ratings

[RoyceConnors]

So, having a series that does well in the beginning, better throughout the middle chapters and keeps getting better scores every chapter, as well as taking the top three or four spots of the category every 30 days , is pretty well impossible then?

I agree that stand alone stories and multi-chaptered stories should be ranked separately, but a good chapter, is still a good story in itself, so to keep with the format given, they sit in the same lists. It's also hard to pit one category against another, in terms of voting and comments, as the traffic flow and interest is extremely varied from one to the other.

Most stand alone stories are between 10k-15k words long on avg. and a well written chapter in a series is approx. the same, so it's not unfair in terms of length, I just feel more effort has to go into a series to make it successful, as opposed to one story and should be judged on longevity of the series and continued readership, as well as all the bogus scores they get, lol

 

[StrangeLife]

Surprising your readers is another act that will get you severely penalised - at least in Loving Wives.

You cannot turn the protagonist into a badguy, turn the strong man into a cuckold (or vice versa) and stuff like that. People who start reading with the expectation of getting a certain type of story will consider it "false advertisement" if you changes direction. This can generate serious backlash against the author.

 

[RoyceConnors]

Surprising your readers is another act that will get you severely penalised - at least in Loving Wives.

You cannot turn the protagonist into a badguy, turn the strong man into a cuckold (or vice versa) and stuff like that. People who start reading with the expectation of getting a certain type of story will consider it "false advertisement" if you changes direction. This can generate serious backlash against the author.

100% true. They're purists in both camps. I'm working on one that both sides will like, it has such great twists in it.

 

[StrangeLife]

100% true. They're purists in both camps. I'm working on one that both sides will like...

Or you could end up getting hate from both camps. I like your "glass half full" attitude though...

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

So, having a series that does well in the beginning, better throughout the middle chapters and keeps getting better scores every chapter, as well as taking the top three or four spots of the category every 30 days , is pretty well impossible then?

Nope. I've got a few that do exactly that. Three have had their final chapter achieve #1 overall placing in their category.

Check out DanielQSteele (WWWM), K.K (Brodericksburg), Rhenquist (4 different toplist series), Coaster2 (Dexter's Renaissance), Longhorn_07 (Separate Lives), Slirpuff (Life After Death), and qhml1 (Boston to Birmingham).

These authors all have series that do exactly what you've listed, in the Loving Wives category of all places, and have chapters of their stories on the first page of the TopList.

It's not necessarily easy, but it obviously can be done.

 

[jdnunyer]

Surprising your readers is another act that will get you severely penalised - at least in Loving Wives.

I've never written in LW (only Incest/Taboo), but fwiw, I've had readers praise me for exactly that. A few have said that the sex is just a bonus at this point, that they're mostly reading for the plot. But it probably does vary from category to category.

 

[RoyceConnors]

Nope. I've got a few that do exactly that. Three have had their final chapter achieve #1 overall placing in their category.

Check out DanielQSteele (WWWM), K.K (Brodericksburg), Rhenquist (4 different toplist series), Coaster2 (Dexter's Renaissance), Longhorn_07 (Separate Lives), Slirpuff (Life After Death), and qhml1 (Boston to Birmingham).

These authors all have series that do exactly what you've listed, in the Loving Wives category of all places, and have chapters of their stories on the first page of the TopList.

It's not necessarily easy, but it obviously can be done.

I was actually being sarcastic. My current series is doing as I described. I got 1 bombed incessantly, but the true scores out weighed them. The avg. score is running a 4.80, so I'm very happy with what I get and wait for the 1 year list and then I'm 1 bombed out of the top 50.
The joys of writing, lmao

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

Woops, missed the sarcasm, now I feel rather pedantic. Mea culpa.

You should drop a link to your stories in your sign. After your comment I wanted to check them out, but you made me work for it.

 

[Darkniciad]

"Don't worry about the ratings" is true, but it is one of the many indicators you can use to determine how your story was received.

It just has to be weighed against stories in the same category, of similar length, similar freshness ( the number of votes and favorites has been steadily increasing over the years, while the number of comments has dropped off ), etc.

You also have to consider the factors outside of that which can affect score. Did you reach a high spot on the toplist? People may low vote you to knock you down below their favorites ( or themselves ) Did you offend someone on the forum? They may take it out on your stories.

On a categorized site, knowing how stories are received isn't necessarily about "writing what people want". It's also a good way of determining where to find the largest and most receptive audience for whatever you're writing, and how to turn that around into more eyes on whatever you post next.

Score is a part of that equation.

 

[BSSHD]

I disagree that ratings and comments are entirely unimportant. While it is true that it's vital to ignore trolls and your primary focus should be on enjoying your craft, the reason you publish stories online rather than keeping them to yourself is for others to read them, and when others read my stories and enjoy them I feel happy knowing people have gained enjoyment from reading my work.

Additionally, if comments are negative but in a constructive way, I will be grateful for any advice given. I may not use all of it because it might not be the direction I feel like pushing my stories, but I am grateful for constructive feedback nonetheless and if I feel it will improve my work I will take it into account. The best writers listen to constructive criticism.

That said, the advice about ratings not being a big concern and enjoyment being the number one goal of writing is solid. Even if your stories only achieve low ratings, that's not a big deal. You can post on here asking for constructive criticism and as you improve your work your ratings will improve with it. Think of low ratings as saying "you have the ability to do better" rather than "you're a bad writer." Or maybe you're happy with how your writing is right now and don't care about anyone else liking it. That's cool too.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I've seen no evidence that LIT is a place to get useful criticism. 99.99% of the time what you get is a reminder that the critic is OK, and youre NOT OK. And this phenomenon is epidemic everywhere in the world. 7 billion people got their shit together with assholes wired tight, and the other 6,999,999,999 are inadequate.

But LIT has its utility. Its ideal for testing your story's SPAM PENETRATION POWER. That is, line-up one or a dozen cans of SPAM, toss your dead-cat at them, and count the number of cans your cat went thru before its force was spent.

 

[damppanties]

I've seen no evidence that LIT is a place to get useful criticism.

If you ask, you can get some interesting discussion going on your story.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

This message is hidden because damppanties is on your ignore list because her brain is indistinguishable from SPAM.

 

[damppanties]

Ah, edible brains...

 

[patientlee]

I prefer my fava beans and chianti with liver. (That's not true. I haven't had a fava bean in my life.)

 

[damppanties]

I prefer my fava beans and chianti with liver. (That's not true. I haven't had a fava bean in my life.)

Sadly JBJ has not offered his expert comments on my liver, so all I have to offer is the brain.

 

[StrangeLife]

That's not true. I haven't had a fava bean in my life.

They're pretty good - you should try them sometime. You don't have to be a serial killer to appreciate good food...

 

[RoyceConnors]

Woops, missed the sarcasm, now I feel rather pedantic. Mea culpa.

You should drop a link to your stories in your sign. After your comment I wanted to check them out, but you made me work for it.

Hope you enjoyed it. I don't link it, rather just write it and if anyone finds it interesting, they're welcome to read it. It's more for my entertainment than anyone else's and enjoy coming up with story lines for each chapter and tying it all together. I'm closing in on the 300k word count on it and I'm only through Ch. 7 of season 3. There's usually 6 or more seasons for a show, so there's 2 million words to write easily.

Put 2 million words against a stand alone story of 10k-20k words and how do you compare the two? Series need their own rankings.

 

[Darkniciad]

Put 2 million words against a stand alone story of 10k-20k words and how do you compare the two? Series need their own rankings.

We've been bringing this up for years - even creating reasonably detailed plans on how it might be done within Lit's current structure. If it ever happens, it will surprise the fuck out of me

 

[DeYaKen]

Penn Lady and mikoli have it right. The scores only give you an indication of whether the readership of a particular category like what you said in your story. For instance, in loving wives, if your story goes along the lines of "My wife looked at another man's dick so I had her hanged drawn and quartered." you'll get a minimum 2.5. It all depends on whether the reader agrees with your character actions rather than how well you told the story.

Comments can be useful and give you something to be proud of but they can also be meaningless and hurtful. Some readers will skim through to the end or read just enough to pretend they've read your story, then use the comments box as abuse you, often personally. On the other hand you can also get some very useful feedback giving you details of what you did right and what you did wrong. I would say don't get hung up on scores and take what is useful from the comments and ignore the others.

 

[theslutbunny]

I think someone is dicking around with the votes on my story; it was up at 4.8 at one point, now it's 4.46. Yeah, I know it seems thin-skinned of me, but it's weird how, almost as soon as it goes up, it goes right back down again ...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I think someone is dicking around with the votes on my story; it was up at 4.8 at one point, now it's 4.46. Yeah, I know it seems thin-skinned of me, but it's weird how, almost as soon as it goes up, it goes right back down again ...

Your skin has nuthin to do with it. Its your writer friends trying to make themselves look better at your expense. Look on the bright side, they spend more time goosing people than they spend writing, and goosing folks doesn't improve your wares. Eventually even Laurel will notice it and wonder WTF?

 

[TxRad]

I think someone is dicking around with the votes on my story; it was up at 4.8 at one point, now it's 4.46. Yeah, I know it seems thin-skinned of me, but it's weird how, almost as soon as it goes up, it goes right back down again ...

The sweeps usually take care of this kind of thing.

If it is more than one story, you might want to PM laurel for a quick check on things.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm not sure that sweeps are doing much of anything any more other than at contest times.

 

[TxRad]

I'm not sure that sweeps are doing much of anything any more other than at contest times.

Oh yeah, one ran at the end of the month and another yesterday.