I usually don't care about my story ratings.....but.....

[jon.hayworth]

Ignoring the debate on the averages: the question of malicious tactical voting: how many one votes etc.

I will come back to Deliciously Naughty's original point, and suggest that many of use who come to this forum see ourselves primarily as writers. However we also seem to suffer from what I shall call, "the artist's blind-spot syndrome" (ABSS) - if we did not we would not be giving stories away for free!

Sufferers from ABSS do not look at the market. Ask yourself this - what does the average reader visit Lit for. Answer they want a free story to stir them whilst they Jack / Jill Off! Short dirty and masturbatory rewarding is what most of the readers want. - They ain't here to read another Nabakov - they buy the book or watch the video.

So post stories - but do not be too precious.

jon

 

[fiery_jack]

Bella, my advice for you would be to ask yourself if you feel confident enough to risk getting "you suck"-votes for your very first attempts. There are some people around here that are real maniacs, who get off on hurting other people.

If you are strong enough not to let a few morons get to you, then I suggest that you let people vote for you. A high vote makes it worth all the 1's.

If you decide to allow voting, don't be discouraged IF you run into weirdos who spit on your first works.

You go, girl!

Unless a writer can produce a story which satisfies everyone, there's always a chance of lower votes. If someone's confident enough to stick a story up on Lit, they'll be able to handle the odd 1 or 2 vote.

Whether a reader votes low out of spite or because the main character was a redhead instead of a brunette, doesn't really matter. The high votes and good feedback definitely make it worthwhile.

I also concur with Svenskaflicka's motivational slogan!

 

[Un-registered]

Hello Svenskaflicka,
Thank you for your response. I'm afraid I don't know how I would feel if people voted low on my stories.

I don't know if it will help but I came here a couple of years ago to try short story writing, having already had several novels published and selling well. I wrote, I think, four stories and I was very pleased with one of them. It got by far the worst votes!

Short stories are really not my thing, perhaps I am too verbose, so I have returned to novel writing. Also it pays.

 

[Grizabella]

We'll see what happens... I got a little distracted yesterday and I'm being pulled along what seems to be a different path with spirituality - as far as my immediate focus. Who know's perhaps I can weave it all together and start my own story catagory LOL.
Thanks for everyone's feedback and encouragement
~Bella

 

[Dirt Man]

Just a thought

I'm sure part of the problem is envy, and jealousy, and it only takes three votes of 1 to mess up a rating really bad. However, and this is just a thought, since none of my stories here have been put up on the board as yet, the problem as I see it is that many of the authors here don't target their audiences. By that I mean, what do you think people who read come here to read? This is an erotic publishing site, right? And that comes down to hand job city, or down and filthy in the readers minds. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that those who read the stories here are stupid, on the contrary, if they read that in itself shows that they are at the very least literate. The problem is, reading the mind of your readers, and that too can be an adventure in writing. You see, from the moment we are potty trained, we start to learn what is clean, and what is dirty. That's how far back it goes for people, and yet there are those who are soley into scat, and water sports. And why? Because it's really dirty, isn't it. In fact it's so repulsive to most people that they find themselves facinated enough to constantly be repulsed by it. The same goes for incest, interracial, and anything else that peoples past deems dirty, or filthy according to the past upbringing, and for some it's as simple as the act of having sex. Though the later eventually becomes boring in and of itself in print after a while as you may have found out already.
If we keep in mind what most porn producers have known for years, and that is that the first cum must take place within the first 20 minutes of the film, the same truism must happen with a story. Which most would calculate as before the first chapter is finished. Everything before the orgasm is foreplay, and teasing of the mind to bring the reader to that point in jerking off where they too can cum right along with your story. It's not rocket science, but it is art, even if of the more raunchy of literary endeavors. What we are doing is mind fucking the reader so that they can have a nice toss off in the solitude of their bathroom, or bed here. So basically, there are three parts to any erotic story, and they are one, the introduction of characters, two the tease or foreplay, and three the orgasms. If we wanted plot then why would we open the fold outs in Playboy while jerking off?
I suppose for the most part, I'm like everyone else here who after reading a dirty book, has said those inevitable words to themselves: "Shit! I could write a story better than this asshole!"
And for the most part, by the works that I've read in here, it's true. However, just writing a great story isn't good enough. The people who read it, have to enjoy reading it, and that's the real key to writing porn, erotica, or even just a good book. Which means? You have to know who your target audience is, and what they crave. Have you done that? Or, are you just writing for yourself?

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[deliciously_naughty]

Re: Just a thought

However, just writing a great story isn't good enough. The people who read it, have to enjoy reading it, and that's the real key to writing porn, erotica, or even just a good book. Which means? You have to know who your target audience is, and what they crave. Have you done that? Or, are you just writing for yourself?

Considering I didn't even think I would have a readership, I began writing for myself. And quite a few people like how I write. As I am firmly in the camp of "you can't please everyone" (especially on a site this size) I write for myself first and foremost. And since I'm not getting paid for this, why not write for myself? I spend all my time as an academic writer thinking about and addressing my target audience. And as I write my novel I am definitely writing to an audience. However, the majority of my work on lit is for me.

 

[jfinn]

I couldn't agree with you more about targeting your audience. But to take it one step further, I think you can also say that while vast majority of the readers here and at other sites might only one a quick hot, written stroke story, there are others who have a different criteria.

Porn, erotica, whatever you want to call it is just like any genre. There are infinite varieties of ways to write it and still stay within the definition of the form. And for each of them there is a readership no matter how small that may be. That was my point in my earlier post, I know my readership is going to not going to be the biggest, but I also know that enough people like a story that has some sex, instead of sex with some story to make it worth while to write them. And that works for me.

I think the point here is that you not only need to target your market, ie the readers who might appreciate your work, you also have to be realistic about who they are and how many of them there might be and if you can live with those numbers. If you can't, then write that story about the guy who's wife lets him watch while she goes down on the entire roster of the New York Giants including the half the coaching staff. You'll get your numbers and if it's really well written the scores too. Otherwise don't worry about it.

Jayne

 

[Dirt Man]

There's nothing wrong with writing for yourself, but..

There's nothing wrong with writing for oneself, in any genre, and all writers do. But the subject here was about votes, and why some don't get as good a grade as others do. And that was what I was talking about for those who want to go for bigger numbers, and better votes by those who may read their work. Strictly speaking, when most people see the word erotica, or erotic stories, they think porn. So if you want bigger, and better votes then targeting your audience is the way to go. That doesn't mean you can't write it your own way, nor should you. Each writer has their own voice, and their own thoughts, and a secret part of us that goes into every one of our stories. Writing is hard work, even when you write soley for yourself. So isn't it obvious that we write erotica first and foremost for ourselves? I'm not trying to be contrary, or obtuse, and I only put in my two cents to help those who care to listen. I'm new here, and perhaps there is a certain underlying set of rules, or toes that I'm stepping on. If that be the case, just say so.

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[deliciously_naughty]

you make good points dirt man, and if I was here soley for votes I'd only be writing incest.

I guess it just does bother me that people often care more about getting off fast than getting off well. I'd rather continue to get great feedback about stories I care about, even if they no longer have their H, than only write the type of story that gets more people hot but that I don't feel as much pride in.


edited to add:::thanks for the clarification...I needed to remind myself of those facts

 

[PaulX35]

Re: There's nothing wrong with writing for yourself, but..

There's nothing wrong with writing for oneself, in any genre, and all writers do. But the subject here was about votes, and why some don't get as good a grade as others do. And that was what I was talking about for those who want to go for bigger numbers, and better votes by those who may read their work. Strictly speaking, when most people see the word erotica, or erotic stories, they think porn. So if you want bigger, and better votes then targeting your audience is the way to go. That doesn't mean you can't write it your own way, nor should you. Each writer has their own voice, and their own thoughts, and a secret part of us that goes into every one of our stories. Writing is hard work, even when you write soley for yourself. So isn't it obvious that we write erotica first and foremost for ourselves? I'm not trying to be contrary, or obtuse, and I only put in my two cents to help those who care to listen. I'm new here, and perhaps there is a certain underlying set of rules, or toes that I'm stepping on. If that be the case, just say so.

Dirt Man,

I'd say the maybe most important difference between instant- ejaculation-work and whatever attempt at literary erotica is that the latter attempts to search for the erotic from many more different perspectives and to add something to the plain hanky-panky.
As soon as you move off mainstream hanky panky --and interestingly, incest is part of that mainstream here, it seems-- you lose connection with an expectation the majority of readers here appear to have, and that gets you the bad votes, even when your story can be better (whatever that may mean) than a great bunch of 4,89's.
So the "H" does not measure the hotness of the story, it measures the hotness induced in the reader, and that may have more to do with what his or her ready-to-orgasm fantasy expects than with the quality of what was written. As long as one can live with that, there's nothing wrong with it.

In another thread here, you can read of an initiative a number of story critics here came up with: some award for really good writing. I think it came up as an idea to balance out these feelings of many of us who aim at quality-writing. So, this will be our new aim then, when it comes to 4,89's

Paul

 

[Diane Marie]

Originally posted by Dirt Man
However, just writing a great story isn't good enough. The people who read it, have to enjoy reading it, and that's the real key to writing porn, erotica, or even just a good book. Which means? You have to know who your target audience is, and what they crave. Have you done that? Or, are you just writing for yourself?

I do agree, if you want a story read you need to target an audience, but this is not always the case. Deliciously_naughty writes for herself and yet many of us like her stories, her audience has found her.

You are wrong in your believe that targeting your audience is somehow about pleasing them, many great works have been written to do just the opposite. I can assure you most of my audience does not want to hear what I have to say, but I am read.

 

[Dirt Man]

Dear Diane

As I said before this thread was about concerns for votes, and why people voted high for certain stories, and not others. I find it charming that you come to Naughty's rescue when she needs no rescuing. As for pleasing one's readers, that is a relative term, and even pissing a reader off can be a good thing if written well enough. So you are right in that respects in a round about way. As I am new here at Literotica I have yet to read a lot of the regular authors that contribute here, but I'm sure I'll get around to everyone, and I promise to vote on each story, poem, or what ever that I come across. (No pun intended.)


As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[Diane Marie]

Re: Dear Diane

I find it charming that you come to Naughty's rescue when she needs no rescuing.

I was not as you put it coming to her rescue, I was just pointing out that not everyone who has a readership, writes for that readership.

 

[Cyberguy]

votes

I paid close attention to the votes and top list when I started posting about a year ago. It is exciting to have that moment of fame and to watch your work soar to the top of the list when it reaches that 10-vote minimum.

Invariably though, the strange gyrations start. Scores, and votes, go up and down, as if there is some unseen battle between fraudulent voters and hunters thereof. I've come to the conclusion that it is best to not pay it attention. Constructive feedback (and praise, of course ) is great, but the votes (and views for that matter) don't mean much, except maybe you'll get more reads if you rate higher.

A good example of what I've seen is my "Strawberries and Chocolate" poem. At one point last January, it had 30 votes and a score of 4.33 (near the top of the poetry toplist). At the end of July, it had 335 views, 10 votes, and a score of 3.40. Tonight it has 397 views, 9 votes, and a score of 3.89. That makes sense, lol