Ignored favorites

[bi_cathy]

Not completely ignored, but it definitely has fewer comments and ratings per read than any of my other stories: Black Leather.

It's my only story in the trans category, whereas all of my writing is in LS (minus a couple of essays), and it's the story I'm the most proud of having written so far. Not a traditional trans story by a mile, but it hits a lot of the same notes as my other stories. I wish it got more engagement than it currently does.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm intending that this thread to not be a discussion of why our stories flopped, just a place to commiserate with each other.

Post up a link to the story that you put heart and soul into and you are proud of, that the readers just didn't get.

For me it's From Avalon With Love, a re-imagining of the origin of Sir Lancelot and his mortal and immortal mothers. Yes, it is T/I and it takes place in the mortal world and in the Faerylands. I pulled heavily from legend and literature and really wanted to weave a solid story. I think I did. I know I did. I just think it's too far from what the average reader of that category expects.

Though rated well, in six months it's only had 35 votes, 5200 views and two comments. For the T/I category that's pretty close to being ignored entirely. It's a shame. I think it may be my best work.

Feel free to post up your ignored favorites and maybe we can all support each other in our disappointment.

"Flopped", to me implies that some expectation of the writer was not met.

I don't believe that any of my stories have failed to meet my expectations, but maybe I am more pragmatic than some. Or, maybe I adjust my expectations once I recognize the readers' perspectives versus my own when writing the story.

For example, once I realize from the comments that certain plot elements sailed completely over the head of some readers, I no longer expect the same popular reception that I might have otherwise received out of the chute. I have learned that taking a longer-term view usually results in these stories eventually finding the audience that appreciates them to their fullest. I have had stories take more than two years to achieve a red H.

 

[Erozetta]

She don't want the world this one is probably the one I was most disappointed in reception wise. I'm still happy with the story, though.

I Love You and this one is less about mine than it is the linked audio by another Lit member. The reading they did of it was bang on with the emotions. I Love You - the audio version, which is very much worth a listen.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Interesting possible side effect - will posting those stories in this thread result in one bombing and troll/jealous behavior on the writers' catalog? Only time will tell.

So far, the story I linked to hasn't moved, but @Rob_Royale just left a favourable comment to another story, so that's a win for both of us.

 

[MelissaBaby]

So far, the story I linked to hasn't moved, but @Rob_Royale just left a favourable comment to another story, so that's a win for both of us.

I've had about 20 new views on Yankee Bayonet, so that's not nothing.

 

[Imstillfun]

Interesting possible side effect - will posting those stories in this thread result in one bombing and troll/jealous behavior on the writers' catalog? Only time will tell.

Yes

 

[NuclearFairy]

Yeah, The Rise of Larry (Linked in my sig) was really fun to write, and I'd hoped that people would enjoy it. But, it didn't get much engagement. Probably because of the MMF threesome, but it might've been more confusing than I thought in places, or more draggy than I expected in other places... Oh well, I still love it even if it's largely ignored.

 

[MK_Whimsy]

Which is a shame, because talons and claws are hot

They strike me as potentially uncanny, sitting right at that intersection between terror-inducing and fascinating.

I won't derail this thread though!

 

[WCSGarland]

One of my ignored favorites - Are We Not Canvas? - Sofia - at 1.6K views with a rating of 4.57 and only 7 votes in the E/V category.

 

[rampe]

I have many stories that I hoped would have more readers. I want to bring three of them to your attention.

1. The Body remembers This is a story I wrote for an event. I don't know if the event's readers weren't interested in fetish stories or something. I don't know, or did that event have so many stories that mine just got buried under the others?
2. WodThis is a story about a struggling guy in his relationships and finally reaching something perfect. This story is very personal for me, and I think it's realistic. Maybe it advances too slowly because I tried to keep the realism in the story. I have noticed that readers don't search for that?
3. Dickerton This is quite a long (for me) historical story inspired by the TV series Bridgerton. Maybe the fact that it's set in the past doesn't interest people. Someone even commented that he was surprised that it was actually good even though it was historical. I think this is perhaps my best story.

 

[TheLobster]

I have many stories that I hoped would have more readers. I want to bring three of them to your attention.

1. The Body remembers This is a story I wrote for an event. I don't know if the event's readers weren't interested in fetish stories or something. I don't know, or did that event have so many stories that mine just got buried under the others?
2. WodThis is a story about a struggling guy in his relationships and finally reaching something perfect. This story is very personal for me, and I think it's realistic. Maybe it advances too slowly because I tried to keep the realism in the story. I have noticed that readers don't search for that?
3. Dickerton This is quite a long (for me) historical story inspired by the TV series Bridgerton. Maybe the fact that it's set in the past doesn't interest people. Someone even commented that he was surprised that it was actually good even though it was historical. I think this is perhaps my best story.

These stories are all very highly rated, and the Anal one seems to have decent engagement as well. I don't think you can accurately say that they have been ignored.

 

[Soixenta]

I admit to some disappointment about how Mage & Moonshadow has performed.



The prologue, Dead Together, has decent engagement despite being published in Erotic Horror.

 

[rampe]

These stories are all very highly rated, and the Anal one seems to have decent engagement as well. I don't think you can accurately say that they have been ignored.

The ratio maybe high but there isn't many that have rated or even read those stories.

 

[WCSGarland]

One of my ignored favorites - Are We Not Canvas? - Sofia - at 1.6K views with a rating of 4.57 and only 7 votes in the E/V category.

And now it's at 4.22 with 9 votes. I guess SmilingLez was correct.

 

[SmilingLez]

And now it's at 4.22 with 9 votes. I guess SmilingLez was correct.

Sorry that happened to you. People let their nastiness out on an anonymous online for-profit porn platform that shouldn't be competitive when it comes to stories/poems/audios/interactive games but it is.

 

[Stanfield2025]

And now it's at 4.22 with 9 votes. I guess SmilingLez was correct.

That's really fucked up. Looks like some real fucked-up people looked at this thread.

 

[old_prof]

There had been a request about the impact of links. My post was just about 48 hours ago. It made virtually no difference.

The story stories got 9 and 11 views over the last two days, no votes, comments or favorites.

They got 9 and 13 views the previous two days, no votes, comments, or favorites.

Obviously no way to tell if any of those views were more than bots or actually read any of teh story.

If I see a spike in teh next week, I'll follow up, but I would have expected any interaction based on the mention to be within the first day or two

 

[Djmac1031]

Between Angels And Demons

To date i think it's the best story I ever wrote.

But it had several things going against it. Mainly, that it was the grand finale to a multi-part series of stories written by myself and @EmilyMiller in our Angels And Demons Saga

So the only people who read it were the few loyal readers who'd kept up with the series. Which I greatly appreciate.

But still, two years after publication and it has a mere 3.2K views and only 39 votes.

Still, I'm incredibly proud of it.

 

[Stanfield2025]

I'd like to point out that promoting on Reddit can do wonders for a story's views. I promoted my series on Reddit a few days ago and the views on the first chapter jumped. Even the views on the last chapter went up a little. Not much interaction beyond that, but still.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'd like to point out that promoting on Reddit can do wonders for a story's views. I promoted my series on Reddit a few days ago and the views on the first chapter jumped. Even the views on the last chapter went up a little. Not much interaction beyond that, but still.

Huh, interesting. Where on Reddit do you promote these things?

 

[Stanfield2025]

Huh, interesting. Where on Reddit do you promote these things?

The Literotica subreddit. It's how I got the one loyal reader I had.

Sometimes there will be posts asking for a certain type of story. If one has a story that fits, then that's an opportunity to promote it. Reddit can also be a place to discuss stories with people beyond drive-by comments.