Story Ratings Questions

[Writing4Fantasy2025]

I'm a new writer here so have no idea yet whether my story is scoring well or underperforming. Also, I was curious what people's experiences are with multiple chapter stories. I experienced a strange phenomenon in that I had four chapters of story development (a bit long) then a big sex scene chapter followed by a short after sex story development. Oddly enough, the short after sex scene is scoring higher than all other chapters and I have no explanation for that other than maybe longer chapters don't score as high? What would be an average rating vs a good rating vs a high rating? Lastly, is there a way I can sort stories on lit by score to analyze what the top performers are doing?

Thanks!

 

[AlinaX]

You can sort by rating, yes, but:

1. I know it's seductive to watch scores and to hope for a rating of 4.5 for a red H, and secretly wish for a 4.7x, a 4.8x, or at least a spot in the Hall of Fame... but ultimately what you want is to be read and for readers to enjoy what you write.

2. There's no money here. You are writing for free, and you are writing for yourself. It's great that so many are reading it. Some may even leave comments, which is very cool.

3. Different categories have different numbers of readers, and different voting styles, so don't compare across categories.

4. Series are odd. The first chapter will usually have the most views, and the most votes, but later chapters will be more appreciated by those who do read them.

5. There isn't one readership, but rather many intersecting sub-populations of readers, each with very different likes and wants. Some love story and are less insistent in sex. Some are there for a hot fuck. Some are looking for a novel to lose themselves in. Some are searching for specific niche kinks. You can’t target all of them - and shouldn't try. Write what you love, and readers will find you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I experienced a strange phenomenon in that I had four chapters of story development (a bit long) then a big sex scene chapter followed by a short after sex story development. Oddly enough, the short after sex scene is scoring higher than all other chapters and I have no explanation for that other than maybe longer chapters don't score as high?

It's because there's sex in that chapter. Chapter length has got nothing to do with it.

What would be an average rating vs a good rating vs a high rating?

Read a hundred threads on the Red H debate!

The best way to get a feel for where your story sits on the scale, is to take a look at the other stories around it on the Category front page. Those stories or chapters are all the same age as yours, and you'll quickly see who the established authors are by their chapter number (heaps of authors writing long chaptered stories), and the story view counts.

There are also the seven day, thirty day, and all-time top lists for each Category - they'll show you the top end of story scores in that category.

Don't try to compare categories against each other though - they each have their own dynamic, which in most cases Isn't really comparable.

Lastly, is there a way I can sort stories on lit by score to analyze what the top performers are doing?

See comment above, re seven and thirty day lists. They're the most immediate indicators. The "all time" and Hall of Fame lists tend to be swamped by popular chaptered stories.

 

[Writing4Fantasy2025]

You can sort by rating, yes, but:

1. I know it's seductive to watch scores and to hope for a rating of 4.5 for a red H, and secretly wish for a 4.7x, a 4.8x, or at least a spot in the Hall of Fame... but ultimately what you want is to be read and for readers to enjoy what you write.

2. There's no money here. You are writing for free, and you are writing for yourself. It's great that so many are reading it. Some may even leave comments, which is very cool.

3. Different categories have different numbers of readers, and different voting styles, so don't compare across categories.

4. Series are odd. The first chapter will usually have the most views, and the most votes, but later chapters will be more appreciated by those who do read them.

5. There isn't one readership, but rather many intersecting sub-populations of readers, each with very different likes and wants. Some love story and are less insistent in sex. Some are there for a hot fuck. Some are looking for a novel to lose themselves in. Some are searching for specific niche kinks. You can’t target all of them - and shouldn't try. Write what you love, and readers will find you.

Super helpful, thanks

 

[OddLove]

I only have two stories on here so far, but my experience was that my compact shorter story got more views, was rated more, and got some hearts. And my second story that I spent a lot more effort on was about 1/3 as successful. So I got discouraged and stopped writing for about a week. Just getting back into continuing my character Sam's journey. And because I was so worried about it being less successful then my other story, I almost gave up. So I don't have answers to your questions, but I just wanted to tell you to try not to be discouraged. Just keep writing and having fun with it.

 

[AlinaX]

It can be very distressing when you lovingly craft a story and the views are low and you get no comments.

But then later you'll write something quick and daft and lots of people say it's great and beg for sequels.

A lot depends on what day of week and what time of year it gets published, but that's not something worth trying to control.

It is worth entering the various themed contests, if getting more eyes on your stories is what you're after.

 

[alohadave]

It can be very distressing when you lovingly craft a story and the views are low and you get no comments.

But then later you'll write something quick and daft and lots of people say it's great and beg for sequels.

This is an almost universal truth. When I did photography, the pictures that I spent a lot of time on, and meant a lot to me, often barely registered with people. But the snapshot I took without thinking about got tons of views and comments.

 

[Writing4Fantasy2025]

I only have two stories on here so far, but my experience was that my compact shorter story got more views, was rated more, and got some hearts. And my second story that I spent a lot more effort on was about 1/3 as successful. So I got discouraged and stopped writing for about a week. Just getting back into continuing my character Sam's journey. And because I was so worried about it being less successful then my other story, I almost gave up. So I don't have answers to your questions, but I just wanted to tell you to try not to be discouraged. Just keep writing and having fun with it.

I'm sorry you had that experience. On the positive side it seems a pretty small sample size with just two stories so I hope it will turn around and you will get the feedback you desire

 

[Writing4Fantasy2025]

It can be very distressing when you lovingly craft a story and the views are low and you get no comments.

But then later you'll write something quick and daft and lots of people say it's great and beg for sequels.

A lot depends on what day of week and what time of year it gets published, but that's not something worth trying to control.

It is worth entering the various themed contests, if getting more eyes on your stories is what you're after.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[RoperTrace]

I only have two stories on here so far, but my experience was that my compact shorter story got more views, was rated more, and got some hearts. And my second story that I spent a lot more effort on was about 1/3 as successful. So I got discouraged and stopped writing for about a week. Just getting back into continuing my character Sam's journey. And because I was so worried about it being less successful then my other story, I almost gave up. So I don't have answers to your questions, but I just wanted to tell you to try not to be discouraged. Just keep writing and having fun with it.

I have to echo OL's advice, just keep writing and have fun with it.
I had zero clue how my earliest stories would be rated or how many reads they would gather. Looking at two of my earliest stories, they only received an average rating of 3.92, which isn't great I have to admit. But I was thrilled to finally get something published, albeit on a free erotica site. To date, those two stories have over a half-million views(reads) and that gives me some satisfaction, regardless of two sub-4.00 ratings. Ratings and views can be difficult to accumulate, depending on the genre's we choose to write. Just keep writing.

 

[Writer61]

Also, I was curious what people's experiences are with multiple chapter stories.

My highest scoring "work" is a standalone story that is 7th in a series of standalone stories. I have no idea whether readers read the preceding episodes. My second highest is the second part (chapter?) of the first story in a series. The other stories in the series are, as yet, unpublished.

I experienced a strange phenomenon in that I had four chapters of story development (a bit long) then a big sex scene chapter followed by a short after sex story development. Oddly enough, the short after sex scene is scoring higher than all other chapters and I have no explanation for that other than maybe longer chapters don't score as high?

I wonder if readers were waiting for the end of the story before giving a rating. That would mean that their score reflects the whole series, not just the last chapter.

What would be an average rating vs a good rating vs a high rating?

My interpretation is that <4 is average or worse, 4 to 4.5 is good, 4.5+ is high.

As others have said, write for yourself. But, to me, "for myself" includes approbation from readers. I want positive comments, I want my stories to have an "H" flag.

 

[madelinemasoch]

I'm a new writer here so have no idea yet whether my story is scoring well or underperforming. Also, I was curious what people's experiences are with multiple chapter stories. I experienced a strange phenomenon in that I had four chapters of story development (a bit long) then a big sex scene chapter followed by a short after sex story development. Oddly enough, the short after sex scene is scoring higher than all other chapters and I have no explanation for that other than maybe longer chapters don't score as high? What would be an average rating vs a good rating vs a high rating? Lastly, is there a way I can sort stories on lit by score to analyze what the top performers are doing?

Thanks!

Ratings don't actually reflect the will of the masses on your story. This is because it's a fraction of a fraction of the people that read your story who rate it. The sample size is way too small to accurately show you what they thought of it. For example: I once had a story published in 2022 that got a rating of 4.29. 18334 people read it. Only 21 people rated it. That means 0.115% of people who read the story actually rated it. That's not even one percent of readers. That doesn't fucking tell you anything about what readers thought of your story.

After coming to this discovery, I think we should just give all the ratings talk a rest and quit stressing about how our stories are quote-unquote "received" on this website. It doesn't matter, not because one should "write for oneself", but because the ratings don't accurately reflect anything. They're not an accurate gauge of story reception. Comments are an even worse gauge, because even less people than 0.1% of readers leave a comment.

We should probably just shift to talking more about writing technique instead of ratings. Write for yourself, but also write to become better, I would recommend. "Better" shouldn't mean ratings or comments on the site, but better in terms of writing technique.