Best days to post?

[AndromedaDreamer]

I know that choosing which day your story goes live isn't really a thing here, but was wondering if there is any "received wisdom" in terms of if certain days get more/less views, comments et...?

 

[Defluer]

I don't think it matters. I thought getting it out just before the weekend was the best, because I did that and one of my stories got a lot of views, votes, and favorites right out of the gate. Next story I more or less submitted it so it would be fresh on the weekend and... Nope, not the same response at all. Tried it again, again... No Fireworks, that one suddenly hit on Monday and Tuesday. So I thought the weekend thing was a fluke. Nobody reads stories on the weekend, it's all about going to work and reading it on the bus/train on the way to work, or sneaking some dirty reading time in instead of working. Same thing, I submit so it'll be fresh on Monday and... Inconclusive.

It's all about the story I think. I mean the only way to be sure would be to write stories that are damn near the same plot and submit them at different parts of the week but even then... Who knows if a title is flashier than others and draws attention or what? The more followers you have the better your VV&F but as far as what day of the week... I haven't discovered anything yet. Mine are dropping on the weekend lately because of how my work-week works now but really doesn't seem to matter.

 

[AlinaX]

Holidays will impact the pattern of readers, so that for 2-3 days it feels almost like no one's around, but otherwise it's very unpredictable. For high-post categories like Incest, there's more of an impact from where you appear relative to other new stories, and indeed how early votes impact the score. That red H does make a difference.

 

[AndromedaDreamer]

That's interesting, thanks and that is one of the things I'd expect, with essentially "random" (or, rather "unidentifable") factors impacting reads/likes etc...

I can be a bit of a nerd when it comes to stuff like this, and it would be fascinating to see how reader interaction varies across time and genres.

 

[Defluer]

Oh yeah, I go through periods of trying to "Science" my submissions. The only problem is that I can't write the same category consistently. I write what draws me in long enough to finish a story. Which would be the only way to even hope to figure out which days are best. Not to mention the further questions, how to title stories and if description is best to be vague or crystal clear. Plus... Tags! By that time your different follow counts would have to be factored in. You'd have to submit under equally mundane new pen-names.

You're at home, lots of us are nerds here.

 

[NotWise]

That's interesting, thanks and that is one of the things I'd expect, with essentially "random" (or, rather "unidentifable") factors impacting reads/likes etc...

I can be a bit of a nerd when it comes to stuff like this, and it would be fascinating to see how reader interaction varies across time and genres.

There's a vast variation from one category to another. Not so much from day to day.

I don't really know what constitutes "the best day" for you. The most views on new stories is a likely measure, but I don't have enough stories to even guess at that. The most views on all stories is a fairly easy metric.

I tracked the number of views on my stories for more than a year and found that the day-to-day variation was probably not significant. Measured as the median views, there was a consistent pattern with high views on Monday-Tuesday and low views on Thursday-Friday. I didn't break down the weekend days. The total for the weekends was about average.

The catch is, the variation from busiest day to slowest day was < 1 views/story/day, and if you used the average views instead of the median views then the pattern was different.

The number of stories posted to the site also has a small variation from day to day, and it's different from views/story/day.

What it boils down to is that there aren't distinct patterns, and good information needed to establish them is hard to come by.

 

[Duleigh]

@NotWise and @Defluer are right, you just can't tell, and entering a contest or writing event just to get more page views is no guarantee either. I've entered several writing events and contests and the same thing happened, one contest/event my stories get lots of views, another contest/event and my stories are practically ignored.

*shrugs* If there's a mathematical equation for getting maximum views, please let me know, I'll plug it in to excel and share the results

 

[TarnishedPenny]

The trick knee in all this is the unpredictability of how long it takes a story to go up after it's been submitted. Within the past year, I've had a story approved within maybe eight hours and another I had to hasten after nearly two weeks. Unless it's an event or contest when they are all posted at the same time or if Laurel's willing to grant you a specific launch date, I think it's all moot.

 

[Privates1stClass]

The best day for your story to go live is when you've done your best at writing it, proofreading it, and possibly having an editor/beta reader check it over for you. That's when it's ready for posting.

 

[FifthEstate]

I agree with pretty much everything written here. I used to try and publish on Friday’s but learned it didn’t seem to make a difference. I also agree with trying to avoid holidays.

I haven’t published in nearly two years on a popular 6 chapter series for which I’m nearing completion for the long awaited C7. I am very curious how it will be received regardless of which day of the week it posts.

 

[AlinaX]

The best day for your story to go live is when you've done your best at writing it, proofreading it, and possibly having an editor/beta reader check it over for you. That's when it's ready for posting.

And even then you'll still spot three typos on just the first page after it's published.

 

[KeithD]

The day you have it all polished up and ready to go and your muse is pressing you to write the next one is the best day to submit. You don't control the day it actually will post.