Why am I not getting any Comments?

[thev_666]

So my simple doubt is around why I'm not getting any comments in my latest stories. It's literally zero for 2 stories now. And I'm seeing a downward trend. My first ever story had 15 comments, the next one had 7, then 4, then 2, then 1 and the latest 2 stories have 0 comments each. There's no corelation to views and ratings either since some of these got good views and ratings too. The latest story that came out 2 days ago already has 8k views and 85 people who rated it while the second last one I wrote at the start of the year had 14k views without a comment. I'm kinda bummed coz i actually look forward to reading comments. I'm thinking I'll post my story in the feedback thread anyway, but wanted to know what the issue with comments was before doing that.

Is it a bug or some issue with the algorithm or am I missing something here?

 

[SimonDoom]

You're not missing anything. Your experience is common. Comments are few and far between for most authors and most stories.

The ratio varies from one story to another, but I get, on average, less than one comment for every 5,000 views. It's just the way it is.

 

[velcrofist]

So it's not just me. Yes, I noticed the same thing with my latest story. I thought I might have been doing something wrong but it's probably just something in the air at the moment.

 

[HeyAll]

It's hard to answer this without knowing the category and content.

The fact is, some categories have more comments/votes/favs/views than others. And certain types of content get more comments than others because they're crowd pleasers.

 

[Jada59]

I don't get many comments.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My rule of thumb, across ninety or so stories/chapters, is one vote per hundred views, one comment per thousand views.

If you write really well or really badly, your readers will comment. If you're bang in the middle of the bell curve, it's pretty much tumbleweeds, comments-wise.

 

[ChloeTzang]

My rule of thumb, across ninety or so stories/chapters, is one vote per hundred views, one comment per thousand views.

If you write really well or really badly, your readers will comment. If you're bang in the middle of the bell curve, it's pretty much tumbleweeds, comments-wise.

Pretty much my experience too. Some stories get more, some less, but those numbers about average out for me too. I’ve had stories I thought were great that just didn’t get many views or comments too.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

I get few comments despite decent views and ratings over 40+ submissions. I switched off anonymous comments ages ago after one particular lowlife got into me. I think the metrics others have mentioned are pretty accurate but there are always exceptions in such a large readership.

One thing I have noticed of late though is that my views on new stories seem to be down. I wasn't surprised that despite being in a competition, my Halloween story got low views as it was my first foray into Erotic Horror. However, my latest Lesbian tale is around 7k after a month whereas my previous two or three were around 15-18k in first month.

I thought maybe it was down to the sheer volume of stories submitted at the moment with people with time on their hands, as it moved off the front pages fairly quickly. It also seemed to disappear and reappear at intervals on the new submissions page while it was there, so I'm a little nonplussed.

Anyone else seeing a downturn?

 

[thev_666]

I hear everyone's saying. Iv read in the forums about the averages people quote like 1 comment for 1k views on an average.

I just feel the clear and obvious decrease in comments over time for me is something else. From 13 to 0 like a proper straight line. And 0 comments for 2 stories in a row which have a combined 20k+ views is surprising. The only explanation thag comes close is the stories being good but not great. Both were in the 4-4.5 range. So I'm thinking it's just a case nothing exceptional to comment on. I guess I'll assume that for now and write more. Hoping to get some comments for my next one. Man I really look forward to them!

 

[NotWise]

I hear everyone's saying. Iv read in the forums about the averages people quote like 1 comment for 1k views on an average.

I just feel the clear and obvious decrease in comments over time for me is something else. From 13 to 0 like a proper straight line. And 0 comments for 2 stories in a row which have a combined 20k+ views is surprising. The only explanation thag comes close is the stories being good but not great. Both were in the 4-4.5 range. So I'm thinking it's just a case nothing exceptional to comment on. I guess I'll assume that for now and write more. Hoping to get some comments for my next one. Man I really look forward to them!

I looked at the pattern of comments on your stories, and I don't see anything unusual.

Your first story and the following three-part series were in Romance. Readers in Romance tend to vote and comment more than readers in most other categories. You got a lot of comments complaining about your first story. In your next three, the number of views declined from chapter to chapter, and so did the number of comments. That's normal.

Your next story with one comment is in Erotic Coupling, where it's fairly common for stories to get very little reader response. Your last two are in IR and EC. I'm not familiar with IR, but looking at recent stories on the hub, I see that quite a few have very limited response.

If you want more comments, then put your stories in categories where the readers are responsive. If you want friendlier comments and better scores, then give those readers what they want. I didn't read your Romance stories, but from their descriptions and comments they don't sound like Romances.

 

[ChloeTzang]

If you want more comments, write something in Loving Wives and you’ll get them. Lol. But yes, some categories are more low key than others. If you want more comments tho, you have to draw out the readers emotionally and get a reaction from them - good or bad.

 

[thev_666]

I looked at the pattern of comments on your stories, and I don't see anything unusual.

Your first story and the following three-part series were in Romance. Readers in Romance tend to vote and comment more than readers in most other categories. You got a lot of comments complaining about your first story. In your next three, the number of views declined from chapter to chapter, and so did the number of comments. That's normal.

Your next story with one comment is in Erotic Coupling, where it's fairly common for stories to get very little reader response. Your last two are in IR and EC. I'm not familiar with IR, but looking at recent stories on the hub, I see that quite a few have very limited response.

If you want more comments, then put your stories in categories where the readers are responsive. If you want friendlier comments and better scores, then give those readers what they want. I didn't read your Romance stories, but from their descriptions and comments they don't sound like Romances.

Fair enough. Your analysis makes sense. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks.

 

[Javahead]

If you want more comments, write something in Loving Wives and you’ll get them. Lol. But yes, some categories are more low key than others. If you want more comments tho, you have to draw out the readers emotionally and get a reaction from them - good or bad.

What ChloeTzang said.

What she didn’t say, but implied, is that the bulk of the comments in Loving Wives will be negative, and often vitriolic. LW is in some ways the opposite of Romance as a category - expect a large number of negative comments for daring to not completely trash and destroy the wandering wife, and equally negative comments about the author. And a few thoughtful comments, but only a few.

If you’re aware of this, it can be rather fun to fan the flames - Chloe’s a mistress at infuriating the trolls. But it can be a shock for the newcomer.

 

[jaF0]

A recent story event got about 30 entries. To date, the most comments were 92 on a story with 31K views. Another got 60 comments on 28K and a third got 22 comments on 14K views. But I also see one with 10K views and 1 comment, many with 1 or 2 comments and up to 9K views. There is one with 21K views and 7 comments.

These are all by different authors in different categories.

 

[SamScribble]

I think I am definitely getter fewer comments lately. But the number of views and the scores are holding up, if not increasing. Perhaps readers are just too busy to get their pencils out.

 

[Wifetheif]

So my simple doubt is around why I'm not getting any comments in my latest stories. It's literally zero for 2 stories now. And I'm seeing a downward trend. My first ever story had 15 comments, the next one had 7, then 4, then 2, then 1 and the latest 2 stories have 0 comments each. There's no corelation to views and ratings either since some of these got good views and ratings too. The latest story that came out 2 days ago already has 8k views and 85 people who rated it while the second last one I wrote at the start of the year had 14k views without a comment. I'm kinda bummed coz i actually look forward to reading comments. I'm thinking I'll post my story in the feedback thread anyway, but wanted to know what the issue with comments was before doing that.

Is it a bug or some issue with the algorithm or am I missing something here?

Want more comments than you can stand? Post in loving wives! Keep in mind that the vast majority of those comments will be from trolls but you will get lots of them!

 

[stickygirl]

The OP should put a link to their stories in their forum profile/signature. It all helps

 

[MelissaBaby]

Maybe someone who has been here longer than I have can venture an opinion, but I think the delay between when someone posts a comment and when it shows up discourages commenters.

 

[SimonDoom]

Maybe someone who has been here longer than I have can venture an opinion, but I think the delay between when someone posts a comment and when it shows up discourages commenters.

That makes sense to me.

I think the rate of comments has fallen somewhat lately, since instituting the delay.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Maybe someone who has been here longer than I have can venture an opinion, but I think the delay between when someone posts a comment and when it shows up discourages commenters.

The delay is not that long, maybe a day or two at most. I agree that the category can make a difference, with Loving Wives at the top. Romance seems to always get a few, often complaints that it isn't "romantic" enough. Erotic couplings seems to have the least, maybe because there isn't much to say about them. "Great description of the screwing."

I get comments from people who know the real-life locations I often use. I recently had a scene on Garret Mountain near Paterson, NJ, and sure enough, some guy had been up there when he was younger.

 

[MelissaBaby]

That makes sense to me.

I think the rate of comments has fallen somewhat lately, since instituting the delay.

I'm just speculating, but it doesn't seem far fetched to think that there are readers who have made comments, and when they didn't appear right away, figured that the system didn't work, or they had done something wrong, and never bothered again.

 

[jaF0]

Comments I put up usually appear by the next morning.

 

[NotWise]

I'm just speculating, but it doesn't seem far fetched to think that there are readers who have made comments, and when they didn't appear right away, figured that the system didn't work, or they had done something wrong, and never bothered again.

Does anyone remember when the system was changed?

Two of my four most-commented stories are from the last year-and-a-half, which I think is after the delay was added. That's just a single anecdote, but it doesn't argue for a decrease in comments.

 

[KeithD]

Does anyone remember when the system was changed?

Two of my four most-commented stories are from the last year-and-a-half, which I think is after the delay was added. That's just a single anecdote, but it doesn't argue for a decrease in comments.

Earlier this year. It hasn't been long.

Yes, I can see, given other defunct aspects of the site, that a commenter would decide the comment feature just isn't working and will stop commenting altogether.

 

[MelissaBaby]

The delay is not that long, maybe a day or two at most.

I consider that a long time. And I would not be surprised if first time commenters, accustomed to a tweet, a Facebook post or a comment on the Lit forums popping up in a second or two, would consider it an extremely long time.