The official Authors' Hangout Summer Lovin' 2022 Contest Support Thread

[Duleigh]

I’m curious what is typical for a difference in reader engagement with a contest entry versus a non-contest story. Additionally, how would you describe the impact on readership and engagement with your stories overall. The most common advice I have seen for building readership is to enter contests. I’m glad I have regardless, because it’s been fun to try something different, but I am curious if other writers believe there is a substantive impact on readership.

Thanks!

My single entry in the Summer Lovin' contest has racked up a view count of 7,530 in 2 days. For most of my stories they'll languish in the triple digits for a week before breaking the 1K barrier. My Nude Day contest entry published 2 months previously is at 8,104 total views after a contest and 2 months.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Well I surprised myself, I managed to submit a second story for the contest today in the E/V category. We shall see how long it takes to get posted.

 

[RetroFan]

Still writing my comedy IT story about two slacker surfer dudes and their dim-witted stepmom and stepsister in California in the late 1980s.

The problem is with writing a funny story that I keep getting more and more ideas of amusing misfortunes to befall the grumpy husband/father and cannot resist putting them in the story, which is why it is taking so long.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[HuckPilgrim]

Still writing my comedy IT story about two slacker surfer dudes and their dim-witted stepmom and stepsister in California in the late 1980s.

The problem is with writing a funny story that I keep getting more and more ideas of amusing misfortunes to befall the grumpy husband/father and cannot resist putting them in the story, which is why it is taking so long.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Yep, I teased out a narrative arc and made an outline. Then I just stuck to the outline. I kept all the scenes/anecdotes that didn't make the cut for a different story.

 

[Voboy]

I inched up above the Red H yesterday. Yay?

The trends have been upward, though slowly, which I find typical for EC.

 

[Lovecraft_Lore]

There seems to be more people posting for the contests than in other years. I count around 73 stories for this contest in 2018. I count 63 already posted for this contest this year and there is still almost a full month left.

Yeah, outlines are needed. Otherwise the story will take strange turns. There are plenty of stories with titles like "Virgin babysitter CH63" where the character has not been a virgin or a babysitter since chapter one.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

stories with titles like "Virgin babysitter CH63" where the character has not been a virgin or a babysitter since chapter one.

Hahah, that made my day.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Ugh looks like my E/V story us getting a visit in the ratings from the Loving wives crowd. Was doing super well this morning then took a bunch of 1 bombs.

 

[Voboy]

I inched up above the Red H yesterday. Yay?

The trends have been upward, though slowly, which I find typical for EC.

Update:

Back down to 4.49.

 

[TxRad]

Chapter stories are not allowed in contests like this.

 

[oggbashan]

My two drafts have been stalled for days. In an attempt to solve the block I wrote a short Romance story and submitted it. Maybe...

 

[Rustyoznail]

Well, mine's going nowhere. In hindsight, romance probably wasn't the right choice for category.

Ah well.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I think mine was the male character having sex with three women in the story. One was in the distant past, but the other two...

The only other option was EC. It may have done better there.

 

[Rustyoznail]

In my mind, my story is a romance. I guess readers disagree.

A question then. Is it worth resubmitting into another category or just take my lumps?

 

[Voboy]

In my mind, my story is a romance. I guess readers disagree.

A question then. Is it worth resubmitting into another category or just take my lumps?

I'd take my lumps. It's unfortunate, but I think you gots to dance with the one that brung you. To me, it's sort of an integrity thing, but I can see how others would disagree.

 

[Priscilla_June]

So I guess I have mixed feelings about my first competition. I feel like both my stories are getting far higher engagement than if they were just exclusively in their categories but far lower ratings than I think they would have normally gotten.

Not sure if its because folks are rating low for themes they dont like instead of moving on or what.

 

[Duleigh]

So I guess I have mixed feelings about my first competition. I feel like both my stories are getting far higher engagement than if they were just exclusively in their categories but far lower ratings than I think they would have normally gotten.

Not sure if its because folks are rating low for themes they dont like instead of moving on or what.

This is only my second contest even though my first posted story was in 2006. My first was Nude Day and my entry there didn't receive nearly as much exposure (pun intended) as my single Summer Lovin' entry has received. I posted two other stories at the same time I posted my Summer Lovin' entry.

Compared to the view count on my other stories, the view count on my contest entry is explosive. The Summer Lovin' story received 9000 views in less than a week and two other stories published at the same time have received barely one tenth of the views, I can only imagine what a well-known writer is getting for view counts on their entries!

 

[Trionyx]

One unfortunate issue with views and contests: One needs to click on the story (from the Summer Lovin list) just to see what category it is in. So if I click on a story only to see it is a story I would never read, that still counts as a view, but not one word of the story has been read. View counts may be higher but the percentage of stories read/stories viewed is probably lower.

 

[Priscilla_June]

One unfortunate issue with views and contests: One needs to click on the story (from the Summer Lovin list) just to see what category it is in. So if I click on a story only to see it is a story I would never read, that still counts as a view, but not one word of the story has been read. View counts may be higher but the percentage of stories read/stories viewed is probably lower.

Looking at just the category page for me, Im seeing higher than normal votes on my story too. So I can only imagine its because folks are voting who dont usually read the category.

 

[Voboy]

Looking at just the category page for me, Im seeing higher than normal votes on my story too. So I can only imagine its because folks are voting who dont usually read the category.

That's the thing, though. We can (and some do) parse these things in a million different ways, and we'll never be sure. The one consistent trend is that contest entries get more views. That's pretty indisputable, and I see it too.

The scores? They defy explanation sometimes, or more properly there are too many explanations. You'd think after all these times entering, I'd have a good sense of what makes a contest entry score well, and yet? Nope.

It's fine. It all works out in the end. The final sweep will make everyone's score jump, then that's what posterity will remember.

 

[Priscilla_June]

That's the thing, though. We can (and some do) parse these things in a million different ways, and we'll never be sure. The one consistent trend is that contest entries get more views. That's pretty indisputable, and I see it too.

The scores? They defy explanation sometimes, or more properly there are too many explanations. You'd think after all these times entering, I'd have a good sense of what makes a contest entry score well, and yet? Nope.

It's fine. It all works out in the end. The final sweep will make everyone's score jump, then that's what posterity will remember.

There is a final sweep of scores?

And its interesting to hear that even veterans dont have an idea of what will score well. I guess I look at some folk’s profiles and see all red Hs and wonder what they have done that U have not. Of course you cannot always compare artistic works.

 

[Voboy]

There is a final sweep of scores?

And its interesting to hear that even veterans dont have an idea of what will score well. I guess I look at some folk’s profiles and see all red Hs and wonder what they have done that U have not. Of course you cannot always compare artistic works.

Speaking for myself? There are too many scoring variables to make any firm statement. Which hasn't (and won't) stop the AH from speculating authoritatively on what they think happens, though none of us really knows. I just know that I post things I'd like to read, that I hope they wind up with a Red H (which I do enjoy seeing), and that I enter the contests because after I ran out of low-hanging ideas about 20 stories in, I found I enjoyed writing to a theme.

I think the main viewing/scoring variable, honestly, is the category in which the story appears. Then, within each category, there are other nuances that can help or hurt. Experience clues you into a lot of those, but no writer here actually has the full, unredacted story about scores.

Just write what you'd read and post it when it's ready. The rest will take care of itself. And yes, there's always a fairly deep sweep at some indeterminate point just before the contest closes. It often shakes up the "standings," which is another reason why parsing these things obsessively is not that useful IMO.

 

[Voboy]

There is a final sweep of scores?

And its interesting to hear that even veterans dont have an idea of what will score well. I guess I look at some folk’s profiles and see all red Hs and wonder what they have done that U have not. Of course you cannot always compare artistic works.

Speaking for myself? There are too many scoring variables to make any firm statement. Which hasn't (and won't) stop the AH from speculating authoritatively on what they think happens, though none of us really knows. I just know that I post things I'd like to read, that I hope they wind up with a Red H (which I do enjoy seeing), and that I enter the contests because after I ran out of low-hanging ideas about 20 stories in, I found I enjoyed writing to a theme.

I think the main viewing/scoring variable, honestly, is the category in which the story appears. Then, within each category, there are other nuances that can help or hurt. Experience clues you into a lot of those, but no writer here actually has the full, unredacted story about scores.

Just write what you'd read and post it when it's ready. The rest will take care of itself. And yes, there's always a fairly deep sweep at some indeterminate point just before the contest closes. It often shakes up the "standings," which is another reason why parsing these things obsessively is not that useful IMO.

 

[Voboy]

There is a final sweep of scores?

And its interesting to hear that even veterans dont have an idea of what will score well. I guess I look at some folk’s profiles and see all red Hs and wonder what they have done that U have not. Of course you cannot always compare artistic works.

Speaking for myself? There are too many scoring variables to make any firm statement. Which hasn't (and won't) stop the AH from speculating authoritatively on what they think happens, though none of us really knows. I just know that I post things I'd like to read, that I hope they wind up with a Red H (which I do enjoy seeing), and that I enter the contests because after I ran out of low-hanging ideas about 20 stories in, I found I enjoyed writing to a theme.

I think the main viewing/scoring variable, honestly, is the category in which the story appears. Then, within each category, there are other nuances that can help or hurt. Experience clues you into a lot of those, but no writer here actually has the full, unredacted story about scores.

Just write what you'd read and post it when it's ready. The rest will take care of itself. And yes, there's always a fairly deep sweep at some indeterminate point just before the contest closes. It often shakes up the "standings," which is another reason why parsing these things obsessively is not that useful IMO.

 

[TxRad]

My second story is up and running, more or less.