What have you learned from comments and ratings?

Some comments are very good. Some are just trolls.

One thing I wonder though, is that the only stories that will ever succeed is

1.) Incest
2.) Heterosexual
3.) Bestiality or Fur somewhere somehow
4.) Gay must be TG or rough and hard so the guy doesn't lose his "man points".

Anything else goes into the trash bin.

It's disheartening and boring. Why not just make a bestiality straight incest story and call it a day?
 
...
From the comments, I have personally learned that:
-when I pull more from my own real life experiences for a story, that the readers will tear it apart for being impossible and unrealistic. My favorite such comments are the ones telling me that female characters that have adopted some of my personality are especially fictitious because: 'women like that don't exist in real life.'
*looks down at self, and then back at screen* oh...okay :rolleyes:

One of my stories included a description of a character which was modelled on a woman with whose body I had become intimately familiar over a period of some years. This drew a comment that I needed to learn about female anatomy.

-I purposely end stories with leading endings that allow for a reader's imagination to keep thinking about--and hopefully keep progressing--the story line when they are finished, and that is not always appreciated. Like stated above, the call for sequels is strong here.

I recently read a story that dated back to 2007, one of the last the author had written. The story didn't explicity state 'The End' but nor did it say 'To be continued'. The ending was open enough to allow for a sequel without leaving readers hanging. This resulted in a 2016 comment, berating the author for not having continued the story in the intervening nine years and awarding 1* solely because of this failing. This has me worried as my official life expectancy is only six months. If I'm not able to bring all my stories to definite conclusions in that time, will people, in nine years time, be castigating me and awarding me 1* for dying?
 
I cherish every comment I get because it tells me people are actually reading my stuff. They actually give me the extra boost to keep on writing. I did allow comments to affect one thing about my writing: to find an editor. When I first started uploading stories here, people enjoyed my stuff but majority said the same thing, Get and editor lol. So I have because I don't want the grammar to detract from the enjoyment of my stories.

When I first started uploading my first story to another website (Deviant Art to be exact), one reader said I had to work on my beginnings because it wasn't as strong as the rest and that I shouldn't use 'big words'. So I did a major overhaul of the 1st chapter. When I first wrote it, I was still in high school and thought I'd be more 'grown up' if I added SAT words in the beginning. I learned through critique though that the easier it is for readers to understand the words, the better lol.

Ratings for me are nice, but I'd be happier with commentary than rating. I almost view ratings in the same way I view 'favorites' in Deviant Art, a quick way to let someone know what they think of your material without commenting. In other words, I think the rating system is a bit lazy, but I do like it more than the Favorite system on DA.
 
Some comments are very good. Some are just trolls.

One thing I wonder though, is that the only stories that will ever succeed is

1.) Incest
2.) Heterosexual
3.) Bestiality or Fur somewhere somehow
4.) Gay must be TG or rough and hard so the guy doesn't lose his "man points".

Anything else goes into the trash bin.

For what it's worth, most of my stories here are F/F with none of those elements, and almost all of the commenters have been friendly.
 
What I Learned

The ratings mean nothing to me if it's not my type of story, I only read with-in 3 or 4 categories. A story with good grammar that has a believable plot will hold my interest, I can usually tell after reading a few paragraphs. I have found some stories I deemed over-rated and some under-rated. Comments? I like to see constructive criticism but some comments are just vicious attacks and have nothing to do with the quality of the story. You can't please everyone so write to please those that appreciate your style.
 
I learned people enjoy non-erotic stories even from an erotic website. The reads are lower than other categories but I'm not here for the numbers.
 
I'm curious whether other authors use that feedback when they write new stories, and, if so, how. And whether authors can intuit anything useful or interesting about their stories from the comments, ratings, and favorites they receive.

I don't normally do story sequels (as a reader, I myself tend to avoid long multi-chapter odysseys on Lit), but the feedback on a couple of my stories inclines me to look at doing possible follow-ups, as it's clear they would have at least some sort of readership and they might be fun to write.

Sometimes feedback simply makes me feel better about taking certain risks. One of my stories wound up essentially becoming a novella and it got the kind of positive commentary, and even in some cases the kind of indignant commentary, that I would have hoped for a story with that level of investment to elicit. So, that's always nice, and it nerves me to take a flier on elaborate stories like that in future.

In one case I got excellent and genuinely thoughtful feedback on a story that, while critical, actually tempts me to take another possible run at the same tale with an alternate final act. The kind of feedback that really makes me think about my writing and how to improve it is what I cherish most of all.
 
I must say also that I've found that the general level of the readership here is unsophisticated and shallow and pays no attention to tags (not really their fault since the tags come at the end of the story and no matter how many years the Web site has been told how unuseful this is, they have said/done nothing about it). I'm used to works being assessed on the basis of what they are attempting to do rather than on what the reader wants every story he/she reads to do. So, comments and ratings are taken with a large discount.
 
I learned people enjoy non-erotic stories even from an erotic website. The reads are lower than other categories but I'm not here for the numbers.

Yes. The story I wrote for last year's Halloween contest is the antithesis of an erotic story and, somewhat to my surprise, it is bobbing along very happily. :)
 
I must say also that I've found that the general level of the readership here is unsophisticated and shallow and pays no attention to tags.

I don't think that tags are effective at all, based on viewing sites that are highly dependent on them. The sequence of events is pretty much immediate: they establish a tag system, people abuse the tag system to get more views. I'm not a fan of tags provided by the producer.

I don't think it's very surprising that readers of erotica are shallow. I'm also not sure how much sophistication to expect, or how to measure their sophistication. Are you comparing them to your ideal reader, or to Amazon readers, or what?"
 
Are you comparing them to your ideal reader, or to Amazon readers, or what?"

I was writing in the mainstream and for competitions for fifteen years before taking up writing erotica. The incessant requests to complete or do a sequel on stories here is an example of lack of sophistication and the complaint of the lack of a happy ending no matter the category, treatment, or tags given is one example of shallowness. The failure to appreciate that short stories and novels are different forms with different element emphasis fits in there too.
 
I was writing in the mainstream and for competitions for fifteen years before taking up writing erotica. The incessant requests to complete or do a sequel on stories here is an example of lack of sophistication and the complaint of the lack of a happy ending no matter the category, treatment, or tags given is one example of shallowness. The failure to appreciate that short stories and novels are different forms with different element emphasis fits in there too.

That I can understand. I haven't written that much, but I once tried writing a tragic ending. To me the story was done, but the readers seemed to think that such a thing was unnatural and impossible. Surprised me.
 
I was writing in the mainstream and for competitions for fifteen years before taking up writing erotica. The incessant requests to complete or do a sequel on stories here is an example of lack of sophistication and the complaint of the lack of a happy ending no matter the category, treatment, or tags given is one example of shallowness. The failure to appreciate that short stories and novels are different forms with different element emphasis fits in there too.

I was recently contacted by a woman who wanted to use a selection of my stories for her reading group. She said that several of the group were writers. One was a recently-retired Eng Lit professor. Two were retired editors for rather august organisations: a major public broadcaster and a major publishing house.

I said: ‘Yes. Go ahead.’ After all, they were already in the public domain.

What surprised me slightly was that she selected stories that Lit readers had damned with rather faint praise. Apparently, her reading group gave them whatever is the reading group equivalent of a standing ovation.

Oh, look! And here come the one-bombers.
 
I don't want to get into expecting the readers to be more sophisticated and less shallow. They're here for what they enjoy to read (and I do provide a lot of that) and they haven't misjudged the Web site offerings. Sort of ironic, though, that people keep posted to the forum about writing high brow when that's not what actually sells here to most. It is a reason why I don't hang on comments and ratings, though--which is the topic of the thread.

I guess I'm somewhat motivated by a comment on my story that posted today--one in Mature about a couple who had a brief love affair and backed off because neither wanted to do that to their spouses and then, when the spouses died, and the two took time coming back together, one of them is terminally ill (but they do get back together.) The comment was "a downer" and it was bombed--and subsequently others followed suit. Well, shit, I'd done everything I could to not mark it as a musical comedy. But at a more sophisticated site, it would be judged in keeping with the message it was giving. It's not like all 933 stories I've posted here deal with that topic.
 
At the risk of sounding cliched, well written stories will find readers.

Some readers are simply looking to get off and they will likely bitch about anything that does not hit their quirks, but I think LIT has many that are looking for characters that connect with them and make them care, those are the loyal LIT readers that stick around.
 
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Well, femdom with msub. Other combinations that don't push that MASCULINITY UNDER THREAT button don't seem to draw the same heat, in my limited experience.

Right, any thing that brings out cold male insecurity. Its to the point femdom is flamed in BDSM where it technically belongs because that category has now become nothing but variations of 'vanilla woman exploring.." any form of slave situation and poorly disguised rape porn.
 
To go along with my prior post about comments. From my contest story

Anonymous
03/03/17
Incredible

My new favourite story. so hot and sexy, thanks again big time!
5/5

Of course...until you click on the next story

by Jagnag
03/03/17
Fantastic

One of the best I've ever read, loved it.

Thanks 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Okay, at least they toned it down to one of the best...as in one of the best they read yesterday

by Anonymous
03/02/17
Best I've read in a long time!

This was a very good story and fairly believable.

No actual 'you suck' or fuck off and die comments yet, but of 25 comments 11 are asking for a sequel or more chapters.

A long time? Okay so they have not been on here in awhile and believable? Outside of the altered reality categories of Non human, horror and sci fi, nothing is more unrealistic than the incest and non con categories where real life criminal acts become sexy fun...

I'll take the compliment in context as in incest 'realistic' means there was a story and some guilt/conflict before crossing the line, but the end result is always unrealistic.
 
I've learned that incest stories, especially mother and son incest stories are the biggest draw.

In order to make a living writing stories, I pander to that crowd by writing the best incest stories that I can, stories that could be deemed non-fiction instead of fiction.

Yet, even after all the incest stories I've written, I have no idea and am always surprised what explodes and what catches fire and goes down in flames.

My story, I Love You, Mommy, written under my WmForrester name, was the most read story in all of 2010 and now sits on the all time most read board at #60 with 2 million views. I was surprised by the attention that story garnered.

My stories Stripping my Mother-in-law Naked and Sex with my Sister-in-law, Sarah, written under my BostonFictionWriter name garnered 850,000 and 650,000 respectively in 2007 after only being posted for 2 months before I deleted them to publish them as e-Books. I have no idea how many millions of views they would have had 10 years later. Again, I was surprised by the attention they garnered.

My story, Mom Sleeps with son on Christmas, written under my real name, SusanJillParker has 500,000 views and I have dozens of other stories, all incest stories with views from 100,000 to 400,000. You just never know what takes off and that doesn't.

Yet, the stories that I earn the most money writing are not incest stories. Incest stories just get me noticed. The stories that most men want me to read and want me to write are Romance stories in the way of Bag Lady & the Retired Marine and Summer Romance Never Forgotten, or are Mature stories, such as, Gwen & Robert, Old Guy, Young Gal or Young Woman with Older Man.

Yet, what I've learned is that it's the incest stories that get me noticed and the fill my box with e-mails tens of thousands of e-mails.
 
I've learned that incest stories, especially mother and son incest stories are the biggest draw...... Yet, what I've learned is that it's the incest stories that get me noticed and the fill my box with e-mails tens of thousands of e-mails.

Yep. I've only written the one incest story but its one of my higher ratings and its also my most viewed story and it didn't take long to get there either. It did draw readers to my other stories as well, which was great.
 
That I can understand. I haven't written that much, but I once tried writing a tragic ending. To me the story was done, but the readers seemed to think that such a thing was unnatural and impossible. Surprised me.

Yah - my best story (in MY opinion, anyway) has a tragic ending.

I received several comments and emails saying that they would have rated me at 5, but went with 4 because of the sad ending.

It's bobbling along at 4.70 - I'd love to know where it would be with a happier ending.

Still, if I were to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing...
 
I learned that I have the ability to create a character who is the most hated literary character in history, according to one reader at least. This character was a trashy trailer park girl who swears like a sailor, has the morals of an alley cat, is sexually promiscuous, plays mean-spirited pranks to amuse herself, commits crimes, is violent, hates gays and makes fun of disabled people.

The character was never designed to be liked, and the stories she appears in are filled with shock humor, but the most vile character in literature of all time? Maybe the reader had never read 'Of Mice & Men' and encountered Curly, Nurse Ratched from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' or O'Brien from '1984'?.

I have written other characters in other stories that had no redeeming features and are designed to be hated by readers - a rich college guy in a 1950s story, and an emotionally abusive husband/father in a lesbian story who carries on an affair with his cousin and (unknown to both of them) fathered her three kids, but oddly neither of these vile characters got a single comment.
 
I learned that I have the ability to create a character who is the most hated literary character in history, according to one reader at least. This character was a trashy trailer park girl who swears like a sailor, has the morals of an alley cat, is sexually promiscuous, plays mean-spirited pranks to amuse herself, commits crimes, is violent, hates gays and makes fun of disabled people.

The character was never designed to be liked, and the stories she appears in are filled with shock humor, but the most vile character in literature of all time? Maybe the reader had never read 'Of Mice & Men' and encountered Curly, Nurse Ratched from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' or O'Brien from '1984'?.

I have written other characters in other stories that had no redeeming features and are designed to be hated by readers - a rich college guy in a 1950s story, and an emotionally abusive husband/father in a lesbian story who carries on an affair with his cousin and (unknown to both of them) fathered her three kids, but oddly neither of these vile characters got a single comment.

Example number one is more hated than your other examples because she is a she, refer back to my comments about the 'men' who read here.

I created a character in my Siblings with Benefits series, "Megan" the sister who was so loathed and hated that near the end when she went through some pretty horrid things I had people pissed off she didn't die or cheered for what happened to her.

In back to back chapters her and the brother do equally horrible things to each other. The chapter she got hers is about 4.7 when she pays him back its in the 4.4's:rolleyes:
 
I learned that I have the ability to create a character who is the most hated literary character in history, according to one reader at least. This character was a trashy trailer park girl who swears like a sailor, has the morals of an alley cat, is sexually promiscuous, plays mean-spirited pranks to amuse herself, commits crimes, is violent, hates gays and makes fun of disabled people.

The character was never designed to be liked, and the stories she appears in are filled with shock humor, but the most vile character in literature of all time? Maybe the reader had never read 'Of Mice & Men' and encountered Curly, Nurse Ratched from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' or O'Brien from '1984'?.

I have written other characters in other stories that had no redeeming features and are designed to be hated by readers - a rich college guy in a 1950s story, and an emotionally abusive husband/father in a lesbian story who carries on an affair with his cousin and (unknown to both of them) fathered her three kids, but oddly neither of these vile characters got a single comment.

How do you know my mother (lol)? Your character sounds just like her.
 
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