Loving Wives? Not worth it in my opinion.

[FrancesScott]

So I wanted to experience the Loving Wives rollercoaster (a wooden one that hasn’t been maintained so well and is getting a bit rickety). What I’d expected was high engagement, low ratings, and vitriolic comments. The reality?

My LW comp story got 30% more views than my Lesbian Sex comp story. It got them a bit more quickly, but the views also tailed off more quickly. My LW story was #1 on the list of new stories for the category and was not far from the top of the overall site new list. And yet only 30% more views than in LS.

The rating tracked with my expectations, it’s clawed its way up to 3.4 as I type.

The comments? Well I covered that in this thread, but they were sort of ‘ho hum.’ No real hate, nothing terribly offensive.

I got a few more followers. But I also got some down voting across other stories - perhaps coincidentally.

Was my Fasutian bargain with the category worth it? I know it’s just one data point, but I’d say a clear ‘no.’

Well, I can say I tried at least. But I won’t be going back to that well again anytime soon.

 

[iwatchus]

I got a lot of comments in my lone foray into that morass, but they really weren't that nasty or anything. None of the comments that got under my skin were on that story. I got a ton of votes. I have 4x the votes on that story (only my second most viewed) as any other. I will say Romance gets comparable rates of comments and votes, just a lot fewer views. SF&F as well, although there the views really collapse.

 

[lovecraft68]

If you like the genre keep going. If you were doing this as an experiment with no real interest other than that, then don't bother.

I have four stories there because overall, its not my interest, but when I do get an idea that fits, I'll write it and put it there.

I do enjoy taunting the trolls because my style of cuck story happens to be what sends them raging, but I won't go out of my way to do it. If its not an organic idea for it, I don't waste time.

 

[FrancesScott]

If you like the genre keep going. If you were doing this as an experiment with no real interest other than that, then don't bother.

I’m interested in the martial relationships element and the drama associated with that. I don’t have a particular cheating fetish and find cuck kind of strange (just me, not saying others shouldn’t enjoy it). I’m interested in writing fallible people making mistakes - including infidelity - due to misunderstandings or hurt. But I think I’ll fit that into other categories going forward.

And I’m not so interested in the whole hot wife / sharing thing (again it’s fine if people like that).

 

[Rob_Royale]

I couldn't disagree more. The added attention that category gets is totally worth it. My latest LW story (I'm not a regular contributor, but like Lovecraft68, if that's where the story fits, that's where it goes) is Hotwife Interrupted which posted four days ago. It's gotten 15,500 views in that time, more than the seven stories I've posted since June. Favorites and followers have both spiked, I've gotten 20 comments and my other stories in that category and others, are getting a lot more attention. It's sitting at 3.85 stars and will not likely reach 4, but what the hell? The shine wore off the rating system a long while ago.

"Welcome to Literotica! The show where everything's made up and the points don't matter."

 

[Lifestyle66]

So I wanted to experience the Loving Wives rollercoaster (a wooden one that hasn’t been maintained so well and is getting a bit rickety). What I’d expected was high engagement, low ratings, and vitriolic comments. The reality?

My LW comp story got 30% more views than my Lesbian Sex comp story. It got them a bit more quickly, but the views also tailed off more quickly. My LW story was #1 on the list of new stories for the category and was not far from the top of the overall site new list. And yet only 30% more views than in LS.

The rating tracked with my expectations, it’s clawed its way up to 3.4 as I type.

The comments? Well I covered that in this thread, but they were sort of ‘ho hum.’ No real hate, nothing terribly offensive.

I got a few more followers. But I also got some down voting across other stories - perhaps coincidentally.

Was my Fasutian bargain with the category worth it? I know it’s just one data point, but I’d say a clear ‘no.’

Well, I can say I tried at least. But I won’t be going back to that well again anytime soon.

Your lesbian story has been up for three weeks now with 10K views, while your LW story has been there for two days now with 12K views.

I think you might wait for at least another week for the 1-scraping to possibly revise the average rating and better compare "apples to apples".

 

[FrancesScott]

more than the seven stories I've posted since June.

This is where our experience diverges. My previous story - in LS - has over 10,000 views and has been well-received. My LW has over 13,000 views, and hasn’t been. 30% difference isn’t worth the drama, and - apparent - impact on my other stories.

 

[FrancesScott]

Your lesbian story has been up for three weeks now with 10K views, while your LW story has been there for two days now with 12K views.

It’s a little patronizing to think I hadn’t taken that into account. I know when my LS story got the bulk of its views. And I know when my LW story got the bulk of its views.

I realize I’m new to this, but it’s not that complicated to work out the half-life of views per day.

I think you might wait for at least another week for the 1-scraping to possibly revise the average rating and better compare "apples to apples".

Neither have been scraped at this point.

 

[TheLobster]

The relatively small difference in the number of views between LW and LS can likely be explained by the competition factor. This year’s Summer Lovin is one of the most popular contests ever, which equalizes the differences between categories.

 

[Soixenta]

This is where our experience diverges. My previous story - in LS - has over 10,000 views and has been well-received. My LW has over 13,000 views, and hasn’t been. 30% difference isn’t worth the drama, and - apparent - impact on my other stories.

My Summer Lovin' story was published a day after yours, in Erotic Couplings which, as I understand it, is supposed to be less popular than Lesbian. But it has 15,907 views and 12 very positive comments (not including my replies). The score might not be what I hoped, but it's still a respectable 4.61 from 126 votes.

With those numbers and that kind of engagement - and I don't have the following that other authors do - who would even consider Loving Wives?

 

[FrancesScott]

With those numbers and that kind of engagement - and I don't have the following that other authors do - who would even consider Loving Wives?

My point precisely. I don’t see much incremental value to LW.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have 2 stories in LW, both two of my lowest rated with an average of 4.14 compared to my overall average rating for all my stories of 4.62. The views per day average for them (24.15) is lower than my overall average of 28.6.

Both of my stories have "twists" in them, and while not as confusing as the "Alexis" reveal in yours, I surmised that readers in this category don't want to their comprehension skills challenged.