Some interesting numbers

[Rob_Royale]

If you're the sort who tracks the numbers on your story, you may have seen this happen. A story that gets larger numbers of views even though it's months old, but ratings are pretty average. It's got me curious.

Boldly Cumming posted on 4/7, is sci-fi and has 19k views. It gets about 50 views a day. Rated at 4.73.
A Bumpy Ride posted on 4/19, is fantasy, and has 31K views. It gets about 120 views a day. Rated at 4.55.
For me, 100+ views is usually what my most recent stories get after about three weeks to a month after my latest story posts. Freebody Manor, for instance, which released on 6/28, is now getting a little over a hundred views a day.

So what is about A Bumpy Ride that is pulling in the readership? My other fantasy story, which is a much better story, doesn't get that sort of attention. Is it the provocative title? Is it the relatively low word count at 4.3k? Any clues?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Interesting. No idea, personally, but I will be watching to see what theories come up.

 

[StillStunned]

Compared with my own views in that category, those numbers sound like science fiction or fantasy!

 

[Rob_Royale]

Compared with my own views in that category, those numbers sound like science fiction or fantasy!

I know what you mean. A Ruckus in Riverwood (fantasy) is a MUCH better story IMHO, and barely gets five views a day even with the red H.

 

[RejectReality]

Search me. The descriptions are about equally enticing to my eyes. The titles have about the same mix of intrigue and suggestion. If anything, Boldly Cumming should be more in line with the category readerships' expectations on those two fronts. They're old enough that the few days between them shouldn't make any difference.

The only thing that's popping out to me is that the way they display works now is release order by default. That puts A Bumpy Ride one slot higher on your page. It's only one slot, though. Shouldn't be a 2x+ difference in daily view accumulation in the same category.

The four stories immediately preceding it ( newer works ) are in the real world categories. Maybe new readers pulled in by those are balking when they open A Bumpy Ride, realize it's fantasy, and then end up skipping Boldly Cumming to get to the next real world story?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

If you're the sort who tracks the numbers on your story, you may have seen this happen. A story that gets larger numbers of views even though it's months old, but ratings are pretty average. It's got me curious.

Boldly Cumming posted on 4/7, is sci-fi and has 19k views. It gets about 50 views a day. Rated at 4.73.
A Bumpy Ride posted on 4/19, is fantasy, and has 31K views. It gets about 120 views a day. Rated at 4.55.
For me, 100+ views is usually what my most recent stories get after about three weeks to a month after my latest story posts. Freebody Manor, for instance, which released on 6/28, is now getting a little over a hundred views a day.

So what is about A Bumpy Ride that is pulling in the readership? My other fantasy story, which is a much better story, doesn't get that sort of attention. Is it the provocative title? Is it the relatively low word count at 4.3k? Any clues?

Well, the answer is kinda obvious. The most popular trope on Lit is mom riding in son's lap. Your story hints at it with the title and the short description.

 

[lovecraft68]

A Bumpy Ride is getting more views because people-especially mom son fans-are obsessed with this plot for some reason.

 

[TheLobster]

What are the tags on each? I’d guess A Bumpy Ride hits more popular keywords.

Another possible factor is that on any alphabetically ordered list, it will appear before pretty much anything else.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Personally, sometimes we simply get caught up in a story we have written.
You say you think the other story is better written...
Is it, or is that just your opinion?
Perhaps the other story simply speaks to it's audience better than the other...
Writing in different categories, it's possible to miss the mark...
We feel like it is well written, and perhaps it is, technically. Sometimes though it's possible to hit a theme appreciated by the readers.
For whatever reason you didn't pick up on it, but the readers did.
For what it's worth. If you liked writing it, thought comfortable with it. Then job done, that is why hobby writers do it. For fun,

Cagivagurl

 

[MrPixel]

This disparity has been discussed before, and I believe the conclusion in that discussion was bots pinging the first page.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Well, the answer is kinda obvious. The most popular trope on Lit is mom riding in son's lap. Your story hints at it with the title and the short description.

A Bumpy Ride is getting more views because people-especially mom son fans-are obsessed with this plot for some reason.

Thanks everyone for their input. These seem like likely reasons to me. Though being at the top of my alphabetical list probably helps as well, as @TheLobster pointed out.

 

[lovecraft68]

Thanks everyone for their input. These seem like likely reasons to me. Though being at the top of my alphabetical list probably helps as well, as @TheLobster pointed out.

I don't know if anyone does it anymore, but authors use to use the trick of using quotes on a title "My story" because the quotes put it first on the list even above A's

Uber troll Scouries used this stunt, and I've seen Silkstockingslover do it on occasion.

 

[RejectReality]

I don't know if anyone does it anymore, but authors use to use the trick of using quotes on a title "My story" because the quotes put it first on the list even above A's

Uber troll Scouries used this stunt, and I've seen Silkstockingslover do it on occasion.

It only really worked back when scouries used to do it because the category lists used to default to page 1, and that meant his were the first two stories every single person ( and bot ) who clicked on the incest category list saw.

The category lists were eventually changed to start on a random page for this very reason.

Just went and looked, and the numbers have been sorted above punctuation in the new lists, further pushing those down to page 3.