How is the 'Hot' Badge Earned?

[the_ontarian]

I have published two stories thus far, and both have earned the 'hot' badge

Just curious how it's determined which stories are 'hot' and which are not!

 

[Omenainen]

Stories that have a score that's 4.5 or above, and have 10 or more votes, get the "hot" badge.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[oggbashan]

It is an indication that people LIKE the story, not necessarily that it is 'Hot'.

It can also act as a red rag to a bul for trolls who don't want to see a particular author get any Hot ratings, so they will try to remove the Hot by rating the story s 1.

 

[8letters]

It is an indication that people LIKE the story, not necessarily that it is 'Hot'.

IMHO it's an indication that people LIKE the premise of the story. The quality of writing is not very determinant.

 

[oggbashan]

IMHO it's an indication that people LIKE the premise of the story. The quality of writing is not very determinant.

I agree to a certain extent. But poor writing can wreck an otherwise good story and there are too many grammar nazis around.

 

[Agiel]

I agree to a certain extent. But poor writing can wreck an otherwise good story and there are too many grammar nazis around.

Alternatively if it’s got sex plus sex plus sex plus depravity plus some sort of story it won’t matter about the quality of the writing because the reader will be too busy……..

 

[rescatooor]

[Ignorance removed. Leaving it for the professionals!]

Anyway, congrats on two hots!

 

[oggbashan]

I'm not sure about your list.

1 perhaps. But I can get a Hot with a romance story with no sex at all.

2. Again not necessarily. I have written tear-jerkers that do well.

3. Again, I might disagree. Some of the Top lists are populated with multi-chapter stokers.

 

[rescatooor]

I'm not sure about your list.

1 perhaps. But I can get a Hot with a romance story with no sex at all.

2. Again not necessarily. I have written tear-jerkers that do well.

3. Again, I might disagree. Some of the Top lists are populated with multi-chapter stokers.

Okay. I guess my list is rubbish.

 

[oggbashan]

Okay. I guess my list is rubbish.

Not necessarily. It is a good start for a discussion, and I'm not your average Lit author.

 

[KeithD]

Stories that have a score that's 4.5 or above, and have 10 or more votes, get the "hot" badge.

And the red H can disappear if the rating of the story goes below 4.5.

 

[KeithD]

IMHO it's an indication that people LIKE the premise of the story. The quality of writing is not very determinant.

The motivation will be different across a spectrum by different folks. There isn't just one reason why someone does/does not give any rating to a story.

 

[KeithD]

It's not even good premise.

What I have observed:

1) People like a happy ending. The story may start with a character on a low point, but it should never end on that.

2) People like their sex scene. Don't cheat them out of it.

3) People like more meat in their stories. They don't like strokers.

Others may add to this list, if they like.

Anyway, congrats on two hots!

There are no "people" here with unified wants.

 

[rescatooor]

There are no "people" here with unified wants.

Fine. "Considerable portion of people who have stumbled upon my stories from the internet using population". Do you like this, daddy?

 

[KeithD]

Fine. "Considerable portion of people who have stumbled upon my stories from the internet using population". Do you like this, daddy?

No, I don't. You have no idea of the motivations of those "stumbling" on your stories in any sort of aggregate. The user population is too large and the possible variables too wide to make much of any limiting characterizations at all.

I am trying to be helpful to authors in seeing the reality of this so that it doesn't bug them so much.

You could just drop the hostility of the "daddy" jabs and maybe pay a little bit more respect to those who have gone through all of this much before you and wouldn't have to respond to your questions/issues at all.

 

[rescatooor]

No, I don't. You have no idea of the motivations of those "stumbling" on your stories in any sort of aggregate. The user population is too large and the possible variables too wide to make much of any limiting characterizations at all.

I am trying to be helpful to authors in seeing the reality of this so that it doesn't bug them so much.

You could just drop the hostility of the "daddy" jabs and maybe pay a little bit more respect to those who have gone through all of this much before you and wouldn't have to respond to your questions/issues at all.

Oh don't be so grumpy. Teach me daddy.

 

[KeithD]

Oh don't be so grumpy. Teach me daddy.

I don't get the impression that you're teachable. Which is fine with me. We already have too many people trying to make a splash in the publishing industry. My impression, to tell the truth, is that you're not old enough to be using Literotica (in which case, you'll probably be wanting to call me granddaddy rather than daddy).

 

[Haulover]

I agree to a certain extent. But poor writing can wreck an otherwise good story and there are too many discerning readers around.

FIFY

It's not even good premise.

What I have observed:

1) People like a happy ending. The story may start with a character on a low point, but it should never end on that.

2) People like their sex scene. Don't cheat them out of it.

3) People like more meat in their stories. They don't like strokers.

I'm not sure about your list.

1 perhaps. But I can get a Hot with a romance story with no sex at all.

2. Again not necessarily. I have written tear-jerkers that do well.

3. Again, I might disagree. Some of the Top lists are populated with multi-chapter stokers.

Okay. I guess my list is rubbish.

No, your list is an excellent starting point.

There will be exceptions to each of your points, but the list is pretty solid as a point of departure, IMO.

Oh don't be so grumpy. Teach me daddy.

Some folks on this board are always grumps. I put them on ignore

 

[rescatooor]

I don't get the impression that you're teachable. Which is fine with me. We already have too many people trying to make a splash in the publishing industry. My impression, to tell the truth, is that you're not old enough to be using Literotica (in which case, you'll probably be wanting to call me granddaddy rather than daddy).

Grumps gramps, I love it

 

[SimonDoom]

Okay. I guess my list is rubbish.

I wouldn't say that, but I would say that there are no meaningful universal statements one can make, other than that a story with a red H is one that has a score of 4.5 or above, for whatever reason.

There are some factors that correlate positively with high scores, but there are stories with good scores to which those factors do not apply.

 

[rescatooor]

I wouldn't say that, but I would say that there are no meaningful universal statements one can make, other than that a story with a red H is one that has a score of 4.5 or above, for whatever reason.

There are some factors that correlate positively with high scores, but there are stories with good scores to which those factors do not apply.

Can't have it both ways. It's either rubbish or it isn't. No point beating a dead horse.

 

[8letters]

The motivation will be different across a spectrum by different folks. There isn't just one reason why someone does/does not give any rating to a story.

Do you know that ratings are determined by the votes of many readers? So the tendencies of the readers of a category have a vastly greater impact on the rating of a story than the motivation of individual voters?

 

[KeithD]

Do you know that ratings are determined by the votes of many readers? So the tendencies of the readers of a category have a vastly greater impact on the rating of a story than the motivation of individual voters?

Sorry, I don't understand how that relates to anything I've posted. There's no discrete motivation (or just a few discrete motivations) able to be discerned and connected to how any individual or aggregation of voters votes on any discrete and separate story listing. It's all wishful thinking that anything meaningful can be extracted from an investigation of this.

 

[8letters]

What I have observed:

1) People like a happy ending. The story may start with a character on a low point, but it should never end on that.

2) People like their sex scene. Don't cheat them out of it.

3) People like more meat in their stories. They don't like strokers.

The main problem with this list is that it doesn't apply to all categories. For #1, it applies to the category I read, I/T, but I'm doubtful that it applies to Erotic Horror. #2 doesn't apply to Romance. It may not apply to other categories as well. My understanding is that SF&F readers are there for the world building, not the sex. As for #3, strokers can do quite well in I/T. I don't know about other categories.

Or an alternative reaction - having a happy ending, a sex scene and some meat to the story IMHO are less sure of a path to a red H than having a premise that readers like.