Negative ratings

[CurvyMrs]

Negative ratings are going to happen. I’m new but I get that.

But It hurts when something you’ve done gets knocked in the ratings without any semblance of feedback . It’s obvious when someone gives the lowest rating as it drops so fast. Oh well

If you feel my story is utterly useless at least tell me why xx

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I know it can be very frustrating and disheartening but it is quite common, I'm afraid. It takes some time for your skin to get thicker and then you will see it as a fallacy of the system that comes with the territory.

But just wait till you attract the attention of some basement-dwelling troll, who uses the fact that the voting system is so ridiculously easy to abuse that he can cast repeated 1* on your stories without being punished by the mods in any way. That is when all the fun starts
It is all quite common here on Literotica and it is not likely to change, so as I said, the sooner you start seeing it as noise that comes with the territory, the more satisfied you will feel about your stories.

 

[CurvyMrs]

Yes, I had one of those. New story I’d poured my heart into and immediate my rating dropped significantly. If someone isn’t in to my type of story why not just ignore it. No need to be cruel. I think it’s someone with negative views re sex work, I’ve encountered it before and will again.

 

[alohadave]

Two things to note. One, it's probably not personal. People like to downvote for various reasons that have nothing to do with you as a person. Two, some of the low votes will be removed, eventually, in regular sweeps that the site does.

 

[HordHolm]

Negative ratings are going to happen. I’m new but I get that.

But It hurts when something you’ve done gets knocked in the ratings without any semblance of feedback . It’s obvious when someone gives the lowest rating as it drops so fast. Oh well

If you feel my story is utterly useless at least tell me why xx

There are ways around it. You can close off your stories to comments and votes, but of course, that means you don't get the positives of nice comments and high scores.

You can also be strategic about the categories you post in - certain categories are known for having more pleasant, polite readerships: Exhibitionist and Voyeur, and Fetish, have pretty good reputations. If you are getting the 1-bombs quickly, one suspects that you've posted in Loving Wives, a known haunt of readers who automatically give out the hate.

I recently submitted to the category for the first time, in part from curiosity. I am fairly certain that my story, in another category, would be somewhere between 4.2 and 4.6, but it is down on 3.5 after a week or so, and unlikely to rise much. But that's ok - I expected worse, to be honest, and the positive comments I have received have made it worthwhile. I have also benefitted from the one thing that the Loving Wives category pretty much guarantees: views, which are probably 3x what they would be in another category. And yes, I have had some pretty dumb comments, but most of us sometimes get missives from the hard of thinking. My personal favourite on this story isn't even unpleasant at all - just a "she should have done the right thing and simply divorced him" comment. Which, if the anon commenter actually thought about it would mean... no story beyond; 'A' was unhappy because her husband ignored her, she got a divorce, the end.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Hi Curvymrs, welcome to the fun world of publishing on Lit and figuring out how it all works. I've read your stories, and the first thing that struck me with "Fifteen minutes" and "My destruction" is they are very short. "Tiff" isn't that much longer. FM probably shouldn't have gone into first time, as that audience expects virginal sex even though the category is open to all first time experiences.

They read well, but think about stretching the story out a bit. Have a read of Sexysuperslut's work https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=5999459&page=submissions. She has a similar outlook to you. Also look at some of EmilyMiller's pre-tentacle works.

Mostly, try to ignore the scores until you find your feet.

Oh, and the ratio of reads/votes/comments is horrible. Unfortunately.

Good luck!

 

[AlinaX]

Mostly, try to ignore the scores until you find your feet.

Mmm... pink stilettos.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Mmm... pink stilettos.

Well, personally I think black goes better with my suit.

 

[UhlBWett]

This is one of my biggest frustrations. As authors we put ourselves out there, we pour our hearts and souls into our works. I had one story that I was very proud of. The very first rating it received was a 1. The story has never really recovered, it now sits at 4.3. I have many theories as to why these things happen and I will discuss them privately if anyone wants to hear them. In the end, we write for ourselves. I feel your pain pretty girl, keep writing and keep creating...

 

[KeithD]

If you feel my story is utterly useless at least tell me why xx

This is a reader site. The readers have no obligation to comment on a story. The Lit. authors who can reconcile themselves to that reality play here with a much lower frustration level than those who can't.

 

[CurvyMrs]

This is a reader site. The readers have no obligation to comment on a story. The Lit. authors who can reconcile themselves to that reality play here with a much lower frustration level than those who can't.

Yes, you are right, as a submissive I should know better and will learn to just accept what I’m given. Sorry

 

[KeithD]

Yes, you are right, as a submissive I should know better and will learn to just accept what I’m given. Sorry

No, you don't get it yet. It's your ride, your useless grief, though, until you do get it. So, have at it.

 

[CurvyMrs]

No, you don't get it yet. It's your ride, your useless grief, though, until you do get it. So, have at it.

Ok, sorry, I misunderstood

 

[samhasstories]

I think it's natural to get burned by negative reactions. We work hard on these stories and want people to like them. But there's no such thing as universally beloved, and there's no such thing as a place on the internet where everyone is reasonable and kind and compassionate. Though this place has its moments.

 

[StillStunned]

Ok, sorry, I misunderstood

Don't worry, you'll get there. It hurts and it hurts and it hurts, and then you reach a zen moment when it doesn't.

The thing is, your story is a product of your mind, your personality. So when people drop a low score on you, no matter what you tell yourself rationally, it feels like they're snubbing you as a person.

 

[UhlBWett]

I disagree... This is a reader's site only because authors choose to share their work. Without the authors, there is nothing here to read. What kind of site would you call that? As far as you being submissive. Even subs deserve respect curvy, ask my sub. There is more to being Dom than a capital "D"...

 

[Priscilla_June]

When I was much newer on Lit I made pretty good use of the Story Feedback board. Highly recommend!

 

[CurvyMrs]

I will do. Thank you

 

[Bamagan]

My advice is to just interpret any vote of 1 that is unaccompanied by an explanation as a "not my kink" squick reaction. The handful of 'explanations' I've received via comments or messages have essentially boiled down to 'something you wrote turned me off.' Which is fine, from my POV, although I knew that going into this so I never pay much attention to such complaints or criticisms.

 

[8letters]

Having been on this site for over ten years, it's my belief that the primary determinate of a story's rating is how much the readership of the category it was published in liked its premise. If you are getting low ratings, to me, you have three choices:
1. Accept that the themes you want to write about are never going to get a high rating
2. Read stories with a similar theme and a high rating and figure out why readers liked those stories more than yours
3. Change the themes you write about to something the readership enjoys more

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree with 8letters, except I also think, having scanned your story linked to in the signature line that there are mechanical issues that could be improved to get a better response.

Something 8letters said that I agree with 100% is this: read stories of the type that you like, with high ratings, read them carefully, and figure out why they get high ratings. You can learn a lot from that, even if you don't emulate the stories. I was an avid Literotica reader for about 15 years before I wrote anything, so I knew EXACTLY what I liked and why I liked it, and I've always tried to write that way.

About your story:

1. The category is wrong. This is the first obvious problem. It's published in reluctance/non-con, and it's not a non-con story. The FMC (female main character)'s conduct is voluntary. It sex doesn't even really come across as play non-con. It's more BDSM flavored. If your story does not satisfy the wishes of the readers of the category in which it is posted, it will not do well. My first thought is Loving Wives, since she's married. You will get a much bigger response, but also some negative responses, which might bother you. But you'll also probably get some positive response too.

2. You have significant punctuation mistakes in your story. Periods missing at the end of sentences, commas omitted from lines of dialogue. It feels like you rushed the editing process. You will get dinged for this.

3. The buildup is a little dry. It's a fun concept, but I'd like to see you focus more on her internal motivation and excitement, and less on telling us every single line of text that she's writing for her site.

4. You could use more dialogue, especially between the FMC and her husband. Dialogue is a good way to provide exposition without it seeming like exposition. She and hubby could talk more near the beginning of the story about WHY she wants to do this, and how they both feel about it. That's a key to making this sexy.

5. The sex seemed a bit rushed to me. It could be drawn out a bit more, with some more dialogue, more anticipation, more delving into how she feels. Again, read stories that have sex scenes you really like, and figure out what you like about them, and then use that learning for your own sex scenes.

Keep it up, good luck, and have fun. Remember that it's totally unimportant whether you please everybody. Find your audience and enjoy the process of writing.

 

[alohadave]

Something 8letters said that I agree with 100% is this: read stories of the type that you like, with high ratings, read them carefully, and figure out why they get high ratings. You can learn a lot from that, even if you don't emulate the stories. I was an avid Literotica reader for about 15 years before I wrote anything, so I knew EXACTLY what I liked and why I liked it, and I've always tried to write that way.

I am similar. I've been reading erotica a long time, so I'm familiar with the beats, tropes, and expectations. When I follow those conventions, my stories do better. When I try other things, not so well.

 

[Djmac1031]

When I try other things, not so well.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't TRY writing other things besides the usual "beats, tropes and expectations."

Otherwise every story here would sound the same.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I agree completely with the category issue with all of your stories.

Disappointment comes from unfulfilled expectations, and you are setting your readers up for disappointment when you chose the wrong categories for your stories. This disappointment is reflected in their ratings and feedback to you.

While there are technical issues with each of your stories, these are minor compared to the category selection. I would suggest that you send a private message to the site admin, Laurel, and ask her to move all of your stories to a more appropriate category, such as BDSM.

I would also encourage you to embrace your peers in in this particular forum with future stories before you post them. Get advice and suggestions before the fact rather than after.

 

[SimonDoom]

Here are some things that I think cut across stories of all genre and type, that will tend to make them perform better. I try to do them with varying degrees of success:

1. Jump into the story and hook the reader as fast as possible. Avoid long, dry exposition and set up. In the case of your story, for example, you could start with this as a line of dialogue:

"So you want to be whore?" My husband looked me straight in the face as I munched a bagel in my bathrobe at the kitchen table.

This tells you exactly what the story is about, and what it is going to be about, in one line. It creates anticipation; it sets up what her answer will be. You know it's a husband-wife story, and the main character is the wife. The reader wants to know her answer. It creates fun tension between the highly sexual subject matter of the question and the prosaic nature of the setting.

2. Edit carefully. This really makes a difference. When I miss things, my readers catch them, and they sometimes downvote me on it. Do not make basic punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. In particular, take a little time to master the basic rules of how to punctuate dialogue.

3. Constantly mix these things up, so your story is more fun to read: dialogue, narrative, exposition, description of setting, description of senses, description of internal feelings, action.

4. If your story has a sex scene, make it fun and long enough. Incorporate the things I mentioned in number 3. It's important to relate what characters feel as they have sex.

5. Have a good, appropriate, memorable ending. Think about the last few paragraphs of your story as you start your story. I always do this. Some writers who take more of a seat of the pants approach don't do this, but I think it's important to start strong and to end strong.