As an author I like to see how many reads a story is getting, call it vanity or something else, but it's important to me and I'm sure to other authors. Now to the point, I see abisimal stories that don't make sense but have all the buzz words, heels, breasts, hormones, implants, the operation and they get reads like crazy. Then you have an absolutely wonderful story that doesn't fall under those precious words left to dangle in the wind. Nancy Cole's While the Band Played Waltzing Matilda is a good example. Are the readers on this site so jaded that they will pass on a story as good as this to find some purient interest because the right words are there? I don't know how many readers this site gets, but I'm sure it's more than three hundred, the amount of reads Nancy is getting. I'm sorry I'm on a rant, but it isn't fair, Arecee
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Comments
How?
How do you see the number of reads another story is getting? I only see the stats for my own stories.
It appears in very light print...
...at the bottom of the story:
between Write to author and ++Bookmark, like that. It's easy to miss, and isn't there unless one is logged in.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
In fact the number of reads for even this blog ...
or others shows up just below it in light print. When I read the blog, it was 267 reads, almost as high as the count Arecee was talking about for Nancy's story.
To see it, you do have to be logged in under your user name.
***********************
Arecee, as far as the low count on this story of Nancy's, don't forget that the first 17? parts were here earlier, so maybe a number of readers aren't re-reading those parts?
Holly
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
Holly
You're right, of course, but...
I think you are justified in feeling this way.
However, to ease the pain of it, perhaps look at the numbers another way:
There is a large group of people at Big Closet that participate (write responses, blogs, stories), but there is a much larger group yet; I'm sure a massive number of readers are those who never post, never join, and are mostly, one imagines, only here for the thrill of reading a titillating story.
Therefor, those stories will always be more 'read'.
The classier and longer writings will never attain the more fetishistic stories' numbers, but I bet they attract a more intelligent fan-base who discusses the story and thanks he authors more.
Reads
I presume you are looking at the number of reads listed at the end of the story. This can be deceiving. Nancy's Story in't a good example because it is a repost of a recently posted story. The number of reads only indicate the number of people that have opened the story but has no bearing on the number of people that have completely read the story and enjoyed it. If you are writing for the feedback, comments or number of reads, then I think you need to retink why you write. If you don't write to please yourself then you are bound to be disappointed. I have one story with over 31000 reads but it has only about 8 comments. If I depended on that for gratification then I would be depressed. Never the less I do enjoy the occassional comment good or bad.
Huggles
Chelle_MM
I am begining to.
This has been a wonderful, reaffirming discussion. We shouldn't be weighing the first hits. They are more a reflection of being able to write a grabbing title, and putting down the right topics that catch the eye. The impact of the story is probably better reflected in how many hits the last episode received. I am sure I would rather know and meet the readers who stuck my stories out. The half dozen comments an episode of mine might get, if I am lucky, are far more important and significant. One thing that has been very heartwarming has been seeing how the interest in my past stories increases after posting a new story. That means my story was good enough to entice a reader who hadn't read my stories in the past go back and read a previous story. That really means a lot. That means I am really reaching somebody.
I am trying to wean myself from doing hit counts, but since they are there, I can't avoid them. I am not sure what story received 30,000 hits, but I was pleased to see one of mine had received close to 3,000 (or maybe it was 4,000) hits for the first chapters. What was gratifying was to see that there was close to a thousand hits for the last chapter. I don't know how many were return hits, but I feel the number is significant. Especially when a couple of my more or less non-tg stories received only 300 or so hits for the last chapters.
As was mentioned, there are many different categories of readers who visit. The better authors here are not writing for 80% of the visitors. We shouldn't worry about that 80%. Just do your best, and try to do better. Don't take it personally. If someone gets really obnoxious or offensive, ignore them. Erin will take care of them.
Portia
PS. It was 4000. I just checked.
Portia
In the real world...
...I'm a professional writer of non-fiction books costing between US$40 and US$60 which have sold thousands of copies to people who paid what seems to me like serious dosh. Every book I've ever published has prominently displayed my contact information, both physical and electronic. Over the years I've collected a few dozens of letters, a few of praise, a couple of complaints -- pointing out typos, usually -- but most were written by kids (well, they may have been in their early twenties) who wanted me to do their homework for them.
People who write are usually driven to write by some inner motivation. Homework is highly motivating, so the obvious answer is to persuade some teacher to assign your work as a class reading.
The truth is that most readers don't write. It's not their job. They read, you write, and they like it that way, just like most people watch TV, but are never motivated to purchase a TV network or produce their own version of Days of Our Lives or Coronation Street.
Just as most people, when faced by a television camera, can barely manage a goofy face and putting up pantomime horns behind the head of the person standing next to them, most readers, when faced with a blank edit box, the contents of which will shortly be displayed to an audience of thousands, perhaps millions, decide to go out to the local and get smashed instead.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
I have to agree
Downing a couple of gin and tonics is a hell of a lot easier than trying to write any kind of meaningful giberish, but we all try. I think my point was that when a story is well written and it doesn't get many reads, it's a shame. My objective was to motivate our readers to try something different and read a very well written story. I'll be honest and say that I pass on a lot of well written stories too because the story line doesn't appeal to me. That's the beauty of a free site such as this. If the story doesn't rock your boat than nothing lost and nothing gained, Arecee
Or...
Or it could do with it not striking the right chord with enough readers. Personally, I don't care for cross dressing stories. It's just not the type of thing I care to read when I'm in the mood for TG fiction. The last story by Nancy Cole was well written but it turned out to just be a cross dressing story. Not that there's anything wrong with being a cross dresser or enjoying those types of stories, I just don't care for them. This story also seems to be about a guy in his 20's, which is an age-range I can't identify with. Not because I fantasize about being young forever but because I'm still a teenager. I haven't hit 20 and have no experience with being a "20 year old guy" on the run and cross dressing, nor do I fantasize about it.
Personally, I don't like to read stories with the tags "heels, breasts, hormones, implants, the operation" because, again, they tend to be stories I don't like or won't identify with (mostly sexual stories I find). I'm sure this current story is great but I've not been in the mood for that type of story. Hopefully it won't be removed from the site before I *do* feel like reading it.
It doesn't matter how well written a story is if you don't care for the genre. I bet if I went out and bought a store like Chapters (a book store chain) I would be bored with the reading material within days. Sure, there are years and years worth of reading material there but not in any genre I care about. I've already seen several people state that they won't read genres that are "historically" set. *shrug*
Just my opinion on things though...
I agree with that. But to
I agree with that.
But to Arecee, I think perhaps we need to start a blog/whatever about a new system. People should have to register to read stories. And they should have to leave a comment when they view a story, before they can view another story. that way people can't be leechers anymore. I think a lot of stories that only get a few reviews/comments, but have like 800 hits are ridiculous. Comments are the ONLY pay that authors get on this site. So the idea that un-registered ghost readers should be able to ghost in unregistered, read and then leave is infuriating.
I disagree
You can't force comments..and forced ones would be bad for any number of reasons. If someone didn't like the story and then was forced to make a comment on it...most authors are quite sensitive even to constructive criticism.
Also, not everyone reads the stories online, so they wouldn't be in the story to comment. I print things out to read, it is what works best for me. I'm sure some people save them off and read them wherever/whenever.
I would like to see people who comment be registered though, that makes more sense to me. Forced registration isn't what the site is about...it's a place for the authors to post their stories to be read by anyone freely.
{{Hugs}}
Reads
I for one have a hard time keeping up with serials so I wait for the last chapter and then go back and download them all into one file to send to my Kindle. In the case of Nancy's stories I know she will make the completed story available as a PDF to purchase later. Thus I tend to go back to stories whose earlier chapters have fallen off the radar already so I won't contribute to the numbers when the story is on the main page but often much later.
I might also note that because it is necessary to open the story every time you want to read new comments those stories with several comments actually tend to get more reads - of the comments, not necessarily the stories themselves. This is especially true if the subject matter is controversial or the commenters get into a posting contest with each other. The reading of comments then becomes a spectator sport in and of itself.
Many stories might get opened multiple times due to interruptions requiring returning several times. On the other hand very long stories are more likely to be downloaded and opened only once.
Some people like to read all the new comments and seldom know which story the comments are referring to if they click on them from the left column thus driving up the numbers for some stories out of curiousity so that a few comments can snowball the number of readers.
And remember porn, penny dreadfuls and pulp fiction have always had their appeal - even in transgender fiction.
Commentator
Visit my Caption Blog: Dawn's Girly Site
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Not Everyone's Cup of Tea
My stories are not everyone's cup of tea. This is especially true in the case of 'While the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.' It is quite dark with many elements in it that turn some of the readers here off. That there are as many readers who are still following it is, to me, quite surprising.
It is set in World War Twice, the Sequel, which makes it distasteful to those who oppose violence or are rabidly anti-military.
It involves some scenes that are down right depressing, like suicide.
The main character isn't as pure as the driven snow. She has a dark side. (Don't we all).
I mention 'Historical' in the title, which is almost as much a turn-off for some folks as saying, 'You need a root canal.'
There are no unicorns.
I suspect most readers come here to enjoy some escapism from a difficult day at work, families that can sometimes become a bit much or to set aside there own personal concerns for awhile and enjoy a good laugh, a sweet story or lose themselves in a fantasy world very different than the one they have to deal with. My stories often times do not provide that to them. Fortunately, there are enough stories here by many different authors that meet their needs. I myself love to set aside my efforts and read some of the stories posted here by Belladonna, Persephone, Maggie and others.
So worry not, dear friend. Instead, celebrate the true diversity that Erin and her merry crew struggle to provide us with and enjoy your guilty pleasure in the knowledge that we authors have already had our fun creating it.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
Just because they have the numbers ...
... doesn't mean they have the readers. Certainly the code words will encourage a potential reader to have a look but, if they're like me, may not get beyond the first paragraph before moving on. I suspect the numbers generated by your stories (and Nancy's as well as others) bear a greater correlation to actual reads than some superficially more popular tales.
Just a thought.
Robi
I don't know how much faith
I don't know how much faith I put in this mode of thought. There are a number of my stories that barely fit under one keyword much less a handful. I zip through them at every post I make and they are just too limiting for me.
As for looking for stories to read, they are the last thing I even consider when deciding to read a story. Summery is first, Author is second, keywords (that actually don't mean squat in terms of story content) last.
I don't know how many times I've taken a keyword cliche and turned it on its head, so if people are avoiding the typical Large Breasts/Implants/Whatever, then they're going to lose out by avoiding the story because they think it's just another generic Bimbo tale.
In my opinion authors should consider revamping their summary instead. The vast number I see on the front page just suck and don't tell anything about what the story is actually about, if they actually have one in the first place that is. I mean... think of it this way: When you go shopping for books, do you read the summary on the back of the book or purchase it strictly on the title? Even with authors I know produce wonderful tales, I read the summary.
What I'm getting at is that putting, "A beautiful tale about change," on your summary isn't really saying anything. It's a TG fiction website, writing tales about Change is what we do. It's a given and not a very good summary. And yes, I've seen this on more than one story.
Unless your story is a poem or poetry intensive, putting poetry as your summary doesn't say much either. I tend to skip right past those after a cursory glance. Might I have missed a decent plot and character drive tale because of this? Maybe. But there are way too many titles that don't last for very long on the front page, and I only have a limited amount of time to read them. So I have to pick and choose what to read.
Then there are those that simply don't want to read stories because of their subject matter: Historical, Furry, Fantasy, Fan Fiction, etc. there's nothing you can do about that except be a wonderful author and hopefully tempt them into reading.
So, do keywords play a part in decisions making... yeah, a minor part, but not the most important. Keywords at other sites play a major part (fapfapfapfapfapfapfap)if you get my meaning. But people come here for actual stories.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
The Sweet Spot
For me, it's all about meeting what I like.
Unfortunately, I don't care for stories about war, or things that happen in the past, so a lot of the keywords for "Waltzing Matilda" don't really do it for me. On the other hand, I've got great interest in reading Nancy Cole's "Tips" story, which I've got sitting in a tab on my browser (and wouldn't you know it, right after I ask for stuff to read from people I no longer have any time to do it :P)
A story being good or not only goes so far if the keywords don't match what a reader likes. And always remember -- more hits doesn't necessarily mean more reads. Every comment on a story accounts for two hits at minimum, and keep in mind that it is the second time she's posted the stories -- it's likely that many readers who read them the first time around might remember them well enough to skip it this time.
Melanie E.
A lot of factors...
A lot of factors go into # of reads.
To be honest, I've not started "Waltzing Matilda" yet, though it's planned. Why? Because with my RL issues, I'm not ready to take on a "HEAVY" story right now. (Some heavy issues to be dealt with in Hidden Gifts are contributing to why it's so slow right now...) I don't tend to read a lot of those other stories you mention, but know they are popular. As Angela has pointed out several times, there are certain keywords that appear to cause readers to "jump" on a story here, and if you want high #s you need to include some of those elements (generally).
I'd like more reads of things I write (Okay, I need to write better & more often, too.) but I'm not willing to use the elements, unless they fit the story naturally, nor am I willing to design a story so that it includes the elements. So, combine that with my mediocre writing and I get more reads than I would otherwise expect.
Is a high read count nice? I kinda think so. And comments. Oooo, Comments are so nice. I specially treasure the ones that suddenly "appear" six months or more after the story was posted originally. But, that's not what you're asking.
Read count is not a good indicator of story quality. The old "Votes" were, perhaps, a little better indicator, but still a story with a lot of readers is more likely to have a high vote (absolute) total, even if it's ratio of votes to reads is worse.
Who knows. There ARE times that I wish to myself that more authors had my taste, then I'd find more things to read. LOL
Anne
P.S. I just went and looked at all the things I've posted. Only 1 (the first segment of Bridesmaid) has over 5k hits... And, as one segment in the middle has half that number, I know that 5k hits is NOT reads. I suspect it's probably not much higher than 1k or 1.5k (at most) with the rest comment views, accidental opening or re-reads to catch up. All factors in something published serially.
Zip. . .Nada. . .Zilch
It don't mean a thing.
There is almost no correlation between the number of hits a story receives and the quality of a story.
Frustration occurs when your perception of life doesn't mesh with reality. Usually reality will not adjust or adapt to your personal perception so, if you want to avoid frustration you really need to change your attitude.
As others have suggested, authors are wise to derive their pleasure from the writing process, and not from the whimsical number of comments or hits they recieve.
I love children. I've written young adult books and have been wonderfully rewarded by the honest positive opinions expressed by the children who read them. I don't write TG fiction for children.
When I write for BC I try to write for a mature audience. I couldn't care less what any teenager thinks of my stories, because they're not written for anyone under twenty-one. In fact, my stories are written for people who have experienced quite a lot of life.
There are a lot of readers who come to TG fiction sites seeking something I don't provide for them. I quit writing for FM because their readers have needs that I can't (won't) meet.
I love history books. I'm currently reading Howard Zinn's masterpiece. Yet, I haven't read Nancy's Matilda. I simply don't read serials unless they are posted in entirety.
Nancy is an excellent writer, who should be appreciated.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Popularity contest
It's not a competition, so stop comparing things. I know my stories are read by a smaller audience than the more popular stories around here, and that's perfectly fine with me.
What one reader likes in a story is not the same things that everyone else likes in a story. That's really all you need to "get."
One of the big advantages to this site is that no one is getting paid. We who write don't have to aim our stories to fit the market; we can write whatever the heck we want. And we who read can read whatever the heck we want; we can even start reading something and stop if we don't like it - all we've invested is time.
Reads and comments
As a new author I do get excited when I see that my story is getting hits and even more so when I see comments, especially from those who have commented before. Hey they came back!
I try to comment whenever possible, even if it's just a word or two, just to show the author my appreciation as I know how hard it is to write. This isn't always easy as I do much of my reading via blackberry and it's a real pain in the you know what to log in with it.
In the end though, I would keep writing even without getting hits or comments as the monkey is truly on my back and I can't seem to get it off.
luv and all that jazz,
Connie