millions on the stock market, then went to bed with his beautiful wife.

That just sounds like Tom Clancy is a typical 'Prepper Fiction amateur erotica writer.'

 

[RejectReality]

Regardless of intent, the IMPACT of any vote other than a 5 is a downvote that pushes a story towards obscurity.

The further a story is from the top voted story a potential reader sees when searching, the less likely that story will get a read. In most categories there will be a large stack of stories up near the top that are rated 4.8 or 4.9 + - and every <5 vote pulls a story further away from that crowd.

So, while it makes no logical sense, the best way to vote is to start with 5, and remove points for every notable flaw. Unless your intention is to 'shadow ban' an author, don't vote them out of the pack.

(A better way for 'top stories' to work would be to return X random stories that are above score Y' without showing their actual score until you've read it, rather than the actual top Z. If that were done, a '4' wouldn't be a downvote.)

As KeithD originally put forward, the absolute best way to reduce author anxiety regarding scores is to remove the red H from the equation. That artificial bar is the primary driver of score anxiety. Far more stories flirt with the 4.49-4.50 barrier than will ever see high placement on a toplist. Removing that H makes that .01 far less relevant. It would serve authors by removing anxiety. Readers would be served by discovering a lot of stories they likely ignore because of the bright red blinking sign grabbing their attention.

 

[Lifestyle66]

... the best way to vote is to start with 5, and remove points for every notable flaw.

You are asking us to first assume every story is perfect and pleasing us in every way, then look for the flaws. Think about it. That's basically asking the readers to serve you.

I read for my own reasons. And if you allow voting, then accept the votes as reasoned by the people clicking those stars.
I've come to accept even the 1-bombs as serving those hateful readers with something that got them excited enough to hate it.

If we are all dealing with the same large readership audience, then the votes YOU receive are from that same statistically averaged pool of haters and lovers as the ones who chose and voted on MY stories.

Try to not be too focused on the bar you've set on those votes, or set a reasonable bar (ie, NOT a 5 as the average).

 

[jsmiam]

@lifestyle, these statements of yours can’t all be true at the same time. How about we go with (to be generous) “miswrote” and not “misread.” Except the second answer where you were seemingly backpedaling is the outlier. You wrote these within the span of a few hours.

You are free to do what you want. This isn’t about critiquing your approach. This is about “pick just one.”

1. “With my own rating methodology, I give a 5 to a story only if it's rather well written AND with subject matter I enjoy and prefer.”
2. “I don't prejudge stories and limit my ratings. I use my general guide as "I won't hate or average your story, just because I don't usually like those types."
3. “I essentially reserve my 5s for those stories I would like to attract others to read due to my own preferences.”