Forum: Author Hangout

My Journey - Book 2: Exile by Xalir
| Votes: 402 | Score: 8.05
Size: 109KB | Downloads: 10753 | Posted: 9/26/2016, 1:08:56 PM | Updated: 9/28/2016, 3:45:06 PM | Chapter 3

I haven't read the story, but what jumps out at me is the guy (or the gal) has written all of three chapters with 10,000+ downloads and has 402 votes. That suggests the author has a lot of readers and that many of them are inclined to vote. Such enthusiasm---aside from the story quality---may explain the high score.

I did enjoy the brief period when one (short) story of mine had a 9 something, I think. It also had exactly one vote. Now it's at 7.77 with five votes: two 10s and one each 7, 8, and 9.

bb

That high score is a carryover from Book 1.

Book 2's score is currently lower than Book 1's, yet in my opinion the writing quality is better and the plot more credible. However we should expect Book 2's score to rise as the story's length increases.

AJ

However we should expect Book 2's score to rise as the story's length increases.

The score will more likely rise as more people read it and score. There is a large number of readers that refuse to score a story until after it's finished, and another group who won't read it until it's finished, and they will score it then.

I wonder how many readers are waiting until Arlene and Jeff is complete before they start it or score it :)

AJ

There is a large number of readers that refuse to score a story until after it's finished, and another group who won't read it until it's finished, and they will score it then.

There's also a third group who rate each individual chapter, however, the score unintentionally influences other readers. So often, a story with a low initial score will remain in the doldrums, while a story with a quick start and lots of action initially, will generally maintain a better score overall, even after the action ends.

So many people have a low end cutoff of 8.0 that none of my stories can make the grade, and I think that is unreasonable!

Anyone with a "low end cutoff of 8.0" won't be spending much time on SOL. The typical cutoff is at least 7.0, with allowances for 'interesting story premises'—with corresponding allowances given.

As a reader I am more concerned with the whether I like a story than the score. I have read stories with a score of 5 or 6 that I loved and have dumped after 1 chapter stories with a score of 8+.

Exactly! That's why it's better to focus on the story you're called to write, rather than on scores, sales, ratings or reviews. If you focus on metrics, you'll always be disappointed. If you focus on telling the best story you can, and it doesn't do well, there's always room to improve on your next story.

I echo sharkjew (what a penname!)

Did you notice your slip?

don't always accept scores - I got bored by and long ago stopped reading Penguintopia after about four books - my choice

Which is the exact response I would expect. Just because a story is highly rated, it doesn't mean that it's everyone's cup of tea. I personally can't stand George R. R. Martin's writing, but he does seem to be popular.

If a story gets all 10s and one 9 (after the top and bottom 5% are removed), I assume the story cannot get a 10. Is that correct?

correct

{ Nerdy Pedant mode off }

What's a little nerdy-pendanticism between friends? :-)

What's a little nerdy-pendanticism between friends? :-)

Actually, that should be AMONG friends, if you mean the whole of the forum.

Lazeez truncates the scores for display, which is the only possible interpretation

and what I believe is happening.

is the original score that I gave the only score that the "computer" (for lack of a better word) counts, and discards the rest?

The last score overrides all previous scores.

Saying that, a lot depends on other stories being scored in the time periods. When I was testing something in the scoring system with Lazeez, I gave one of my stories a 10. The score actually went down because when the story was re-scored, other factors affecting the scoring algorithm changed that hurt my story.

To Add just a little "thread drift" here, but not go off topic, I have a question that I've always wondered about; If I'm reading a multi chapter story, with chapters submitted over time (which I have), and I "score" each chapter (which I do) am I;

1. hurting or helping that author's overall score?

2. even being counted after the first score I give (meaning does the score I give chapter 1 cancel out or over ride the scores I give say chapter 3, then chapter 6, chapter 11, and so on? In other words, is the original score that I gave the only score that the "computer" (for lack of a better word) counts, and discards the rest?

Each score erases the earlier ones. This wasn't always so, as originally the score was cookie based, and once the cookie expired (typically a couple months), the new score would be added as an additional score, allowing certain individuals to enter multiple scores for the same story over time. However, Lezeez corrected that flaw years ago.

Many, but certainly not all, authors will watch the ratings to see whether the score falls or rises for each particular chapter. The overall score rarely changes, the the fringes do. Although I have certain 'fans' who always rate my stories a 1, despite reading each chapter promptly each week, they'll reward the fast action chapters with a 3. I may not notice variations in my 10 scores or even my 8s, but I notice those outliers more than the majority of votes as a bellwether for how the story was received.

Does it affect the story's overall score? Not directly, though it can influence it. Again, someone seeing a story with an 8 score is more likely to read it, while a 7 score is more likely to bypass it. So even if it varies temporarily, you may be eliminating certain readers who may enjoy it, but there's no way of measuring or predicting it's impact.

1. hurting or helping that author's overall score?

2. even being counted after the first score I give (meaning does the score I give chapter 1 cancel out or over ride the scores I give say chapter 3, then chapter 6, chapter 11, and so on? In other words, is the original score that I gave the only score that the "computer" (for lack of a better word) counts, and discards the rest?

1. Not really, you simply showing how you feel the story rates to the end of the chapter being voted, that is the whole story to date, not just the chapter.

2. The system now tracks what score you gave a story and adjusts it to what you enter as the latest score. So, if a story started posting in February and you liked chapter 1 so much you gave it a 10, then finishes posting in September and you thought the edning weak so you gave it a 6 the system removes the 10 from the count, adds in a 6 and recalculates the score for the story.