Poorly performing stories that you still love

[EmilyMiller]

If I had a dollar for every schoolteacher who called me that, I'd have several dollars. Plus a few decades' worth of interest.

So am I your schoolteacher now, hun

Em

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Looking at my lowest-rated stories, the ones that are down on page 2 include three 750-word ones.

Out of those, Denying Alex is actually a decent story, though the title triggered the incels.

The other low-scorer which is a good story is Mummy Porn which is about being a mother and getting back into kinky sex. No incest, but dripping breasts and changed body. Comments just said 'not what I expected'.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It’s a good story, hun. Actually quite moving. It’s more Poe than King .

Em

Speaking of Poe, I keep toying with a story called The Fall of the Whore of Esher. I’ve set one story in the UK, but not explicitly and I lazily didn’t adopt local lingo. Not sure I could get away with it TBH, even with my bf’s help.

Em

 

[Bramblethorn]

So am I your schoolteacher now, hun

Em

I'd ask "what are your subjects?" but IIRC it's biology, and I shouldn't be feeding the innuendo goblins at this hour of night.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'd ask "what are your subjects?" but IIRC it's biology, and I shouldn't be feeding the innuendo goblins at this hour of night.

Oh! You’re no fun. Life without innuendo is no life at all .

I’m on a couple of papers in decent journals - as author 237 of course. And needless to say, not as Miller before you go looking .

Em

 

[onehitwanda]

And needless to say, not as Miller before you go looking .

... curses. Foiled again!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Oh! You’re no fun. Life without innuendo is no life at all .

I’m on a couple of papers in decent journals - as author 237 of course.

And how many indecent ones?

 

[onehitwanda]

And how many indecent ones?

All of them.

 

[Djmac1031]

This will probably come off as a "humble brag," but I honestly don't think I have anything that qualifies.

My lowest rated story, at 3.76, "You Hear The Bullet," is a 750 word LW story with over 47K views and 1k votes.

And I wouldn't consider it essential reading in my catalog; it's a quick, simplistic little tale, nothing more.

Then there's The Blonde In Black, my least viewed story to date, although also relatively new. Another 750 word tale, 3.2K views, 34 votes. Still, has a 4.12 rating. Not the coveted Red H, but it's really not a 5 star story anyway.

Lastly, there's the sequel to The White Room, a story I wrote over a year ago.

The White Room Revisited has only been up less than a month. 4.2K views, 64 votes. 4.81 rating.

So; not a HUGE audience, but those who read it enjoyed it.

 

[Priscilla_June]

This is what I take away from scores, as they apply to my stories (disregarding how they compare with other people's scores): they have nothing to do with how good I think the story is or whether I like it. That's a big reason why, after six years of writing, I don't care much about scores. Some stories have good scores but don't get as many views. Some have lower scores and get many views and favorites. The notion that "My story has to have a high score or nobody will read it" is completely wrong, at least as applied to my 54 published stories.

In my experience, stories score lower because 1) they're only 750 words long (all my 750 word stories are under 4.5), 2) they prominently feature women who have sex outside of marriage and enjoy it, or 3) the stories contain whimsical or odd elements that conflict with the expectations readers have for stories of that category.

Great insight, thanks for sharing this. As a relatively new Lit author my relationship with scores and how they affect me/what I write is something I havn’t learned to get over yet.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I might add some of mine later, but I won’t start the thread with shameless self-promotion. That’s for you guys .

Well you were warned. In reverse order of rating (and picking just the ones I’m fond of)

1. Waking Up ( 7, 4.5k, ️ 4.0) it’s only just clambered into the 4s. I put it in Erotic Couplings and it should probably have been Romance (I still don’t get categories). The totally straightforward story of a Saturday morning chez Emily.
2. The Pornstar Experience ( 5, 2.9k, ️ 4.21) another story that didn’t quite fit Erotic Couplings but was better there than anywhere else (E/C is my graveyard). My normal gratuitous sex scenes, but some added human frailty.
3. Determination ( 10, 2.8k, ️ 4.29) very sad for me, once my highest rated story at 4.89, no longer . The continuation of Coleoidphilia. In my opinion, one of my best stories, and the one I put greatest effort into. Oh well.

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

I am happy with something between 4 and 4.5 as that means you've got a smattering of 3, 4, and 5's?

I deleted several of the disparaging comments! As they just depressed me.

Its difficult, but if you learn from the comments, the scores sometimes increase!

I was only referring to the posted score. I don't bother figuring out what the individual votes were.

By "learning from comments," do you mean taking by their advice? I've done that a couple of times, but generally they are not that useful one way or the other. I think I've only deleted a couple of comments that were completely irrelevant. Otherwise, I just leave them there. I will sometimes reply to a comment with my own, but it's very rare to get an additional response. Short attention spans, and they move on.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Great insight, thanks for sharing this. As a relatively new Lit author my relationship with scores and how they affect me/what I write is something I havn’t learned to get over yet.

Over time, it becomes easier. With comments too, although those can be sparse at times.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Well you were warned. In reverse order of rating (and picking just the ones I’m fond of)

1. Waking Up ( 7, 4.5k, ️ 4.0) it’s only just clambered into the 4s. I put it in Erotic Couplings and it should probably have been Romance (I still don’t get categories). The totally straightforward story of a Saturday morning chez Emily.
2. The Pornstar Experience ( 5, 2.9k, ️ 4.21) another story that didn’t quite fit Erotic Couplings but was better there than anywhere else (E/C is my graveyard). My normal gratuitous sex scenes, but some added human frailty.
3. Determination ( 10, 2.8k, ️ 4.29) very sad for me, once my highest rated story at 4.89, no longer . The continuation of Coleoidphilia. In my opinion, one of my best stories, and the one I put greatest effort into. Oh well.

Em

Emily, I know you said to not complain about anything with a 4.85 (tongue-in-cheek, I know). I interpreted to mean that it had to be lower than a 4.00 - my own take on it, of course. Actually, more like below a 3.00, like the 2.00 and 2.6 I mentioned. Perhaps people with truly low scores get so discouraged that they leave?

 

[Djmac1031]

I suppose if I had to pick a story I was happy with that just didn't get the reaction I'd hoped for, it would be Night Of The Giving Head.

https://literotica.com/s/night-of-the-giving-head

An Erotic Horror Halloween contest entry, it was more a dark humored parody of the horror genre than actually horror.

While it's currently rated 4.3, and garnered a few views since it's been published, it's initial reception was basically...meh.

Very little engagement, very little reaction or feedback.

Even now, new readers that discover me after a new story then go check my history still ignore it lol.

I can't remember the last time anyone added it to Favorites. And the rating hasn't changed in ages so no votes either

 

[EmilyMiller]

Emily, I know you said to not complain about anything with a 4.85 (tongue-in-cheek, I know). I interpreted to mean that it had to be lower than a 4.00 - my own take on it, of course. Actually, more like below a 3.00, like the 2.00 and 2.6 I mentioned. Perhaps people with truly low scores get so discouraged that they leave?

By nature, I’m very numbers-driven, quite competitive and ultra-obsessive. A bad combo for ignoring scores I realize .

Em

 

[Priscilla_June]

Over time, it becomes easier. With comments too, although those can be sparse at times.

Yea I havnt cracked the code on what people decide to comment on either hehe

 

[EmilyMiller]

Yea I havnt cracked the code on what people decide to comment on either hehe

Quite a few of my comments are from one of:

1. personal friends being supportive
2. other writers being supportive
3. regular readers

While I appreciate all of the above greatly, it’s nice to hear from someone new.

Em

PS 1 and 2 aren’t mutually exclusive of course

 

[Priscilla_June]

Quite a few of my comments are from one of:

1. personal friends being supportive
2. other writers being supportive
3. regular readers

While I appreciate all of the above greatly, it’s nice to hear from someone new.

Em

PS 1 and 2 aren’t mutually exclusive of course

Do you mostly get to know those folks from posts on here?

 

[Djmac1031]

Do you mostly get to know those folks from posts on here?

I'll back @EmilyMiller up in that getting to know writers here in the forums generally (not always, of course) leads to reading some of their stuff, and they'll read yours.

And since we all know how awesome it feels to GET comments, we generally try to give them.

Nothing wrong with writers supporting other writers IMO.

After all, most of us ARE readers, too.

 

[gunhilltrain]

My lowest-rated story remains BTB, Incorporated, which is a "Burn the Bitch" spoof with a twist, narrated by a Mike Hammer-style private detective. I thought it was amusing, but the subject matter, and especially the twist at the end, guaranteed that it would be hammered by the BTB reader crowd. It has a score of 3.73. It received far nastier comments than any other story I've published, by far. But it's had over 80,000 views, and has its share of good comments and favorites, as well. It was one of my most enjoyable stories to write. I put pedal to the metal with the material and laughed as I wrote and didn't care what sort of reception I got.

One of my personal favorites that didn't score that poorly but has never had a red H is A Bikini With A Mind Of Its Own, about a woman who purchases a bikini online, takes it to the beach . . . and finds it keeps mysteriously falling off her and exposing her. It has a score of 4.44. The surprising thing is it has over 317,000 views and over 1700 votes. The story has some magical/whimsical elements, and I think they turned off some of the readers.

This is what I take away from scores, as they apply to my stories (disregarding how they compare with other people's scores): they have nothing to do with how good I think the story is or whether I like it. That's a big reason why, after six years of writing, I don't care much about scores. Some stories have good scores but don't get as many views. Some have lower scores and get many views and favorites. The notion that "My story has to have a high score or nobody will read it" is completely wrong, at least as applied to my 54 published stories.

In my experience, stories score lower because 1) they're only 750 words long (all my 750 word stories are under 4.5), 2) they prominently feature women who have sex outside of marriage and enjoy it, or 3) the stories contain whimsical or odd elements that conflict with the expectations readers have for stories of that category.

Usually, but not always, there is some connection between what I think of a story and how it scores. Of course, there are many exceptions. I have noticed that sometimes it takes me a while (a few months?) for me to realize that a story was just not as good as I had originally thought, and the score did indeed reflect that.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Do you mostly get to know those folks from posts on here?

I have a couple of IRL friends who indulge me by reading my scribbles (obviously not everyone I know IRL knows about me being on Lit). The rest are people I have met here.

Em

 

[SimonDoom]

By nature, I’m very numbers-driven, quite competitive and ultra-obsessive. A bad combo for ignoring scores I realize .

Em

As anyone who's read my posts over the last 5 years, I enjoy recording, noodling over, and discussing numbers. I regularly monitor my story stats on an Excel sheet I started keeping 6 years and 10 days ago. I find it fun to do so, and somewhat informative.

I'm also very competitive, but I also believe that competition only means something when the competitive criteria mean something.

The key is to be realistic about the numbers, and to understand the limits of what they mean, and how they can be manipulated, and how completely incommensurate numbers in some contexts are with numbers in others. You might feel good knowing that your story received 10,000 views when you know somebody else's story received 1,000. You might not feel so good when you know somebody else received 100,000. It's all relative, and if you look at it any other way things get silly quickly. It's why I think the red H, and especially the preoccupation with it, is silly.

Something to keep in mind: ratings exist for the reader, not for you. A rating is to help a potential reader to decide which stories to select. The entire system is set up to facilitate readers in selecting stories. When you shift your frame of reference, and see it that way, and stop seeing it as a reward or as something that your story "deserves," then it makes it much easier to deal with. It takes a load off the mind.

I've gotten to the point that while I might be disappointed in how a story's numbers have fared, I'm never bothered by it. It's not worth being bothered by.

 

[EmilyMiller]

As anyone who's read my posts over the last 5 years, I enjoy recording, noodling over, and discussing numbers. I regularly monitor my story stats on an Excel sheet I started keeping 6 years and 10 days ago. I find it fun to do so, and somewhat informative.

I'm also very competitive, but I also believe that competition only means something when the competitive criteria mean something.

The key is to be realistic about the numbers, and to understand the limits of what they mean, and how they can be manipulated, and how completely incommensurate numbers in some contexts are with numbers in others. You might feel good knowing that your story received 10,000 views when you know somebody else's story received 1,000. You might not feel so good when you know somebody else received 100,000. It's all relative, and if you look at it any other way things get silly quickly. It's why I think the red H, and especially the preoccupation with it, is silly.

Something to keep in mind: ratings exist for the reader, not for you. A rating is to help a potential reader to decide which stories to select. The entire system is set up to facilitate readers in selecting stories. When you shift your frame of reference, and see it that way, and stop seeing it as a reward or as something that your story "deserves," then it makes it much easier to deal with. It takes a load off the mind.

I've gotten to the point that while I might be disappointed in how a story's numbers have fared, I'm never bothered by it. It's not worth being bothered by.

See that’s 6 years of learning. I’m sure I’ll be all grown-up about it too, when I’m 32 .

Em

 

[tenyari]

I was going to start this by saying "well I like all my old stuff" but I actually don't. There are a few of my old stories that I notably dislike. Fortunately only one of those is on this site - unfortunately it also has my highest read count (then again it's from 2002 so that's mostly old reads).

But lets see...

Old story that I do like:

Ebony in The Jewel of Desire - it's the only piece I've managed to publish in my fantasy setting that was actually the reason I started writing erotica. The piece that started that setting, who's protagonist is why my name here is 'Tenyari' - has never managed to get finished. I like this one because I still feel the character and it was meant to be more, so I know where her journey is supposed to go. It is by no means my best work though, even by my standards back in 2008 when I put it out.

Nun-thing to Worry About - I have this problem with short stories. They never do well for me. This one did well on a 'naked fiction' board I hang out on, but not here. It's the prequel to a new series I'm writing, and the first chapter of that didn't do as well as I liked here, but has had good reception elsewhere. I really like the character, the way I've set the scene, and it's really the only time I've written one of these 'naked person' stories where the protagonist actively didn't want to end up naked. But managed to pull it off without it being something abusive like the ENF genre often gets. As for the main story that follows after it - I really like that one, so I'm hoping readers here start to 'get it' as the chapters roll out.