Which is worse...?

[bmeyem8]

As a READER, which would make you NOT want to read a story: 1. One with votes turned off [0 stars], 2. Story rated 3.xx, or 3. Story rated 2.xx.
I have some LW trolls that 1-bomb my stories even if in different categories.
I’m not upset at the low scores; rather, I want to do what would encourage, not discourage additional readers.
Thank you.

 

[TheRedChamber]

With LW I tend to mostly ignore scores. With most other categories, a high score may be the deciding factor if I'm on the fence about reading something, but I'm still more likely to go for titles and blurbs that attract me. There are valid reasons to turn scores off, so I dont hold it against them

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't look at scores or H/no H. I go by title and tag. If they have scoring shut off I won't notice until the end.

Like @TheRedChamber mentions I don't think anyone should give scores any credence in LW.

 

[onehitwanda]

Option 4: none of the above.

My time is very limited these days; I read based on what a small coterie of fellow writers recommend or like.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Option 4: none of the above.

Option 5: most of my reading is beta reading and so - pretty much by definition - a subset of writers whose work I appreciate.

 

[onehitwanda]

Option 5: most of my reading is beta reading and so - pretty much by definition - a subset of writers whose work I appreciate.

Good, better, beta

 

[EmilyMiller]

Option 5: most of my reading is beta reading and so - pretty much by definition - a subset of writers whose work I appreciate.

A by-product of which is I learn a lot by reading authors who are better than me.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I go by the title and tagline, but once attracted, mainly the first couple paragraphs. A high score might persuade me to try something I might not click on otherwise, but sometimes good writing has a low score, often because the submission is very short.

Or it doesn't quite fit what the category's readers expect - which also often applies to what I'm interested in.

Though I don't think I've yet found anything worth reading with a score of 2.xx. That said, one of my better stories has a score of only 3.4, not even in LW, so I'm sure that could become a 2.xx quite easily.

 

[Rob_Royale]

A low score by itself is not enough to make me not give a story a try. But ... I almost never start a story with a low score without looking at the writers library. If I see consistantly low scores there (aside from the expected LW scores), I will likely pass it by. How well a story is written is a major factor of my enjoyment of a story and consistantly low scores are a red flag that the writer is not good at their craft.

 

[PattyJune500]

My stories stand on their own and I am proud of each one, regardless of the scores.

Some comments have said they gave me a 1 because I referred to an original story in a series or that a sequel was upcoming. We authors have few ways to reach out readers / followers so I try to communicate and share details people might want to know.

Let the chips fall they may, and allow votes/comments on your stories -- it's the same way in life.

Love, Patty

 

[BeechLeaf]

I'm with the others here who go by the title and description, and try not to be affected by scores. If they and the username are properly spelt and punctuated - and don't contain jargon/slang (MILF, BBC, hubby, cum, w/, etc. etc.) - and are in a category I read - then I'll click in. If I noticed it has a low score, I'll wonder why. The reason is probably evident in the poor writing and I'll give up soon.

This is me glancing through New in the morning: I don't go hunting old stories via tags. So if it's within an hour of them going live (breakfast time my time), scores are entirely meaningless, whether 1 or 5 or 3.75. After they've been up several hours, we have more representative votes. Outside LW, I don't think really low scores emerge. I'd happily read (or try, anyway) a 3.x if it otherwise fitted my criteria.

I would completely ignore the score for a favourite author. I know I'll like their writing and I can't be bothered thinking about why one story did worse than another.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

As a reader, what makes me not want to read a story is if I have to scroll an entire Lit page and a half worth of exposition dump where nothing is happening, it could be drop fed into the story in a more natural way through showing, and usually it's always repeated into the story like that, so the author killed a tree and a half for no reason other than repeating themselves.

Get me hooked on line one, or I'll move to the next piece of merchandise.

 

[THBGato]

I must confess that I rarely read stories without a Red H, unless either I've read and enjoyed other stuff by that writer or the description is really intriguing.

I think that's partly because I read almost exclusively lesbian content, and the readers there are generally speaking very generous.

 

[SmilingLez]

I read the reviews left by other people and then decide.

 

[ElectricBlue]

A low score by itself is not enough to make me not give a story a try. But ... I almost never start a story with a low score without looking at the writers library. If I see consistantly low scores there (aside from the expected LW scores), I will likely pass it by. How well a story is written is a major factor of my enjoyment of a story and consistantly low scores are a red flag that the writer is not good at their craft.

Pretty much this, for me. I figure that readers place some thought into the scores they give, and they can't all be wrong when one works out the average, taking all things into account. The first three or paragraphs will either keep me in the story, or I'll leave.

 

[Callum_M]

I'm not interested in score. I know what I like and what I don't. I search various tags and categories and pick stories out that look interesting. If the first 5-6 paragraphs do nothing for me, I might scroll down and little to see if it improves or I just move on. Maybe I'm missing out on some gems, but if the spark to want to get into it isn't there, away I go.

 

[DaddySockdragger]

I'm not interested in score. I know what I like and what I don't. I search various tags and categories and pick stories out that look interesting. If the first 5-6 paragraphs do nothing for me, I might scroll down and little to see if it improves or I just move on. Maybe I'm missing out on some gems, but if the spark to want to get into it isn't there, away I go.

I was just going to post the same thing. I usually look at the score last before I decide whether or not to vote on a story

 

[Dearelliot]

I start to read by subject matter alone, I have no ideas about stars or ratings, and for the most part stop after a page or two, because I am seldom happy with the stories...but that's on me, not saying it's the author. Just my taste in stories.
.

 

[DaddySockdragger]

I start to read by subject matter alone, I have no ideas about stars or ratings, and for the most part stop after a page or two, because I am seldom happy with the stories...but that's on me, not saying it's the author. Just my taste in stories.
.

Challenge accepted. How I want to write a story that you want to read to the end ...

 

[Dearelliot]

Challenge accepted. How I want to write a story that you want to read to the end ...

Me to with readers, I hope to satisfy