Judging by Numbers

[showdolly]

Alright, so after my first submission, I've a few more questions. Thanks to you that answered my other, immediate queries on the other thread.

What are some good 'view' numbers for the first day? First week? First month? In other words, I'd like to evaluate how "clickable" my story is; I'm wondering if what seems to be 10,000 views is a good number for the first day? Sounds extremely high to me, and I'm wondering if something is wrong. What would YOU, as a Lit author, be happy to see for your story's first day views?

Also, the same sort of question only in dealing with number of votes. With over 10,000 views, my story has only 146 votes. Is this a good percentage? I'm guessing that a lot of people who would vote with lower numbers, instead choose to not vote at all. Does this sound like a good assumption? What would YOU, as a Lit author, be happy to see as your story's votes-per-views percentage?

I've also some questions about Laurel's (pinned) suggestion to respond to commentors. Is this referring to the ones I get privately in email? And, I'm thinking that I can only respond if the email itself has the commentor's email and is not sent as anonymous. Is this standard protocal for authors? Do most of you respond to most private feedback?

Is it rude to come to the forums and ask people to go read your latest story? Is this acceptable for a newbie for a short time? In which forum should one post this sort of request? I'm not certain I will use this at all; I'm just wondering which are the accepted methods of gaining readers. If this is not an accepted method, what is? Is actively seeking readers even necessary? (Seems to me that with over 10,000 readers on a story which hasn't been online for a full 24 hours yet, one may not need to advertise for readers.... But then, that goes back to my first question I suppose.)


Forgive my newbie-ness. (And, you can see by my post count, that I'm not really a newbie to the forums. I've been absentee for a while, and this has been my first submittal experience. I'm a longtime reader.) Thanks again to you kind folk who take the time to read, and to answer!

 

[starrkers]

Number of views really depends on the category. Some get many more viewers than others (I have several stories that have been up for six months and have less than 3000 reads in less popular categories).
147 votes is outstanding.
I tend to reply to all comments that have names attached. The public comments can be replied to by PM. Email comments by email. Just a simple "thanks for reading" is enough.

 

[TxRad]

Views depend on category as Starrkers said and don't mean much except someone opened the story. Votes of one in a hundred is pretty normal for a lot of the categories. Votes also depend on how much the story touches the reader for good or bad.

I reply to all comments and e-mails that have an addy. It's good manners for one and also gives you a chance to talk with a reader. I've learned some good stuff that way. Some of it about my writing...

How to build a readership.... Submit, submit, submit. More stories reach more readers and then you can build a fan base if they like what they read. Contests are also a good way. Your name is up on the front page for the whole contest, not just a day or two as with a new story.

Welcome to the fun house by the way... You'll find the writer side a lot different from the reader side. So remember to keep all fingers and toes inside the ride at all times. There be Trolls out therer and they bite....

 

[rgraham666]

Sweetie, you've got 2,200 posts here. That's not a newbie.

As far as views goes, that's highly dependent on the category.

I have a SF/Fantasy story that's been up since end of June. Not quite 3,500 views.

The Anal I put up at the end of May has over 16,000.

Shrugs. Not surprised.

If you really want a lot of views post in Incest or Loving Wives. But be prepared for really nasty feedback.

Also I've been here for years and I only have a few stories with over 100 votes. You're doing good.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Sweets, the best thing you can do is ignore the views and the vote-score. If anything, I look much more at the comments and feedback (Yes, I also ignore the bullshit feedback from Anon).

If the regular readers are as satisfied with your story as you are, who gives a rat's ass about the views, votes or score.

 

[showdolly]

Thank you ALL for your very kind and informative answers.

You've helped me to see that yes, I've started quite well. I've learned quite a lot about the whole process with just this one story.

And, you are quite correct, Ms. Jenny, and I will not be paying near as much attention to views and votes, etc. in the future. I just wanted to make sure that my process was accurate, and that I have decent enough material and 'readability' to continue writing. I've seen that now, and will begin concentrating on more writing-specific issues.

I'm excited that it seems my story has done quite well. I hope I can live up to this one! Thanks again to all!