Scoring system rant

[AchtungNight]

A while back I turned voting back on for all my stories here after leaving it off for years because I decided I didn't care about popularity and avoiding one-bombers was more important. IMO, all my stories deserve a 4, maybe a 5. I hoped for that scoring level on my return to being an erotica writer after pausing the career to focus on my marriage which ended several years ago. Then I came back due to emotional needs.

Now, I find myself hating the scoring system here. It's got me in a tizzy. I hate when my stories dip below a 3. I smile when the H appears, I've earned my second one recently. Then the first one vanished due to a single 1 vote after 16 high ratings. My newer stories seem unable to attain the same success. Average scores rank in the 3s or 4s with decimals. At least none has dipped below a three. I find myself having to accept I will never be more than average in the minds of most, great only in my own mind and that of my most fervent fans, whom I do know exist.

I am honestly happier with Favorites and Comments. At least I can delete the bad comments and not let them get to me. It's fine if people don't need to say anything. Positive comments are of course welcome. Favorites are cool, whether just bookmarking for later reads or actual favorites. Scores are something else. I honestly do not want to lock out voting again on all my work, but if the uno-bombers keep hitting me and I get depressed enough...

Please, people, if you have time, rate and review my work.

I am not asking people to do anything they don't want to do. I am begging for good feedback, yes, but I also value honest feedback more. I know people have limited time and interests. However, as an author, I need validation for the high levels of work I put into my stories. I'm also at a low point on creative energy right now and...

Please, people, if you are interested in doing so, read my stories using the link in my signature. Pick whatever interests you, no matter the category or age. I hope you will give me proper praise. I feel this board has many honest reviewers and I value their opinions. Take all the time you need. I will be patient and hopeful.

And if you want to rant with me about the depression generated by Lit's scoring system, ease my angst with sympathy... feel free to do that too. Thanks.

 

[samhasstories]

I hope your rating numbers improve. But, at the risk of overstepping, I might suggest an examination of why you're writing, and why these scores matter so much to you. If you're looking to please the crowd, then I'm sure you're capable of writing crowd pleasers, catered toward the high views/ratings. From other comments I've seen on this forum, seems like I/T 'strokers' are a pretty good way to do that. If that's not what you're into, then write what you want to write and maybe just work on being okay with not everyone loving it? It's impossible to please everyone. There are people out there that don't like *, after all.

* Seinfeld, the Beatles, pizza, coffee, boobs - take your pick, whatever strikes you as most self-evidently unassailable.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know that scoring system is flawed as much as its a case of underwhelming reader participation. Its a shame so many people come here and are entertained by a story an author worked hard on and many can't be bothered to take a couple seconds to vote let alone comment.

That's worsened by the fact that like anywhere else on the net the shitty minority seems to be the most willing to be vocal and active meaning bombs and crap comments. Can't see anyway the site can improve that nor can they do anything about the disparity between categories that lead to some getting huge numbers some getting little traffic

As to why this is hitting you hard...well, like Sam I don't want to get into your personal life, but if you spent years on a marriage which ultimately failed, then that loss and all the baggage that comes with it could lead to you taking this more seriously than you should be.

Just try to roll with it as best you can and focus on the good reactions you get. The rest is noise.

 

[alohadave]

IMO, all my stories deserve a 4, maybe a 5.

Dude, we all think our own work deserves 5s.

 

[EmilyMiller]

​

Scoring system rant​

Oh, hun. Come here.



Now I have obsessive tendencies as we’ve discussed elsewhere. And ND people can sometimes take criticism out of context and more personally than is intended. So I get it.

But…

Any time you put something out there, you are exposing yourself to the whims and prejudices of a whole range of people. There is nothing to say that others have to appreciate your work. Some will hate it. I have enough of that personally.

But that’s life. Even genius writers will have their detractors. Amateurs like you and me who are just doing their best? Of course some people won’t like our work. They won’t like the subject we focus on, or how we handle it, or even just grammar and spelling.

The only way to avoid people disliking your stuff is not to put it in public. And that would be sad.

I’ve learned quite a lot through my ups and downs here. One thing I’ve learned I’ll never be anything but an earnest striver with my stories. Another is that I’m totally uninterested in the popular categories, or in writing for a broad audience. I like writing and I like writing about my own kinks.

The main learning though is that it’s deeply cool if you connect with just one other human being. If they like what you have written enough to comment or to contact you.

[sorry premature posting - you can get a cream I think]

I get a handful of people who like what I do and are happy enough to tell me or to even discuss it with me. I’ve learned that this is more than enough.

I don’t think big any more, I think about individual connections.

Hope that helps.

Em

 

[lovecraft68]

Dude, we all think our own work deserves 5s.

Not true, I am humble enough to admit my work only rates a 4.8

 

[Escierto]

I hope your rating numbers improve. But, at the risk of overstepping, I might suggest an examination of why you're writing, and why these scores matter so much to you. If you're looking to please the crowd, then I'm sure you're capable of writing crowd pleasers, catered toward the high views/ratings. From other comments I've seen on this forum, seems like I/T 'strokers' are a pretty good way to do that. If that's not what you're into, then write what you want to write and maybe just work on being okay with not everyone loving it? It's impossible to please everyone. There are people out there that don't like *, after all.

* Seinfeld, the Beatles, pizza, coffee, boobs - take your pick, whatever strikes you as most self-evidently unassailable.

Exactly right. All this groveling after the Holy H! Who gives a fuck? You have to write for yourself.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think every writer must find a way to embrace and absorb some version of the Serenity Prayer: basically, don't sweat what you cannot control. You cannot control how readers will react to your story. In response to this thread I scanned some of your stories. Some of them have scored well; some haven't. You have some very positive comments, so obviously you are connecting with some readers. Embrace the positive, and learn from the negative. You might try branching out into more categories to get a greater quantity and variety of feedback. The Celebrities category has low traffic, so you won't get much feedback and a handful of bad ratings can completely torpedo the story's score.

 

[KeithD]

I think every writer must find a way to embrace and absorb some version of the Serenity Prayer: basically, don't sweat what you cannot control. You cannot control how readers will react to your story. In response to this thread I scanned some of your stories. Some of them have scored well; some haven't. You have some very positive comments, so obviously you are connecting with some readers. Embrace the positive, and learn from the negative. You might try branching out into more categories to get a greater quantity and variety of feedback. The Celebrities category has low traffic, so you won't get much feedback and a handful of bad ratings can completely torpedo the story's score.

This. Plus. authors who are going to enjoy writing here need to come to grips with the reality that not only can't they control the response they get, but also that this is a reading site, not a critique site, and the rarity of votes and comments is the norm here. It's the reality. It's not a reflection of the quality of their stories.

 

[SimonDoom]

The longer I have written stories here, the more I have come to appreciate that the feedback I get--scores, comments, favorites--are just the tiny visible tip of the iceberg of reader reaction that actually is occurring. I get satisfaction from knowing that my stories are being read, and I know that if I have 3 positive comments then I probably have at least ten times that many readers who liked the story but didn't bother to say anything about it. And THAT'S FINE.

I've only been writing since 2016 but I've been reading since nearly the turn of the millennium, and before I started writing I almost never provided feedback. It just didn't occur to me. I think it's that way for many, many readers.

 

[RainyDayPen]

I've only been writing since 2016 but I've been reading since nearly the turn of the millennium, and before I started writing I almost never provided feedback. It just didn't occur to me. I think it's that way for many, many readers.

I have a bad habit of this too. Sometimes I think I'm being shy. Ohh what will they think of me seeing the crazy things that turn me on? I am going to make it a habit to be more vocal.

I wanted to add one small thing, and it's not that nice, but I'm going to be honest. Sometimes I read stuff on here that gets like 45 positive comments and two hundred favourites and my mind is blown. It's like they wrote it with one hand, never ran it through a spellcheck. It's just that it happened to hit a very popular interest.

Sometimes it helps to know this, not because it's like "wow they like this and still hate mine?" but more like in the Rick & Morty sense. "Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer."

But I'm a softy through and through and I have never done well with mean folks. It's hard either way and I totally get all the frustration.

 

[onehitwanda]

Sometimes it helps to know this, not because it's like "wow they like this and still hate mine?" but more like in the Rick & Morty sense. "Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer."

popularity and quality are different, independent variables.

sometimes they group, often they don't.

 

[Escierto]

I have a bad habit of this too. Sometimes I think I'm being shy. Ohh what will they think of me seeing the crazy things that turn me on? I am going to make it a habit to be more vocal.

I wanted to add one small thing, and it's not that nice, but I'm going to be honest. Sometimes I read stuff on here that gets like 45 positive comments and two hundred favourites and my mind is blown. It's like they wrote it with one hand, never ran it through a spellcheck. It's just that it happened to hit a very popular interest.

Sometimes it helps to know this, not because it's like "wow they like this and still hate mine?" but more like in the Rick & Morty sense. "Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer."

But I'm a softy through and through and I have never done well with mean folks. It's hard either way and I totally get all the frustration.

Exactly right. There are authors writing in a category where they have absolutely zero personal experience and their writing is completely based on stupid and unrealistic ideas from porn. Yet this garbage, and yes it is garbage, is wildly popular.

 

[SimonDoom]

The other thing to keep in mind is how idiosyncratic and personal erotic taste is. People react in all kinds of unpredictable ways to stories, generally, but magnify that by ten when you're talking about erotic stories. What turns one person on is repellent to another person. We tend to write what turns us on, and it may leave others flat, and that's perfectly OK. I sometimes read other people's stories, and see what incredibly high scores they have, and I think to myself, "That's great. I understand why they have such a high score. And I have no interest in writing that kind of story."

Chasing numbers is like dogs chasing cars. It can be a fun game but you don't want to take seriously the idea that it's going to result in something. Focus on what gives you pleasure.

 

[AchtungNight]

The longer I have written stories here, the more I have come to appreciate that the feedback I get--scores, comments, favorites--are just the tiny visible tip of the iceberg of reader reaction that actually is occurring. I get satisfaction from knowing that my stories are being read, and I know that if I have 3 positive comments then I probably have at least ten times that many readers who liked the story but didn't bother to say anything about it. And THAT'S FINE.

I've only been writing since 2016 but I've been reading since nearly the turn of the millennium, and before I started writing I almost never provided feedback. It just didn't occur to me. I think it's that way for many, many readers.

My inner therapist slash muse says the same things. And I’ve been writing my entire life, reading also. The issues I have with the writing process actually go deeper than my failed marriage. The child abuse victim in my Loving Wives story whose father pinched and slapped him when he couldn’t print to his father’s satisfaction? That character is a fanfic version of me.

Ugh.

I think after careful consideration of the scoring system here and how it makes me feel, I am just going to ignore it from now on. I won’t turn off voting on anything or reactivate it on the two recent stories where it’s disabled. But I will have faith that my future stories will do better and deal with the unobombers. I will write in whatever category I find pleasure in- probably not Loving Wives!- and see what happens.

If that means I’m back in Fanfic for a bit, so be it. Group Sex is my favorite subject, closely followed by Erotic Couplings and Lesbian. I’ll post in those too when I can. If another fetish is more appropriate- I have ideas for NC, Incest, and other specific areas- I will post there. Some categories do not interest me. That is fine.

Thx, friends. Your continued support is appreciated. I am in a better place now.

My next story here will probably be a Fanfic. That’s what is coming most easily at the moment. Hope it’s enjoyable to readers. I’ll get back to original characters when I can.

 

[yowser]

There was a professional baseball player some years ago, Pablo Sandoval, who was a terrific hitter. Hit for average, hit for power, had great 'numbers' in an increasingly analytics driven sport (batting average, slugging percentage, RBIs, ad nauseam.) Like anyone good at something, he wasn't always good all the time, and had 'slumps'. Someone asked him about his slumping numbers one day and he said basically:

Whenever I pay attention to the numbers, they go down. My basic approach now is to approach each batting event as a chance to do the best I can. That's where my focus should be. Nothing more.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The scoring system here is hands down the best other sites I've seen. The website I'm loath to mention has the worst bell curve systems EVER! The ones with just like or hate aren't any better because the voters don't have to hate the story to give you a thumbs down. If they think it's too short, thumbs down. If for them it's too long, thumbs down. Lush, does anyone ever rank a story below a five there? Never did on mine. While that was good for my ego, it wasn't a true evaluation of the quality of the story. Yes, I get one bombed, don't care. I like the voting layout here the best.

But everyone has a right to their beliefs, feelings, and opinions. But you know, I'm always right, right? LOL

 

[alohadave]

The website I'm loath to mention has the worst bell curve systems EVER!

I just started posting there, and I can't really tell what is a good, average, or great score.

I've been reading there for a long time, but never really paid that much attention to scores other than the outliers.

 

[StillStunned]

popularity and quality are different, independent variables.

sometimes they group, often they don't.

I think when you're writing for an audience, popularity *is* quality. It might not be the quality that other writers recognise as such, but if it's finding an audience, and making that audience happy enough to give positive ratings and leave comments, then it's doing its job.

If you're writing for yourself, well, then you can go nuts. But just because large numbers of readers like something that you don't, it doesn't mean that their opinion is any less valid. In fact, if 1000 readers like a story, but ten writers here in the AH say it's garbage, what does that say about those ten writers?

I've seen some stories here written by highly regarded authors among the AH community, and thought they were overrated, if not downright awful. I'm sure plenty of you have thought the same about my writings. It's a matter of taste, perhaps of expectations.

And the simple fact is that the readers offer a greater sample size than the writers. More importantly, they're generally the intended audience of anything that's published on Lit. You want to be all "quality is all that matters to me, I want to impress my fellow writers"? Go ahead. But in my experience, bar one or two kind fellow AH denizens, their respect is just as invisible as the appreciation of the readers.

Sorry, this rant went off in a direction I hadn't foreseen, and I'm not sure how it helps the OP. Oh well. Take from it what you will. I'm probably just annoyed that I have to work tonight and all weekend.

 

[AchtungNight]

Your rant puts things in perspective, StillStunned. I appreciate it.

 

[MillieDynamite]

(SOL) the site we do not mention, was the site I was talking about with the bell curve. Lush, I gave up and pulled everything from.

I just started posting there, and I can't really tell what is a good, average, or great score.

I've been reading there for a long time, but never really paid that much attention to scores other than the outliers.

 

[AchtungNight]

I have several stories on SOL. The rated ones hover around the middle. I am not satisfied with the audience there. I have stopped publishing there.

Never submitted to Lush. Do they publish fanfic?

 

[alohadave]

(SOL) the site we do not mention, was the site I was talking about with the bell curve. Lush, I gave up and pulled everything from.

SOL is what I'm talking about too.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I won't say it's a bad site. The place just isn't a good site for comments or satisfactory voting. You can end up with a score of 7.1 without one vote below an 8 and a majority of them in the ten and nine range. That's F'd up. A one is always a one, a five is always a five, and a ten is always a ten. However, between the three stable points, votes pulled toward the five in some incomprehensible convoluted (supposed mathematical) formula.

SOL is what I'm talking about too.

 

[SimonDoom]

The scoring system here is hands down the best other sites I've seen. The website I'm loath to mention has the worst bell curve systems EVER! The ones with just like or hate aren't any better because the voters don't have to hate the story to give you a thumbs down. If they think it's too short, thumbs down. If for them it's too long, thumbs down. Lush, does anyone ever rank a story below a five there? Never did on mine. While that was good for my ego, it wasn't a true evaluation of the quality of the story. Yes, I get one bombed, don't care. I like the voting layout here the best.

But everyone has a right to their beliefs, feelings, and opinions. But you know, I'm always right, right? LOL

Right. After all, you can set up whatever "system" you want to, but at the end of the day it's people who do the voting, and you can't do anything about that. Some people suck. And some people, who may or may not suck, will think your stories suck. There are good, intelligent people on this site who think my stories suck. I cannot help that they have bad taste. I soldier on the best I can.