Is "publish a new story" the only way to raise visibility?

[AG31]

I've published seven stories here, and I'm pretty sure I have no more in me. Other threads about visibility contain the advice "publish more," over and over. Is there anything else one can do?

tia
ag

 

[Euphony]

I've published seven stories here, and I'm pretty sure I have no more in me. Other threads about visibility contain the advice "publish more," over and over. Is there anything else one can do?

tia
ag

Link to your stories in the AH while frequently adding to discussions?

Authors contributing new content deserve showcasing of that content over previously submitted material.

I *suppose* you could win a contest for a minor bump but, if you aren't making new, that's sort of out of your hands now (other than drumming up votes)

 

[mirafrida]

I've published seven stories here, and I'm pretty sure I have no more in me. Other threads about visibility contain the advice "publish more," over and over. Is there anything else one can do?

no, not really...?

(but if you find something out, let me know)

 

[SeraphNocturne]

Try out writing in different categories that interest you.

Enter in Contests and Events. By default, you get direct recognition from the website administrators and as such, a much wider audience.

Advertise your writing independently on other platforms, if you happen to write elsewhere.

But pretty much, publish. Nothing's going to get you fresh attention aside from putting out more work. This is the Way. Some categories have massive audiences (I/T, LW) and others, very few readers. There's no flawless formula for gaining attention but putting yourself out there is always the best way to go about it.

 

[Bamagan]

Other than double-checking your tags to try and maximize the traffic from people doing targeted searches, I can't think of anything. Carefully selected tags might also make your story more likely to pop up on the 'similar stories' sidebar, although that's likely to be a trickle of reads at best. You are free to post your work on other sites as well, of course, although it's debatable how much of the traffic of sites with similar content is truly unique to one or another.

 

[RejectReality]

Out of all the things that you can control? More or less — yes.

Entering themed contests can increase your visibility. They get top billing on the new story lists and have a somewhat longer honeymoon period because of the contest page. It may not be a huge amount, and it involves releasing a new story, but it's something to consider. Rule number 2 of Literotica-Fu, first, learn rule #1.

I get a little mileage out of hitting Literotica with an @ on Twitter when I release a new story, because Laurel usually retweets those. It's nothing earth-shattering, but I can usually tell when the retweet goes live if I'm watching the story's numbers. Again, this works best when you're releasing a new story.

Beyond that, everything is dribs and drabs. Link from your forum signature. Post to social media where allowed. So on and so forth.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Post a link to every new story in this thread:

New Story Advertisements

 

[RejectReality]

Other than double-checking your tags to try and maximize the traffic from people doing targeted searches, I can't think of anything. Carefully selected tags might also make your story more likely to pop up on the 'similar stories' sidebar, although that's likely to be a trickle of reads at best. You are free to post your work on other sites as well, of course, although it's debatable how much of the traffic of sites with similar content is truly unique to one or another.

Outside of authors? I'd say the readerships are largely unique. People find a home where they like the presentation or features and are loathe to roam around.

 

[Bamagan]

Outside of authors? I'd say the readerships are largely unique. People find a home where they like the presentation or features and are loathe to roam around.

I have received an occasional comment from people who have seen my stuff on other sites, some of which arguably wouldn't fit here. I suppose for people looking for 'classical' erotica, or 'vanilla sex' stories, there's not much need to roam once you find a place with a large library. But I suspect that people looking for fetishy smut are more migratory, probably by necessity.

 

[RejectReality]

I have received an occasional comment from people who have seen my stuff on other sites, some of which arguably wouldn't fit here. I suppose for people looking for 'classical' erotica, or 'vanilla sex' stories, there's not much need to roam once you find a place with a large library. But I suspect that people looking for fetishy smut are more migratory, probably by necessity.

Or, as is the case with me, they find you elsewhere, enjoy your stuff a lot, and find out you have stories that they haven't read yet. It's not that they're on the hunt so much as consuming all you have to offer.

The mechanisms for finding stories are so widely divergent that once people get used to using one, all the rest feel utterly unintuitive and annoying.

 

[KeithD]

Publish another story is probably the best way to attract reader, yes.

 

[Bamagan]

The mechanisms for finding stories are so widely divergent that once people get used to using one, all the rest feel utterly unintuitive and annoying.

This has certainly not been the case for me, at least, when I go looking for stuff. But I am a known outlier in many ways, so it wouldn't shock me if I was very different in that regard, too.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Is "publish a new story" the only way to raise visibility?​

Unless you have some external fan base to leverage (Facebook, Twitter/X etc.), then probably yes.

There is a glut of stories on Lit and it is hard to stand out, regardless of the quality of your work.

Established Lit authors have thousands of followers (I have nearly 400 a year in) and that is a natural audience. But to establish a following, you have to… you guessed it, publish.

I’ve not really found that competition and events boost my readership, then many people say that they do. It might be as I am normally pretty active here, this compensates.

Then the membership of AH is a drop in the ocean compared to Lit readers, registered or not.

So no silver bullet, I’m afraid.

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

I've published seven stories here, and I'm pretty sure I have no more in me. Other threads about visibility contain the advice "publish more," over and over. Is there anything else one can do?

tia
ag

In a way that's true, but keep in mind that the "window" in which most stories are read is quite short. It's much like the way opening weekends for movies used to be (at least before COVID). You get maybe three or four weeks and then readership drops off. There are a lot of new stories published here every week - maybe somebody can tell us the approximate number. So there is constant "competition."

If you collect followers, they are often quite distracted and unreliable. Like I have 159, I think, and my latest story has about five votes so far. Where are they all?

So it's difficult to gain "visibility" here, although I guess there are a few super-stars. That's another analogy: the music or acting fields where there are few people at the top and large numbers of others who are filling in the ranks. So don't worry about it too much. Just write whatever and whenever you want, and take it as it comes. I've been lucky in that I've always had some new ideas coming along. That is enough for me.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Unless you have some external fan base to leverage (Facebook, Twitter/X etc.), then probably yes.

There is a glut of stories on Lit and it is hard to stand out, regardless of the quality of your work.

Established Lit authors have thousands of followers (I have nearly 400 a year in) and that is a natural audience. But to establish a following, you have to… you guessed it, publish.

I’ve not really found that competition and events boost my readership, then many people say that they do. It might be as I am normally pretty active here, this compensates.

Then the membership of AH is a drop in the ocean compared to Lit readers, registered or not.

So no silver bullet, I’m afraid.

Em

A glut of stories - yes, that is true. Just send them in and they get published (usually). I just mentioned to him that you can't count on followers, although maybe your experience is different. Competitions and events do get more than average attention. And mother-son incest stories, especially if a vehicle is involved, usually do quite well!

As in that scene at the end of Patton: "all glory is fleeting."

 

[KeithD]

I've published seven stories here, and I'm pretty sure I have no more in me. Other threads about visibility contain the advice "publish more," over and over. Is there anything else one can do?

tia
ag

Why bother trying to do more on exposure if you don't plan to go beyond seven stories? You aren't planning to make anything more than an "in-the-past" dabble out of this.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I just mentioned to him that you can't count on followers, although maybe your experience is different.

I know it’s no guarantee. But, on average, an author with 1,000 followers will get more views on a new story than one with 100 (assuming both publish in the same category, and both appear on the first page of new stories, towards the top).

Em

 

[Bamagan]

I know it’s no guarantee. But, on average, an author with 1,000 followers will get more views on a new story than one with 100 (assuming both publish in the same category, and both appear on the first page of new stories, towards the top).

Em

As an aside, do most of you regularly check the new stories page? I almost never do anymore, partly because it doesn't seem to exist except in the old style page format, and partly because everything just seems to get dumped there in a disorganized pile. I tend to check the categories pages instead, so I don't have to sift through all the lettuce in my search for a crouton or bacon bit to enjoy.

 

[EmilyMiller]

As an aside, do most of you regularly check the new stories page? I almost never do anymore, partly because it doesn't seem to exist except in the old style page format, and partly because everything just seems to get dumped there in a disorganized pile. I tend to check the categories pages instead, so I don't have to sift through all the lettuce in my search for a crouton or bacon bit to enjoy.

I meant the new in category pages, my bad.

Em

 

[alohadave]

As an aside, do most of you regularly check the new stories page

Every day. It's where I find the vast majority of new stories.

I don't look in the categories unless I'm looking for something specific.

 

[Voboy]

You wish to "raise visibility" why, exactly? Are you looking for more readers/followers? Are you seeking a connection somewhere else on the site? Are you hoping to get noticed by a publisher or something?

You'll bring in new readers to existing (older) material by getting them linked to other peoples' new entries, though there's no predictable way to do that unless you write a lot of mother-son incest (which seems to be the most-viewed type of story on Lit, according to Them). The theory is that folks reading the new stuff will see yours recommended, and will come over to your side.

But yes. New content really is the way to gain readers. If it's in a contest, that probably helps. If it wins, that certainly helps. If you're in an HoF, that most definitely helps.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I know it’s no guarantee. But, on average, an author with 1,000 followers will get more views on a new story than one with 100 (assuming both publish in the same category, and both appear on the first page of new stories, towards the top).

Em

Four hundred of them is an impressive number in such a short time frame. I have noticed that views are pretty high (at least in my case) but votes and especially comments can be meager. I have to look again at which stories do better than others. I don't spend too much time worrying about it, but offhand I can't see a pattern.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

You could try to put a link to your stories in your signature, but as has been noted, new stories (particularly ones entered in contests) is the best way.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Based on previous discussions on what drives the list of 'Similar Stories' found at the end of each story, it seems to be based on who is commenting on the story and who is favoriting them. You might want to go to other people's stories that are similar to yours and commenting or favoriting them to build up your network of similar stories so when people read those stories and see that one of your stories is listed as a similar story, they may click on the link and start reading your story(ies). I've found some good stories based on that myself and ended up favoriting the author, etc.

 

[TheSpleen]

OP, several people have advised that publishing more is the best boost of visibility and I think that's true. However, the fact remains that you've said you don't think there are more in you. I don't feel you should push yourself to write a fresh story if your heart isn't in it, but if you really want that new-story boost, one thing you could do would be to publish an older work from a different perspective.

Maybe take one of the 7 stories you've already written and rework it from a secondary character's POV. Some of the writing work will already have been done for you, and you could add as many or as little original scenes as you like. You might also please some fans who liked the story's universe. And who knows? Working on it may spark an idea in you for something brand-new. Good luck whatever you choose.