Something to keep in mind re: ratings

[NoTalentHack]

https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/214521786_564499524923597_1645143749364946393_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=cys3bolHJ9AAX-3atwd&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&oh=00_AfC-7Ta13mxPIyyuihkFHTIWr6BzOSDdVgR1gxOPs6eGhw&oe=64B11EAC

 

[SimonDoom]

The completely nutty thing to me is that there are authors who would prefer the left-side scenario to the right-side scenario.

Think about it. In the left scenario, 19 people have read your story and given you a 5 for it.

In the right scenario, over 1200 people have read your story and given you a 5 for it. Sure, some didn't like it as much. So? You've reached out to and made so many more people happy. You've achieved far greater success in finding an appreciative audience than in the left-side scenario. You have more favorable comments, more favorites, and more followers.

But some people can't get past that rating.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I don't have a clue what a five rating feels like.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't have a clue what a five rating feels like.

I've experienced that feeling a few times, for extremely fleeting moments, shortly after the publication of a story, before the bombers arrived overhead and dropped their loads.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I've gotten votes that were five, not usually the first vote, if ever. I haven't even achieved a 4.5 rating yet.

I have 5 and 4-star ratings at sales sites. And more importantly, sales at sales sites.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've been extraordinarily lucky when it comes to ratings.

Most of my stories have the coveted Red H. The few that don't are pretty close. Only one is rated under 4. My only LW story, go figure.

Some of my stories get a bigger audience than others, for sure. And I know I don't get nearly the many views / actual reads others do.

I just figure that'll come with time.

But back to the meme, I'd absolutely prefer right to left.

19 votes out of thousands of potential votes means the worst thing possible: your story got ignored. No one cared.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Even when people hate your story, if they clicked on a star, they took the time to HATE it. You reached them!

Ignoring the star ratings is like the reader saying "Meh! It wasn't worth the effort of a click."

 

[SimonDoom]

I've been extraordinarily lucky when it comes to ratings.

Most of my stories have the coveted Red H. The few that don't are pretty close. Only one is rated under 4. My only LW story, go figure.

I've done well, too. I have nothing to complain about. I've published 58 stories and 41 of them have red Hs, and my mean rating is 4.53.

But this is what I've found: with the exception of a few of my stories, the ones that score lower than the others do so for reasons that have nothing to do with quality.

7 of my stories are 750-word stories. All scored under 4.5.

I've published some Loving Wives stories. All scored under 4.5. They've dragged my mean rating way down. But it has nothing to do with "quality" in any objective sense. It's the subject matter.

I've published some other stories that have idiosyncratic elements that readers wouldn't typically associate with stories in their published categories. Some of them have scores under 4.5, but the lower score has nothing to do with the prose or the story being weaker. It's just a matter of the story deviating from expectations and having elements that turn off certain readers. I've gotten to the point that I don't care about that anymore.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've been extraordinarily lucky when it comes to ratings.

Most of my stories have the coveted Red H. The few that don't are pretty close. Only one is rated under 4. My only LW story, go figure.

Some of my stories get a bigger audience than others, for sure. And I know I don't get nearly the many views / actual reads others do.

I just figure that'll come with time.

But back to the meme, I'd absolutely prefer right to left.

19 votes out of thousands of potential votes means the worst thing possible: your story got ignored. No one cared.

What I meant to add to this comment but forgot was that I'd gladly trade all the Red H's for the vote numbers and some solid 4's.

My views are high on many, but only ONE of my stories has received over 1K actual ratings votes.

Yep, you guessed it: LW. And it's my lowest rating at 3.77 lol.

 

[MyBareTorso]

What I meant to add to this comment but forgot was that I'd gladly trade all the Red H's for the vote numbers and some solid 4's.

My views are high on many, but only ONE of my stories has received over 1K actual ratings votes.

Yep, you guessed it: LW. And it's my lowest rating at 3.77 lol.

Loving Wives...I'm trying to write a story in every themed Literotica category, and that's the one that really scares me.

 

[Djmac1031]

Loving Wives...I'm trying to write a story in every themed Literotica category, and that's the one that really scares me.

Just go into it fully aware that no matter what path you take with it, you'll wind up pissing off somebody, and you'll be fine.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I've gotten votes that were five, not usually the first vote, if ever. I haven't even achieved a 4.5 rating yet.

I have 5 and 4-star ratings at sales sites. And more importantly, sales at sales sites.

Except this is not a sales site. It's very difficult on Lit to stay at a full five for very long, either with 19 votes or 2,200. (I've never seen 2,200 votes here, but perhaps it happens at times.) No matter how "beloved" a story is, a few fours are going to be submitted.

 

[Altissimus]

Loving Wives...I'm trying to write a story in every themed Literotica category, and that's the one that really scares me.

Mmm. I also like polluting a broad array of categories with my contributions, but I won't touch LW - even to read, let alone to write. Ultimately I write because I want to, and for the enjoyment of those kind enough to leave me a nice vote or even a comment. I don't write to feed trolls - I leave that in the hands of those more qualified, or with thicker skins.

 

[Tomh1966]

LW has its 1 bombers. even some of the hall of fame stories have 1 bombers.

 

[Tomh1966]

I'm even writing one for LW I know is going to end up fairly low rated. There is... gasp. a reconciliation... She pays, but anything less than being set on fire for a cheating wife is heresy. that one is a LONG way off but the idea just hit me randomly.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Give then hell, Tomh, give them hell!

I'm even writing one for LW I know is going to end up fairly low rated. There is... gasp. a reconciliation... She pays, but anything less than being set on fire for a cheating wife is heresy. that one is a LONG way off but the idea just hit me randomly.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Except this is not a sales site. It's very difficult on Lit to stay at a full five for very long, either with 19 votes or 2,200. (I've never seen 2,200 votes here, but perhaps it happens at times.)

My ”Intervention Wife” story happens to have 2,200 votes right now.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I go from one extreme to the other:

 

[AchtungNight]

Do you know why you go to extremes? [hums an old 80s tune by Billy Joel]

 

[gunhilltrain]

My ”Intervention Wife” story happens to have 2,200 votes right now.

Congratulations! Is that a series? I find it a challenge to get even 100 votes on anything. Six is a more likely number.

 

[BobbyLaker]

Loving Wives...I'm trying to write a story in every themed Literotica category, and that's the one that really scares me.

An admirable ambition. I've only recently landed here and I've read enough already to know that I'll never post to the LW category. My skin just isn't thick enough!

 

[Rob_Royale]

An admirable ambition. I've only recently landed here and I've read enough already to know that I'll never post to the LW category. My skin just isn't thick enough!

There are a lot of possible variations in that category that can be explored. I did one recently where a mature couple had an active open marriage but in the end decided to close it again. It was received pretty well. It's a question of degrees. Certain themes will incite the villagers to torches and pitchforks and others, not so much.

 

[NoTalentHack]

There are a lot of possible variations in that category that can be explored. I did one recently where a mature couple had an active open marriage but in the end decided to close it again. It was received pretty well. It's a question of degrees. Certain themes will incite the villagers to torches and pitchforks and others, not so much.

I've got enough of a spread on stories now that I can say, pretty definitively that while a certain amount of consequences is expected, too much burning is not well-appreciated. Any amount of murder seems to be right out. What the readers seem to really like is infidelity that ends in divorce, with a flawed but not awful male protagonist picking themselves up, improving themselves, and then finding someone new. The ex-wife and affair partner (more the latter than the former) suffering at least a little is expected, but that's not what really draws the high scores.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Congratulations! Is that a series? I find it a challenge to get even 100 votes on anything. Six is a more likely number.

It’s a stand-alone story in the LW category. The number of votes isn’t really anything special. Look at the list of top-rated LW stories for the last 12 months and you’ll find that the majority have more than 2000 votes. Some have far more. It’s a good category for getting votes.

 

[Djmac1031]

Any amount of murder seems to be right out.

Oh, I coulda told you that. Learned my lesson on it with my 750 word LW story "You Hear The Bullet."