Playing the Long Game

[BobbyBrandt]

I believe it is a frequently stated opinion among denizens here that writers should not jump to quick conclusions about the reception their story receives out of the gate.

What advice could you offer newer writers on how long they should wait to judge their success, and what metrics work best to do so?

For my older stories (over six months), I tend to track how many views per day they are still receiving, how many consistent followers there are, how much feedback they are still receiving, and how little the score fluctuates. Do you have different things?

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Interesting question to which I don't have an answer. I like most of my stories, and the votes, downloads, comments, and hearts are just there to support and refute my feelings. But I don't track the stuff.

 

[Bamagan]

I analogize it to flying in an airplane. Taking off is likely to involve some turbulence, especially if conditions are unfavorable or it's not the ideal kind of plane for the flight. But once you get to your cruising altitude, which can vary, things tend to get pretty smooth and you can enjoy the view.

Oh, and watch out for gremlins.

https://ar.happyvalentinesday2020*******/pics/giffiles.alphacoders.com/863/86377.gif

 

[NotWise]

In the long run, I decide the worth of a story based on how I feel about it.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I analogize it to flying in an airplane. Taking off is likely to involve some turbulence, especially if conditions are unfavorable or it's not the ideal kind of plane for the flight. But once you get to your cruising altitude, which can vary, things tend to get pretty smooth and you can enjoy the view.

Oh, and watch out for gremlins.

https://ar.happyvalentinesday2020*******/pics/giffiles.alphacoders.com/863/86377.gif

Must tell the ... captain about the ... creature!

 

[alohadave]

What advice could you offer newer writers on how long they should wait to judge their success, and what metrics work best to do so?

Wait a week until it's off the New list. After that, unless something unusual happens, the stats are pretty much locked in stone.

 

[Bamagan]

I analogize it to flying in an airplane. Taking off is likely to involve some turbulence, especially if conditions are unfavorable or it's not the ideal kind of plane for the flight. But once you get to your cruising altitude, which can vary, things tend to get pretty smooth and you can enjoy the view.

Must tell the ... captain about the ... creature!

Gets to the cockpit and sees the crew wearing red shirts...

 

[alohadave]

I analogize it to flying in an airplane. Taking off is likely to involve some turbulence, especially if conditions are unfavorable or it's not the ideal kind of plane for the flight. But once you get to your cruising altitude, which can vary, things tend to get pretty smooth and you can enjoy the view.

Must tell the ... captain about the ... creature!

There is a colonial woman on the wing, I saw her. There is something they're not telling us!

 

[ElectricBlue]

What advice could you offer newer writers on how long they should wait to judge their success, and what metrics work best to do so?

Wait a month, till everything settles.

For my older stories (over six months), I tend to track how many views per day they are still receiving, how many consistent followers there are, how much feedback they are still receiving, and how little the score fluctuates. Do you have different things?

I occasionally sort my submissions list into descending score order, which quickly tells me if scores are changing much. Those at the top of the list move up and down some. Those at the bottom can stay pretty static for years. I used to plot results years ago, but don't bother nowadays.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Wait a week until it's off the New list. After that, unless something unusual happens, the stats are pretty much locked in stone.

This certainly hasn't been my experience. New stories drive readers to older ones and if they are in different categories, these new readers can have serious impact on the older story, both positive and negative.

 

[Altissimus]

I track votes quite closely for the first three days while it's on the new list, because that's when things happen quite fast. IME it's a pretty good predictor of how it will do over time, too.

Once that 'honeymoon' period is over I only care about the comments.

Here's a lesson I've learnt: it doesn't matter how friggin' good it is, you can't get all 5s. Someone will take offense, give you a '4' because that's how they roll, drop a '3' because they wouldn't have done it that way (these people have never published a story, of course...), or just snipe because it's on a toplist somewhere. Scores just really don't matter at the end of the day.

On a recent story I had Anon comment "Interesting beginning, spend less time on sex" - and this on a 20k story with a 1.5k sex scene. I mean... what sort of site is this?!

It's literally impossible to please everyone. Focus your energy on a) why you want to write and b) those who like your stuff.

 

[gunhilltrain]

This certainly hasn't been my experience. New stories drive readers to older ones and if they are in different categories, these new readers can have serious impact on the older story, both positive and negative.

Maybe two or three times per month, someone will favorite one of my older stories or even comment favorably on it. Somehow they find them, and I suppose it's pleasing to know that I'm still having an impact months or maybe even years later. Over a long time frame, that's about the best one can hope for on Lit.

P.S.: Maybe it's a bit more frequent that I had thought. I noticed that on a day early in August, somebody favorited three older stories, published from 2019 to 2021.

 

[AchtungNight]

Have confidence your feedback will come. The first time I posted “The Rendezvous” the only feedback I got was from people who liked it but were more concerned about some parts disturbing them. I had my four leads depicted in a pretty controversial manner. There was a reluctant serial seducer, an aggressive overeager heterosexual virgin looking for more attention from the right attractive women and men to add to her roster, and a bitter resentful woman who had always experienced bisexual attraction but didn’t want to admit it per her own standards. Also a dedicated swinger who was attracted to the other three but holding back her feelings out of respect and concern over some of her past relationships going bad. Somehow the worst thing was making the latter character the one who was also a member of a controversial philosophical sect. And having her unite the others at the end in her swinger’s haven (they didn’t convert to her philosophy, just her lifestyle). At least the critics’ concerns motivated me to improve the story by toning down character #4’s angst a bit. Made for a better story.

The sequel series starring the swinger and showcasing her past development got me kicked off a website for further jokes based on her views of her sect. People couldn’t understand the need for troll deterrence and a few laughs along with improved realism.

Then I posted the story on Lit a few months after that other site kicked me off. No complaints from Laurel thus far. I also heard from a couple people who told me- “hey, this isn’t promotion of character #4’s philosophy, it’s just parody. Really good parody too.” Great feedback, but there’s not enough of it for an H here. Oh well, I told myself to take what I could get.

Years later, I post the stories I get again on AO3 and am praised for the quality of my work within days. More good feedback can only come in the future, I hope, and it can make up for any bad stuff. [knock on wood]