I Don't understand I've been Here over Seven years and why is it I see stories have say over 900 reads and only get less then 10%Thumbs up WHY . I think that just about every story posted here should get at least 80% score of the over 900 reads. I will admit I'm not a writer of stories here but I have edited for several writers here and have requested not tobe acknowledge for my help, but all writers here should get a better score then then 10% for their effort of writing these stories we read almost everyday. This is just my Thoughts on this subject have good day! Richard
A Thumbs Up Button
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Comments
Reads v Kudos
As I understand it you have to be signed in to give a kudos and many readers aren't members. Also the post may well be picked up by a Google search which isn't a genuine read at all but probably adds to the count (you can see this by doing a search on a quote from a story).
As a minor writer I have been pleased to receive about 10% kudos in the short term
Rhona McCloud
Thumbs up/ Kudo's
This past week I not been log in at all and could give Thumbs up every day. So you don't have to be log-in to do it! Richard Try it!
Thumbs up button
I haven't been able to give a thumbs up in over week because the button is missing completely!
Comments add reads
Also, keep in mind that every time you add a comment, you add at least one aditional read.
Then there are the re-reads. Once you gave a kudo, you can not add more kudos. So even if you read the story 10 times you can only give 1 (one) kudo.
And finally, when you start reading a story. Then log out, and come back the next day to finish reading. That is at least 2 reads right there.
So, as a reader, I considere a ratio of 1 kudo for every 10 reads to be a very popular story. If the ratio is below 1 to 100, then the story is either lost in the archives or not very popular. (Not popular is not the same as no good.)
Jessica
And.
People popping back to read new comments and/or reply to them also ads more hits.
>i< ..:::
Still...
the majority of people who read stories don't give kudos.
~And so it goes...
10%!!!
My most popular story has a 2.8% Kudos rate. When I first publish a story, I get my best return, sometimes 5-6% of hits, but as the story gets older, so more people hit on it without leaving a Kudos.
It's important to remember that hits does not mean "reads". I hit on lots of stories, read the first few lines and then click the back button. I once did an experiment where I posted the end of a story as a separate file, so people had to click on the "Ending" button to read to the end and (from memory) about 80% of hits were clicking on that Ending button.
Certainly, many can't leave a Kudos, and many others can't be bothered to thank the author for posting the story free of charge. Personally, I'm grateful to the people who do leave a Kudos, for they provide valuable feedback on whether or not the story had worked.
To an extent, I think it's pointless to keep raking over this ground, as it probably causes more authors to become frustrated at the lack of Kudos, than causes readers to leave more Kudos - if that makes sense.
The figures behind the figures
Charlotte,
I went through a similar session of analysis and concern, thinking people were lazy etc. until I started thinking about it.
The stories here on BCTS are tracked by Web-bots from the likes of Google etc etc. They often check a story every day and being inconsiderately designed 'bots don't have the courtesy to click on the kudos link. This is particularly true for older stories.
Many readers aren't members (I may be wrong but I think visitors can't click the button). Many of us started out that way, terrified to actually sign up and expose even a webmail account in case they got tracked and exposed.
Some of us come to the site, see a story, read it, realise we are not logged in, log in, re-click on the story link and then hit the kudos button.
Sometimes we leave a comment, then come back and see what new comments there are.
I would guess that your 2.8% Kudos rating translates into 30% to 50% of members saying "Thank you, great story!"
However, of course there are still some lazy B****rs out there and some who actually didn't enjoy it. But what the heck, we write for the joy of it :)
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
Web-bots
I once did an experiment to track whether web-bots had a major effect. I buried a link to an author page beneath a full stop (period to many of you), so it was almost impossible to notice. However, a web-bot would follow the link. I then sat back and monitored how many hits reached that page.
From memory, it was only 1-2% of hits which went on to go to the hidden link, so my reasoning is that the effect of web-bots can generally be ignored.
Also consider the fact
that in terms of the site's age, both the kudos and "thumbs up" options are quite new. Many very popular older stories are going to have a very low thumbs up count because of this, and even the newer ones would be much lower if Erin and the gang hadn't figured out how to carry Kudos over into the thumbs up system.
In terms of new stories, I tend to think of 1 thumb for every 10 to 15 hits to be a goodly amount, up through about 1000 reads. After that, you've passed the point at which a story is usually in its biggest period of popularity, so votes/thumbs/comments/whatever will naturally drop off substantially. You're also reaching the point at which the majority of your hits are either re-reads or comment reads (especially in the case of multi-part stories,) making it increasingly unlikely that kudos will be distributed.
Expecting much more than, at best, a 5% or so thumbs-to-reads ratio is wanting too much.
Melanie E.
Feedback
Speaking for myself....and, I think, most writers....some kind of reaction to a story is essential. We all say we write only for ourselves, but if we got few hits and no comments or votes/kudos/thumbs ups I think only those with huge egos would continue to write.
Many of my earlier stories were written in the era when "votes" were awarded to a story and this system then was replaced with "kudos". Unfortunately the "votes" were not carried forward so most stories from that era have a very low "kudos/thumbs up" count, so someone revisiting those stories might conclude that they were not popular when in fact they had been well-received at the time.
I always assume that probably only about 60-70% of the "hits" on my stories are genuine reads although the percentage would undoubtedly be higher for those better authors with a following on a serial (e.g. Angharad's EAFOAB).
There can never be any absolute measure of popularity. You have to judge for yourself on a combination of the various types of feedback received. Personally I am happy that I don't seem to have been writing into a black hole and one of these days, when I get some inspiration, I will write again. You have been warned!
Ouch
And all this time I thought my writing had a following.
My most popular story has a 1.6% ratio.
1.) There is absolutely no correlation between kudos, comments, and hits to quality of writing.
2.) Writing has to be its own reward.
3.) There are a million reasons to write. Pick one (or several) and enjoy it.
4.) Kudos, comments, and hits are very much a factor of length of story, age of protagonist, and genre.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Mine's about 2% myself, Jill
so no worries there. I said 5 because some of the most outrageously popular authors, like Morpheus, MIGHT pull something that ludicrous.
Melanie E.
For Whom the Kudos Toll - Silently
I've already built my internal defenses. I just assume that the "Silent Majority" loves my stories.
It worked for Tricky Dicky.
Fun urban legend: Tricky Dicky borrowed the phrase "Silent Majority" from a passage in JFK's Profiles in Courage.
I really try not to care and have repeatedly done what I could on this board to state that kudos are not all that meaningful. The problem with kudos, comments, and hits is that many writers on BC already have enough to deal with in their lives. They don't need another helping of rejection and shame.
Feel great when anyone acknowledges the job you've done, but don't ever look at the negative side, because it just doesn't matter.
Find yourself a friend whose opinion you value and have them review your story. Stephen King's wife reads everything he writes and gives him her unvarnished opinion. He writes with her in mind. It works. Just think of the thousands of negative reviews King has received over the years while he cashes huge checks and sees his work adored by millions.
By the way . . . according to the kudos system, the story I have posted right now on the front page, Becoming an ANT, is the highest rated story I've ever written. It has received the 5% you mentioned.
It has received 33% more Thumbs Up than Swifter, Higher, Stronger which in my mind is infinitely better written.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/21855/swifter-higher-s...
Several people who I respect have told me that Swifter, Higher, Stronger is one of the best stories on this site.
Silent Majority . . . believe it!
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
I'd agree with 'em!
I love Swifter, Higher, Stronger, and as good as ANT is, SHS is DEFINITELY a better story, if not quite as purely feel-good.
Hey, at least hits alone aren't the sole judge of quality any more. If they were, I'd have to live with the assumption that people preferred my recent farcical "Mommy's Little Fudge Packer" over anything else I've posted since April; the fact it's got the most hits of everything since is still a bit of a sad commentary on just how much draw a semi-dirty title can have on the reading audience, though the story at the other end is anything but.
Melanie E.
A fanciful idea
Several people have remarked that if you're not logged in you can't leave a kudos. I suspect that restriction is only there to prevent people voting several times for the same story and artificially inflating their own stories.
So what? The only reason that matters is because the kudos point count is public and lots of authors like to brag about their kudos ratings. How about if kudos points could only be seen by the author? If they wanted to artificially inflate their ego and kudos rating, that's their choice, but only they see the result.
That would also mean that if I really enjoy a story, I could give several kudos to the author, similar to applause from an audience.