Curious about how others process feedback

[LadyKiki]

How often do you check your views/rating for a story? How many views does the average new story get in a month? How do you feel if you have lots of views but few comments? Does it matter to you if you get private message instead of public ones?

Questions, questions.... ;-)

 

[AceStroker]

How often do you check your views/rating for a story?

Ego is a terrible thing. I profess to be non-egotistical though the frequency which with I find myself checking the views/ratings of my latest story tends to hint otherwise.... We are only human afterall

 

[rgraham666]

I only follow one story closely these days, because it will be going over 100,000 views soon.

Other than that I do a quick check once a day to see if there are any new comments. My ego needs the stroking.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

After the initial spate of comments, public and private, I check about once a month to see if someone said somethings they shouldn't have. I get a lot of those kind of comments on my LW stories, I have a good laugh and then delete the ones that violate the rules. Any others I leave there, be they good or bad.

 

[glynndah]

I haven't visited mine in months. They're used to the solitude by now.

 

[BadPup]

How often do you check your views/rating for a story? How many views does the average new story get in a month? How do you feel if you have lots of views but few comments? Does it matter to you if you get private message instead of public ones?

Questions, questions.... ;-)

But there all good ones. I just submitted my first story a couple of weeks ago and these questions have popped in my mind too. I check the views/ratings on my story about once a day now, but to be honest if I hadn't had to go to work the day it came out, I just would have sat in front of my computer and hit the refresh button until I passed out from eye strain (oh and just for the record, no I'm not not proud of that little tidbit, but it's the truth).
I'm curious to hear about average views for stories too. So far mine's gotten about 63,000 views, but close to half of those came on the first day it came out and I have no idea what to compare that too.
As far as the comments and private messages, I just get a kick out of the fact that someone who read what I wrote decided to share their opinion. The private messages seem to be more specific about what they like and dislike, but either way the feedback it greatly appreciated.
Good questions,
Thanks

 

[sadangel]

I just figured out how to tell how many have viewed a story. I learn something new every day.
My only story so far has 10725 views. That's kinda cool.

I figure that's not bad for a story that was my first and could use improvement!!

*wonders if that means it's actually been read by that many* *grins*

 

[Darkniciad]

I only pay attention to the numbers closely for the first week or so that the story is out, mainly because I'm trying to keep up with public comments. Beyond that, I don't check very often. I don't think I've looked at my numbers as Dark in over a month, and I haven't looked at my Les stats in a couple of weeks.

There are too many variables -- and unknowns -- to the views to take them as much themselves. Until you have a few stories that you can compare, there's not much you can learn from that number.

The numbers are prone to manipulation, mystery, and chance. The feedback is skewed toward the strongly positive or the ( often venomous ) strongly negative. You more or less have to look at trends with your own stories, or in comparison to the places where you can see the numbers of other authors. The raw data isn't really all that useful for individual stories.

 

[TE999]

I write, I submit it, I check to see if it's posted ok , I check the votes/PC's once or three...then it flies or it dies.

I still get feedback on my older stories, which is nice.

 

[Carnevil9]

Like others, I check a lot if I have a new story up. But after a week or so, you pretty much settle down into a rarely-viewed mode.

I've always thought it would be nice if you could get an email alert when a new comment is posted. Even though I check for new comments on old stories periodically, I can't really remember how many comments I have on all my old stories! A PM or email would be nice.......Carney

 

[alwayswantedto]

These are indeed good questions. I have been a reader here for many years but an author for only one. Here is my take.

I think the number of views is a good measure of how many found your story interesting but the numbers vary quite a bit depending on the popularity of the category and you as a writer so it might not be informative about the absolute numbers that other authors receive. Within a category, the number of views after the same period of time is a reasonable indicator of how interesting the story was compared to others you have written. It is strange how the stories in a series can show a declining number of views and then suddenly pop way up. I think this mostly results from exposure on the Feedback Portal through a higher number of comments.

I agree that the number of comments vacillates between the highly complimentary and the polar opposite but it is a nice feeling when most are on positive side. You can't please everyone. As to getting on the Feedback Portal lists of the most comments, just write a story that nobody likes, especially it seems, in the Loving Wives category.

Private messages are a mixed bag, mostly positive, but I think we have all received messages that are truly bizarre.

I find the voting system too easy for people to manipulate and there is a fair amount of discussion between authors about this type of abuse. I have a few stories that may have been subjected to this, though not a lot. Still, it's nice when a story is rated highly and disappointing when it isn't. On another note, I find it strange when a story I thought was quite good is appreciated less than one I wasn't so happy with. I remember some famous band member years ago once saying they couldn't predict which songs would do well and finding that hard to believe, but now I have an inkling of what they meant.

On a final note (sorry for going on so long) I think the favorites is the best indicator because people can add you or your story and others can't take that away. If people add a story, I at least know it was good enough to read again. If they add me as a favorite, I know they either liked several stories or they want to come back to see what else I do. This is my favorite indicator and makes me strive to do my best.

 

[oggbashan]

The number of views reflects how many found your story's title interesting.

They may back-click after the first paragraph.

Og

 

[Guest]

How often do you check your views/rating for a story? How many views does the average new story get in a month? How do you feel if you have lots of views but few comments? Does it matter to you if you get private message instead of public ones?

Questions, questions.... ;-)

Oh, I check too often for my own good, far too often. ;-)

To me the number of views is not very important, but the feedback is. One can never have enough feedback, either in the form of comments or private messages, though I prefer the latter kind. Private messages feel more personal, and are easier to reply to.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I use an editor to scrutinize my stories. Sometimes her comments are painful, sometimes theyre wonderful. Sometimes we disagree and have to convince the other of our point.

But the only opinion that counts is the opinion of the editor who buys your story. And there are plenty of editors who've rejected America's most popular and best-selling writers.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

If I just posted a story, I check the votes every ten minutes for the first week or two. I haven't posted a story in around three years though, so I have only been checking two or three times a year lately.

I never kept track of views. They aren't important to me.