My first Hot rating!

[Canchon]

Wow, I can't believe that my first attempt at writing got tot hot eating. I know it was chapter 3 but still, I'm humbled and encouraged to continue.
https://www.literotica.com/s/embracing-our-truths-ch-03

 

[yukonnights]

Wow, I can't believe that my first attempt at writing got tot hot eating. I know it was chapter 3 but still, I'm humbled and encouraged to continue.
https://www.literotica.com/s/embracing-our-truths-ch-03

Congratulations! As you may recall, on the chapter style stories you can probably expect a better reception as the story progresses...now you have confirmation of your ability and an incentive to make them as great as you can!

 

[Jada59]

Cool! I just got my first too! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

 

[ChloeTzang]

It’s a big motivator isn’t it. That little red H really hits the spot. Congratulations to you both

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Knew it was coming, it’s a good story Congrats!! Hope it’s just the first of many!

 

[Emirus]

A H means a lot.

Cool! I just got my first too! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

I know how much a writer, particularly a new or relatively new one, appreciates getting a red H. I know I appreciate them. I’ve just read your lowest rated story and then your latest one and left comments.

There are many stories, in the 4.00-4.50 and even lower, that deserve much more. Unfortunately there are also stories rated well above 4.50, even in some cases up to 4.80, that are terrible in all aspects and, among other things, require the services of an editor experienced in cpr. That doesn’t apply to you.

Well done with your First red H. . Keep it going.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Some people will try to tell you that it doesn't matter, but it feels damn good, doesn't it?

 

[ishtat]

Some 15 years ago this was one of the first stories I read in Lit:

http://www.literotica.com/s/autumn in-new-york

Technically, I would challenge anyone (even KeithD ) to fault it. From a literary point of view it also stands up. A good story well told with a neat ending. But it never did better than about a 4.4. Why?

The story is in Erotic Horror - not a wildly popular category, by an author who never promoted herself, and it was the first and only story she ever wrote. She, Angeline is well known to the very small number of poets on Lit and is one of the very best of them.

So if ever you feel a bit hard done by in missing a red H, read Autumn in New York because you'll never write anything as well as this and still miss out.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Congratulations! As MelissaBaby so eloquently notes, it’s a real shot in the arm for a writer’s ego.

And, as others note so correctly, the scoring scheme is... quirky. Enjoy the moment and don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a steady diet or the red Hs.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Some 15 years ago this was one of the first stories I read in Lit:

http://www.literotica.com/s/autumn in-new-york

Technically, I would challenge anyone (even KeithD ) to fault it. From a literary point of view it also stands up. A good story well told with a neat ending. But it never did better than about a 4.4. Why?

The story is in Erotic Horror - not a wildly popular category, by an author who never promoted herself, and it was the first and only story she ever wrote. She, Angeline is well known to the very small number of poets on Lit and is one of the very best of them.

So if ever you feel a bit hard done by in missing a red H, read Autumn in New York because you'll never write anything as well as this and still miss out.

One of the best poets? Based on that brilliant diamond, one of the best writers, too. Astonishing. Proof indeed that the score's not necessarily the best indicator of quality.

 

[tomlitilia]

Score and quality correlate far from perfectly. But there is a correlation, as far as I can see. If I look at my own list of stories, I think I largely agree with how voters have ranked them. If I remove LW stories, of course.

 

[Hypoxia]

I was excited when my early efforts here won the Red-H. I was more excited when more appeared. I was majorly bummed when one-bombs took most of them away. I stopped following my scores. I'm happy when they hit 4.5 but now I don't live for that. Maybe a good pandering tale isn't a hit -- aw well, can't please everyone.

 

[ChloeTzang]

One of the best poets? Based on that brilliant diamond, one of the best writers, too. Astonishing. Proof indeed that the score's not necessarily the best indicator of quality.

It’s a good story, beautifully written but I can understand the 4.4. It’s missing the explicit sex and that’s mostly what readers are here for. A good story’s gonna get you extra brownie points but readers want the jerk off stuff. Reducing it to its basics. I love it. Beautifully crafted, nothing superfluous, lovely word pictures. It’s a gem and I’d never have read it otherwise. Thanks for the link.

 

[Emirus]

Score and quality correlate far from perfectly. But there is a correlation, as far as I can see. If I look at my own list of stories, I think I largely agree with how voters have ranked them. If I remove LW stories, of course.

It must be such a burden to carry, being so modest lol.

 

[Emirus]

I was excited when my early efforts here won the Red-H. I was more excited when more appeared.

I was majorly bummed when one-bombs took most of them away.

I stopped following my scores. I'm happy when they hit 4.5 but now I don't live for that. Maybe a good pandering tale isn't a hit -- aw well, can't please everyone.

I was p****d the other day when someone 1-bombed a story after leaving a very nasty comment. What was annoying was that he/she then 1-bombed all my stories. That was a vicious.

 

[SimonDoom]

It’s a good story, beautifully written but I can understand the 4.4. It’s missing the explicit sex and that’s mostly what readers are here for. A good story’s gonna get you extra brownie points but readers want the jerk off stuff. Reducing it to its basics. I love it. Beautifully crafted, nothing superfluous, lovely word pictures. It’s a gem and I’d never have read it otherwise. Thanks for the link.

I get it too. It's an unusually well-written story for this site, but it lacks the payoff many readers want. My first chapter of an 8 chapter series has been sitting paralyzed at 4.49 for over a year. All the other chapters are above that, but not the first one. And I think it's because it doesn't take the sex as far as the other chapters do. That's what (many) readers want.

 

[tomlitilia]

It must be such a burden to carry, being so modest lol.

Not sure how it's got anything to do with modesty. I just agree that my stories with higher scores are on average better than the ones with lower.

 

[SimonDoom]

Not sure how it's got anything to do with modesty. I just agree that my stories with higher scores are on average better than the ones with lower.

I agree. It's not a perfect correlation. I have a sample size of 24 published stories, and I can't figure out why some of my stories are scored higher than others. But there is a rough correlation between score and quality, in my view.

Congrats to the OP for achieving that goal.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I get it too. It's an unusually well-written story for this site, but it lacks the payoff many readers want. My first chapter of an 8 chapter series has been sitting paralyzed at 4.49 for over a year. All the other chapters are above that, but not the first one. And I think it's because it doesn't take the sex as far as the other chapters do. That's what (many) readers want.

Could also be just because it's chapter 1. First chapters almost always do poorly compared to later chapters in the same series, because the people who hated chapter 1 aren't going to read or vote on chapter 2.

Here are the ratings from my 14-part series, chapter by chapter (each division = 0.05):

As you can see, the rating increases sharply over the first few chapters, and (not shown) views also drop off sharply here. So the readership has filtered down to people who like this kind of story and rate it highly. From chapter 4 on, the score is pretty consistent, with a boost right at the end where I delivered a happy ending.

Mine also has a no-sex chapter, but unlike yours, it's late in the series, chapter 12 of 14. The lack of sex doesn't seem to have hurt it appreciably; it's scoring consistently with the chapters before it.

 

[Hypoxia]

Not sure how it's got anything to do with modesty. I just agree that my stories with higher scores are on average better than the ones with lower.

I see little correlation of votes/scores with quality in my submissions but I may be prejudiced. Some of my high-scoreds confuse me. Some low-scoreds are gems IMHO. I can't even figure reader satisfaction. Some low-scoreds received many likes and positive comments. Is a puzzlement.

 

[SimonDoom]

Could also be just because it's chapter 1. First chapters almost always do poorly compared to later chapters in the same series, because the people who hated chapter 1 aren't going to read or vote on chapter 2.

Here are the ratings from my 14-part series, chapter by chapter (each division = 0.05):

As you can see, the rating increases sharply over the first few chapters, and (not shown) views also drop off sharply here. So the readership has filtered down to people who like this kind of story and rate it highly. From chapter 4 on, the score is pretty consistent, with a boost right at the end where I delivered a happy ending.

Mine also has a no-sex chapter, but unlike yours, it's late in the series, chapter 12 of 14. The lack of sex doesn't seem to have hurt it appreciably; it's scoring consistently with the chapters before it.

I think the fact it's chapter 1 is the main reason. The readership is not self-selecting, as it is to increasing degrees with successive chapters. Although the first chapter has a lower score than any of the others, it has far more favorites than the others.

In the case of my series, the scores generally kept getting higher until the last chapter. I think some readers feel I rushed the last chapter, which is relatively short, so the score for chapter 8 is lower than for chapters 6 and 7.

 

[Emirus]

Not sure how it's got anything to do with modesty. I just agree that my stories with higher scores are on average better than the ones with lower.

You obviously missed the laughing emoji the thumbs up and the lol.

I like the attitude you have towards the relative merits of your stories.

 

[Nightwaves]

Congrats!

Excellent! It's a great feeling, eh?

 

[Maeven_quinn]

Getting an "H" feels awesome. It means you're doing a lot of things right if people are enjoying that work.

 

[SimonDoom]

Even if you tell yourself that you write for your own satisfaction and not for the pleasure of others, it still feels good. I remember submitting my very first Literotica story and being proud of it and sure it would get a high score, and it didn't. It hasn't sniffed a red H ever since and it never will. It forced me to adjust my thinking and my expectations. My second story, submitted one week later, received a red H, and remains my highest rated story. That felt great, although it's been just a little bit sobering that I've been unable to match it 26 months and 22 stories later.