I've followed the complains of some of the authors on this site as to the loss of readers as a series progresses. I've also had that happen too, but I wonder why one chapter in the middle of a series gains 1300 reads? All of the chapters of Show Me The Money have been averaging around thirty two hundred reads and for some reason chapter twenty-three has almost forty-six hundred, and then the reads go back down to thirty -two hundred again. Sorry, but I don't get why that one chapter gets that many reads than the others? Arecee
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Comments
Maybe it is the comments
If there is are interesting comment threads, readers may comeback repeatedly to see what other people are saying. This can bump up the read count a bit.
Then again some chapters might need more rereads to get the full meaning out of.
Other readers might come in at the middle of the series and see if they are interested in continuing.
An oracle I am not :(.
Kim
Another thought
What I have learned since I began posting short stories here is the difference between hits and votes. Hits mean only that someone clicked on the link to have a look at your story where as a vote means someone looked at it and liked it.
So here's my guess as to this question:
Hits, in a nutshell, are an indication of how good a job the teaser did (for a story/chapter/episode/etc) in terms of making the viewer want to have a look.
So, when a chapter in the middle of a series gets a spike in hits, what it probably means is that the teaser for that chapter/episode/etc did a better job of making viewers want to have a look than did the teaser for other chapter/episodes/etc.
This could be due to a major event or revelation taking place in a particular chapter/episode/etc or due to a more attractive teaser for that chapter/episode/etc.
It does not mean the story is any better or worse overall. It only means that something at that point in the series is attracting readers better than at other points in the series, that's all.
Lisa
When you find out the secret...
MonaLisa hits the nail on the head.
These are not reads you're measuring, only clicks, and there could be many reasons why one chapter gets more clicks. Perhaps it was published at a time when not many other stories were, so it remained in the list at the top of the Home page for longer than normal. Perhaps there was something mildly intriguing about the title. Perhaps it was published on a day when the site gets maximum readers. And perhaps someone's browser went crazy and kept clicking on the same page.
You don't mention how the number of votes varies. That is the crucial measure of reader enjoyment. Is that in line with the click rate. If not, then you need to look for factors external to the story to try to work out the difference.
And when you find out the secret of getting more clicks, don't put it on the board, send me a private message!
Love
Charlotte
Lies, damn lies, and statistics
With more stories posted, the rate of turnover is higher and your chapter may scroll down faster than when fewer stories are posted.
Not all of us are observant at what we click on and may click on somethign we've already read.
Also, if many well-know serials are posting after your posting, people may tire of reading before getting to your story.
Anyone who thinks the read-by numbers reflect opinions of story quality is likely putting too much faith in statistics.
Take Mr. Clemens' advice and ignore them.
- Moni
I still don't get it
There are other chapters with much more interest, at least to me and this one still gets more reads, Arecee
They are not all reads
They are not all reads, you must consider them as accesses.
For example, if I have read a story or chapter of one, and then later on discover that a number of people have made comments on that chapter, I will click on the "new comments" tag under the story on the front page and go to the first new comment. But in doing so I will load the entire chapter/story, and that will bump up the read count.
Your high count may indicate a high volume of comments written and read as well as a good number of readers of the story itself.
Penny
It's the search engine effect.
People are searching for a word mentioned In that chapter.
Another possibility
I do have certain series that I really do not want to lose a single part of. Therefore I have them in my List Of Favourites and enter BCTF through one of the parts in those series. That save me one visit to the homepage, and succesive searcing my favourites series. In this way I do get an easy way to check for updates. This was especially good before the list of recent added stories/parts. Maybe some other readers have the same habit.
I wish all here a good new story-year
Ginnie
GinnieG
It's a phenomenon I've noticed too
how does one chapter or episode stand out as very popular or unpopular? There is obviously a reason or reasons, but it is intriguing.
Angharad
Angharad
It could be
That chapter is just waaaay better than the rest, and people keep coming back to re-read it!
Mr. Ram
Better than the plane crash?
Better than the plane crash or the destrution of mankind? Surely you jest. Seriously though I don't see that chapter as being any better than the rest, Arecee