The Importance Of Leaving Feedback or Ratings

[Maximillian_Excaliber]

Hello All,

I am Maximillian_Excaliber and would like to discuss the importance of leaving feedback.

As a writer, it is important to know how well or not well received a work is by received the target audience. Unlike movie and TV studios, we can not rely on focus groups to tell us how our work is being accepted.

On this site, the mechanisms some of us writers rely upon, especially the new ones like myself, are feedback and ratings.

A given work may have been read by 8000 people in three days, but if only 10 or 20 people take the time to rate it and only 2 to leave feedback it is impossible for us and you to tell how popular the story actually is and it is difficult for us, as writers, to know what may need improvement.

While feedback is important to improvement, ratings are the best gauge of how popular a story is but they are only reliable if enough people do so.

For those of you who don't know, a "Hot" story is one that has an average of 4.5 after 10 or more votes. They will have a little red "H" beside their names in the lists displays but some of the best stories have poor ratings because only a few people have taken the time to rate them while literally thousands have actually read them. And so, unless you stumble across them by accident, you may never know about them.

Feedback can always be left anonymously and ratings are always anonymous so please, even if you do not wish to leave feedback, take the time to rate the story.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and Happy Reading,

Maximillian_Excaliber

 

[Guest]

Well said, Max, but I'm afraid you're preaching to the choir.

I think writers as a whole generally leave more feedback than the average reader. We understand.

The ratings aren't an accurate measure of the story quality, quite often. Or the views. (Sorry scouries.)

But I think most writers appreciate solid feedback and constructive criticism.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Hi, Max

I agree with everything you say, but I think Sarah hits it on the head about response rate from readers here and on the AH.

Some writers, even the most popular ones, add a little request for voting and comments at the end of their story. Don't know if that helps though.

You should add a link to your stories in your profile. Like this;

Max's stories

Going to go and take a look.

 

[CorsetLvr]

As was mentioned, this is a recurring them in this forum. However, just keep in mind that the votes and comments you get are usually only from the most motivated readers. In other words, only those that really like or really hate a story take the time to vote. In some ways, voting has turned into a popularity contest with the writers with the largest fan clubs getting the most and highest votes. Unfortunately, there are also people that give low votes to very good stories for various reasons or to bring a story down in the top list scoring. I would like to think these people are not other writers but rather over enthusiastic fans of writers whose story was "topped."

While I still check out my comments and votes, I have come to care less and less about them. I receive far more comments by email than are posted on the website. I have come to not let the score one of my stories receives be the determining factor in how I see myself as a writer. I value the comments I receive from my fellow writers much more than the score I receive. Even there, their comments tend to be more directed at the little picture then the overall worth of the story. Comments can tend to focus on minor technical issues like punctuation or verb tense that the common reader would never even notice. For example, the use of a semicolon or an ellipsis. Most readers don't even know what an ellipsis is or blow right through a semicolon on their way to the next sex scene.

Also, I think the majority of readers are only looking at stories and evaluating them based on what I call the "stroke factor." In other words, are they good mastubatory fodder? Do they get me off? Some of the highest rated stories on Lit can hardly be called literary classics. They are, however, pretty good stroke stories. You draw your own conclusions.

 

[super_sonikku]

Pretensions of writing literary classics aside, the whole point of stories on Literotica are to get you off. If they happen to have interesting characters and scenarios, terrific, but by and large they exist solely to get people's hands down their trousers.

 

[cloudy]

Pretensions of writing literary classics aside, the whole point of stories on Literotica are to get you off. If they happen to have interesting characters and scenarios, terrific, but by and large they exist solely to get people's hands down their trousers.

For you, maybe that is the point. However, its unwise to make sweeping generalizations like that. I don't read for that purpose, and I know I'm not alone in that.

Many authors here have gone on to be published. I tend to look at Lit as a practice ground.

 

[Camilleon]

I am new to this site, having only submitted my first piece about two weeks ago and my second piece is pending, and how interesting it has been.

Yes, I too would love a good spanking on the qualities and deficiencies of my work from experienced and capable writers, but the reality is, my work is just one piece amongst thousands. How do I get my work under their eyes? (Well, I'm hoping that little link below will help.... ) That is the challenge.

Consequently, what CorsetLvr says is true. The rating can be unreliable at times. At least, it seems to me that way. Maybe I'm just jealous because I don't rank "H"...... yet!

Regardless, the written comments, either by email or public, are like receiving flowers from an admirer. How nice! They've made me recognize how important it is for me to provide the same consideration to other authors.

OK, so now I have to go leave some feedback.

Psst...see that link below this line? Click on it. Please?

http://www.literotica.com:81/stories/showstory.php?id=337127

Camilleon

 

[Jennylo]

Pretensions of writing literary classics aside, the whole point of stories on Literotica are to get you off. If they happen to have interesting characters and scenarios, terrific, but by and large they exist solely to get people's hands down their trousers.

I guess it depends on what you want as an author... If you just want to string words together to layer sex scene over sex scene that's fine. I glance over that kind of material and leave no comment. Sincerely, I have nothing to say. But then again, I'm merely a reader and that's the only point of view I can give. I think most of the stories that get feedback (or the ones that have comments over commets ad nauseum) will be the ones that ARE a story. These are the ones that the authors have taken the time to flesh out characters and a plot that have sparked some kind of chord, reaction or emotion in the reader. I bookmark these stories. I wait anxiously for the next chapter and I will definitely post a comment about them.

So you want feedback? Write a story...

 

[JoshuaGlynn]

Yea it is kinda like this forum... Authors come in and request feedback, some get some, others don't..... it happens.

But I'm not bitter.... LOL (just teasing you all)


Joshua

 

[Guest]

Yea it is kinda like this forum... Authors come in and request feedback, some get some, others don't..... it happens.

But I'm not bitter.... LOL (just teasing you all)


Joshua

Question - have you left feedback for anyone else?

The best way to get your work read and commented on is to read and comment on others. We help each other out, ya see.

 

[CorsetLvr]

OK, so now I have to go leave some feedback.

Psst...see that link below this line? Click on it. Please?

http://www.literotica.com:81/stories/showstory.php?id=337127

OK, so I owed you one. Debt repaid. Like I said, Wow! Hey folks do yourself a favor and check out Camilleon's story. Its probably the best first time submission I have ever read and its not even my "normal" kind of story. The only thing wrong with it was there wasn't mor of it. Its definitely the kind of story that leaves you wanting more. Ok, now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[JADED_ONE1969]

Purely from a readers point of view if I dont like a story and dont want to upset the writer then I dont leave a comment or vote either for the same reason. But if I like a story then I will make a comment and vote simply because I feel strongly about it. However if I felt really strongly about a story that I dont like I tend to let other people know how I feel if that upsets writer then so be it, The other thing that I will mention is that as I dont write I dont feel I can judge someone elses work simply because I dont like it.

 

[Guest]

There are many ways to get feedback if you're willing to work for them. The first as the elf said is to ask for it. I usually leave a little blurb at the bottom of everything I write...

I hope you enjoyed the story, please remember it takes only two clicks to leave a vote and a bit more than that to leave a comment. All feedback is not only welcomed but appreciated. Thanks for reading me!

Or something to that effect.

Another way takes more time but it does work. Go out amid the other authors and read their work. Take the time to leave a comment. Get your name on other people's comment pages and soon it will be noticed when a story of yours comes out. Go into the forums and join discussions (you might want to stay away from anything with Scouries on it). Make use of what Literotica so generously offers us as authors.

I used this site to better my writing. I now have two e-novels out and six more coming out this year...so far. So if you think this site is just or people to get off, you're wrong. I sometimes get more comments on the chapters of my work that don't have anything to do with sex and just have...egads... plotline.

Good luck!

 

[Maximillian_Excaliber]

e-novels

I have now written enough stories to fill a book. Several share a common theme. Will you share with me ho did you got your book published as an e-book? Did you put them in PDF or LIT format or find a publisher to do it for you and distribute it?

 

[Guest]

I have now written enough stories to fill a book. Several share a common theme. Will you share with me ho did you got your book published as an e-book? Did you put them in PDF or LIT format or find a publisher to do it for you and distribute it?

There are so many e-publishers out there. I have a file full of them. Go to www.Phaze.com and check it out. They are publishing six more of my e-novels.